Pastor’s Corner – Feb 5

Pastor’s Corner – Feb 5

The annual Parish Gumbo last Saturday evening, January 28, in the Family Center after the 4:15 PM Mass was a great success! My thanks to all who were involved in planning, in preparing, in cooking, in serving and in enjoying the Gumbo.  I am grateful to the cooks, to the desert makers, to those who gave some of the food for the Gumbo and to all who were involved in the setting up and in taking down the tables and chairs after the Gumbo. I am most thankful to the spirit of community, of fellowship and of hospitality shared by all who came to enjoy the Gumbo as members of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish.  We are indeed a welcoming and gracious church family of believers and friends. May we continue to let the Lord bless us with his grace, his kindness, his goodness and his spirit of openness and hospitality.

This week is Catholic Schools Week, from January 29 to February 4.  The theme for this annual observance is Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. The power of good and for good in the Catholic Schools is significant and profound. In our diocese there are 33 Catholic Schools and several thousand students. The religious education and moral formation of our children are among the most important sources of blessing for our families, our Church and our community. I have been so blessed by my years of Catholic education as a student at Little Flower School when I was a student in  elementary school and during the years I was in seminary.  It is an honor for me to be involved now at St Leo-Seton School and at Teurlings and also at times at St. Genevieve and at Carencro Catholic. My appreciation to all the families who have made the decision and the sacrifice to send their children to Catholic Schools. I applaud the teachers, the leaders, the coaches and the administrations of our Catholic Schools for their devotion, their leadership and their example.

The theme for this year’s celebration of Catholic Schools Week is so appropriate.  Each of our Catholic Schools is a community of faith, knowledge and service. In each school the Catholic Faith is taught, practiced and lived.  As important as the dogmas, the values and the teachings of the Catholic Church are, living them and abiding by them in our homes, in our schools, in our church parishes, in our neighborhoods and in our local communities is what really matters.  Our example, our actions, our behavior and our service to others matters more than our knowledge.  I congratulate all who are involved in our Catholic Schools and I pray that the Lord bless all our efforts to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church, especially the dignity of each person, the value of human life, the responsibility of each one of us and the importance of justice and service in the Church and in the community.

The first readings for the daily Masses this week come from the first book of the Bible, the book of Genesis, the book of the beginnings.  The first two chapters of the Bible are among my favorite to read, to appreciate, to pray over and to meditate about.  I encourage you and your family to take time during the coming week to read these two chapters of the Bible and talk about the verses and their meaning. When I read Genesis 1 & 2, I am so uplifted, awed and inspired about the vastness of creation, the cosmos, the universe and the human person. Please reflect on these passages: Genesis 1:27-28; 31; Genesis 2:7; 18-24. These few verses are indeed wonder-full!  Among my favorite verses in the Bible is Genesis 2:7, “the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.” Wow! I take those verses in a personal way. God’s life breath is in you and in me.

My prayers, love, best wishes and gratitude to you and to your loved ones, for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. Through our personal faith, our worship, our deeds and our lives of service, may we be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. May each one of us through our good deeds give glory to our heavenly Father.

SHALOM! Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of February 5 – February 11
Mathew 5:13-16

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