Weekend of October 9-10, 2021

Dear Friends,

We celebrate on the weekend of October 23-24 World Mission Sunday. The Church by its very nature is missionary, and we are all called to bring the gospel of Jesus everywhere we go, especially by the way we live and act. This annual observance focuses on those good women and men who have dedicated their lives to the spreading of the gospel as missionaries, especially in developing countries. It is inconceivable to us living as we do in the United States in 2021 that there are people who have never heard the message of Jesus Christ; indeed, there are some in our world who don’t even know his name. But the truth of that reality is coupled with the fact that there are many generous women and men in our world today who give their very lives so that the message of the gospel can be proclaimed to those who otherwise wouldn’t hear it. These include priests, religious sisters and brothers, and dedicated lay women and men. Mission Sunday is a way for us to support the missionary effort of the Church and the fine work of these dedicated missionaries by our financial and prayerful support. The second collection on the weekend of October 23-24 is for Mission Sunday. Your generosity is, as always, very much appreciated.
           
On that same weekend, October 23-24, we will be celebrating the 69^th anniversary of the dedication of our parish church.  Saint Timothy’s upper church was dedicated (or, to use the term that was used at that time, consecrated) on October 25, 1952, by Bishop George L. Leech, who was then the Bishop of Harrisburg and a seminary classmate and friend of Father Thomas Brady, the founding pastor. The following day, Sunday, October 26, Bishop Leech was the celebrant of the first Solemn Mass in the upper church, which was celebrated in the presence of Archbishop John Francis O’Hara, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

            It is right that we celebrate this anniversary every year, as a reminder to us, not only of those good men and women who worked so hard to make our beautiful parish church a reality, but also of the fact that we are the Church, the Body of Christ, and, as such, we are living witnesses to the reality of the Church in our midst. Our magnificent church symbolizes Christ, our Head and foundation stone, upon whom we need to continue to build a community of love and hope in a world that so desperately needs his life-giving presence. Let us never forget the gift that has been given to us in our holy, Catholic faith, and let us strive to be beacons of hope to all who come to Saint Timothy’s seeking Jesus. Let us also thank God, especially on this anniversary, for Father Brady and all those who labored with him for so many years to build the beautiful church we are privileged to call our own.

            On the weekend of October 23-24, we will be commemorating the anniversary of the church’s dedication at all the Masses. On Sunday, October 24, at 2:30 P.M., our own Father Louis Monica will be celebrating a Solemn Mass in the upper church, not only commemorating the anniversary of our church’s dedication, but also offering thanks to God for the gift of his priesthood. You will recall that Father Louis was ordained to the priesthood in the middle of the COVID pandemic, in June of 2020, and so was unable to celebrate a traditional Solemn Mass of thanksgiving the day after his ordination. This Solemn Mass on October 24 at 2:30 is the Mass that he would normally have offered at this time. I cordially invite all of you to celebrate with Father Monica and his family, and all of us, as we celebrate the great gift of the priesthood on this 69^th anniversary of the dedication of our beautiful church.
           
Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere