Pastor’s Desk – Month of January 2022

Jan 30, 2022 | Pastors Desk

A Message from Father Peter

– January 23th 2022 – Changing of the Guard

It’s time once again for a “Changing of the Guard” at the Starfish Coffee House (young adults). After serving two years of steady and committed leadership of our core group, Kaitlyn Rosploch steps down – amid many new things happening in her life! Kaitlyn obtained an online master’s degree in a new field. She certainly is not afraid of making a strategic career move. We look forward to her joining us at the Coffee House whenever possible.

Also, it is altogether right to thank Giovanna Manello, our first core leader. She will be getting married in less than two months! May God grant richest blessings for her and her husband! As of the first of the new year, Kelly McGuinness has been our new leader. Kelly lives locally, and works as a school psychologist, bringing a new range of talents and experiences to bear on her new tasks! We’re there for you, Kelly. Put them all together and you’ve got some awesome group!

– January 30th 2022 – Seeking  God’s Presence

The Pandemic has been hard on everyone without exception; all our senior parishioners are particularly in danger. But we as Catholics – all of us – have had our own in-house form of suffering, through isolation and spiritual deprivation. As church buildings were closed to all, we have missed the direct participation in the Mass and physical reception of the Eucharist. Even seemingly balanced statements by other authorities are often met with anger. The church is called to read “the signs of the times” in the light of our faith! Is God speaking to us through all this? 

Jesus is the truth, and we must seek God’s Presence in the truth. On the one hand there is an unhealthy distrust of legitimate authority. On the other, there is a whole class of “experts” who skew the facts for their own advantage, political or otherwise. As the late Cardinal George of Chicago put it, “for too many, politics is the ultimate horizon for their thinking and acting.” We must develop a humble respect for objective truth, and of course truth goes hand in hand with charity, even in a pandemic.

We will in Christ overcome this Pandemic; may we be trustful and humble enough to give God the Glory. Let us continue to thank God for the gifts of life and love even in these strange and challenging times!

– January 16th 2022 – “Fear is useless; only have faith!”

The New Year’s celebrations are behind us and the challenge of re-ordering our lives to cope with Covid is once again confronting us. We are all very weary and probably tired both spiritually and mentally from the mandates, etc. and the endless conversations about the virus and related topics.

Let’s first relax! God is still very much with us. We are making progress against the Pandemic in many ways all over the world. I mention of course, those who obtain a deeper level of trust in God will come out amazingly stronger spiritually. As Jesus said, “Fear is useless; only have faith!”

– January 9th 2022 – The Baptism of The Lord

As we welcome in the New Year, we carry with us many hopes, and fears that are Covid related! The whole pandemic reality is still very much with us, and it appears that it will be for some time. The currant variant is very contagious but weaker than the first!

But back to basics: God has not abandoned us; with charity toward all we will find ways to overcome the present confusion and breakout to better and fuller lives.

We must be careful to show respect for the views of good people who may disagree about the right approach to battling the virus. By trusting in God, we have nothing to fear.

God’s plans for his people are always good plans! As scripture says, it is not part of God’s plan that even one of these “little ones” perish. We are all God’s little ones now, and always!

– January 2nd 2022 – New Year, Two New Published Books

This season God gave to us at St. Francis a double blessing. As we celebrate New Year’s Day, we rejoice that we have among our parishioners two wonderful, published authors!

Phyllis Pottinger whose famous pink SUV often graces our grounds has authored with her granddaughter, Camille Whitehorn, Doing All the Good You Can Daily, which offers 31 Days of Phyllis’s success predictors and possibilities. Read Phyllis’s book and let her optimism walk your pessimism and fears out the door!

Jeff Froh, also an active parishioner here at St. Francis, has written Thrive: the 10 Commandments for 20-Somethings to Live the Best-Life-Possible. Jeff is a professor of positive psychology at Hofstra University and has previously authored a book entitled Making Grateful Kids, The Science of Building Character. Check at the rectory office to obtain several copies of Thrive. This book can be looked at in several ways, either a gift item or as a serious investment in yourself or a friend’s future. Jeff is a true asset to our community; he certainly hasn’t written his last book!

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