December 2, 2022
Dear Friends,
By the time you read this note I will be gone. TEMPORARILY. I have always wanted to write a Dear John letter. I am off this weekend to participate in the JDRF ride which I do each year. A quick thank you for the support you have given this year and every year when I go off into the unknown to ride.
This week’s letter is a little shorter than normal, not because I do not have anything to say, but because there is going to be a separate letter attached about the financial health of our parish. It is of importance at this time.
As we continue our journey through Advent, I remind you of what we are called to remember on this Second Sunday. John the Baptist appears in each of our Gospel’s from Years A, B, and C. He calls us to be prepared, even calls us to repentance. It is not the call to get your chores done or your cards written, but to prepare yourself for the birth of Christ or as the prophet Isaiah reminds us, prepare the way of the Lord. Advent is a time to prepare, to pray, to go to confession, to take a step away from seasonal preparations and make spiritual ones.
During these next few weeks, take the time you need to focus on the season. Make time to go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday at St. Matthew’s or some of our surrounding churches. Come to our parish penance service on December 19 at 7:00 pm as our Gospel calls us to do. Make time to pray by coming to Sunday and/or daily masses. Come to the Holy Day of Obligation for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 at 8:00 am, 12:05 pm or 7:00pm. These small steps to deepen your relationship with Christ are what we are all called to do.
God Bless,
Fr. Brian
P.S. The wheels on my bike would not turn. They were two-tired to keep going.
