St. Mark's News & Events for December 2, 2007

Greetings to all of you!

The Trip Cont.
As the next morning arrived, we were transported to the port so we could board our cruise ship for the next 12 days. As the busses pulled up, one could just feel the excitement as we looked out the window and saw how HUGE the ship was! It didn’t seem possible that the 105 of us from the Tampa Bay area would be just one small fish in a pond of thousands. We all rushed to get off the bus, got our suitcases, and headed for the boarding plank. Of course, some of the crew was waiting to take the usual picture. We were then given “Fun Cards” which were not too much fun after you saw the bill after the cruise was over. However, nothing could stop us now and off we went to our rooms. When I got to my room and opened the door, I almost fainted by the luxurious interior and I even had a balcony! That might not mean too much to you but after going on a trip to Alaska one year, I had no window and the room was as big as my bathroom (but I digress). Anyway, we were all very giddy as we unpacked and hurried on to explore the ship. It took me days to figure it all out and I still would get lost from time to time trying to find something. However, I did try to promise that I would not take the elevator at all so that I would at least get some exercise with all I was about to eat. Good thing too because the first night was a feast beyond all proportions as the ship ventured out onto the Mediterranean for our first stop at Naples. More again next week.

Last weekend, we also had a momentous occasion as Jose Moronta, our new recipient of the St. Jude Medal Award, was given this honor at the Cathedral of St. Jude by Bishop Robert Lynch. The Medal is given to the person who best exemplified the Spirit of Christ by his work for the Parish during the year. We are so proud of Jose and his work with the Spanish Community and also for his constant attention to the needs of our Parish. Congratulations Jose Moronta!

Well, that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God has given us in each other.

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for November 25, 2007

Greetings to all of you!
(Again this week some highlights from Rome.)

On our second day in Rome, we all pretty much went out on our own and some visited the catacombs and the various sights of Rome. Some of the group visited the “Scala Santa” or Holy Stairs where legend had it that Jesus walked on his last visit to Pontius Pilate before He was crucified. St. Helene, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, had the stairs brought to Rome from Jerusalem. Some of our group walked up the stairs on their knees which for some got very emotional. It truly was a spiritual experience in the midst of the chaos at the Vatican the day before. Some also visited the Cathedral Church of St. John Lateran which is really the Pope’s Church since he is the Bishop of Rome. It is known as the “Mother Church of all the Churches of the World” and it too was truly impressive. Yet with all the sights and sounds in Rome, it is virtually impossible to take in all of them in the two days we were there. However, I did find some fine restaurants and Gelato stores during my stay. Overall, it was a perfect day for all of us as we settled in and got ready to embark on the Cruise ship the next day. More again next week!

The golf tournament last week was a tremendous success with over 113 golfers partaking in all the festivities. I stayed at the 16th hole all day and got to play against everybody who came through. Before the tournament started, I said a prayer (aloud) that everybody would find the water on the right side of the green and thus let me beat them on the whole. For the most part, many accommodated. However, there are some that will have to go to confession! Anyway, a great time was had by all and I would like to thank Chuck Lewandowski for chairing the event and his committee for all their fine work. A list of sponsors will be forthcoming and I ask that you support all those that made this event possible. Now if I could only get the darn ball on the green!

Again this year the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mark Parish gave food to over 1500 families so they would have a good Thanksgiving. They truly are a remarkable group and it was great fun working with them on that cool early Saturday morning. I thank Patrick Doone and that task master Andrew Plumber for their planning and coordinating this huge task. Also all of the volunteers that came out did a wonderful job and I just know that God will bless you with another diamond in your crown in Heaven.

Well, that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God has given us in each other.

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for November 18, 2007

Greetings to all of you!

This week I want to continue to bring you some highlights from the parish trip to Rome. I left off with our first morning at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. When I woke up that morning, I felt refreshed and went down stairs for breakfast only to find none of our group was there. I thought to myself that everyone must be still sleeping and although I am not a morning person, here I was the first one at breakfast! As I waited and waited, no one in our group came down for breakfast and I knew we had an 8:00 a.m. departure time for our tour. I then went to the lobby to see if anyone was there, only to look in horror as the clock registered NINE! Well I did it, I missed the very first tour of the trip and I just knew I was going to hear about it later. Thus, I decided to meet the group at the Basilica since I knew I would never be able to get into the Museum. So I decided to walk all the way from our hotel to the Vatican which is not around the corner. I figured by the time I got there they would have ended their tour of the Museum and I would catch up with them at St. Peter’s. I had a wonderful walk in the cool breeze and sunshine. I passed a number of coffee bars and stopped at a few places for some espresso. By the time I got to St. Peter’s I was wired! Anyway, I did finally meet up with the group and we toured the beautiful Basilica with the magnificent Pieta and the other wonders that are too many to count. Some of us even went down to the tombs of the Popes and passed by the tomb of Pope John Paul II, which continues to have a procession of people paying their respects. A phenomenal morning for all of us and of course we just had to find a restaurant after the tour for more pasta and vino! More again next week….

This weekend we also welcome Mr. John Paul Cappa who is our new Director of Music. John Paul comes to us from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he has very impressive set of credentials. I hope you will be able to meet him and welcome him to our great parish. Hopefully you will be hearing more about him in the near future so to John Paul we say welcome!

Well, that is all for now. Keep in mind God’s precious gift of life!

Peace,
Fr. David

St. Mark's News & Events for November 11, 2007

Greetings to all of you!

Well it’s nice to be finally back after an overwhelming and glorious trip around the Mediterranean Sea with over 100 members of our Parish family. It really was a long and arduous affair with people constantly forcing me to eat pasta and drink wine despite my huge protests. However, I’m sure many of you are waiting with “eager anticipation” to hear about our trip so I hope to give you a few tidbits in the weeks ahead. By the way, whatever they tell you about my presence on the trip is totally false and everything I’m writing here in these columns is true. So don’t listen to any of them! Anyway, I did manage to sleep on the plane on the way over which is a huge hurdle for me. Due to that I managed to hit the ground running and take in as much as I could when we landed in Rome for our three day tour. From the airport, we managed a nice bus tour of Rome and finally arrived at our hotel in the bustling section of Rome’s Termini Station. Of course, the first thing we did was find a restaurant that served pasta, which happened to be our own hotel! The first bite took me to pasta heaven so after that the whole trip is a blur so I might miss some of the events. However, I’m sure I will be reminded by those who went with me. After some Vino and visiting with some of our people, I went to bed and prepared for next morning’s tour of the Vatican and its amazing Museum. More on that next week!

As many of you now know, Fr. Isaac is now Abbot Isaac as he was selected to lead his Benedictine Community at St. Leo Abby. This is quite an honor as he becomes the spiritual father of his local community, similar to the responsibilities of a bishop in a diocese. Although he will be leaving us, he will continue to celebrate some Masses here at St. Mark so we are fortunate for that. His installation will be on December 1st so continue to look in the bulletin for details. We congratulate you Abbot Isaac and we thank you for your wonderful presence these last three years. We shall keep you in our prayers.

Well, that is all for now. I’m still trying to catch up on all the work I missed and that suitcase is still on my bedroom floor waiting to be emptied. Pray for me!

Peace,
Fr. David