We are beginning the second full week of Lent. Tempus fugit... time truly flies by us. Already, the second Sunday of Lent. Please take a minute with me and consider the true blessing of this holy season... and our need to enter into this time of conversion.
Holy Lent has a dual character. The foundation of this liturgical season is all about the preparation for baptism. In the early years of the Church, when disciples of the Lord Jesus were persecuted by the Roman Empire, when it was against the law to follow this Christos, the preparation for baptism was fraught with dangers. In those early years, as adults were attracted to the Way of Life seen in the lives of the disciples of the Lord and as they approached the members of the Church asking for catechesis, asking for the life, those inquiring about the Way entered into a period of intensive preparation... the catechumenate. The season we now know as holy Lent was that time of intensive preparation of adults seeking the sacrament of baptism at Easter... life in and through the Lord and his Church. At that time, baptism was a revolutionary act against the secular state, punishable by death. The preparation for baptism called on the catechumen to intensify their prayer, their fasting, and their works of mercy (almsgiving), so as to strengthen their resolve, to live a new Way of life.
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Our children, our teens, our families and the Lord's poor.
Before the flood waters began to recede in September of 2009, Deacon Bill and I were working with the Archdiocese, our insurers, Gwinnett County and Rogers Construction Company, looking for the way we would "repair the damages done". After many months of meetings and inquiry, we now have a way to move forward, in repairing the damages done to our plant by the great floods of 2009.
Our Pre-school: Gwinnett County will not allow us to use the basement/lower level of the Neumann Center in any re-building effort. Without the use of the basement, the Neumann Center is too small for our Pre-school; and an enlargement of the "footprint" of that house large enough for the important work of our Pre-school would be prohibitively expensive. This is due to the county's requirements of building in a flood plain.
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The Gifts of Art and Architecture: the Catholic Church of St. John Neumann, June 3, 2010 should be ready for distribution at the end of this month. This brochure is offered to you, in hopes that SJN will be able to raise needed additional dollars through Memorial gifts. The brochure will allow you to "take a virtual tour" through the new worship space and see the beauty of the art and architecture that will inspire our liturgical and personal prayer. I am hopeful that each of you will browse through this soon-to-bepublished brochure and decide to "sponsor" an item, in the name of a loved one, by donating the price of the item. It will be a blessing to you and a true blessing for SJN.
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There will be a vacancy on the Pastoral Council at the end of June. Karen Madore will complete her term, and she and we hope for another spiritfilled parishioner to take her place. To serve on the SJN Pastoral Council, one needs to be a registered and active parishioner, eighteen years of age or older and committed to the mission and ministry of our parish. Applications to be considered for membership will be available in March (in the office and on-line), and we will take applications until the 10th of May. Please know that this "at large" seat on the Council is for a three year term. I hope and pray that many of you will consider this as another opportunity of service. More information to follow.
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Please read carefully the following five items of news for our SJN family.
FIRST, please remember that there is a "food for Haiti" drop-off this Sunday, from 8:30 AM to 7:30 PM, in the lower parking lot. Cases of food are available for purchase at our near-by Publix and Kroger stores. Cases at these two stores range from $5 to $25. Please join in feeding the Lord's hungry. Call or contact Mary Moorman (404-345-4484,
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) for details on SJN's efforts to assist the people of Haiti.
SECONDLY, we have set a date for the Dedication Mass of our new worship space. Archbishop Gregory will preside at this dedication liturgy on the evening of the 3rd of June. Once our construction team told me that is was fairly safe to set a date for the dedication, I contacted the Archbishop's office. There was only one date in May and one day in June open and available to us. So, we chose the open date of the 3rd of June. Please pray with me that we have good construction weather and all the work gets completed! The time of the liturgy and all other information about the evening will follow in the weeks and months ahead. Mark your calendars now, and get ready to help in the preparation!
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On March the 4th of 2009, Archbishop Wilton Gregory came to our part of the world, and blessed the ground for our new Building a Legacy of Faith construction project. Our children and teens took up shovels and turned the earth with the Archbishop. Tons of parishioners were part of that groundbreaking, and the photo of that "Vine & Branches" event is in the narthex... an image of the living stones that make up the Church (see John 15.5 and 1 Peter 2.4-5). What a joy that day, to be a part of SJN!
Yet even with that good news, the parish struggled with everyone else in 2009, with the severe downturn in the economy. When a parishioner struggles, we... the parish family... we struggle. But we sought to care for one another. A Career Ministry team was formed, as another tool for those in hard times. We continue to offer the Financial Peace University, for those dealing with personal issues of finance and indebtedness. Our friends at the St. Vincent de Paul Society continue to work non-stop, in responding to so many in crisis.
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I am writing this column on the 14th, a few days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. From the first word of this catastrophic disaster, so many people of good will have found a way to assist the people of that impoverished country; and our Catholic Church has been a beacon of hope, in the way we have funneled resources and our love to our brothers and sister in Haiti. Our parish is "ramping up" to assist in providing food and water and medical supplies to the people of Haiti. You will be hearing more about our efforts to assist in the care of the Haitian people, and will be asked to take part in the effort.
When such a tragedy places itself on the world stage, most everything else becomes secondary for a time. And, with the immensity of such a disaster, our own "complaints and sufferings" are put in perspective. And this "perspective" is a good thing for us! Still, the truth is this, that there is hurt and hunger and unemployment in our own Gwinnett County, and we are called in His Name, to act on these local issues while still taking part in the world-wide efforts in assisting the people of Haiti.
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We are mid-way through holy Lent. How are you living out this season of renewal and conversion of heart? How have you changed the order and discipline in your life? Have you strengthened your prayer, used the discipline of fasting, offered yourself in a work of mercy? Look at these three disciplines outlined below.