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Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 10, 2024

SJE Admin • November 14, 2024

Dear Friends,

Praise God, the Election is over. Thank you for voting to defeat Amendment 4 which, had it succeeded, would have been the cause of countless numbers of infants losing their lives. Despite being happy at the defeat of this amendment, I am also deeply saddened by the fact that 57% of Florida residents believe that is it ok to kill babies in the womb. This goes against the grain of what we believe life to be. We still have miles to go before everyone feels disturbed by the thought of aborting a baby.

Please understand that what I have said in no way amounts to saying we do not value the life of a mother in danger. We have to do all in our power to save lives. Our focus should be on finding ways to protect everyone’s life. In this context, I would like you to read the statement released by the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding the defeat of Amendment 4:

We are profoundly relieved at the defeat of Florida’s pro-abortion Amendment 4. This is a positive outcome for Florida and all efforts to promote the flourishing of our state.

Though Amendment 4 failed to reach the 60% threshold required to pass, a majority of Floridians voting in the general election supported it. While significant gains to protect women and preborn children in recent years will remain in place, abortion in Florida will continue at a very high rate under our current laws.

Much work remains to open hearts and minds to the dignity and goodness of life in the womb and at every stage. We will continue to proclaim in our churches and in the public square the value of every human life and to highlight that there is a better way forward for women, families and society than abortion. Through our many ministries, we will continue to support, encourage and assist pregnant women and young families. For those who regret their abortion or abortions, or their cooperation in one, we reiterate that the Lord is eager to forgive, and the Church is ready to facilitate healing.

We express our gratitude to all those who worked against Amendment 4, giving of their time, talent and resources. Those efforts were clearly fruitful in this election and will reverberate to the good for generations to come.

God bless the people of Florida.

I have recently spoken about two new ministries to be launched at St. John’s. One of these is GEN HOPE, a ministry that will gather our college-level young people together on Sundays between 7.30 – 9 p.m. in Room 5 of the Parish Life Center where they will pray, share reflections, and grow in their faith. The first meeting is this Sunday, 10 November 2024. You can follow this group on Instagram and Facebook at SJE GEN Hope. I cordially invite our young people in the age group of 18 to 22 or so to come and flourish in our Catholic Faith.

As we celebrate our Veterans on Veteran’s Day, 11 November 2024, we wholeheartedly thank YOU for YOUR service to our Nation. Your unrelenting love for our country and your selfless sacrifice have given safety to our citizens and promoted peace around the globe. At St. John’s, we are blessed to have many veterans— both those who have retired and those still serving – and for a long time I have been thinking about a way to bring our veterans together. The time has finally come. This upcoming Veteran’s Day, we will launch our new Veteran’s ministry under the name SJE4VETERANS. Thanks to Sean Edwards and Joann Molina and Tim and Lulu Ferrell for accepting my request to coordinate this ministry.

I personally extend a warm invitation to our Veterans to join me and our SJE4VETERANS team on Monday, 11November at 5:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall. We will begin with a meet and greet over some snacks. Please come and let us celebrate your dedication to our nation and allow our team and I to present our many ideas for reaching out to and serving our veterans. Your feedback will hugely help us to determine what direction this ministry will take.

Congratulations to Kathy and John Drake, who are the recipients of the October 2024 Family of the Month award, which was given at the 9 a.m. Mass on Sunday, 27 October 2024. I am grateful for their love and dedication to our parish, especially to the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Children’s Mass Ministry. Thank you, Kathy and John, for all you do for us!

God really loves a cheerful and generous giver. Most of you have been wonderfully cheerful and unstinting in your support of our parish and all our outreach efforts. This Sunday, the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, offers an opportunity to reflect on how we give. Just like the widow of Zarephath, who gave all she had to feed the hungry prophet Elijah, the poor widow in Mark’s Gospel (12: 38-44) gives cheerfully all that she has to the Temple treasury and in doing so inspires Jesus’ admiration.

Without the generous hearts whose giving keeps our parish healthy, we could not hold things together here. Yet, this generosity does not seem able to extend to the wonderful work done here and throughout the diocese by Our Catholic Appeal with only 39% of participation. I remain immensely grateful to those whose generosity allowed us to contribute at the level expected of a flourishing parish of this size.

Be Blessed.  With Love,

Fr. John

 

