October 12, 2008

Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .

It has been an incredibly beautiful week in the Southern Tier of New York State. The skies are clear. The temperatures are in the 70s and the trees are nearing their peak of color.

Come to the Table of Plenty. In today's scriptures, we are called to partake - and fully participate - in the glorious feast that the Lord has prepared for us. In spite of the crashing stock market and the increasingly negative tone of the presidential campaign, St. Paul reminds us that God's abundance will uphold us in times of abundance and in times of need. Regardless of where you find yourself financially this Sunday, KEEP THE FAITH. Just make sure that "the faith" that you keep is in God. As we've experienced this past week, putting our faith in human ingenuity and integrity has once again left us wanting.

It was the weekend for me, as pastoral administrator) to focus on the diocese's annual Catholic Ministry Appeal. I'm attaching one of two homilies that I preached this weekend. I used this one at St. Mary's and a different but similar homily at St. Gabriel's whose pastoral administrator Maureen O'Neill preached on the CMA last weekend.

Enjoy the gorgeous weather and the Columbus Day holiday. Winter will soon be with us.

TRAVEL WITH US IN 2009
Pat and I invite you to join us on a "Lands of the Bible Cruise" that we've scheduled for November 11, 2009. Follow the link below to download our itinerary. Then, if you are interested, drop me an email and I'll send you a brochures and registration form. (http://www.deaconray.com/travel.htm)

This Week's Column: October 12, 2008: Bishop Clark Visit's St. Mary's... Confirms 23

Because of our Tuesday morning bulletin deadline and a weekend in Chicago visiting my daughter Monica, I’m playing catch-up this week on an event that took place during the first week of October.

On October 1st, Bishop Matthew Clark presided at the Confirmation of twenty three young people and young adults from St. Mary’s and St. Gabriel’s. Over the past 27 years, I’ve been blessed to have been in our Bishop’s presence on numerous occasions. Each and every time I’ve been struck by the deep spirituality and gentle spirit of our Bishop. His most recent visit with us was no exception. Because in only four years, Bishop Clark will reach the mandatory retirement age for bishops (75), I am delighted that our confirmands could receive this significant step in their faith journey from a bishop nationally recognized for his support and encouragement of young people.

Congratulations to our young confirmands: Margaret and Michael Badding, Matthew Baroody, Michelle Carpenter, Mary Catherine Colomaio, Lauren Kreiger, Connor Martin, Danielle Neu, Alicia Patterson, Ashley Russell, Jeremy “Jake” Snell, Elijah Truth, Liam Wall, Allison Warren and our young adult confirmands: Jaime Barned, Mellissa Patterson and Robert Wilson. Also congratulations to St. Gabriel’s confirmands: Kevin Benedict, Christian Coons, Katherine Coons, Claire Kolodziejczak, Elizabeth Kolodziejczak, and Brian Wood.

Have you noticed the beauty of our grounds? Noticed that dead trees have been removed from the church grounds and cemeteries? Noticed that you can often see your reflection on the O’Malley Hall floor? And, while its likely that you haven’t seen the new clean and organized look of our church basement and storage sheds - they are in fact clean and organized and aging pipes have even been replaced. What you are seeing is the excellent work of our custodian Dan Barefoot and his Kinship volunteers Dave Kline and Chris Lombard. Great work guys.

While you’re checking the ground, be sure to notice the new sign in front of O’Malley Hall. The two sided wood sign and changeable message board is the creation of John Cardona and his JENC Woodworking business. John has invested in state-of-the-art computerized equipment that allows him to produce high quality wood signs such as ours at very reasonable prices. We are so delighted with his work on the O’Malley Hall sign, that we are ordering another to replace the temporary sign at the corner of Morris Street and Wilson Ave.

Have a good week. Serve each other well.

Deacon Ray

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Bulletin: October 12th, 2008

Insert: Table of Plenty