It’s the time of the year, when we start announcing and advertising, about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), which will be taking place in August of 2016.
The RCIA is the faith formation program for those who wish to discern about becoming a Roman Catholic or those who are interested in reconnecting to their Catholic faith. Do you know anyone, who you consider, is interested in becoming a Roman Catholic, or reconnecting to our faith tradition? We have not had a new convert in our parish since 2014. And then it was only one person. So I wish to ask you to reflect on the following questions:
Spread the word and promote our parish and the Catholic faith!
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“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This weekend, we honor our fathers in America. The Church extends its blessings and offer prayers for all of our fathers, living and deceased.
Fatherhood is a vocation as designated by God. There have been men who have been chosen to be a father to their children and because of some “human circumstances” some women have had to take on the “two-parent” role, in the absence of the male father figure. For any man whose vocation is to fatherhood, may they be touched by the Holy Spirit and guided by the Holy Spirit so that they will lead their spouses and their children towards God and Heaven. We especially need to pray for those fathers, who are either confused, spiritually or morally bankrupt, or who have not connected with God within their entire being. May all our fathers be blessed by the grace of perseverance, and inspired by the Holy Spirit to be men of prayer that will assist them in life and especially be leaders of prayer within their households. May all our deceased fathers rest in peace. When was the last time you fully experienced God our Heavenly Father's boundless mercy, love, and forgiveness?
Do you truly believe and claim your salvation in the Lord Jesus, the true Victor over sin and death? In the Gospel of Luke, a woman approaches Jesus, seeking mercy. But the Pharisee knows of this woman, that she is a sinner, and states that she is not worthy to be in the presence of Jesus. Jesus rewards this woman by telling her that not only was she forgiven, but that her faith had saved her. Jesus also teaches about the necessity to practice forgiveness and reconciliation in our lives. How can one ask God to forgive us our debts and then when someone asks that same person to forgive a debt that's smaller but experiences rejection and wrath, then how can one expect to receive mercy? If one wants the fullness of God's Mercy, then one must extend mercy as well to those in need of it. We need to understand that our faith in the Lord Jesus will truly be our salvation. We need to trust and believe in the Word of the Lord and allow it to impact and change our lives. Do your part to bring forth love, peace, mercy and reconiliation to this world. With the help of God I will celebrate another milestone in my life. On Wednesday, June 8th, I celebrate the fourteenth anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood.
I had no idea, nor could predict that 14 years ago when I was being ordained a priest here at here at St. James Church that I would be assigned as the Pastor of this parish. It has truly been an incredible and interesting journey of blessings and challenges in all my years of priestly ministry. I am thankful at this time of my priesthood, to be the priest and pastor of my beloved home parish. With this note, I also want to remind us of the importance of praying, fostering and encouraging vocations to the priesthood and religious life. I have mentioned before that our parish has blessed the Roman Catholic Church with 25 priests and I pray and hope that we will continue that blessed tradition. I wondered if any of us here at St. James Church would have imagined that two of men from this parish would return as Pastor here, namely Fr. Sinclair Oubre and myself. Keep this in mind regarding praying for vocations: Who will celebrate Mass for us? Who will hear my confession and grant me absolution? Who will offer me the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick when I am ill? Who will baptize my loved ones or my friends? Who will offer the funeral liturgy when the course of my earthly life is completed or bury my loved ones? Pray for an increase of holy vocations. And please pray for me as I undergo my 14th year of priesthood. |
Rev. David EdwardsPastor, St. James Catholic Church Archives
November 2018
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