Dear Parishioners,
Mass Attendance
We're back in the 900s with 901 people inside our church this past weekend. We set a record at the 4 PM Mass.
Mass Inside Outside
4 PM 282
6 PM 118
8 AM 140
10 AM 181 3
12 PM 180 1
Total 901 4
Benchmarks & Timelines
I talked with a couple of marathoners yesterday. I'm now inclined to emphasize benchmarks more than a timeline for my marathon training. One of the things I keep hearing is that runners need to listen to their bodies. Besides healing my right calf, I have found that I run better in the cold. For most runners, 50 to 54F is ideal. I ran my best half marathon on January 7th at 8:46 per mile. It was 37F. My ideal temperature is probably around 45 to 50F.
HVAC Update
While we had a timeline for the HVAC work, the benchmarks took precedent. The new equipment is working. There's one more check to make on Tuesday. I'll be in the new confessional room today from 2-4 PM and 6-7 PM.
Religious Articles Store
Our store has been open since July over in the parish center in what was my first office at St. John's. Victor has been working on setting everything up each week. With just a little more work, he'll be ready for a Grand Reopening. We didn't have a strict timeline. We waited for benchmarks to be reached. Our store is open now during office hours. We'll let you know if we have any additional hours.
Spiritual Life
While it's common to make progress in the spiritual life according to the timeline of our life, another way to take our spiritual life temperature is to look at benchmarks. In yesterday's Gospel, Jesus helped the rich young man identify where he was in his spiritual life. Jesus started with the basics which the young man had fulfilled. It was time for him to take the next steps. What benchmarks have we reached? What more is there for us to do? In between the benchmarks, there's plenty of room for spiritual growth. For us to make progress in the spiritual life, we need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit who is eager to help us grow spiritually.
God love you,
Fr. Jim