Dear Parishioners, +JMJ This past week, we had our first finance council of the new academic year. Following are highlights. We looked at the usual financial reports: the balance sheet, the profit-and-loss statement.We also heard from a council member who performed the most recent internal
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Dear Parishioners, +JMJ There are a few books I read for meditation these days. One is called In Sinu Jesu (i.e., “In the Heart of Jesus”), a book recently published by an anonymous Benedictine monk who is still living. In this book the Benedictine monk reveals
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ On numerous occasions over the past couple of years, the pastoral leadership team has talked about family spirituality. Recently at one of our meetings, somebody suggested that we hand out a wonderful kids’ resource at our weekend Masses: The resource is MagnifiKid. The
Read more →Dear Parishioners +JMJ Recently I read in Saint Faustina’s diary a description of a very big “consolation” she experienced from Jesus. She had the sense that Jesus was asking her to give him permission to use her however he wanted. Of course, you can imagine
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ The Pastoral Leadership Team continues slowly to digest the Discipleship Maker Index results – the survey we administered late last winter. In our last meeting we looked at the responses to the question, “The parish helps me connect with a local Catholic
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ In one of my prayer times this past week, I felt led to meditate on the heart of Jesus as he reaches out his hand to offer each one of us Holy Communion – His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Imagine the
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ Canon Law requires us once a year to make a “financial disclosure” to the parish. That is the purpose of this bulletin letter, along with the condensed end-of-year balance sheet, profit and loss statement and major projects list. Although I consider this
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ On July 24th, I participated as a panelist in a sacred music workshop for pastors and directors of music at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary – The Athenaeum Of Ohio, in Cincinnati. The seminar was entitled “Singing the Mass”. This all came about as
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ I’m writing this letter on the last day of my pilgrimage-vacation in Poland. Thank you so much for all the prayers that were sent my way for the trip! My love for this country – especially the church in Poland – was renewed,
Read more →Dear Parishioners, +JMJ Here are some pastoral initiatives we’ve been discussing for our parish: First, for quite some time now we’ve envisioned creating a consistent venue into which we could invite non-Catholics, or Catholics who are somewhat on the fringes, perhaps not practicing… Invite them to
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