Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

Dear Friends,

During the 1800’s, a young man from England by the name of John Henry Neuman, grew up and became an Anglican priest. John Henry later converted to the Catholic Faith, was ordained a Catholic priest and then went on to become a Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Among the many writings of John Henry Cardinal Neuman, you can read the following:

God knows me and calls me by my name…

He has created me to do Him some definite service.

He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another…

Somehow I am necessary for His purposes…

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons.

He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work.

I shall be an angel of peace.

Take a few minutes to re-read Cardinal Neuman’s thoughts and ponder how you are a person who lives stewardship.

° What stewardship service is God asking of me that He is not asking of another?

° How can I be “a link” between the “haves” and the “have nots”?

Sister Bernadine

We sometimes think that the spirituality of stewardship is something that is reserved for adults,   when we are called to give our time, talent, and treasure to God after graduation or when we are twenty-one years old. In reality, the calling starts for some of us at a very young age. In the final few weeks of PSR classes, students were asked to consider becoming altar servers. The response was amazing. Almost a dozen children answered the call to serve at the altar. Their ages range from 2^nd grade to 8^th grade. It was very inspirational to witness their joy and excitement at their training class. Last week two of our new altar servers served at their first Mass. They did a great job and the congregation could not stop smiling throughout the entire Mass. We will see many new servers as the weeks go on. Please take time to affirm these young stewards with kind words of encouragement.

I believe that the young children of our parish are a very special gift that God has given to us. They serve as a great example of unconditional love and generosity that we should emulate and hold dear to our hearts.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  ~Matthew 19:14

Love,
Deacon John

One of the many gifts that we receive from God at our parish is the gift of the growing number of young families that we see each week embracing their Catholic faith.  I stand in the back of our church each week for a few minutes before Mass and watch the mothers and their children come through the doors with diaper bags and snacks in hand and the dads following close behind after parking their cars. What an awesome sight to witness! Stewardship begins in the home, the domestic church, and we have so many families who have embraced whole heartedly the spirituality of stewardship.

“And the words that I command you today shall be in your heart! You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  ~Deuteronomy 6: 6-7

 Please remember that Fr. Mike and his staff are always here to assist you in any possible way and invite you to be part of any ministries or parish events that God calls you to.

Love,
Deacon John

          The cold days of winter are behind us and the Memorial Day weekend is here once again. All of us are looking forward to a wonderful summer. Over the past year we have been so blessed at our parish during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our faith was so much greater than any fear we were exposed to. We the people of St. Patrick Parish held close to our hearts the spirituality of stewardship. Through all the challenges we have faced, we continue to walk in the footsteps of Christ, never looking behind us, but moving forward with both our spirits and heads held high. We believe that with Christ, anything is possible.

I pray that we will once again be having our St. Patrick Parish Festival with the food, the rides, and the entertainment, and even more importantly, all of us working together as brothers and sisters in Christ. The parish festival is the largest fundraiser of the year and the proceeds of the festival have helped the parish financially for many years. I believe the greatest reward of the festival this year will be all of us being together again. Please continue to pray for Fr. Mike, our staff, and one another that this summer will be the best ever!!! Thank you for your love and support over these trying times.

Love,
Deacon John