Dear St. Louis Parishioners,
Last week, we had examples of women of faith, specifically three widows, counting our
Blessed Mother (at the time of her Son’s public ministry), who stood as reminders of the faith which gives all to the Lord, with great confidence, trust and love. This week, we briefly meet the prophet Daniel, as we turn our attention toward Christ Himself, the Son of Man and the Eternal High Priest. It seems fitting to shift our focus this week on men of God, as we consider one of the most ready examples: Saint Joseph (front cover). The statue in the nave of the church, which is in the opposite niche as the Blessed Mother statue, features a very common portrayal, as he holds both a lily (a symbol of his purity) and a carpentry square (a symbol of his trade). These two most common symbols remind us of his two feast days, both of which fall in the Spring. The lily reminds us of Joseph, Husband of Mary (March 19), while the carpentry square reminds us of Joseph, the Worker (May 1). These two basic aspects of his character, which are most widely celebrated, come together to offer us a more complete picture of authentic masculinity, which is defined as much by purity and devotion to one’s family as it is by hard work and responsibility. In fact, these realities are inseparably connected. As I consider this, I want to express the great respect and admiration I have for so many men of God I have come to know here at Saint Louis Parish, especially through the Knights of Columbus, Men’s Study, and many other groups and settings in our parish. On that note, I would like to thank our Knights for arranging the refreshments for last weekend’s Second Sunday Stay and Play (as well as the Keutzers and the Jaegers, who served as our host families). Meanwhile, this coming Monday (11/19), I am happy to conclude the David the King Study with the men’s study, by leading a reflection and discussion of some of the elements of the story of David, which Bishop Barron did not touch on very closely, in the video series which the men just finished. Remember, all men of the parish are welcome to join us for these evenings of study, prayer, and fraternity (6 PM, Monday nights, excluding weeks when the Knights meet). Looking forward to it, men. Remember, be a saint today! Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary and Model Workman, pray for us!
CHILDCARE AVAILABLE: A few weeks ago, I mentioned our childcare hopes and the Saint Aloysius Room, set aside for that purpose. I am happy to announce that Melissa Archer, who is obviously no stranger to childcare at Saint Louis, thanks to her years of experience with our school, has agreed to help coordinate our childcare for various groups available to our parents. We are very excited that this will both make these opportunities even more accessible for our parents, as well as giving our children some additional playtime with their friends from the parish. More details to come (watch the Family Discipleship section), but please don’t hesitate to reach out to Julia Mead about which specific nights and groups we will have childcare available.
DAILY MASSES IN THE HOLY DAYS: As we approach the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have decided to make two little adjustments to a couple of our daily Masses. In order to accommodate travelers and those wanting to catch up on much needed “holiday sleep”, we will begin a new tradition of having the daily Mass for the Second Day of Christmas (December 26th) always in the evening (5:15 PM). Similarly, I took a poll with the Friday morning Mass crowd two weeks in a row, regarding the Friday after Thanksgiving. While the results were somewhat close, the clear winner was noon. So, Friday, November 23rd, Mass will be at noon.
In Christ through Mary,
Father Gifford
St. Louis, pray for us!
Blessed Mary, Queen Mother of the King of Kings, pray for us!
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