Dear Parishioners,
I always appreciate the fact that we typically publish our annual report on the feast of Christ the King. The Church speaks of the “three-fold office” of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. That is, Jesus himself fulfilled these three roles. Ministers in the church, especially priests and bishops, when they are ordained likewise take upon this tri-fold mantle of teaching the faith (the prophetic office), celebrating the sacraments and praying (the priestly office), and administering in the church (the kingly office). The annual report, one could say, deals with the administrative details of our parish, the third office.
Some would claim that there’s no room for “administration” in the church or in a priest’s life; that we should only be about prayer and works of mercy, and not money, building projects, numbers, etc. But there is a role for administration, for Christ himself dealt with such details. There was a money purse the apostles possessed, Jesus addressed paying taxes, and there were organizational details in sending out the disciples on mission. The point is that God doesn’t just deal with spiritual matters. He cares also about temporal, earthly issues. You doing your job well, taking care of your household, and performing chores around the house in a spirit of love and surrender are as important as spending time in quiet prayer, going to Mass, and serving the poor.
This account below is how we are doing in the “kingly office” as a parish. Our numbers are strong–high financials, sacramental counts, and school/RE enrollments. Many people are involved ministerially in the parish: lectors and Eucharistic Ministers, bereavement and wedding ministers, Bible Study participants, men’s and women’s faith groups, Social Service Ministry volunteers, school and RE parent involvement, and on and on. We are blessed.
Thank you for keeping our parish strong. May God bless us with growth in this upcoming year, and may more people come to experience the love of God through our parish’s efforts.
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Happy Thanksgiving. We will have a special Thanksgiving Mass this Thursday, November 28th at 10am. Please note there will be no 6:25am or 8:30am Mass that day, and no confessions at 8am.
Please save the date for our Christmas Parishioner Appreciation Party: Wednesday, December 11th in the gym.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. James Wallace
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