Fr. Daniel's Letter to the Parishioners
Dear Parishioners,
In this weekend’s bulletin, we have listed all the names of those who have celebrated a funeral in our churches. One of the spiritual works of mercy is to pray for the dead, to ask God to look kindly on their souls and to offer up sacrifices on their behalf. We believe that we are still connected to them. The prayer in the funeral book states, “We believe that all the ties of friendship and affection which knit us as one throughout our lives do not unravel with death. Confident that God always remembers the good we have done and forgives our sins, let us pray, asking God to gather our loved one to himself.” I started the experience of putting a book to enroll the names of our deceased and to pray for them every day throughout November and to have a special Mass where we invite families back together to offer the Mass for their loved one. However, given the pandemic and the limited number of people allowed in the Church, like everything else, we cannot do it this year. This weekend let us not forget those who have died this past year and pray that they will intercede for us. As the Funeral rite also says, we really do believe as people of faith that “we shall joyfully greet them again, when the love of Christ, which conquers all things, destroys even death itself.”
Thanksgiving is coming upon us and as usual, the parish has been very generous to those in need by shopping for food and dropping the items at the Churches for the Thanksgiving Baskets. It has been great working with Loaves and Fishes and LACO in the ministry they do to help people in our area. The Knights of Columbus councils and other parishioners are bringing the food gathered at the Churches to the food cupboards using all the proper protocols asked of us during the pandemic. It is my hope that we continue to work together as one parish with the Dominican Sisters, the Knights of Columbus, St Martin’s and St. Catherine’s, Catholic Charities and LACO to live out the Gospel to tend to those who are in need. We should be very proud of how we, the Catholic Church, care for people in need in our area.
Finally, we have been approached by a number of people who are interested in the property of the St. Francis Mission in Greene. Once the word got out that one group wanted to talk with us, others came forth as well. Over the next few months, we will continue to dialogue with these groups. If you have any concerns or comments about the property, feel free to speak to Joline, the business manager, or me about it. It is our goal to be as transparent as possible in these conversations.
– Peace, Fr. Daniel
