Dear Parishioners,

Saints of God, the Lord be with you!

In today’s first reading, Isaiah 7:10-14, the prophet recounts the experience of the Lord telling King Ahaz to ask for a sign. Ahaz refuses to obey, so the Prophet Isaiah responds saying, “the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.”

As Christians, we read that as a prediction surrounding the birth of the Messiah, Jesus, the Christ. This and many other citations are the reason the prophet Isaiah is often called the “fifth evangelist.” Today’s Gospel, Matthew 1:18-24, recounts the annunciation of Mary’s pregnancy to Joseph, who gives Jesus legitimacy and protection. Matthew quotes Isaiah with the introduction “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet…”

Matthew’s mission in writing his Gospel account for a largely Jewish audience is to show them that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. In Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah has come in a way that was inconceivable, since Jesus is both son of Mary, and Son of God. In Jesus, God is with us as one of us, albeit without sin.

A few years ago I wrote the following poem:

Arise from your slumber,
Get ready the feast.
With colored banners prepare the halls and the walls.
Pick a tree and decorate its’ branches,
But leave off the topping star or angel.
Let the celebration not be put off!
Our hope has come
Wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Let joyful expectation give rise to action
As recognition of even now with us Presence
Gives birth to thanks and wonder!
Still our Hope is yet to come,
Wearing honor and glory,
Robed and crowned with the vulnerable power of Love.
So let us wait,
And do a bit of fasting before the feasting,
And decorate our festal robes with Patient hope and charity.
In this great already but not yet,
Let us permit the Advent preparations for the great Christmas
celebration!

Rather than seeing Advent as merely the time before the season of Christmas, I think it better to understand Advent as its own liturgical season of patient waiting. I like to think our entire lives are like Advent, as we too wait for the fullness of the birth of Christ within us, who has been gifted to us in Baptism.

Happy Advent!
Fr. Steve

Dear Parishioners,

For many of us, Christmas is a time of comfort, of peace, and of abundance. We’re fortunate if that is the case. But what if Christmas is intended to be an annual reminder of our need for a Savior to break into our darkness? What if Advent, the season leading up to the celebration of the Incarnation, ought not make us sentimental and satisfied, but rather challenge us to live out our convictions through our baptism and to be bold heralds of Christ’s coming?

A few weeks before Advent in 1943, and from a Nazi prison cell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famed German theologian and Lutheran pastor wrote a friend, “A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.” Bonhoeffer could not be more right. The door of freedom for him then and for us today is still opened from the outside by the coming and second coming of Jesus Christ. Bonhoeffer, a vocal anti-Nazi dissident, was executed a year and a half later, but concluded in a final letter to his friend and Anglican bishop George Bell, “This is the end—for me, the beginning of life.”

Maybe we need to push against the door a little harder. After all, don’t we already have faith in Jesus? A faith and trust that, if fully engaged, can move mountains? Our convictions should be such that once Jesus comes to open the doors of our own personal prison cells, He would need to stand back lest He be hit by the door itself! Bonhoeffer exemplified this through advocacy, as well as in his acceptance of God’s Will for his life.

Without doubt, we do indeed rejoice that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) “to give light to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). And it is the Incarnate Son of God who wants nothing more than to open the doors to set us free!

As we are invited to bring the Christ Child from our home Christmas Crèche to Mass next weekend to be blessed, let us remember that Jesus’ humble birthplace had no doors, the access and availability of God made flesh is open, and continues to be open to us all without any barriers. May we continue to pray for the remainder of this Advent Season and beyond, that any door keeping us from fullness of the presence of Jesus in our lives be blown off its hinges!

Parishioners are encouraged to bring their nativity scene figurines with them to any Mass on the weekend of the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Dec. 17-18), for a special blessing from the Friars. The blessing will take place after Mass.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Zack

Dear Parishioners,

You may be aware that our parish will be assisting the hurricane recovery efforts of our neighbors in the Diocese of Venice throughout Advent, specifically St. Michael Parish in Wauchula. The people in this parish were hit hard by flooding as a result of Hurricane Ian, with many losing their income from farming. We would like to see our whole parish get involved in helping the parishioners of St Michael’s in these next few weeks, with several opportunities for you to assist.

Many of our ministries are already answering the call to assist. For example, the Knights of Columbus are graciously providing the profits from their nativity silhouette sale to these efforts. Our Sacred Heart Society of St. Vincent de Paul will be helping out by sharing assets and needed items with other SVdP groups in the Diocese of Venice. Our parish will focus on two efforts to support St. Michael’s. Our Advent Giving Tree will feature tags with suggested gifts for children and teens of families that are currently struggling financially following the storm. 89 tags were available on the tree last week, and I am happy to report that each and everyone has been accounted for. If you are looking to assist in this effort, we have added more tags this weekend.

The other effort is our upcoming Giving from the Heart, scheduled for Saturday, December 10, from 10 a.m. to noon at the North Campus. We will be collecting a whole host of necessities for the families of St. Michael’s. You can view the needs list here.

Sr. Gema Ruiz, the director of religious education at St. Michael Parish, forwarded us this story of a family of seven within her parish affected by Hurricane Ian. The following is their experience with the storm:

“When Hurricane Ian was heading our way, we were worried that our house wouldn’t withstand the high winds, so we tried to prepare the house as much as possible. Then my family of seven packed up a few items and headed to the shelter at the nearby junior high school. It was a long night as the storm passed over Wauchula. But we were safe. Then next day, once the roads became passible, we went back home to look for any damage. We were shocked and dismayed to find the house partially underwater. We didn’t foresee that we would be dealing with flooding. Our family tried to salvage some clothing items, then we returned to the shelter. The next day we went home to find the house now completely underwater.

There was nothing we could do; our house was destroyed. It was a difficult time for us all, especially for our little ones. We were left completely helpless and homeless with no place to go besides back to the crowded shelter. Our family had to rely on the kindness of others for basic necessities. Eventually, we were transferred to another shelter where we stayed for more than a month. We have now been placed in temporary housing outside of town, and I am thankful to all involved for that.

It has been hard on the whole family, and now the commute to school and our jobs are much farther. But I feel we are adjusting well, because of the generosity of others, who have made our hardship more bearable. Our family home is still ruined, and we still need to find a permanent housing situation, but we are all together and for this we are thankful.” On behalf of the friars, our staff, and those at St. Michael Parish, I invite you to take part in these upcoming efforts. Please be a beacon of Christ’s love this Advent for these families who so desperately need assistance.

• I’d like to provide another update on the restoration of the church doors. As I mentioned last month, we ran into some unexpected delays with the discovery of old termite damage and dry rot from water damage around the door frames. To fix this, we first will have to remove the stain glass windows above every door and safely store them while repairs can be made. Once the door frames have been repaired, which will include replacing some of the wood, plastering, and touch-up painting around the frames, the stain glass will be re-installed above each of the doors. The previous estimated cost of the door restorations was $34,800, but with this additional work we anticipate the cost going up. Rest assured that our contractors are trying their best to keep the original architectural design of the doors.
• Earlier this fall during our parish listening sessions, we mentioned that we then wanted to put out a survey to all parishioners. I ask for your patience as we are still working on putting that together.
• I will be away for more than a week this Advent, from December 13 to 20. My brother has pancreatic cancer and will be having surgery on December 16. I am going to New York to be with him. I ask that you keep him in your prayers.
  

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Pope Francis in his Angelus address in Saint Peter’s Square last Sunday (11/27/22) said, “We must be awake, alert, and vigilant. Jesus warns us: there is the danger of not realizing his coming and being unprepared for his visit. I have recalled on other occasions what Saint Augustine said: “I fear the Lord who passes by” (Sermons, 88, 14.13), that is, I fear that he will pass by and I will not recognize him!” Let us all take time during this Advent season and recognized Christ in our lives.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Mike

Dear Parishioners,

The definition of personal integrity could be living not for reasons which may benefit the individual, but living as to benefit the people one may come in contact with, as well as the world in which one lives. In today’s Gospel, the rulers think they are putting Jesus to the test. If He is the Messiah, the King of the Jews, then He will save himself from crucifixion. And if He does this, His claims will be true. If He refuses to or cannot do this, His claims are false. The rulers motivation and reasoning is carefully captured in a passage from the Book of Wisdom 2:12- 20. I encourage you to take the time to read this passage.

