Your Parish Family Welcomes You
As we begin a New Year in 2002 – it’s time to reflect on the events that shaped our lives in 2001 and make resolutions that will lead to personal happiness and improved relation- ships. I hope this issue of the St. Augustine Catholic will inspire you to connect with yourself, your family and friends and most especially your faith community. The events of this past year have certainly awakened in each of us our need to connect with loved ones and with God. I think for many of us it is our faith that helps sustain us through difficult times and helps us when interpreting the signs of the times.
Beginning on page 6, Father Robert L. Kinast helps us interpret the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel. He says it is a slower and more complex process than it may at first appear. He says, the goal is to discern what the Holy Spirit is saying, and he points out that the Spirit often speaks through unexpected sources.
On Jan. 6 the Catholic Church will celebrate a National Day of Prayer for Immigrants and Refugees. This day of prayer kicks off a week-long effort where the United States Bishops in their recently approved statement Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity, calls all members of the church to conversion, communion and solidarity. On page 10 Chelle Delaney explores the content of the statement that challenges each of us “to get beyond the situation of ethnic communities existing side-by-side in parishes with no connection to each other and to become an evangelizing church open to inter-religious dialogue.
On page 14 we continue our series on the sacraments by exploring the gifts of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And on page 16 Father John Phillips of St. Augustine Church and Catholic Student Center explains how a simple meal can promote community where the entire parish can embrace each other and help individuals as they continue their faith journey through the RCIA – the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
At Christmas it was wonderful to see how full our church was – families and friends praying and celebrating the gift of Jesus. This is a wonderful time of year to reconnect with loved ones and with your parish community. It is a time to get right with yourself, get right with God and to get right with the church! Please know you are missed and we want to welcome you back!
This year, as you continue to decide what matters most, be honest with yourself and know that God’s arms are open wide to welcome each of his children into His fold. Remember if prayer has no place in our daily routines, we probably are trusting only in what we know and can control to meet the challenges posed by the signs of the times.
Seek help, perseverance, faith and fortitude!
