Dear Parishioners,
During these weeks of Ordinary Time, our Sunday Gospels are selected from the Sermon on the Mount, which, with the Last Supper Discourse, is the highest teaching of our Lord. We see Jesus the Christ as fulfilling the Law & the Prophets (a.k.a., the Old Testament).
From today’s Gospel, I offer these reflections on Marriage.
Marriage is a sacrament. It is a union which is modeled after and symbolizes God’s ever faithful love for all of creation. Husband and wife minister God’s love to one another, and they are ministers of God’s love to their children. It is a participation in the love of the Trinity, a mutual total giving of oneself to the other with the openness to receive the total gift of the other.
A married couple requires a community of support. There is so much in our culture that does not respect the sanctity of marriage. The temptation to infidelity might be presented in the workplace or in the neighborhood. The support for your sacrament might come from your extended family or a group of couples you have chosen to befriend. Ideally, that is why we are a parish.
Some of us are divorced. I ask, “What have you learned about yourself from that experience?” I hope you know that you are loved by God. God is merciful! If you are sincere in seeking to know and do God’s will for you, be at peace.
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St. Aloysius’ Church building was erected in 1922-23, over 90 years ago. Like all older buildings, there is a lot of upkeep. As you recall, last autumn we repointed the entire church building, and expensive but necessary project ($18,000). Also the plaster damage on the east side of the church was repaired and repainted. The three vestibules in the front of the church were painted. A railing was built across our choir loft for safety reasons. The side roofs over the north side entrances were repaired and the plaster in the side vestibules was replaced. The sacristy wall was seriously damaged by a leak, was replaced and repainted. Etc., Etc.
All these things were done in the second half of 2013.
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Our new but already effective Parish Pastoral Council has collated your responses to their survey earlier in January. The single biggest concern (?complaint) was our kneelers in church. You are very adept! Most church kneelers have 2 inches of padding; ours have one-quarter inch! Whatever happened 20 years ago with them is ancient history.
Ergo, I have contracted with the Bahret Co. in Harrisburg, Pa., for new kneeler wood and padding, and for all new pew padding. This is a big job but the time to do it is now. The total cost will be $ 29,815.15.
One more major project is necessary for safety in our church building. I’ll tell you about it very soon.
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Looking to the future, I hope that we will finally be able to install a new decent Ladies’ Room and Men’s Room. It’s necessary and is even over-due. However, we must be careful not to change the fabric of our church in doing so.
An excellent architect has presented us with two possibilities for new rest rooms. A third idea has also been put forward.
We should have a parish “Town Meeting” in the near future to present the possible ideas. More to come.
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The local weekly, The Progress, recently raised the cost of the church and synagogue ads on the church listings. (Yes, we paid – it wasn’t a public service). Our very small print, four –inch ad would now cost us $45 per issue, or $2250 per year. I decided to cancel it. We have a very fine website, Facebook and Twitter and a weekly bulletin. These should suffice.
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Have you remembered St. Aloysius in your will?
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I am happy to announce the formation of a new Parish Library in the rectory meeting room. A strong start has been made because of the wonderful efforts of a brother and sister.
Louis Mollet, as his project for his Eagle Scout award, planned and executed new library shelves and cabinets. Marie-Lys Mollet, as her special project for the Girl Scout Gold award, is in the process of putting the library together: decisions on cataloging, borrowing, and the like.
Our parish is very grateful to Louis and Marie-Lys.
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And as the poet wrote: “If winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
Sincerely in Christ,
Msgr. Desmond
St. Aloysius Parish Blog 