The philosopher, Simone Weil, died very young at the end of the Second World War. She was Jewish, but she loved Christ with a great heart. There is a story that one day a priest watched her as she was gazing on the crucifix in a church and said, “Simone, what do you see when you look at the cross?” She said in reply, “I see God’s apology for all the pain.” What a wonderful understanding: “God’s apology for all the pain.” He could not take away our pain without taking away our freedom, and He created us for freedom, not for slavery. And while He couldn’t take it away, there was only one alternative, to share in our pain. That is why His Son comes down, takes on human flesh, becomes terribly vulnerable, and, in the end, suffers and dies for our sake.

He suffered and we dare to ask, “How could God allow this to happen?” How could God look down and watch His Son destroyed, abandoned, and hated. People going out of their way to show that not only are they going to despise him, but also destroy him. And we continue to ask ourselves, “For what purpose? Why?”

We know the answer from John’s Gospel; “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not die, but may have eternal life.” And even through everything, why the great pain? Why did He have to … Why did it have to be so painful? Weil says, “because on the high hill of Calvary, nobody from the beginning of time to the end of time can say anything but, looking into the eyes of the crucified Messiah we would say, ‘He understands.’ ”

Jesus understands. He understood the repentant thief who took the responsibility for the life he choose to live, was finally able to see the error of his ways, and have the courage to ask Jesus to remember him. The thief regained his integrity. The death of Jesus asks us all to examine our own lives. Even for the thief on the cross alongside Jesus, it was not too late. The integrity of Jesus comes crystal clear.

What Jesus said and did during his brief life on this earth were of one accord. He did not seek out death, but He died a martyr, valuing God’s will more than His own life. He lived and He died teaching and living a nonviolent way of life, holding forgiveness and reconciliation to be absolute values that had to be followed at all costs.

When pressure was brought against Him to abandon those values and use whatever powers He had to protect Himself, He refused to do so. This profound integrity lifts Him above all others and reveals to us a forgiving God who will take to Himself when we have the courage to ask.

That is why Jesus, the Christ, is King. Amen!

Peace and All Good,
Fr. Zack

Dear Parishioners,

Saints of God, the Lord be with you!

I was the pastor of St. Francis Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J. during “Superstorm Sandy.” We were told to evacuate the island and to take enough clothes for three days. The Poor Clare Sister’s in Chesterfield, N.J. were gracious enough to give me hospitality, and the rest of the friars and sisters stayed with family and friends. Those three days turned into two months being displaced, as we were unable to return to the island with regularity, except for a few hours one day for a “grab and go” to get more clothes. I was able to get into the main church at that time, which had about three feet of bay water in it. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed not only by the damage, but also by the fact that the people of the parish had been scattered far and wide.

Today’s Gospel according to Luke (21: 5-19) reminds the disciples who are marveling at the costly beauty of the Temple that “there will come a time when there will not be left a stone upon another stone.” To the Jews of His day, this must have been shocking since the Temple was the center of their worship.

If the center was gone, what was to become of them? Jesus warns them of the persecution by the authorities and even more shocking, “by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.” Despite it all, Jesus reminds them that He, through the Holy Spirit, will guide them and “not a hair of (their) head will be destroyed” if only they persevere.

Talking to visitors after mass, many people comment on the physical beauty of our church. I tell them that even more beautiful are the people who fill the pews, our parishioners. The church is not simply the building. Rather the Church is all of us: the People of God whom God calls to gather together in the church building to worship, to seek forgiveness, to be nourished through our fellowship with one another, the Word, and the Eucharist, so as to be sent back into the world to live the Good News of Christ’s never ending love for us. As that wonderful hymn says, “How beautiful is the Body of Christ”!

