Father David’s Letter
Dear Friends in Christ,
It has been a few weeks since I have shared with you my thoughts in writing. After all the holiday busyness, it is now time to get back to it.
I begin by reflecting back on the Christmas season. First, let me just say how grateful I am to all of you who assisted in making our Christmas celebrations noble and beautiful. This year might have been the best yet of my time here! While the sacred liturgy isn’t all that we do of course, it is where we have our largest gatherings and where most of our people are spiritually fed on a regular basis. Therefore it is imperative, particularly on our biggest holidays and feast days, that we as a Catholic Christian people demonstrate the very best of who we are. For one, and most importantly, God always deserves our best worship, period, and not just at holiday times; for two, we never know who will be visiting us or merely passing through St. Mary on these special occasions, and as a community we always want to leave our guests with a good first impression. We all know the old saying that we never get a second chance to make a first impression. I therefore commend you all for contributing to the dignity of our worship and making St. Mary a welcoming and hospitable place this Christmas season. I think overall we affected a positive impact on our guests and on each other. We are reminded at these sacred times that we should never take our guests or each other for granted.
Second, I must say on a personal note that once again I was humbled and frankly overwhelmed at your generosity towards me this Christmas. It is always heartwarming for me as your pastor to receive cards and gifts from you, but your kindness shown to me each Christmas is on a whole other level, and this year in particular. I am, believe it or not, without words, except for a simple and hearty thank you, and, to say I have so many thank you notes to send that I told my staff I will be writing them for weeks! As of this moment I am about halfway through my list.
Lastly for this week, apart from Christmas, and on a somber note, remember that this week marks the 47th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of Roe vs. Wade, which as you know legalized in our country the termination of an unborn child in its mother’s womb. Since that unfortunate decision, tens of millions of our nation’s children have been killed, and countless millions of parents’ lives have been devastated. The psychological, moral, and spiritual wreckage wrought in the wake of “Roe” cannot be overstated. In my priestly ministry I have seen merely a glimpse of this aftermath, and it is sad and not pretty. While it is true that some states are implementing more life-affirming policies, others like Illinois are not. Thus there is hope mixed with more grief. We also know that scientific research is ever-increasingly able to back the life position, and this is encouraging for generations who are looking for empirical evidence to define truth. We also see bolder and more brash behavior from those not on the side of life. We might say that the wheat and the weeds are both growing, and perhaps it is getting close to harvest time. In the meantime we must keep working and praying and fasting for the cause of life. Every soul matters!
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. David
Catholic Schools Week! See what Montini has to offer! Come visit us during our open house at both schools Montini Primary Center: 3504 W. Washington Street, McHenry and Montini Middle School: 1405 N. Richmond Road, McHenry – on Sunday, January 26th from 10am-1pm. For more information go to Montini’s website: https://www.montinischool.com/
St. Mary’s 125th Anniversary Celebration is well on its way!
From August 15, 2019 thru August 15, 2020, you can order you St. Mary T-Shirt that portrays the image of our Blessed Mother as rendered by a 2019 Montini graduate and St. Mary parishioner, Rebecca Bodden! There’s more than just T-Shirts to choose from. Go to this link to order choice of style and sizes: https://inktothepeople.com/st-mary-catholic-church-125th-anniversary-/
Mark your calendars! Coming to St. Mary’s on Saturday, February 15th, Mr. Patrick McCaskey will be speaking about the importance of a Catholic Education after the 4PM Mass in church. See the events page for more details!
Here’s something to SMILE about! 🙂
St. Mary’s Church is now connected with AMAZON.SMILE! What is Amazon.Smile? Amazon is dedicated to giving back to charitable organizations like our parish. When you buy online at Amazon, you have the opportunity to have .05% of your purchases donated to St. Mary’s by Amazon. When you sign up for AmazonSmile, you’ll be asked to select from over a million of charities to support. But you can skip this step and click on our unique link. Then you’ll be taken to smile.amazon.com and then automatically asked if you want to support St Mary Church. Our unique charity link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/36-2182123
Don’t forget to sign up for St. Mary’s MyParish App today!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to enhance your spiritual life and get updates on what’s happening at St. Mary!Just text App to phone number 88202 or visit myparishapp.com to download. St. Mary’s will not automatically beone of your choices because we are a national parish which means we have no boundaries. Just type in St. Mary 1407 and the site will be available for you to click on and join. Keep yourself up to date on parish events, daily readings, messages, Pope Francis messages, and programs to enhance your faith journey.
