St. Mark's News & Events for December 23, 2007

Stewardship

­­JESUS wants always to be present with us. He wants to show us His concern and His love. That is why He is with us in the Eucharist. It is His way of sharing our life. It is His way of strengthening us. It is an incredible sign of stewardship on His part, a wonderful gift to us for all time, a gift available every day and at every Mass. Communion has at its very depth the idea of community, both communion with the LORD, both with GOD and with one another. The LORD would tell us that communion and community are not exclusive. We cannot be one with one another without being one with Him, and certainly we cannot be one with Him without being one with one another.

As we receive the Eucharist, we receive the Most Holy Body and Blood of CHRIST, we should always remember that this is JESUS gift to us, but it is also a call to share our gifts with one another, as stewards, as followers of CHRIST.

“The promotion of the practice of stewardship is important for the mission of the Church and for the spiritual well-being of each individual Christian. Everyone benefits from the sacrificial gift one makes of his time, talent and treasure. Therefore, please accept my encouragement for your efforts and my prayers that what you do to serve the LORD will be a stimulus to the practice of stewardship in the Church”.

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

St. Mark's News & Events for December 16, 2007

The Trip Cont.

On its own, Messina was pretty place with its Domed Churches and narrow streets but that was about all there was to the place. Many on the tour went to beautiful Taromina on top of a large mountain overlooking the Bay of Naples close to Mt. Vesuvius. This scenic town is a must visit if ever you go to Sicily and the food yet again is outstanding. Some in our group ventured to find relatives and the birthplace of parents, etc. which turned out to be very heartwarming. Seeing the places where family grew up always brings a sense of completion to one’s life. Since I had been to Taromina before I decided to spend another relaxing day on the ship eating everything in sight. I even decided to have ice cream at eleven in the morning to tie me over until lunch rolled around. That night after dinner there was a presentation by the cruise director in which introductions were made and people on the ship were questioned on stage about their marital status, where they’re from, etc. including one couple from our own parish who were picked to come up. Much of it was quite funny and I realized that the rest of the cruise would be much the same way. Next stop, Dubrovnik in Croatia, so stay tuned.

Last Saturday, a group of parishioners along with me journeyed down to St. Stephen’s Parish to accept the Book of the Gospels from Bishop Lynch as the kick-off for the Diocese three-year initiative on the Eucharist, which for us will begin in Lent of this coming year. This first year in the three-year initiative is about opening up the Scriptures to allow the Word to transform our hearts and light a fire of conversion for us, and the world. It was a beautiful event and I pray that we along with the rest of the Diocese will be on fire for God as we all make this journey together. Bulletin and pulpit announcements will be forthcoming.

Just a reminder, after all the Masses on December 22nd and 23rd we will be having a congratulations reception for Abbot Isaac Camacho in which we will be bestowing our Parish gift of a Crosier as a sign of his office as Abbot. If you would like to give to this parish gift, please send it into the office or you may put it into the collection basket marked Abbott Isaac’s gift. Congratulations to Abbott Isaac and we thank you for all you have done for our community!

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 December 9, 2007

Greetings to all of you!

As we made the port stop at Naples, I yet again overslept and the tours went along without me. Some went to see the ruins of Pompeii, then on to Sorrento (where they make the sweet tasting Lumincello liquor, yum!), and some decided to stay on the ship and enjoy the sun and fun. I had “brunch” around noon and began walking the deck and scoping out the various places that would seem interesting on the ship. I even went to the gym to exercise, which goes to show that I must still not be in my right mind in another time zone. Anyway, I read my book on the balcony and then fell asleep. After all, that is why God invented vacations! After the day was over everyone got back on the ship on time, except for the Salmon’s (most likely a fictitious couple who were always swimming upstream) and off we went to Sicily! Although my dinner guests left something to be desired, dinner was once again wonderful and the Melting Chocolate cake was my favorite! After dinner it was off to the Piano Bar singing popular songs with Ron the piano player and then off to bed for our next stop to Messina.

Last Saturday many here from St. Mark attended the simple but profound installation of Abbot Isaac at St. Leo Abby. Bishop Lynch was there to install the new abbot along with abbots from all over the country. Included was the Abbot Primate who is based in Rome and gave his blessing to Abbot Isaac. How proud I was to see this young man experience such a blessed event and at the end of the Mass, Abbot Isaac thanked all of you from St. Mark for grooming him for this most special position. On December 22nd and 23rd after all the Masses, we will have a special get together for you to greet the new Abbot in which we will present to him our parish gift of a Crosier to be used as a symbol of the shepherd of his flock at St. Leo’s. If you wish to contribute to this gift, you may put a check in the collection plate marked Fr. Isaac’s gift in the memo line. God bless you Abbot Isaac and our prayers are with you!

Also this month we have experienced some staff changes in our front office as our Parish Secretary Sandra Katsarelis retired after her six years here at St. Mark. Sandra has been coming back and forth from Tarpon Springs these past years and now she will be able to “sleep in” as she enjoys her retirement. We thank Sandra for all her great work here at St. Mark and we will miss her perky personality. God speed Sandra!

As Sandra leaves, we welcome Kelly DeFrietas who comes to us from the YMCA and has certainly been a great addition already in her short time here. Kelly will be in charge of making sure the front office runs smoothly in addition to other secretarial duties. We also welcome Lorraine Green who has been an awesome volunteer for a few years now who served as recorder on our Finance council and steering committee. Lorraine will also be responsible for front office work etc and will be part of Kelly’s support staff. More information will be coming regarding their backgrounds and life experience. Chuck Rizzo will be responsible for Special projects including the APA, Stewardship, Capital Campaign, and parish communications. Joe Phillips will continue as our staff Accountant and manage the entire office. Hopefully this new arrangement will help us to be more efficient and to better serve St. Mark parishioners as we grow and grow.

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

Peace, Fr. David