Fr. Aidan Writes:
YOU ARE WONDERFUL!
I think you know that there is a side of me that can be rather sentimental, if not emotional. Last Sun- day evening, I was definitely in that state! After preaching and animating the Capital Campaign Commitment Sunday process at all Masses at SLdM, you floored me! Seven Masses (and the confessions) was a heavy and tiring load, but what got to me was the extraordinary response we have received. You did it again, you brought me to tears by your generosity and commitment to our parish. That commitment process has raised another $ 660,000 +!!!!! This is a wonderful major step along the path to our goals.
I realize for some of you, you might have expected a more traditional homily for Pentecost; in a way you gave the homily last Sunday. A homily is essentially “breaking open the Word of God”; a parallel point in the Liturgy of the word to the breaking of the Bread prior to Holy Communion. The old adage is that a homilist goes into the pulpit and has the bible in one hand and a copy of the newspaper in the other. The image means that the homilist’s ministry is to facilitate a deeper understanding of how the Word of God helps us deal with the issues of our daily lives. Last week you took the scriptures of the great Feast of Pentecost and allowed that Spirit of love to outpour on our reality and to commit to our hopes and aspirations as a parish community. May the Good Lord rain down his blessing on all of us.
I hope to see as many of you at the parish picnic this weekend 11.30 am at Pioneer Park. And don’t forget, next weekend July 19th is Corpus Christi weekend; we have a procession with devotions starting at 1.00pm.
God bless you and your family,
Fr Aidan-Peter CJ
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter