Pastors Corner

Fr. Michael Olivere

Dear Friends,

As I write this letter, we find ourselves almost at the second week of July. Before you know it, the dog days of summer will be flowing into the beauty of autumn and the start, not only of a new school year, but of a new beginning for parish life. We need to take advantage of the break the summer provides for us from our normal routine.
           
Even if your routine doesn’t change all that much because of retirement, illness, or a particular home situation, the very nature of summertime just seems to make things different than they are during the rest of the year. Folks seem to slow down during these summer months, and, in many respects, to savor life a little differently because of the slower pace.

            Summer also allows us to take advantage of this slower pace to get better in touch with God. In the course of the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to put God on the back burner. We occupy ourselves with many tasks and activities each day, and most of these things are good and profitable and beneficial to us and to other people. We need to remember however, that God needs to be the most important individual in our lives, and that the only real way to communicate with God and to grow in his love for us is in prayer.

            Each day we should be taking the time to pray, whether it is sixty, thirty or even ten minutes. The point is to make good, quiet, private time with God a priority in our lives, so that our love relationship with him can grow and bear fruit in our lives and, through us, in the lives of others.

            Perhaps during these slower days of summer, you may be able to take an assessment of the time you spend with God, and make that quality time more of a priority, not just in these days of summer, but throughout the year.

I call to your attention the ad in this bulletin regarding the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (R.C.I.A.). This process will be beginning in the fall. This journey of faith is for those adults and young adults who have never been baptized, those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and would like to be received into the Catholic Church, and those who were baptized Catholic but never were catechized and/or never received the sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation. If you know of anyone who falls into any of these categories, please encourage them to call the Rectory to speak with me so that they can begin this journey and be received into the Church at Eastertime.

I remind you about the Parish Raffle fundraiser we are participating in. You should have received a mailing in your home, containing a cover letter from me and four raffle tickets. We are participating in this fundraiser with several other Catholic parishes. We are asking for a donation of $25 for each raffle ticket, and are asking you to please consider purchasing the chances 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 14, 2021 at 11:00 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 fifteen prizes in total. The first prize is a $30,000 gift card; the second prize is a $3,000 gift card; the third prize is a $2,000 gift card; and there are twelve $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. 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