November 17, 2022

Dear Parishioners and Friends of St. John’s,

 

 

One choice is better than a thousand options. In a culture with so many options, we can get stuck in not committing, as we wait for a better option to come available. Yet, the Lord invites His disciples to commit to follow Him. He says, “Come and follow Me.” By committing to following the Lord, the disciples made a very important choice. They could have chosen a different option but chose to follow Christ. Matthew could have remained as a tax collector or Peter could have remained as a fisherman. However, they committed to following Christ as His disciples, and it forever changed their lives for the better.

This weekend, we extend that invitation of Christ. Commit to following Christ, and build up His kingdom by living out the core values of reliance on prayer, willingness to grow, and generous spirit. Receive the grace of God in prayer to grow into the saint He desires you to become. Then, let the light of Christ shine brightly through you, as you live out of a generous spirit and give yourself in service to God and others. The disciples did not wait for a better option to come available. Wait no longer. Christ is here for you and Calling you Forth in relationship with Him. He desires you to live life to the full, and He will help you do that. Please fill out the Core Commitment form linked here from our Parish website.

Thanksgiving

This coming week, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful for each and every one of you. Thank you for your presence at SJB. I am grateful for your ‘yes’ to the Lord. You help SJB be a place where Christ is known and loved. You help others experience hope and healing in Christ Jesus. Know that you are loved and appreciated. I offer up my Mass on Thanksgiving morning in gratitude to God for you.

Joining us to celebrate Thanksgiving Mass this year will be both Bishop Joseph Williams and Father Skluzacek. We will once again have bagpipes at the end of the beautiful liturgy. Eucharist means Thanksgiving, and how appropriate to begin your Thanksgiving Day celebrations with us for our 9:00 am Mass that morning. Hope to see you there! Also, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be sending out next week’s email newsletter on Wednesday at 11:30 am, instead of our usual Thursday.

Sunday Advent Series on the Mass

Beginning next weekend, we will be focusing on understanding the Mass, so that we can pray it well. Over the four Sundays of Advent, as well as the Holy Day of Obligation of the Immaculate Conception, we will focus on being Called Forth into Communion with Christ through the Mass. The themes are as follows:

1st Sunday of Advent: Called Forth into the Mass: Setting the stage and where the Mass comes from

2nd Sunday of Advent: Called Forth into the Liturgy of the Word: Understanding the importance of Scripture within the Mass

Immaculate Conception Holy Day: Called Forth to Receive: Learning from Mary to receive from God

3rd Sunday of Advent: Called Forth into the Liturgy of the Eucharist: Understanding the Sacrifice

4th Sunday of Advent: Called Forth to Live and Proclaim: Understanding the call to action

Christmas Sunday: Called Forth into deeper communion with Christ who is WITH US

Our parish communications will provide some educational content on the Mass. The homilies, as well, will speak to the various aspects of the Mass and those corresponding themes. My hope is that through this intentional focus, every one of us will come to a deeper understanding of the Mass, be able to pray it more fully, and be drawn deeper into communion with Christ.