Weekend of July 1-2, 2023

Dear Friends,

We celebrate on Tuesday of this week our greatest American holiday, Independence Day.

            Of course, being in the midst of our summer season, July 4^th always brings with it picnics and trips to the shore and the mountains, as well as marvelous exhibitions of patriotism in the form of parades and beautiful displays of fireworks. All of this is great, and is good for us to experience in order to fill us anew with the love of our country we should have and really need in order to continue to be the responsible citizens we are called to be, by our national heritage and by God. But this great celebration of independence also calls us to contemplate within ourselves the great gift of freedom we have enjoyed now as a people for over 240 years, a gift that has helped shaped our nation and its people into a beautiful reflection of the children of God, rooted in him and always living and working in his service and the service of those most in need.

            Independence Day also is a bold reminder to us that the freedom we enjoy is very tenuous; in an instant it can be taken away, and in many ways the fundamental values we hold so dear have already been compromised by those working in our very midst to break down our society and to tear apart the freedom of which we are so proud. Much of this tearing apart and breaking down is a result of our ignoring, as a nation, the ways of God and the very presence of God in our midst, that foundational cornerstone upon which this great nation was built.

            We remember in these days of celebration that God himself is the very source of the freedom we enjoy. As people of faith, let us ask him to open the hearts of all our sisters and brothers --- Americans all --- so that, no matter what their faith background, they may recognize him and him alone as the one who created us, sustains us, and leads us, always in hope, into the future that, with his guidance, we are now shaping. As we celebrate the great gift of freedom, let us proudly cry out, both in prayer and in truth, “God bless America!”

            Please join us for our morning Mass on Tuesday, July 4^th, Independence Day, at 9:00 in the lower church. There is no better place to begin this great national holiday than at the Lord’s altar.

            I remind you once again about our Parish Raffle fundraiser. You should have received a mailing in your home, containing a cover letter from me and five raffle tickets. I would like to explain this fundraiser.

            We are participating in this fundraiser with several other Catholic parishes and institutions. We are asking for a donation of $25 for each raffle ticket, and are asking you to please consider purchasing the raffle tickets for yourself, or selling them to family members, neighbors, or friends. The purchaser keeps the right half of the ticket. The left half of the ticket, along with the payment, should be placed in the envelope enclosed in the mailing for return. We also ask you to include any unsold tickets in the return envelope. All tickets and money should be returned by August 1.

            The raffle will be drawn on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 8:00 P.M. and can be viewed live at www.parishraffle.com

The prizes for the raffle are excellent. They are all American Express gift cards, and there are 23 prizes in total. The first prize is a $30,000 gift card; the second prize is a $10,000 gift card; the third prize is an $8,000 gift card; and there are twenty $1,000 prizes.  

I am asking every registered family or individual to participate in this important fundraiser. Besides the excellent prizes, the proceeds are of great benefit to our parish. Again, I am respectfully asking everyone to either purchase the tickets that were included
in the mailing or to sell the tickets to someone else. If you didn’t receive the mailing, or would like more tickets to either purchase or sell, there are more tickets available at the rectory.

            Thank you in advance for your goodness, and for your willingness to participate in this important fundraiser in support of our great parish.

            Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere