Dear Friends, 

In an era when things rarely seem simple or clear-cut, Jesus’ most direct words about what we are called to do are welcome indeed. “You shall love the Lord your God… you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (see Matthew 22:34–40) sums up our call as believers and followers of Jesus. A simple call, and yet we know that love is often anything but simple. At the very least we know that love is not easy. To love another person, in fact, is usually the more difficult approach to a relationship. Jesus says “love your neighbor as yourself,” but love for another essentially puts that person ahead of ourselves. Most of us could recite these words of Jesus because we hear them frequently, but we can never hear them often enough because we need the reminder to call us back to virtuous living rather than living for ourselves alone.

I am grateful to all who have taken the time to discern your level of financial stewardship for Seton Parish. A hearty thank you to those who have already signed up for GiveCentral, our easy-to-use electronic giving platform! As you know, we depend upon our offertory income as our primary source of revenue, as it accounts for approximately 75% of our operating budget. Every gift you make as a sacrificial offering enables the work we do here— the celebration of the sacraments, teaching the faith and outreach to those in need. Don’t forget I need volunteers to serve as Ushers and Eucharistic Ministers during our current Mass schedule. If you are able, please contact the Parish Office at 410-721-5770 and Heather Algiere will be happy to assist you.

Congratulations to Daniel and Thomas Ross who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at the 5:30pm Mass this Sunday. The family moved into the Crofton area recently from New Jersey and were prepared at their previous parish. However, due to the pandemic they weren’t able to receive this last Sacrament of Initiation.

I mentioned last week that the Parish Staff and I are continuing to make the health and wellbeing of our faith community a top priority. With that in mind, we are now looking at ways to celebrate the upcoming holidays that will keep us all safe. This means we may have to make adjustments to our regular Christmas Mass schedule, how we decorate the church, and with attendance limitations, ways in which we can welcome everyone, including those who don’t regularly worship with us. In the meantime, think about what Christmas will look like for you. Will you watch Mass at home via livestream or would you like to attend in person? Also, there are some things you can do. Think about who you can invite to watch our livestream Mass especially if they aren’t parishioners or active Catholics, participate in our Holiday Giving programs or invite your child to provide art for the parish Christmas card (forms are on the website and in flocknote here). Please send me an email at SetonParish@seaseton.org and let me know how you plan to celebrate with your parish family this holiday season.

The Thanksgiving food drive is in full swing!  We have collected 104 bags so far!  Please click the link here to find more information on this vital ministry and how you can get involved.

We will begin our Christmas outreach earlier than usual this year to ensure that we can purchase items for families in a timely manner.  We will begin to post information on these outreach opportunities next week.  Stay tuned.

Please note that the 9:30 Mass is at full capacity this week.  If you were planning to attend as a walk-in please attend a different Mass or watch the service online.

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.  We are seeing an increase in walk-ins to Masses as of late.  If you come to Mass without signing up, we cannot guarantee 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