Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

“See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God’s children – and so, in fact, we are.”  ~ 1 John 3:1

           Children are a gift, a joy, a blessing, a challenge, and a responsibility all rolled up into one. In a sense, they themselves are a gift of stewardship and we as parents are entrusted to teach them and guide them in the way of our Lord.

Everything belongs to God, our Creator, including our children and our very lives. Therefore, we are to be good stewards of this incredibly good gift God has entrusted to us. How do we go about our daily lives to be good stewards and models of faith for our children?

Today our children are faced with an overload of advertisements that only confuse them about who they are, are they good enough, what you really need to be happy. Each child needs to know that they are a masterpiece – God loves them and accepts them just as they are. We can also help them to understand the difference between needs and wants and help them to concentrate on their blessings. We can be the best examples of virtues such as patience, forgiveness, and gratitude. As parents we can emphasize spiritual direction through daily Scripture, through attending weekly Mass and receiving His Body and Blood in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

But there is MORE! We are so excited to welcome you to THE CATHOLIC PARENT, a video series for Catholic parents created by Catholic parents. See the bulletin on page 5 for access on our parish app called FORMED. You can access it simply by scanning the QR code on your phone too. I think this will be an amazing feature to help all of us embrace our calling to parenthood and stewardship alike.

Blessings to all,
Karen Bartos, C.R.E.

On January 18, 2024, we will reach the third anniversary of our church fire and soon we will rejoice in the reopening of our beautiful St. Patrick Church. Fr. Mike has done a remarkable job leading us through this challenging time in our church history.

My father once told me that in challenging times, sometimes the worst in people can be revealed, but, more often it will bring out the absolute best in people. The latter is true of the people of our parish. We, the people of St. Patrick, never for an instance lost our passion, perseverance or hope in our future. The Lord has truly walked with us every step of the way. As I continue to serve you as your Director of Stewardship, I would like to thank everyone in our parish who give their time, talent, and treasure with joyful hearts.

“I know the plans I have for you …plans for goodness, plans for peace and life. From age to age, parent to child, I give you a future, I give you a future full of hope.”

(Text: Jeremiah 29: 11-15; Vince Ambrosetti)

Love and thanks,
Deacon John

In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he tells us that “We are stewards of God’s grace and are co-partners in the promise of Jesus through the Gospel.” (Ephesians 13:2-3)

To be true stewards of God’s grace we must understand not only the grace given to every believer, but also the unique gifting and calling of the Holy Spirit for each of us.

We each are in Christ and should cultivate our place of service to Him. When this becomes real to us, the importance of the various positions to serve the Body of Christ will become easier for us to recognize.

Each of us has received a gift, a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment to use as God’s faithful stewards. May God continue to bless our parish and our families with His abundant grace in the New Year.

God bless,
Deacon John

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. This celebration is not only about the Holy Family, but about our families too. The main purpose of the Feast is to present the Holy Family as the model for all Christian families, and for domestic life in general. Our family life becomes holy when we live this life of the Church within our homes. This is called the “domestic church”. So, how can we live out the Church in the family? The best way is to make Christ the center of the family and individual life. This includes reading scripture, praying daily, attending Mass on weekends and holy days of obligation, and imitating the Holy Family in all we say and do for each other. Below, is the prayer to the Holy Family:

Holy Family of Nazareth, make our family one with you. Help us to be instruments of peace. Grant that love, strengthened by grace, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. May we always have God at the center of our hearts and homes until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with you. Amen.

Love,
Deacon John