June
29, 2008
Sommer
in the Summer
Welcome
Home Father Augustine
Our beloved Father Augustine is back for the summer! For those who are
new to the parish and who havent met Father Augustine yet, I’ll
tell you a little about him. Originally from India, Father Augustine
is a Jesuit priest who was on staff at St. Brigid’s for six years
while he was pursuing advanced degrees here in America. His ministry
among us touch the lives of many, many families and his ability to speak
Italian served our Italian speaking community well. He is known for
his deep spirituality, his compassion, wisdom and friendship. For the
past few years, Father Augustine has been living and teaching in Rome
and he’s able to escape the sweltering Roman summers by spending
time with us, his “other” family. Welcome home again, Father
Augustine.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past
Columns:
June 22: Welcome
Father Jaime
June 15: Father
Gonzalo Lopez
June 8: What happened
on Sunday
June 1: Where
do you belong?
May
25: We are the Body of Christ
May 18: Trinity,
It's About Unity
May 11: We are
One in the Spirit
May 4: Who's in
Your Top Twelve?
April 27: Now
that he's gone...
April 20: Yay
Deacons!
April 13: Here
comes the Pope
April 6: Fresh Oil
March 30: What are you doing
for Easter?
March 23: Can Easter come
too early?
March 16: Which crowd is
yours?
March 9: We believe, yet...
March 2: Oil or Mud
February
24: What are you thirsting for?
February 17: Who are You
Wearing?
February 10: Just Say No
February
3: The January
20: Being Safer
January 13: Conversations
in 2008
January 6: Matthew's Magi
December 30:
What's Next?
Christmas
2007 Homily
Columns
from 2007
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns
from 2003
Columns from 2002
For
the 25th year I’m happy to offer “Sommer in the Summer,”
a chance for me to get to know parishioners and their families and for
us to have conversations about life -- spiritual life, life at St. Brigid’s,
life on earth in our neighborhoods, etc. (I call it “Sommer in the
Summer” because my last name is”Sommer” --- clever,
aint it?)
Over the years I have enjoyed my
summer visits with people in informal settings in their homes and backyards.
(And people don’t have to worry about the condition of their homes
when their pastor visits...I’ve sat on crates and eaten pizza out
of the box in the midst of a home remodeling project...I’ve joined
folks in all stages of summer life so people can feel relaxed about visiting.)
Here’s how it works. E-mail
me or call me to set a date for a visit. Call a few neighbors and friends
or other parishioners you know to invite them for dessert. Nor more than
12. (That worked for Jesus and it seems to work for these visits too.)
Then you can encourage people to come up with any topics of interest that
they would like to chat about when we get together.
Some folks prefer to do a morning
gathering; some like the afternoon; some prefer the evening. It’s
up to you and (what my schedule permits). Sometimes I’ve met with
older folks; sometimes with families of mixed ages; sometimes with couples;
once a family invited me over for “teen night.” I’ve
met with young adults in college too. I guess what I’m saying is
that there are no “rules” for who can be part of these gatherings.
I can “get by” in speaking Spanish and enjoy visiting Haitian
families too. And my experience with Italians is that there’s always
more food than “just dessert” -- though I’m looking
for conversation more than calories!
If you’d like to have a visit
this summer, please let me know. My
e-mail is shepherd@saintbrigid.net
I’m looking forward to meeting more folks this summer.
