St. Mark's News & Events for April 27, 2008

Greetings as we begin another week!

As many of us gathered around the television set last week to watch the Pope’s arrival in Washington and New York, I was amazed how one man could command such attention from people who weren’t even Catholic. Jews and Christians of other faiths gathered around this Vicar of Christ and saw in him an inner beauty and a peaceful disposition that gave them hope for a better world. Yet, this is why we Catholics are a united people, despite our differences in expression. It is due to the fact that the Pope is our spiritual leader who strives to bring this unity to a divided world. Sometimes his message goes against the currents of the age, but objective truth is never outdated. Long live the Chair of Peter!

On another note, the pope asked me to accompany him back to Rome to work on his golf swing, but I had to decline. It seems that if he started swinging like me, I’d be excommunicated and suffer the eternal fires of Hell. So with that in mind, I decided to pass. However, I did give him a sleeve of golf balls with our St. Mark logo on it so he would remember us when he goes out on to the golf course in the Vatican. I just hope he doesn’t lose them in the Vatican Gardens!

Last Saturday, the heads of most of the ministries of our parish met together at Bethany Center to discuss how we all could unite in a way that we could be most effective in our different ministries.We took a look at our Mission Statement for St. Mark and we hope to make this Mission a reality in all that we say and do. It was a great meeting and I look forward to the great things that will be accomplished here and throughout our community. These groups have done an excellent job these past years and have put our parish at the center of the New Tampa community. Let us offer all of them our support and prayers.

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

Peace,
Fr. David