Dear Friends in Christ:
At my desk, I keep a running list of topics that I would like to write about in these weekly letters. Sadly, the lists only gets longer as I never seem to have enough time to get to everything. With that being said, I will take this opportunity to use this week’s letter as a reminder of some important topics in a lighting round fashion. Each of these topics could easily be an entire letter. Buckle up because here we go!
Spiritual Life. Keep up with your spiritual life. Pray every day, come to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day, come to Eucharistic Adoration and a make a frequent and regular confession.
Involvement. Get involved. Do one thing at the parish besides attending Mass every week. Serve in a ministry or participate in a program or activity.
Share the Good News. Invite someone to come to Mass with you. Invite someone to join you at one of our parish activities. It is Ok to brag about how good God is to us! Praise God for his marvelous deeds.
Be Positive. Anyone can complain. Look for the good in every situation and you will find it. Being positive and hopeful is far more productive than griping and complaining.
Babies are Good! To be pro-life means that we need to support young families in words, attitudes and actions. If we complain that children are a burden what message are we sending? Rejoice in the gift of children! Respect Life! Promote Life! Choose Life!
Marriage is Good! Let others know how blessed you are in your marriage. Marriage is not easy and no marriage is perfect, but most are really good. Remember to let your spouse know every day that you love them. No matter what.
Love is in the Air. Young couples, don’t wait until everything is perfect to get married. That day will never come. Trust in God to bless you in your life together. God is the source of all blessings, not you.
Get married in the Catholic Church. If you are not married in the Catholic Church, come talk to us about having your marriage blessed. If you are engaged, save the destination trip for the honeymoon. You can have a nice wedding in the church and then run off to an exotic destination if you wish. Weddings do not have to be huge expensive affairs.
Let us know. When someone is seriously ill or homebound, please let the parish office know so that we can pray for them and if needed, provide the Sacrament of the Sick. For the homebound, we can bring Holy Communion on a weekly basis. The only way we know is if someone from the family tells us.
Be Not Afraid. God wants to forgive our sins. Come to confession and experience his mercy and forgiveness.
Please Register. Blessed with so many people, it is important that all of our wonderful parishioners are registered in the parish. This is essential to good communication and parish planning.
Disconnect. Deliberately reduce the amount of time you spend on technology. Digital devices are wonderful inventions, but they can steal time, imagination, attention and opportunities from personal encounters of the real kind. They can also corrupt and toxify our relationships, thinking and attitudes.
Faith Seeking Understanding. We should be life-long learners of our faith. Religious education and formation do not stop at 1st Communion, Confirmation or graduation. Seek to continually grow in deepening your knowledge and understanding of our beautiful Catholic Faith.
Parental Help. Please remember that we have a wonderful nursery (recently expanded) and cry rooms for when little ones get cranky during Mass.
Money, Money, Money. Please tithe in thanksgiving for what the Lord has given you. It takes a half million dollars to run our parish each month. All of us need to do our part. To make it easy, you can give your contributions electronically or by envelopes. If you forget your checkbook, you can always text to give or scan the QR code in the bulletin. For information call our offices.
Don’t Settle. Be the best Catholic. Don’t be an 80% or 50% or 10% Catholic. Be 100% Catholic. Give God your best and you will know the peace, joy, assurance, and comfort of the truth of the Catholic Faith.
Reverence. Please remember to show your reverence by always genuflecting when you pass the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle.
Rest in Peace. Please make sure that your family knows that you want to have a Catholic Funeral Mass when the time comes for the Lord to call you home. Don’t leave them guessing or doing something less than what you and the Lord deserve.
Pray Together. Praying for people is good. Praying with people is great! Pray together as a family and especially as a married couple.
Catholic Schools. Consider sending your children (or grandkids) to one of our great Catholic Schools (elementary, high school and college). It is a sacrifice worth making and a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Planned Giving. Please remember SJV in your will and in your estate planning. You can also make gifts to our SJV Endowment Fund by making a gift from an IRA or in donating appreciated stock.
Hail Mary. Carry your rosary with you and pray it often. Don’t forget to pray to the saints either. They are praying for you!
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us. St. John Vianney, pray for us!
Let Go! None of us are perfect. God desires to forgive us our sins and failures, so we too must learn to let go and forgive others and ourselves. Don’t hang on to old hurts and grudges, sins and failures. Give them to God. Just as God forgives us, so we must forgive others.
Make Friends. Get to know the people around you at Mass. Make church friends and make your church friends your best friends! Socialize with fellow parishioners and they will be friends for life. Pray, eat, laugh, cry, serve, celebrate, and live life with your fellow parishioners.
Don’t Stop – learning, praying, loving, trusting, serving, laughing, working, forgiving, thanking, praising celebrating, or believing.
In pace Christi,
Fr. Troy