As we quickly come to the end of this liturgical year, let’s look back and see how Christ has repaired and continued to rebuild each of us as individuals and as a community of faith. Let’s also look forward to the coming liturgical year with great expectations for what Christ, through His indwelling Holy Spirit will do in and through us for our parish and the wider community. Let us persevere in faith but let us persevere TOGETHER.

Peace and All Good,
Fr. Steve

P. S. When all was said and done, St. Francis Church was renovated and continues to be a beacon of Christ’s love and grace on Long Beach Island.

Dear Parishioners,

With so many events and initiatives within the parish currently underway or in the planning stages, be them advanced or preliminary, I’d like to provide you with some updates to our progress:

– I would like to thank everyone who joined us for our Fall Festival last weekend, and a express a special thanks to Angela Erb, our Event Coordinator, her event planning committee, and all the volunteers who assisted her. I think she and her team did a tremendous job in organizing and coordinating this event.

View Photos from the Fall Festival Here

It was wonderful to see our parishioners able to take part in this gathering again, after the COVID induced pause of these last couple years. The turn out was truly amazing. There are too many volunteers to name individually who helped make this happen and I truly appreciate the time, talent and treasure that they give to our parish. Events like this are only able to happen because of the volunteers willing to help. On behalf of the parish
and staff, I thank you!

– Also happening last Sunday, over at the Cathedral of St. Jude in St. Petersburg, I had the pleasure of joining parishioners Richard and Cindy Burnette as they received the St. Jude the Apostle Medal from Bishop Parkes for extraordinary service to our parish. It was great to see these two being recognized by the diocese for their years of volunteerism and self-giving in support of our parish’s liturgical ministries, faith formation classes, connection to Love INC, and various committees.

– Up at the North Campus, we have had some unforeseen expenses crop up. A new roof was recently installed on Bonaventure Hall, formerly the pre-k building when the school was open. The replacement was not necessitated by any damage from Hurricane Ian, but rather the age, which lead to leaks. The cost to replace the roof was about $18,000. We were fortunate to get this repair done quickly, as many roofers would not even schedule a meeting for a quote, due to the hurricane and the sudden need of roofers and supplies. This expense will impact our budget for this year. We will be renting Bonaventure Hall out to the construction firm that is overseeing the New Robles Park Village redevelopment. The income from this rental will go toward the future renovation of the North Campus’ kitchen.

– The first set of doors in the front of the church are taking a little longer in the restoration process then anticipated, but they are moving along. As I mentioned previously, once the first set are done, we will start on the northern-most set. Keep in mind these doors are original to the building, and are 117 years old. The cost of the door restorations will be just above $34,000. When you have historic buildings, as we do, you will always have repairs going on. The cost of these repairs are covered by your generous donations and our offertory. Everyone loves the beauty of our church and North Campus. If you are able, please consider increasing your weekly donations to help with the restoration, upkeep, and preservation.

– The staff have begun plans to bring back yet another Sacred Heart staple event, and we are excited to announce a date as well. The annual Gala which will return in 2023, taking place on the Yacht Starship on Friday, April 14. This principle fundraising event will also have its proceeds directed toward the renovation of the kitchen at the North Campus. While additional details will be not be released until the new year, I wanted to ensure that parishioners had the opportunity to save the date.

– Each year, before the 4 p.m. Mass on Christmas Eve, our parish hosts a Christmas pageant centered around the Nativity of Our Lord. The pageant is always enthusiastically received, and something our families and visitors look forward to each year. To keep the tradition going, we are looking for some adult volunteers and children to help with this year’s pageant. General requirements include attendance to one rehearsal, and then being present for the 4 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass. To volunteer. please contact Maria Giral.

Pope Francis tweeted in 2013 that “Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.” We’re certainly seeing that energy within our parish life, and again, I thank you all for your dedication to providing that loving and faith-filled atmosphere.

Peace and All Good,
Fr. Mike

Dear Parishioners,

This October marks the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s landmark reforms in the Catholic Church’s relationship to the world around it and the church’s own liturgy and practices.

