Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 16, 2024

Dear Friends,

I am immensely grateful for the fitting homage that you offered our beloved Founding Pastor, Fr. Larry through your prayers and your presence at his Funeral Mass on Monday, 10 June 2024. I am also grateful to all who assisted the Funeral Ministry Team: the liturgical ministries, the Parish Life Committee, the Kitchen Crew, the Brother Knights, the Livestreaming Team, the Digital Media, and those who took care of everything else that needed attention. We give thanks to God for calling Fr. Larry to the Congregation of Holy Cross and for his dedicated service to the Church in a variety of ministries. Please continue to pray for his grieving family and for the local community of retired Holy Crosspriests in Cocoa Beach, wherehelived for the last 12 years of his life.

What a blessing it was to witness the ordination of our own Tom Buddington to the Permanent Diaconate on Saturday, 8 June 2024 at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. Once again, we thank God for choosing Tom from among us. He is now committed to our parish, where we know that he will serve the Lord with love. Congratulations to both Tom and Valerie for responding to HIS call to serve by taking on the challenging and arduous preparation for the diaconate and committing their lives to this unique and beautiful ministry.

A huge shout out to our children who participated in the Vacation Bible School held here last week from Monday through Friday (10 – 14 June 2024). And a huge thanks to Kelli, Schonda, Fr. Vincent and all the terrific catechists, their assistants, the dancers, and those who worked in the kitchen. Their talent and dedication produced a lovely way for our children to learn about God’s love. Through this year’s program, “Scuba: A Deep Dive into God’s Love,” our children were immersed in reflecting on God’s love for them. And finally, thankstotheparentsforgiving their children this opportunityto grow in love for God our Father.

This weekend, we are given the opportunity to celebrate our earthly fathers and all the wonderful fatherly men in our community. Happy Father’s Day to them all. The USCCB's Respect Life action guide for Father's Day says that fathers have a special role in "revealing and in reliving on earth the very fatherhood of God."

And how do our earthly fathers know how to “relive the very fatherhood of God?” God’s fatherly love and care for us is made known by our Savior, Jesus (Lk 10:22). His mission on earth was to reveal our Father to us (Jn 15:9), the love and care that He lavishes upon us, and His desire that we live life to the full (see Jn 10:10). Jesus said that if we follow him, we will know the Way to pleaseour Father and to comehometo Him (Jn 14:1-14).

We have many wonderful men in our community who mirror God’s love for us. Pope Saint John Paul II said that fathers are responsible for the life of the child they conceive, and that they are entrusted with protecting and defending both the mother and child. We are blessed at St. John’s by the number of committed and exemplary men who work to make our community a place where we can be safe and protected. In addition, they share with other men how to live out the vocation God has given them. I thank the men in our parish who do the heavy lifting. Without them we can’t be who we are. I invite all our men make great use of ourministries that cater to men and their spiritual needs.

But life is not perfect, and there are men who struggle with their role as a father. On this Father’s Day, let us also pray for those men and for their families. Pray for the families who do not have a father figure. Ask for the powerful intercession of St. Joseph, guardian of Mother Mary and theprotectorof Jesus. May St. Joseph watch overand guideall our men.

On this Sunday, the beginning of the 11th week in Ordinary Time, we are called to bear fruit in abundance. No matter how small we maybe in our own eyes, we are able through the way we live ourfaith tohave amajor impact on the lives around us.

Have a Blessed Week!

With love,

Fr. John