November 21st, 2004
Squeezing In
A
Little More Room
Our Lady’s Chapel in the school holds about 200 more people than
the church so it’s less crowded (except for the 11:45am Spanish
mass which is filled to overflowing.) If you’ve never tried the
9am or 10:15 mass in the school (on Maple Ave), you might want to check
it out some Sunday. We also have a rock mass in the chapel on Sunday
evenings at 6pm.
Been
Online Lately?
(Ok, for those of you reading this here, OF COURSE you've been online.
But here's what I wrote in the bulletin...)If you haven’t been
to our parish website lately, you ‘re invited to take a look.
We have new photo
albums online and you can see the construction of the Padre
Pio Shrine, the Thanksgiving food drive and
many other fall events. There’s an interactive Thanksgiving
Prayer Maker where you can type in things you’re thankful
for and it will write a Psalm for you -- in fact families have used
this in the past to make prayers for their Thanksgiving Meal.
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
November 14: Beacons of
Light
November 7: Our Vincentian
Deacon
October 31: Candy
Good...Saints Better
October 24: Flu Shots
October 17: Aaron &
Hur
October 10: Heritage Celebration
October 3: Is it safe?
September 26: Up and coming...
September 19: New Year Resolutions?
September 12:Our New Priests
September 5: Got Two Hours?
August 29: In My Humble
Opinion
August 22nd: Hot Asphalt, Cool Church
August 15: A Big Assumption
August 8: Do It Anyway!
August 1: Parking Lot Joys!
July 25:"Doh!"
July 18: Taking Church Home
July 11: Seven Eleven
July 4th: Independence Day
June 27: God Bless Father
George
June 20: Our New Priests
June13:Missing you
June 6: Farewell Father
Leonard
May 30: Going & Coming
& Going
May 23: P.O.P.S.
May 16:
Celebrating Our Parish
May 9: Facing the Future
May2: Resurrection Sequel
April 25: Chapel Design
April 18: Oh what a week!
April 11: Easter Life!
April 4: Palms & Passion
March 28: Plenty Good Room
March 21: More Passion
March 14: Reconciliation
March 7: A sequel from Mel?
Feb 29: Come to
Life!
Feb 22:
An Adventure to Life
Feb15: A rose
by another name?
Feb 8: If at first...
Feb 1: Our Patron Saint
Jan 25:A View From Inside
Jan 18: Our School
Jan 11: Baptism with Fire
Colums from 2003
Columns from 2002
Have
you noticed that the masses in church are getting more crowded on Sundays?
No one’s complaining, but it is getting tight. One reason for the
increase in participation in Sunday mass is that families are making the
choice to be there as a result of being part of our reconciliation, first
communion and confirmation programs. When parents get together to prepare
for these sacraments they express a genuine desire to help their children
know Jesus more and to feel like they belong to a caring church family.
For a while, parents tell me, they
had not been coming to church for several reasons. For some, they didn’t
go to church when they were children. Their parents sent them to religion
class and came to church on holidays, but they never had a sense that
it mattered to the church if they were there or not. These parents tell
me that they’re almost embarrassed that they don’t know as
much about church as they feel they should and so they stay away, not
feeling comfortable being here.
Other parents tell me that they got caught up in the busy-ness of living
-- in the whirlwind of family events -- soccer, scouts, school, cheerleading,
dance, etc. -- their lives often are driven by their children’s
activities, not to mention their own jobs and home responsibilities. Yet
they have a hunger for a life that includes Jesus. And some have come
to an “aha” moment where they desire Jesus in a new way and
see that our church community leads to a balance that was somehow missing
before.
Today, as we celebrate the Feast
of Christ the King, it’s an opportunity for everyone to assess his/her
relationship with Jesus. If I say Jesus is indeed the “king”
of my life, then my relationship with him becomes more of a priority.
And when I can turn over the concerns of my life to the Lord, I am rewarded
with much more peace and confidence.
If you’re finding church
a little crowded, squeeze over a little bit more to make room. It’s
great to worship the king in a full house!
You are Person
