|
St. Thomas Aquinas
Parish
Link
to Welcome Letter
A Letter from Rev.
Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor
Sunday Bulletin - January 13,
2008
Dear Parishioner,
St. Thomas Aquinas Parish has been
preparing and praying for the success of the forthcoming
“PARISH MISSION” scheduled to
start this Sunday, January 13th at 7:00 PM. In fact, Deacon Glenn Harmon, who is leading this
Mission, has
given us, at the weekend Masses, some insights into what is
coming up during these special days of God’s Grace. I am not
sure if we are all fully prepared to begin our Parish
Mission. I do hear parishioners
talking about our forthcoming Mission and getting excited about it. Let us
not forget that the Parish
Mission
is a very special time for God to shower upon us, and our
dear Parish, His healing grace and merciful love.
Out of curiosity, I perused the
Webster’s
American
College Dictionary to find
out the literal meaning of the word ‘MISSION’.
To my great surprise, the dictionary gave thirteen different
connotations to this word, one of which states: “a series
of special religious services for increasing religious
devotion and for conversion”.
As the very word suggests, the two
aspects of any
Mission
are: 1) increase of religious devotion; 2)
conversion. Hence, if we are not open to experience a
conversion and true growth in our spiritual life, then we
miss out on the point of what the Parish Mission is all about. With the special calling
that God has given to Deacon Harmon and his wife, Linda, and
the vast experiences they have gained over the years –
giving over five hundred Missions – we can legitimately
believe that they will lead us in a spiritual renewal of our
Catholic life with God. It is important for every one of us
to realize that the Harmon Team is not going to do all the
tricks for us to increase our religious devotion and
conversion. They can only facilitate. It is totally up to
each one of us to open ourselves to God’s Grace and allow
HIM to touch and mold us so that we can be what He really
wants us to be. All we need to do is to do what Mary, Our
Blessed Mother, did, putting herself totally into God’s
Hands: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me
according to your Word.” Yes, dear friend, astounding things
will happen when we choose to let God do His work in our
lives, just like what He did to Mother Mary.
My earnest prayer is that every one of
us has the courage to immerse ourselves into this Parish Mission and allow the Good Lord to do His work
in us. Remember, on Tuesday, January 15th, we
will have many priests from around the Archdiocese available
for you to experience the grace of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
May the God of love and mercy be with
us as we begin our long-awaited Parish
Mission.
Prayerfully,
Fr.
K.K.
____________________________
Back to Pastor Letters Page
St Thomas Aquinas
Parish Catholic Website©
2001-2007 All Rights Reserved
|
