18 May 2014

This Week Letter – May 18, 2014

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dzieszkoLetter

My Dear Parishioners and Friends, Warm greetings to all on this fifth Sunday of Easter! Today we read in St. John’s Gospel (18:1-12) of the curious conversation that developed between Jesus and the Apostles. Seeing the Apostles saddened by His departure, Jesus comforts them with the words: “And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be ….. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” May our Lord’s words be a consolation to those who have experienced the painful death of someone dear to them — a mother, a father, a family member or a close friend. We are most affected by the death of the young, of those in the prime of life, of those who die suddenly. No doubt, we are all of us very much attached to our lives here on earth. Often, our faith is too weak to comprehend the reality of death. The words of Jesus are also our encouragement to stay close to Him throughout all our earthly lives and to conduct ourselves according to His commandments A good life, consumed with the love of God and neighbor guarantees eternal happiness. No other goal can be more important than the attainment of our salvation and eternal joy. I am repeatedly uplifted by the conduct of many of you: your faith, openness, love, kindness, unselfishness, your commitment to parish and Church matters. At this time, representing all of us, I thank those who come almost every week and gratuitously clean our church, those who attend to the concerns of the rectory, those who count the Sunday and Holiday donations, those who sell bread and pastries, those who are involved in the functioning of our parish organizations, etc. Some of you deserve special recognition and honorable mention. Today, I wish to acknowledge Mr. Stanislaw Abratanski who spends many hours cleaning up our church, practically every time our sacristan, Sr. Zofia, calls on him. Mr. Abratanski, of his own free will and the goodness of his heart, paid for the sidewalks at the church entrances near the bell tower and Handzel Center. Mr. Joseph Czarny, of his own free will, laminated all the prayer cards to St. Michael the Archangel which we find in our church pews. May our Lord reward and bless you! On Saturday, May 31st, the 4:30pm Mass will be offered by Fr. Luis Fernando, a professor at the Holy Spirit Seminary in Havana, Cuba. After this Mass, there will be a gathering in Borowczyk Hall of all those who made the pilgrimage to Cuba. All of Cuban descent also are invited to this meeting. Everyone is welcome to bring along some type of interesting Cuban snacks. Fr. Luis also will celebrate the 10:30am and 12:00pm Masses on Sunday, June 1st. I extend Birthday greetings to Sister Zofia Turczyn, Names day greetings to Father Maciej Galle as well as to Sister Zofia, and Birthday greetings to Casey Milewski, Polonia Club President. May also is the month when priests celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination to the priesthood. My wish for my confreres and all the ordained is that they may be truly Godly priests, filled with the love of God and their fellow man.

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