It is time for our parish mission. "The Road to Emmaus" given by Deacon Glenn Harmon and his wife, Linda.
Parish missions give us the opportunity to grow in our faith lives and in our relationship with The Lord. They are meant to "fire-up" our zeal for The Lord and His Way. I would encourage those who come to the mission to participate in daily Mass, Tuesday through Thursday, as Deacon Harmon will be preaching the daily Mass homily. Also, while there are five talks that will be given during the mission (6:30 p.m. each evening and an additional talk on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m.), please know that you will be blessed by attending as many of the five as you can. Finally, please be aware that a love offering will be taken-up on the last night of the mission to support Glenn Harmon Ministries. Please be generous as Glenn and Linda are so generous in giving missions all over the country all year long. May God bless you who make the faith-filled choice to attend the mission and the Harmon couple for coming to us with their enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Parish missions give us the opportunity to grow in our faith lives and in our relationship with The Lord. They are meant to "fire-up" our zeal for The Lord and His Way. I would encourage those who come to the mission to participate in daily Mass, Tuesday through Thursday, as Deacon Harmon will be preaching the daily Mass homily. Also, while there are five talks that will be given during the mission (6:30 p.m. each evening and an additional talk on Wednesday at 9:45 a.m.), please know that you will be blessed by attending as many of the five as you can. Finally, please be aware that a love offering will be taken-up on the last night of the mission to support Glenn Harmon Ministries. Please be generous as Glenn and Linda are so generous in giving missions all over the country all year long. May God bless you who make the faith-filled choice to attend the mission and the Harmon couple for coming to us with their enthusiasm for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We recently concluded the annual "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity". As we continue to pray for unity among those who proclaim Jesus as savior and Lord, we should rejoice in the many ways Christians unite in doing His work. One ecumenical effort is "Grief Share". It is advertised as "Your Journey from Mourning to Joy", and it provides help to believers to work through grief that comes from the death of a loved one. There are thirteen sessions in all which involve a video and small group listening (and sharing for those who are comfortable speaking). While I am glad Deacon John is offering a grief support group here at the parish two or three times a year (for five of six sessions), I fully support "Grief Share" and invite those who have experienced the loss of a loved one to try "Grief Share". It begins on February 18 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the Village Bible Church, 100 Ponderosa Way (just behing our church). Registration beforehand is not necessary. Just show up on Tuesday, February 18. For more information on "Grief Share", log on to website www.griefshare.org.
Please respond to the annual Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal (CASA) which begins this weekend. While we easily reached and surpassed our goal of $58,323 last year, only 293 individuals or families from our parish gave something to this appeal. While I hope The Lord can count on those who gave in the last to be as generous this year, I pray that The Lord will touch more of your hearts and lead you to give some financial gift to benefit countless people throughout our diocese who benefit from the support that CASA provides to them.
Please respond to the annual Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal (CASA) which begins this weekend. While we easily reached and surpassed our goal of $58,323 last year, only 293 individuals or families from our parish gave something to this appeal. While I hope The Lord can count on those who gave in the last to be as generous this year, I pray that The Lord will touch more of your hearts and lead you to give some financial gift to benefit countless people throughout our diocese who benefit from the support that CASA provides to them.
As I prepare to go to Little Rock for my Uncle Paul's Mass of Resurrection, I ponder the last 10 plus months that he has been living in Hot Springs since his forced move there due to declining health. There have certainly been hard times for him and challenging times for those who cared for him and who tried to encourage his spirits in spite of the deterioration of his mind and body.
I choose to dwell on these and many other blessings that have come from this experience. They include the wonderful people who cared for him and who care for others who are in a similar situation. Those who offer care to those in assisted living and nursing home facilities with love every day, are to be commended and need our prayers for patience and understanding. I thank the Lord as well, for being able to minister to my uncle and be with him for 10 consecutive months, though they were (due to his health) unlike the three months at a time that I used to see him when he made an annual visit to Arkansas from Tokyo. I thank the Lord for his dear wife Toshiko who was at his side almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week, caring for his needs. I thank the Lord, especially due to the parish I'm now in with many instances of declining health, to have had this experience of traveling this journey with my uncle.
Hopefully in the future, it will inspire me to be empathetic to those who are going through a similar journey with their loved one. Finally (and probably not finally, as I'm sure more blessings will come to mind), I thank the Lord for those who interceded for my uncle in their prayers the last 10 months. I'm continually finding reasons to rejoice in a congregation that is so full of love and mercy of God. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU.
I choose to dwell on these and many other blessings that have come from this experience. They include the wonderful people who cared for him and who care for others who are in a similar situation. Those who offer care to those in assisted living and nursing home facilities with love every day, are to be commended and need our prayers for patience and understanding. I thank the Lord as well, for being able to minister to my uncle and be with him for 10 consecutive months, though they were (due to his health) unlike the three months at a time that I used to see him when he made an annual visit to Arkansas from Tokyo. I thank the Lord for his dear wife Toshiko who was at his side almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week, caring for his needs. I thank the Lord, especially due to the parish I'm now in with many instances of declining health, to have had this experience of traveling this journey with my uncle.
Hopefully in the future, it will inspire me to be empathetic to those who are going through a similar journey with their loved one. Finally (and probably not finally, as I'm sure more blessings will come to mind), I thank the Lord for those who interceded for my uncle in their prayers the last 10 months. I'm continually finding reasons to rejoice in a congregation that is so full of love and mercy of God. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU.