Where did the summer go? Doesn’t it seem like we ask that question year after year.
As I resume my weekly messages to you, it is merely a reflection of how life seems to “resume” as September begins with our college students already back at school, our local schools starting up again this week and vacations ended and work, whether from home or not, kicking back into full gear.
While I am definitely not going back to school this fall, I remember how I used to “resume” school. It was always with a little excitement and a little trepidation. The trepidation would revolve about all the new responsibilities and possibilities that would be thrown my, and missing those “lazy, hazy days of summer.”
The excitement would revolve about starting anew with a resolve to do so with energy and enthusiasm and the blessing that would come from them. I feel the same way now: excitement about the beginning anew with energy and enthusiasm and little bit of trepidation when I think of the challenges that we must truly meet to proclaim and build the Kingdom of Heaven with ever greater passion.
But we are all in this together, as a community, a family in relationship with God and each other fueled with the Eucharist and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
I have been thinking a lot about our parish this summer, our mission and many of the conversations we had during the Synod process. So much of who we are as church is centered around relationships, relationships begin with Jesus Christ and extend each other, our parish family. Almost all that we do is always revolves around gathering with each other in groups, be it our classes for children, working at a soup kitchen or adult discipleship programs like Cornerstone, Small Groups, Christ Life and so much more.
It is with this in mind that I want to invite and encourage you to join us next Sunday, September 10, 2023 after the 12:00 Mass for our Annual Saint Helen Fest. Our coming together as a parish family for fun and conversation, along with the good food and entertainment, is sure to be an opportunity to rejoice and celebrate the relationships that we share with each other. Please come. Invite a friend. Invite a neighbor. Invite someone who has been “away” for some time. All are welcome!
Let us open our hearts to our living and loving God, as well as each other, as we begin another new year together. That chases any trepidation away and leaves us with the exciting prospects of a “new year begun”.
God Bless You All,
Msgr. Tom
