As we enter our 71st year of the existence of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish, we have so much to be grateful for, and many people to pray for, including our long-time members, some of whom who cannot always get to church because of weakness or illness. We also have people whose lives were deeply affected by their Catholic education in our parish school in past years, many of whom have gone on to be successful in different areas of the state or country, yet, who continue to proudly reflect the benefits of being a member of our parish. We are particularly grateful to those parishioners, friends and visitors who take the time, effort and resources to support our parish and its school in numerous ways: the Ferrer Fund, our Annual Parish Festival, the Auction/Dinner-Dance and our Golf-Tennis Tourney, to name just a few. For all who help “keep us going,” we say “THANK YOU!!” Now, we are entering the final days of our preparation for the festival – our 45th one! The many hands and hearts that make this possible are a great blessing to our parish school and its children - - YOUR children - - OUR CHILDREN! In order for this enterprise to be a financial success, we still need to sell those $100 raffle tickets. Our kids are counting on us! So, for the last few weeks before we hold the $50,000 worth of prizes drawing (with a $25,000 Grand Prize going to the 1st place winner), let’s see if we can pool our resources (already successful in the preliminary drawing in January) and purchase the remaining tickets to make it all work!
This weekend is COMMITMENT SUNDAY for our annual DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal), and if you haven’t filled out your pledge envelope yet (or forgot it, or didn’t even get it mailed to you), there will be plenty of envelopes available for you via our Ushers and Ministers of Hospitality. As we prayerfully reflected this past week upon the sacrificial commitment that Bishop Barbarito asked us to make, may our response be one that expresses our gratitude to God for all that He bestows upon us. Even if you are a guest here, your gift still counts! Many men and women, who have reached out to us over the years as members of our Catholic Faith in a “Circle of Friends” and “extended family,” help us grow closer to the Lord by service to His people everywhere. Here is our chance to make an effective response in gratitude.
What a wonderful “collection of celebrations” we had during CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK. Among the ones that especially touched me, was the performance of our children on Grandparents’ Day and their loving display of their God-given gifts in the Talent Show that took place in conjunction with the Annual Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday night. They really exploded with joy and exuberance as they put forth their best efforts to entertain and demonstrate how well they are maturing in the right ways because of their Catholic school education. These are our precious children and the hope of the future for the Catholic Church in America. I pray they will continue to use their God-given talents to develop their minds as Christian men and women leaders in years to come. Let’s thank their teachers and administrators, too.
Yet, there is a deep concern I have for our young people if their parents don’t bring them to church on Sunday to worship God. The rationalizations that are poured forth for not being in the House of God on the Sabbath read like classic dribble from a godless author, or an anti-Christian polemic on why we don’t need God in the 21st century. Growing up in a Catholic household, where expected participation at Sunday weekly worship was a “given,” and not an option, we took seriously the clear command, found in the third of the Ten Commandments: “to Keep Holy the Lord’s Day.” If our children are not shown a good example in this area of their lives through the undoing of week-long efforts of teaching in our Catholic schools, what can we expect of them when faced with other challenges once they leave school? I apologize for the scandal also given by those who walk out of Mass early each weekend. It’s not really reflective of the majority who stay for God’s blessing. Jesus saw one of “His own” do that, and He warns us of the consequences of giving scandal to “little ones.” He’s quite blunt, and didn’t mince His words.
We were privileged to have our shepherd, Bishop Gerald Barbarito, celebrate the annual Anniversary Mass for Married Couples in our church this past Saturday for those who have been married for 25, 40, 50 or more years. There were several of our parishioners among these honored. It’s nice to see the large number who made and continue to make the great effort to live out their wedding vows, supporting one another and building up in each other the love of Christ. They and their families are the “little church” that the last two popes have spoken of so glowingly, and serve as a fitting example of real commitment.
This past week afforded me two special privileges. On Monday, I was able to concelebrate Mass with Stanislaus Cardinal Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, and long-time secretary of our late pope, Blessed John Paul II. My friendship with Cardinal Dziwisz goes back to Rome, in June of 1967, when he was a young priest-secretary of then-Cardinal Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) and I was a young seminarian. I didn’t even suspect that his “boss” would one day become the great spiritual leader of our Church, though the recollection of our meeting then should have been an indication of the possibility of his future greatness. I still remember those days fondly, and cherish the souvenir photos of that time. On Wednesday, I was in Tallahassee for the annual “Catholic Days at the Capitol,” and offered the prayer for the opening session for the Florida Senate, thanks to the kind influence of our local Catholic State Senator, Maria Sachs. It wasn’t the first time I’ve offered the prayer in our capitol (County Tax Collector and parishioner, Ann Gannon, first offered it to me several years ago), but each time it is a cherished opportunity to lead legislators in prayer to consider the needs of our state and nation. The week in Tallahassee is also a time as concerned Catholics to express our concerns for upcoming legislation and to lobby local leaders to respect and consider the Catholic point of view on those issues that have direct moral implications affecting our lives and those of many others. Among those who assist us in the lobbying are the members of the Florida Catholic Conference, including our former parishioner, Sheila Hopkins, who directs much of the legislative program that assists us in our visit. May our civic leaders be sufficiently inspired to lead us closer to our God-directed destiny!!
