Dear Friends of our Pastorate,
This weekend, we celebrate the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. This weekend’s Gospel is a challenge to those in positions of authority in the days of Jesus, and by connection, to me and all who lead the parishes and the Church as well as our leaders of government (Mt 23:1-12). This can also be extended to each and every one of us who “lead,” such as the leaders of families or the leaders of coworkers or teachers. All of us are challenged to lead in ways that give witness to not only what we profess with our lips, but more importantly, to what we believe in our hearts—to be authentic and transparent. When there is a perceived disconnect between the two, as Jesus indicates in the Gospel, it can be recognized by others. Jesus asks us to know with certainty that He is our true and authentic leader and teacher, so whatever we do, ought to flow from our faith in our Savior. May the Holy Spirit of God continue to speak to our hearts and be our guide throughout our earthly lives.
As we continue into the second year of our Pastorate of St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake, we are looking for ways to bring our two communities together in worship. This year, we will be celebrating one Thanksgiving Day Mass for the Pastorate. The Mass will be on Thanksgiving Morning at 8:30am at St. Jane Frances. Please plan to join us so that we can practice our faith together as one, AND so that we may join our voices together in one celebration of thanksgiving and praise. Fr. Jim and I are looking forward to celebrating Mass together as well—something that we rarely do since we are always at different parishes each weekend.
I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to pray and reflect upon my request for you to consider making an increase in your stewardship/offertory donations to our parishes. We are impacted by the same financial pressures that everyone is facing, so any increase in your giving would be gratefully appreciated. I have increased my giving by about 5% this Fall, so I pray and ask if you are able, if you could also make a commitment to increasing your giving to your parish. Any money donated to the parishes through the offertory collection will be used solely by the parish to support our parish programs and operations. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
This weekend is our Eucharistic Revival weekend. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will occur between the Sunday morning Masses at OLC and between the 8:00am and 10:00am Masses at St. Jane. Please plan to spend some time with our Lord truly present to us in the Holy Eucharist.
Finally please keep our Pastorate’s Confirmation Candidates in your prayers this week. Our teens from OLC and St. Jane will be confirmed together on Wednesday, Nov. 8th at 5:30pm at OLC. Everyone is invited to attend the Confirmation Mass as we welcome Bishop Adam Parker with us.
Thank you for keeping our Pastorate in your daily prayers!
God Bless,
Father Steve
