St. John Neumann
Catholic Church

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, and we look forward to Thursday, and the celebration of Thanksgiving Day. How are these two great feast days connected? How is it possible for these two feast days to be connected, since one is sacred and one is secular... one, sponsored by the Church and the other, sponsored by the federal government?

Any basic study of psychology or the religions of the world would come across these fundamental human categories: the sacred and the secular. It would seem that it is in our human nature, to divide our experience of the world into what seems "holy" (sacred), other from what is ordinary, common, "regular" (secular). Again, let me ask: how is the sacred holy day of Christ the King connected to the secular holiday of Thanksgiving? I'll leave it to you to think about this question; but I will submit that it is an important question for all of us to ponder: how are the celebrations of Christ our King  and Thanksgiving connected, related? Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, and we look forward to Thursday, and the celebration of Thanksgiving Day. How are these two great feast days connected? How is it possible for these two feast days to be connected, since one is sacred and one is secular... one, sponsored by the Church and the other, sponsored by the federal government?

Any basic study of psychology or the religions of the world would come across these fundamental human categories: the sacred and the secular. It would seem that it is in our human nature, to divide our experience of the world into what seems "holy" (sacred), other from what is ordinary, common, "regular" (secular). Again, let me ask: how is the sacred holy day of Christ the King connected to the secular holiday of Thanksgiving? I'll leave it to you to think about this question; but I will submit that it is an important question for all of us to ponder: how are the celebrations of Christ our King  and Thanksgiving connected, related?

Please note some important bits of information for our parish family:

• There will be a 10:00 am Mass on Thanksgiving Day. Please come and join me in this special blessing of thanksgiving.

• We are moving closer to the establishment of the Pastoral Council of SJN. If you have a desire to serve on this Council or know someone that you might think a prospective member, please contact the office or go to our web-site, for an application. The deadline for applications will be the 7th of January.

• Several of the committees of our Building a Legacy of Faith project are in high gear. The whole project is moving along, looking to lock up all necessary permissions from the county, looking forward to ground-breaking!

• This is the last weekend of the liturgical year. Next weekend (29-30 November), we begin the season of Advent and a new liturgical year. One way to kick off the season of Advent is in joining in our next Table of Fellowship Pot-luck Supper, to be held in Donnellan Hall on the 6th of December, the feast of St. Nicholas, from 6:00-8:00 pm. Please plan to attend, and bring an appetite for fellowship (and a dish or two to share!).

• Along with the 6th, please mark the 18th of December on your calendar. We will have our Advent Penance Service at 7:00 pm. Priests from our deanery will join Fr. Armando and me, to assist you in preparing for the celebration of the Nativity.

 


AMDG

Msgr. David Talley

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