This weekend is COMMITMENT SUNDAY for our annual DSA (Diocesan Services Appeal), and if you haven’t filled out your pledge envelope yet (or forgot it, or didn’t even get it mailed to you), there will be plenty of envelopes available for you via our Ushers and Ministers of Hospitality. As we prayerfully reflected this past week upon the sacrificial commitment that Bishop Barbarito asked us to make, may our response be one that expresses our gratitude to God for all that He bestows upon us. Even if you are a guest here, your gift still counts! Many men and women, who have reached out to us over the years as members of our Catholic Faith in a “Circle of Friends” and “extended family,” help us grow closer to the Lord by service to His people everywhere. Here is our chance to make an effective response in gratitude.
What a wonderful “collection of celebrations” we had during CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK. Among the ones that especially touched me, was the performance of our children on Grandparents’ Day and their loving display of their God-given gifts in the Talent Show that took place in conjunction with the Annual Spaghetti Dinner on Saturday night. They really exploded with joy and exuberance as they put forth their best efforts to entertain and demonstrate how well they are maturing in the right ways because of their Catholic school education. These are our precious children and the hope of the future for the Catholic Church in America. I pray they will continue to use their God-given talents to develop their minds as Christian men and women leaders in years to come. Let’s thank their teachers and administrators, too.
Yet, there is a deep concern I have for our young people if their parents don’t bring them to church on Sunday to worship God. The rationalizations that are poured forth for not being in the House of God on the Sabbath read like classic dribble from a godless author, or an anti-Christian polemic on why we don’t need God in the 21st century. Growing up in a Catholic household, where expected participation at Sunday weekly worship was a “given,” and not an option, we took seriously the clear command, found in the third of the Ten Commandments: “to Keep Holy the Lord’s Day.” If our children are not shown a good example in this area of their lives through the undoing of week-long efforts of teaching in our Catholic schools, what can we expect of them when faced with other challenges once they leave school? I apologize for the scandal also given by those who walk out of Mass early each weekend. It’s not really reflective of the majority who stay for God’s blessing. Jesus saw one of “His own” do that, and He warns us of the consequences of giving scandal to “little ones.” He’s quite blunt, and didn’t mince His words.
We were privileged to have our shepherd, Bishop Gerald Barbarito, celebrate the annual Anniversary Mass for Married Couples in our church this past Saturday for those who have been married for 25, 40, 50 or more years. There were several of our parishioners among these honored. It’s nice to see the large number who made and continue to make the great effort to live out their wedding vows, supporting one another and building up in each other the love of Christ. They and their families are the “little church” that the last two popes have spoken of so glowingly, and serve as a fitting example of real commitment.
This past week afforded me two special privileges. On Monday, I was able to concelebrate Mass with Stanislaus Cardinal Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, and long-time secretary of our late pope, Blessed John Paul II. My friendship with Cardinal Dziwisz goes back to Rome, in June of 1967, when he was a young priest-secretary of then-Cardinal Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) and I was a young seminarian. I didn’t even suspect that his “boss” would one day become the great spiritual leader of our Church, though the recollection of our meeting then should have been an indication of the possibility of his future greatness. I still remember those days fondly, and cherish the souvenir photos of that time. On Wednesday, I was in Tallahassee for the annual “Catholic Days at the Capitol,” and offered the prayer for the opening session for the Florida Senate, thanks to the kind influence of our local Catholic State Senator, Maria Sachs. It wasn’t the first time I’ve offered the prayer in our capitol (County Tax Collector and parishioner, Ann Gannon, first offered it to me several years ago), but each time it is a cherished opportunity to lead legislators in prayer to consider the needs of our state and nation. The week in Tallahassee is also a time as concerned Catholics to express our concerns for upcoming legislation and to lobby local leaders to respect and consider the Catholic point of view on those issues that have direct moral implications affecting our lives and those of many others. Among those who assist us in the lobbying are the members of the Florida Catholic Conference, including our former parishioner, Sheila Hopkins, who directs much of the legislative program that assists us in our visit. May our civic leaders be sufficiently inspired to lead us closer to our God-directed destiny!!
Very Rev. Canon Tom
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