THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
5 NOVEMBER 2017
Jesus
tells those of us who are religious leaders that we cannot bring attention to
ourselves. Our efforts have to focus on
God our heavenly Father. During my
recent trip to Poland and Italy with Fathers Dan Scheidt and Andy Budzinski, we
visited many beautiful churches and shrines built for the glory of God. As we marveled at their beauty, we also
called to mind the many sacrifices made by countless people to build them.
On Sunday
morning, we went to a beautiful church in Venice for Sunday Mass. Unlike so many other beautiful churches, this
church is an active parish run by the Franciscans. We concelebrated with the pastor and marveled
at the active participation of the congregation. There were at least ten boys and girls
serving. One little boy sitting next to
Father Andy kept admiring his stole.
When he caught Father Andy’s attention, he gave him “thumbs up”. Then he noticed two boys in the first pew
messing around. So, he snapped his
fingers at them to stop them.
Concelebrating
in that church in Venice reminded me of Saint Pius. Thanks to the incredible sacrifice of so
many, we now celebrate Mass in a beautiful church. All your sacrifices have been made for the benefit
of our parish community. We have come a
long way, and now we are in the home stretch of our campaign, Behold I Make All Things New. All that needs to be done is to expand our
Parish Education Center on the south side of our campus. We need six new classrooms, two new sets of
bathrooms, a multi-purpose room, and permanent space for Catechesis of the Good
Shepherd. This added space will complete
our project and allow so many to continue their work in ministries, faith
formation, and service to those in need.
Today we
share three stories with you. These are
just three families, representing hundreds of stories of faith and dedication
to our parish. These
stories will show how our community and the work of this parish directly
impacted their lives.
Video:
https://notredame.box.com/s/tp2ss83gasannennd8vu4r61auxsgep7
As Jack
Rodriquez pointed out, you represent the beauty and love of this parish. We agree with Theresa Vasquez that children
are so important in our faith. They are
our future. This final stretch of the
campaign will allow us to serve them better with programs like Catechesis of
the Good Shepherd, a flourishing Catholic School and Religious Education
Programs for children attending public schools, and the Saint Angela Merici
Religious Education Program for families like the Mannors. So, please take time to reacquaint yourself
with the details of our plan. You can
find them in today’s bulletin and on our project website. Please join us in the Parish Life Center
after Mass for a reception, where we can answer your questions.
This is the
concluding stretch of our campaign.
Please prayerfully consider giving a gift. You can extend your pledge for one more year
(or longer). Or you can make a new
pledge. This invitation is for all
members of the parish, both new and old, both with and without children at this
time. With this project completed, I am
convinced that Saint Pius X will more adequately provide outreach opportunities
through our faith formation programs.
Your gift to the campaign is a tangible expression of what our patron
saint dedicated himself to do at the beginning of the 20th
century: to renew all things in Christ
in the 21st century.
Thank you
for considering this special request and all your sacrifices for the good of
our parish community. I am grateful for
you, our parish formed out of living stones.
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