My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,

Our beautiful church has now been open for a month and we enter the month of November. I continue to experience great things about St. Anthony Parish, especially in the leaders I have had the privilege to meet and start working with, as well as in the good people I have encountered in this short time. Their love for the parish and its importance in people’s lives and in the Fairport community is so apparent. Good for you. I know God is with us.

Last week I had the privilege of meeting with the Finance
Council. I came away very impressed and inspired—not necessarily with the overall financial picture at this point (which is very understandable and I am sure will get better)—but with the quality of leadership, the depth of care, and the deep desire to help this parish to grow and flourish. Certainly we all have a lot of work to do to build and re-build, but I am confident, with the grace of God and the good stewardship of all of you,
we can enable St. Anthony’s to continue to be vibrant and effective in the lives of all our people. In my view, a parish is best described as a family in which each member is vitally important and has something special to offer. We are a community of believersc alled to build the Kingdom of God—something beyond our reach, and yet something we work at little by little, day by day, and with our best efforts. God is so good, and we rely on God to give us what we need. I know God is working through YOU. I pray that you will always know how loved you are, how gifted you are, and how needed you are
to help this parish to continually grow. Reach out and invite others back. Share with them the Good News that St. Anthony Parish is alive and well. Be grateful for the blessings of your own life, and share them from your hearts. We need you. You ARE
St. Anthony Parish.

As we begin this first week of November, we have some very special things happening. Today, of course, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. I know you will remember the big names like Anthony, Francis, Theresa, Joseph, Mary, etc. Please don’t forget the quiet ones like Grandma, or a fellow parishioner who was such an inspiration, or a co-worker who used to donate so much time at the local homeless shelter. We are all called to be saints. The one thing I can tell you for sure is that there is not one saint in heaven who decided to be a saint after he or she died. It is never a matter of being perfect. It is always about being faith-full and choosing to try to live like Jesus.

Monday we celebrate the Feast of All Souls and remember all our faithful departed and pray for those who miss them so much. We will celebrate a special Mass of Remembrance Monday at 7 pm. Tuesday of course is Election Day. Vote. Vote responsibly—which
means being informed, prayerfully asking God to speak to your heart. Be civil and kind. The candidate you need to be most concerned about is you. Be a candidate for sainthood. And, as we start preparing for Thanksgiving, always strive to be people
with grateful hearts, and know that this parish is very grateful for the gift of you.

Have a great week. May God bless you and your family, and may God continue to bless this wonderful parish of St. Anthony of Padua. Peace and blessings.
In God’s love,

Fr. Fred

 

Sunday October 25th, 2020

1st Communion 2019-2020

 

Fr Fred's weekly message-October 20th, 2020

My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,

In a Gospel passage earlier this week from St. Luke, Jesus confronts the sad evil of greed and the foolish practice of piling up treasure for ourselves, but not growing rich in what matters to God. I believe that being very committed to “what matters to God” is the key to a successful, fulfilling, peaceful and holy life. The difficulty is that it may be easy to be confused about what matters to God. In a real way, that is what one of the Pharisees in today’s Gospel is asking Jesus regarding which commandment is the greatest. Jesus was very clear. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself”.

LOVE is what matters to God.

That seems very clear, but as you and I know, it is not always easy to understand and live. It strikes me though, that the greatest example and source of how to love for us is the Eucharist—Jesus who empties Himself for us by giving His life, and calls us to do the same for each other in big and small ways every day of our lives. My prayer and best efforts will always be to keep the Eucharist as the “source and summit” of who we are and all we do.

With that in mind, I especially want to offer prayerful congratulations and support to the seven children who are making their First Communion this Sunday at the 10 am Mass and to their parents and families. I pray that this will be just the beginning of a life of love that continues to grow rich in what matters to God, and that their receiving Communion will inspire all of us to share as fully as we can in the Eucharist. Thanks to all who helped prepare our children and to all who not only share in the Eucharist as best as they can, but live it throughout their lives. I am happy to tell you that the number of people coming back to Mass on Sundays is increasing. This past week we were up to 130. That is great!

Your parish leaders and I had a very productive meeting this past week to discuss further ways our community can grow in faith, especially through the Eucharist. We talked about the All Souls Mass on November 2nd , Thanksgiving, and even Advent and Christmas. Circumstances may be different these days because of the pandemic—and we will always do everything possible to keep people safe and healthy—but the reality of what matters to God always remains the same—Love. I pray that the Eucharist will always be at the very center of what matters to each of us.

Have a wonderful week. Don’t forget to set your clocks back next weekend on Halloween night. As you strive to become a more loving person, never forget how much you are loved by

God—more than you could ever begin to imagine. Peace and blessings.

In God’s love,

Fr. Fred

 

Fr Fred's weekly message-October 14, 2020

My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,

Great things are happening at St. Anthony Parish in Fairport Harbor. Let me share with you what I mean by that and why I believe that is true. First, we are open to worship the Lord and celebrate the center and most important part of our faith, the Eucharist. Not that we measure by numbers, but our numbers were slightly up our second week back—to 109—and I suspect that will continue to increase as time goes on. More importantly, everyone at St. Anthony’s has done an outstanding job getting everything ready and helping us to celebrate properly and safely. So many parishioners have expressed how happy they are to be back, and I believe that spirit is contagious and will spread.

This past Sunday I was able to take a sneak peek at an introductory PSR meeting for parents and children, and know that great efforts continue to provide quality faith formation opportunities for our youth. In addition, I am aware of plans being made to celebrate First Communion for those who were unable this past May, the All Souls liturgy on November 2nd , and soon we will be looking towards Advent and Christmas. Great things are happening because St. Anthony’s has great leaders and great people. It is an honor to join with you and at least be a small part of this community.

However, St. Anthony’s is a great parish not only because of what is taking place now, but because of the strong history and tradition of a truly great parish that has been in existence since 1887. One of the things that several people have shared with me is that not only is this a great parish in and of itself, but it is a very important part of the entire Fairport Harbor Village—which is what a parish ought to be. The challenge is how do we remain great and continue to grow?

We have a very important lesson from Jesus in this weekend’s Gospel. I am sure the Pharisees thought they really caught Jesus in a bind when they asked, ”Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not”. Jesus saw right through them—as He always does—and gave the perfect response: “”Pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”. We belong to God. We are created in God’s image. What we give to God must come from our hearts and often cannot be seen or measured. We give our time, our best efforts, and our unique gifts. And yes, we offer our financial sacrifices. Everything we have is a gift from God. Sacrificial giving, since 1887, is why St. Anthony’s is such a great parish. God bless you. However, you still have to pay your taxes to the IRS. Enjoy these beautiful days of Autumn. Thanks to all who are keeping our parish grounds looking so beautiful. Before we know it we may be finding everything covered in white. We can deal with that when it comes. For now, be good to yourself. Take care of each other. Feel God’s love and peace for you very personally. See you soon. In God’s love, Fr. Fred

May the Light of Faith shine forth from our parish as a beacon to guide our community to the Lord. When life seems difficult and troublesome, may our faith offer us security and strength. When we come together to celebrate God's gifts may the Holy Spirit fill us with joy.

 

 

Check out our Parish's catechetical (PSR) program by clicking on the icon below.  For more information contact Steve Biro at steve@stafh.org

For more informaton concerning the RCIA process, please contact the parish office 440-354-4525