Fr Fred's weekly letter-November 22nd, 2020

My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,   

   The shortest and perhaps most impacting homily I ever heard—many years ago—was on this feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe—the feast we commonly call “Christ the King”. It went like this: “If Christ is your King, prove it”. That was it. I will
always remember it. However, I also remember asking myself, how does a person show or “prove” that he or she really believes and shows that Jesus is our King?

   Today’s Gospel gives us the best answer I know of. It is not by crowns and gowns, accolades or honors, tributes or flowers. Jesus said very clearly, “When I was hungry, you gave me to eat. When I was thirsty . . .” You know these words. They end with, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers (or sisters) of mine, you did for Me.” Could the Lord have been any clearer”? Jesus’ Kingship was one of selfless service, limitless compassion, and unconditional love. He said very clearly, “I
did not come to be served, but to serve; to give my life as a ransom for many”. The throne of Christ the King is the Cross. Homage to the King means imitating His way and reaching out to the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized and those often considered lost and of no value. The person who is sincere about acknowledging and following Christ the King “proves” it best by tremendous love and care for the poor and needy—the least of our brothers and sisters. So, the question is, who (or what) is King
in your life, and how do you show it?

  This is also the last Sunday of the liturgical year. Next weekend we begin the beautiful season of Advent. Preparing for the coming of the Lord is more than just getting ready for Christmas. It requires patience, stillness and listening, and a deeper awareness of God’s presence. It is enhanced by a special effort to reach out to those who are neglected or feel isolated, or whose lives are filled with sadness or despair, to bring them the light and hope and joy of Christ. Perhaps the changes in life brought about by the challenges of the pandemic can enable us to bring about changes in our spiritual lives brought about by the Holy Spirit. Start with reinforcing the Eucharist as the center of your life, both in celebration and in how it shapes and guides your actions and
priorities. Our parish will be offering opportunities to deepen your love for the Eucharist, and how it can continue to grow as the center and source of all you do. New beginnings, like Advent, can always be wonderful opportunities to set new goals and
achieve new heights of holiness.

  Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. I know things may be different this year in how and with whom we can celebrate, but “giving thanks” is primarily a matter of the heart, and certainly not something we restrict to a particular day or tradition. The grateful person ultimately is a person who finds true interior joy. Life may not be easy, but God is so good and continues to bless us and do amazing things for us. Thank you for all you do, especially for St. Anthony Parish. I really encourage you to come to the Thanksgiving (Eucharistic) Table of the Lord. Mass on Thanksgiving Day is at 9:00 am. There is no better way to give thanks and to begin this special day.

   Have a great week. Stay healthy, warm, and filled with God’s peace and love. Be clear and let everyone know who the King is in your life.

In God's Love, 

Fr Fred

Fr Fred's weekly letter-November 15th, 2020

My Sisters and Brothers of St. Anthony Parish,

     I hope you were able to enjoy some of the absolutely gorgeous days of Autumn beauty and warmer temperatures that we had. Things are definitely changing and all of us know what lies ahead. Or do we really? Weather has somewhat of a pattern and can be forecasted with some degree of accuracy. Life really cannot. None of us knows for sure what lies around the next bend, and it is possible that it could catch us “like a thief in the night”. We all have a tendency to get a little spiritually lazy at times, or to just coast through life. The Scriptures at this time of the year are challenging us “to stay sober and alert”. Be prepared, the Lord is coming. Even though we are already experiencing clear signs of the Christmas season—just a little over a month away—Jesus is coming into our lives more than on December 25 th , and often “like a thief in the night”, or when we may least expect God to break into our world. Hence the good advice: “Always be prepared”.

     One of the best ways of being always ready is to be willing to put our God-given gifts and talents to good use. The parable in today's Gospel reminds us that everyone is blessed with talents, although each person has unique gifts and different amounts. The challenge is that we use them and not bury them. It is so easy to convince ourselves that what we can offer is really not that important, or fall into the trap of “let someone else do it”, or to just be afraid to take the risk of believing that what I can give will really matter. This Gospel is truly an example of “use it or lose it”. It also teaches us that the more we give, the more we realize we have. So, find your way to be a giver, a good steward of the gifts God has given you. Our parish needs you, and we need each other. Although we are off to a good start this last month and a half since we have re-opened, we need to continue the growth of giving and sharing and building up this community of faith.

     This week I plan to come to our Parish Council meeting. My hope is to listen to their guidance on our “tentative” plans for Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas. We will be communicating those plans in the near future. As all of us know, just about everything we do these days falls under the category of tentative”. The one and only thing we can count on without a doubt or even a hint of hesitation is that God is with us, God loves us, and God will always give us what we need. What God gives us is not only His Holy Spirit to guide us, but also His precious gifts found in the talents and resources that each of us are blessed with. Let us use them together for the glory of God and to build
His Kingdom.
Have a wonderful week. May God’s peace and love be with you and those you love.
In God’s love,
Fr. Fred

Fr Fred's Weekly Message 

November 8, 2020

November is off to a great start here. I hope it is for you personally. Certainly God is blessing us with some beautiful “bonus” days of sunshine, warmer temps, and falling leaves. Last weekend we celebrated the Festival of All Saints. I pray that you are intentionally choosing sainthood now. There is not one saint in heaven who chose to be a saint after he or she died. You don’t have to be perfect—no one is. You just need to try your best to live like Christ and not give up—even when it is hard.

On Monday we celebrated the Feast of All Souls with a beautiful Mass that evening at which Fr.Greg presided, and at which the parish remembered in a special way all those who died from
St. Anthony’s this past year, as well as all our departed loved ones. Take a look at the special banner that is standing in the sanctuary with their names, and add them to the special names that are written in your hearts. May they rest in peace and share the fullness of life with all the saints in heaven. As time marches on, the big question is, “Are you ready?”. For what??? The Lord is coming!!! Really, when? Oh I know, Christmas is right around the corner. Yes it is. Even closer is Thanksgiving and the beautiful season of Advent. However, the Lord is coming TODAY. Are you ready?

The Gospel this weekend is the story of the five wise
virgins and the five foolish ones. The foolish ones fell asleep and had no oil in their lamps to meet the bridegroom (the Lord). They tried at the last minute to borrow some oil from the wise, but sometimes there are things you just cannot borrow—like a living and active faith and an ongoing effort to grow in a personal relationship with the Lord. So they were out of luck and heard the words, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you”. The truth is God does know us. The real question is, do we know God? That is what it means to be ready. The Lord comes into our lives every day, often in ways we might least expect.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, plans for celebrating these great times are being finalized and will be shared in the next few weeks. We all know that things are different because of the pandemic, but the realities of what we celebrate, and our need to get ready and to celebrate them as best as we can are always there. Stay tuned, and get your hearts ready. These are very special times.

May God bless you, your family, our parish and our country. It is in the Lord that we find true peace, happiness, direction and meaning —as long as we are ready.

Peace and blessings to you and yours.
In God’s love,
Fr. Fred

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Sunday October 25th, 2020

1st Communion 2019-2020

 

 

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.

 

 

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