March 30, 2025
Dear friends, We are about halfway through the season of Lent, and for those who have stayed close to the events of this Holy Season, some sense of joy should be present. After the inspiring Lenten mission and celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we should be experiencing a fresh surge of grace. Thus, we have reason to rejoice. This weekend, we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Lent – do you remember that this is known traditionally as Laetare Sunday? “Laetare” is Latin for “rejoice.” Today's gospel describes the reason for our joy: God's great love for us has been revealed in Jesus. Through His passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus reconciled us with God and one another. As a family, we at St. John’s continue to accompany our catechumens and candidates as they prepare to embrace the fullness of the Catholic faith. Last Sunday (Third Sunday of Lent), we celebrated the First Scrutiny with them. This Sunday, we will celebrate the Second Scrutiny. The Rites of Scrutiny which we witness during three consecutive Sundays are a sign of the Period of Purification and Enlightenment. During this period, our Elect (the unbaptized) and candidates are focused on deepening their conversion and strengthening their resolve to live with Christ. As part of the Second Scrutiny rite, we hear about and meditate on the story in the Gospel of John of the healing of the man born blind which is taken from Cycle A of the Sunday Mass readings. From the first moment of Creation, when God spoke the word “light” into the dark void, the Divine illumination has infused meaning into the visible universe. The account of the gradual healing of the man born blind is proclaimed to the Elect during the Second Scrutiny to encourage them to accept the Light of Divine Meaning (Logos) into their lives. In the gospel story, Jesus approaches the man who has been in a state of natural darkness his whole life and places a mixture of saliva and clay onto his unseeing organs of sight. Along with the command, “Go and wash,” our Lord uses these outward signs to effect a miracle of seeing, as the man experiences natural light for the first time. Let us pray for our elect and candidates, that they may begin to say of their own lives, as in the hymn Amazing Grace, “I once was blind, but now I see.” For those of you who will not be attending the 4:30 p.m. Mass this Sunday, you will experience the beautiful image of a God who never ceases to love us (Cycle C readings for Sunday). In the first reading, we celebrate the fulfilment of God’s promise to the people of Israel as they arrive at the Promised Land (Joshua 5:9a, 10-12). Here, the Lord God removes their bondage to slavery, by saying, “Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you,” God reinstates the covenant relationship with His people that had been shattered by their unfaithfulness. In the Gospel of Luke, we hear the Parable of the Prodigal Father, a man who lavishes love on the son who had completely rejected him in the past. In an extreme display of unconditional love, the prodigal father welcomes his wayward son with joy and restores their original relationship, making him once again a beloved son and heir. Wow! What a blessing it is to have such a heavenly Father! He is so prodigal in His love that He always has room for us, is always ready to draw us into His household and lavish on us all the blessings He has promised His children. Therefore, let us rejoice!  Stay close to the fire! With Love, Fr. John
March 9, 2025
Dear friends, The holy season of Lent has begun with a glorious Ash Wednesday. It was heartwarming to see our children at the 7 a.m. Mass that day. They wore the cross-shaped ashes on their foreheads to school, proud to show their faith and be silent evangelizers. We are very proud of them! Now that it is Lent, we will offer Stations of the Cross at the Grotto each day of the week except Sunday, including the traditional Stations on Fridays. I urge you to look at the bulletin for all the details about special Masses and other spiritual activities that have been created to support you on your lenten journey. I ask that you take the Lenten Schedule on page 8 and post it where you will remember to look at it. In particular, note the information about the Lenten Mission on March 16-18, the special programing for the Tuesdays of Lent, and the many spiritual activities on Fridays. We can approach Lent as the opportunity to do a spiritual “spring cleaning.” As one good priest reminded me: “Lent is a time to re-read the ‘owner’s manual,’ to tune our ‘engines,’ and to refurbish our ‘vehicles’ – not only for the journey of 40 days but also for the journey of life, the right life–and the right eternity.” God has given us an inexhaustible capacity for the transformation needed for becoming holy. Lent is also that special time of year when we walk with our catechumens and candidates as they prepare to become full members of the Catholic faith during the Easter Vigil. We are called to support them through our prayers and examples of faith. Remember to pray for their sponsors and their families as well. During the Vigil Mass on 8 March, the St. John’s family will join with our catechumens in celebration of the ritual called the Rite of Sending. In this rite, they will be recognized for the progress they have made in their spiritual formation. Then we will send them on to the Rite of Election which will be celebrated by Bishop Noonan the next day, 9 March, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe. We are very proud of the perseverance and dedication of our sisters and brothers . In this Jubilee Year 2025 themed, “Pilgrims of Hope,” it is good to reflect on the words of St. Teresa of Avila about hope and what it accomplishes: “Hope, O my soul, hope. You know neither the day nor the hour. Watch carefully, for everything passes quickly, even though your impatience makes doubtful what is certain, and turns a very short time into a long one. Dream that the more you struggle, the more you prove the love that you bear your God, and the more you will rejoice one day with your Beloved, in a happiness and rapture that can never end.” On the First Sunday of Lent, we always revisit the scene of the temptation of Jesus in the desert where he spent 40 days fasting and praying. We also recall our ancestors in faith, the ancient Israelites, who for 40 years trudged their way through the desert to the promised land. Jesus, through his patient acceptance of suffering and his rejection of the allurements of the devil, models the correct response in times of adversity and testing. This is in contrast with the ancient Israelites who murmured and complained bitterly about their ordeal. Jesus never swerved from being obedient to his Father; he completely and utterly depended on Him. Let us, too, place complete confidence in the Father during our times of trial, of which there will be many.  Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, continues to need our prayers. Let us continue to pray for his healing: “O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look favorably on your servant Francis, whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd; grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” I take this opportunity to announce that Beth Lowry has joined our parish staff as the new Business Manager. She held the position of bookkeeper in our office some years ago. Beth is well known to many at St. John’s. She and her devoted husband Steve have long been involved in many of our ministries. Beth brings a rich variety of work experience and abilities to her new position, and we wish her a positive and pleasant experience as she takes on this leadership role at St. John’s. Welcome, Beth! Have an inspiring and enriching LENT! With love, Fr. John
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