In 1962, the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, known as the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II was held. The council meeting took place in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and was split into four periods of 8-12 weeks occurring each autumn over the four year spell from 1962-1965. The preparations for the council took three years itself, from 1959 to the autumn of 1962.

Pope John XXIII called for the council because he felt the Church needed “updating.” To better connect with people in a modern, secularized world, he sought to improve some of the church’s practices, and present its teaching in a way that would be relevant and understandable for the generations to follow.

It’s fitting that our Church has gathered in its largest synodal process to date near this anniversary. In the synodal process, we’re given the opportunity of reassessing our relationship with our fellow Christian communities, other religions, laity, youth, the LGBTQ community and other movements led by the Spirit.

Just like Vatican II, there are some participants who were sympathetic to this reassessment, while others saw no need for change, resisting efforts in that direction. Pope Francis lamented of how “we prefer to choose sides in the church,” instead of being servants. We look at things as if in binary, right or wrong, one side or the other, rather than being Christ-like to each other.

Although Vatican II altered the Church’s relationship with the world and took on a more open posture, Pope Francis challenges us to be on guard against “worldliness,” saying “We are called to respond to this worldly astuteness with Christian astuteness, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit.” Pope Francis continues to call us to evangelization and prioritizing the needs of the poor and care of creation, saying “You are not here to shepherd yourselves, but all others, with love.”

At the conclusion of a recent Mass, Pope Francis showed his support for Vatican II, and urged those in attendance to be united and not allow polarization to become a divisive tool. I agree. We must allow the Holy Spirit to set our hearts on fire for the love of Christ. We are each called to examine ourselves and reflect upon the mission and nature of the Church; “What I have done for you, you must do for others.”

Peace and all good,
Friar Henry

Dear Parishioners,

Saints of God, the Lord be with you!

In today’s Gospel according to Luke (18:1-8), Jesus tells the story of a judge “who neither feared God nor respected any human being” confronted by a persistent widow. At the start of the Gospel, in a very unusual turn, Luke has Jesus telling us the point of the parable: “pray always without becoming weary.”

This theme goes well with the first reading from the Book of Exodus (17:8-13) in which Moses does become weary in his prayer so that Aaron and Hur “supported his (raised up) hands, so that his hands remained steady till sunset.” One of the great blessings in my life as a Franciscan is that our fraternity gathers twice-a-day, morning and evening, to pray the Liturgy of the Hours as a community. I start my day at 4 a.m., during which I drink two cups of coffee, and spend an hour reading Scripture, praying with some devotionals, and reading the Gospel of the day. All of this so that I can prepare a daily homily or work on my homily for Sunday. My alone time with God is important to me, but after all of this, to be honest, sometimes I don’t feel like praying together with my brothers.

But I do. I think the first reading shows us the need for, and the benefit of having, a support circle so that we don’t so easily walk away from our time with God. I need the witness of my brothers to help sustain me when the temptation is to not pray. And I would hope that they in some small way see my presence at our communal prayer as a help to them. All of this praying during the week helps me to better celebrate the Sunday Eucharist, the great communal prayer of the Church.

That’s the outline of how my prayer life is lived. But what of yours? So often in confession people say that they have neglected prayer. I gently ask them what their ideal prayer life would look like, and most of the time they give a description that closely resembles mine: a lot of time spent in relative quiet.

I say to them that may be an unrealistic expectation. Instead, I encourage them to salt their day with short prayers.

• THANKS: Meister Eckhart, a 14th century German theologian wrote, “If the only prayer a person prays is ‘thank you,’ that is enough”
• WOW or HELP: At the end of the day, before going to sleep, review the day and discover the blessings for which they are thankful, and for the things they regret, ask forgiveness.

No matter how we pray, the important thing is that we keep praying. Especially during the week as this will help prepare you for Sunday liturgy. Never give up on prayer. But be warned! Over time, prayer will change us more and more into the image of Christ.

Peace and all good,
Fr. Steve