Dear Friends,
“May God fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Saint Paul expresses great confidence in God’s providence and invites us to trust that God will provide. This is what motivates our prayers of intercession as we seek divine help each and every day. Seeing God’s handiwork in our daily lives strengthens our trust and deepens our devotion as we recognize that God not only can do all things well but desires to do so for us. Jesus’ imagery about the kingdom of heaven in today’s gospel might at first seem a little disturbing. The wedding banquet that brought
in guests from off the street is at first quite encouraging, but when the story turns to the expulsion of a guest not suitably dressed, my first reaction is disbelief and confusion. How could the guest be expected to be dressed in a wedding garment if they were only invited right there? It is because the host would have supplied the wedding garment. The guest chose not to make use of the gift freely given to him! As the Lord bestows gifts upon us, we have to be ready to put them to good use. What is the Lord giving you? And what are you doing with it?
Next weekend I will be speaking about our commitment to and support of our parish, and this week all registered parishioners will receive a letter from me regarding financial stewardship. If there is one thing we have learned from the pandemic, it is that we are all in this together. We have discovered something of common goals and shared responsibility, with each of us doing our part to control the spread of COVID-19. Our path forward as a parish demands the same shared responsibility and commitment. I need your help so Seton Parish can emerge stronger than ever to proclaim Jesus Christ, to serve in charity, to care for one another, and to give praise and thanks to God together. I am grateful for your passion and dedication to our parish. Let’s all do our part, making use of the gifts that God has given us, through our financial stewardship as well as through the commitment of our time, our service, and our prayer. I ask that you prayerfully consider your financial commitment.
In case you didn’t hear, the Thanksgiving Food Drive which benefits local, Annapolis, and St. Gregory’s families has begun. All instructions and important dates are listed now on the Parish website, and we will update you weekly with the progress toward our goal once we begin accepting food.
Also, you will find the Annual Report in today’s bulletin. If you have any questions, you can contact a member of the Finance Council listed on the Report.
This weekend, we welcome back Msgr. Jeff Burrill to resume helping me with the Mass schedule. Please continue to pray for the repose of the soul of his mother Beverly, who passed away a couple weeks ago. May the God of all consolation be with his family and all the Faithful Departed.
You may submit names of your deceased loved ones to be written in our Book of the Dead. Due to the pandemic, we cannot have the Book out in the Church. You can email the names to setonparish@seaseton.org or drop them off in the mailbox.
Here is this Sunday’s Worship Aid
A reminder....
I encourage you to sign up for weekend Masses through the parish website or FaceBook page. The link is available after the 9:30 Mass each Sunday UNTIL Wednesday evenings at 10:00pm. If you come to Mass without signing up, we will do our best to find you a seat. Don’t forget to wear your mask, use hand sanitizers in the Narthex and keep your social distance as you approach the Main Entrance of the Church!
As usual, we will continue to live-stream Mass (Mon—Thurs at 9:00am and Sunday at 9:30am) on the parish Facebook (link) and uploaded on YouTube (link), and our parish website, https://www.seaseton.org/Resources/Media. If you do not have Facebook but wish to watch our livestream, click here for instructions.
Have a good week!
Fr. Paul