Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

Next weekend is Parish Life Weekend! We counted the ministries in the book this year, and the number is 108! This parish just keeps growing and the Holy Sprit keeps working every single time you say ‘YES’ to serving and loving the Lord!

Every act of love requires a ‘yes’ to the beloved and ultimately to God. Do you ever stop and wonder at the mystery that we truly become co-workers with the Lord in His loving plan for the salvation of His children?

God is the infinite and omnipotent master of His plan. But to carry it out He also makes use of our co-operation and even our rebellion! This use is not a sign of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God’ s greatness and goodness foreseeing everything and weaving it into His plan.

He grants us not only our existence, but also the dignity of acting on our own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of co-operating in the accomplishment of His plan. (CCC 306) Whose life might you change? And how might the Lord be kindly waiting for you to say ‘yes’ to Him?

This year’ s ministry booklet has the most ‘yeses’ to the Lord yet. I believe that every parishioner can find somewhere to serve, if they are willing to say yes to Jesus. Some wonderful mystery of His plan to save the world will be woven by your response, please be generous.

pax,

Father John Mosimann

The traditional blessing of animals for the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi will take place on Thursday, October 3rd at 6pm in the Blessed Mother Prayer Garden in front of the Church. Please park away from the area to allow space for our “rambunctious” pets. Please also come prepared to clean up after your pet in case of “accidents”. All animals should be contained or leashed.

Dear Folks,

“God has no grandchildren.”

The context for this quote from my father was one of those serious talks… you know the kind, where a parent or grandparent gets that ominous tone to tell you something very, very critical. His message to his grandchildren was this: “You have been raised in the Catholic faith by your parents but you must decide for yourselves. As a man of science, I believed what I could see and measure. The faith can’t be touched, tasted, seen or manufactured. But you can ask for it, and receive it, because it is a gift from God. He will give it to those who ask.”

God has no Grandchildren: He is directly Our Father. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. We are one family in the Holy Spirit. Or as paragraph 150 from the Catechism says: Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. God has no grandchildren: He will directly father His life within us if we say yes to him and ask for the gift of faith.

Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: “Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith” (CCC 162). The faith isn’t a culture we are born into, it isn’t something kept in a vault and put into a will for inheritance! It is your living relationship of Love with the Holy Trinity!

We are coming to the time of year when ministries get ramped back up, and Parish Life Weekend is two weeks away. How are you making the faith of our fathers, the strength by which you live? I know there is much more that could be said about faith, and these few lines are utterly insufficient. Read paragraphs 142-165 of the Catechism. And ask for the gift of an ever deepening faith lived out in works!

pax,

Father John Mosimann

Pastor