Pastoral Messages from Fr. Rick 4-16-21

THANK YOU!!!  to all who participated in our Spring Cleanup.  We have a very beautiful little corner of the world!

Thank you AGAIN for the fabulous Easter Collection!

Resurrection Stories:  Notice how the liturgical season of Lent is six weeks long and the season of Easter is SEVEN weeks long?  It took a while for the Disciples to actually recognize Jesus in His glorified and resurrected state even though they had known Him well before His death.  It might take us a while to recognize Jesus anew in our lives as well.  Ideally, we should mature a little each year and grow in our appreciation of God’s presence and call in our lives.  The world desperately needs the presence of the Body of Christ in our times as much as ever.  As we move toward Pentecost in about 4 more weeks let us take the time to be with Jesus in a more personal way and be prepared to cultivate and utilize the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  God has a role for each of us in this very spiritual age.  Especially with a Catholic U.S. President and Speaker in office we should be prepared to explain the finer and deeper implications of creating a genuinely PRO-LIFE culture.  All the opportunities below are important elements for envisioning such a culture.

Man and Father Conference – April 23-25   Check it out and pass it on.  https://go.virtualcatholicconference.com/manandfather

Theology of the Body Consider linking into this weekend conference/webinar to see how a dynamic Catholic Church is reaching out to our wounded culture and world.  This easily accessible format is a great way to familiarize ourselves with some of the tools and weapons that the next few generations of Catholics will need to continue the job of building the Kingdom of God and Teaching the Nations.  Did I mention that it is FREE?  April 30 to May 2.       https://www.tobvirtualconference.com/

Catholic Climate Covenant’s website Check to see how you can participate in preserving the planet your grandchildren will inherit and how our faith speaks to the many environmental issues.     https://catholicclimatecovenant.org/  

THE HEALING CHARISM – This is a free weekly reflection delivered to your inbox to uplift the soul and calm the mind from St. Luke Institute’s president, Rev. David Songy, O.F.M.Cap., S.T.D., Psy.D.  sli.org/signup 

ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Please join us for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament each Thursday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:00.  This will be a time of silent prayer which ends with benediction.