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PASTOR’S
CORNER:
IN FATHER BRADY’S ABSENCE, Deacon Sammy Diesi is providing this weekend’s “Deacon’s Corner”-
As most of us have been brought into the Catholic Church at a very young age, probably infancy, we would consider ourselves as cradle Catholics. This is not a negative thing but sometimes we seem to take our faith for granted. Those of you that have been brought into the church at a later stage of life maybe even adulthood, probably did so out of choice guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It seems that those who have made this choice at a later age are more thankful for their gift of faith and so we cradle Catholics have to be reminded of how blessed we are.
Cradle Catholic or not we should try to understand the importance of being a Catholic. For one, our Catholic Church can be traced back to the time of Jesus and His apostles. We believe and know that our present Pope Francis’ ordination as bishop of Rome and head of the church can be traced back thru all the popes to that of Peter the first leader chosen by Jesus Himself. Of course another important reason is that the Catholic Church is the only church with seven sacraments of which most other Christian religions may only have one sacrament, Baptism. We may ask ourselves, “Why is having all these sacraments important?” First, we should know the definition of a sacrament. It is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give us grace. After learning this definition it is also important to comprehend the value and importance of receiving any of the sacraments but especially the Eucharist which truly is the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time we receive one of these sacraments, we are inviting God to dwell within us; we want Him to be a part of us, we want to feel the warmth and joy of His Love all the time.
Another reason to be thankful for our faith is because of all the saints who lived and died before us to help us grow our faith in Jesus and His church like St. Augustine one of our early saints who taught many things and helped us to understand the teachings of the apostles and is now considered a doctor of the church. Or maybe some of our later saints like St. Padre Pio who died in 1968 and who had the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus for fifty years for the conversion of souls. And Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is soon to be declared a saint by the church; and gave her life to God to help the hungry and poor of the world and to be a living example of what it is to be Jesus to all peoples of our time.
These are just a few reasons to be thankful for our faith. If you are asking yourselves, what about the rest of the world and those that are not catholic, what happens to them. No one knows the mind of God but we do know that He created us for one thing and that is to share eternal life with Him. We believe that He is a loving, forgiving and merciful God and so naturally all souls have a path to heaven but we also believe that the Catholic road although it is sometimes rocky, it is the shortest route to Heaven.
So try to take time on a daily basis and thank God for your Catholic faith and the joy of knowing that you are fulfilling the plans and directions of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who lived and died among us to prove His love for each and everyone of us.
May God bless you,
Deacon Sammy Diesi
As most of us have been brought into the Catholic Church at a very young age, probably infancy, we would consider ourselves as cradle Catholics. This is not a negative thing but sometimes we seem to take our faith for granted. Those of you that have been brought into the church at a later stage of life maybe even adulthood, probably did so out of choice guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It seems that those who have made this choice at a later age are more thankful for their gift of faith and so we cradle Catholics have to be reminded of how blessed we are.
Cradle Catholic or not we should try to understand the importance of being a Catholic. For one, our Catholic Church can be traced back to the time of Jesus and His apostles. We believe and know that our present Pope Francis’ ordination as bishop of Rome and head of the church can be traced back thru all the popes to that of Peter the first leader chosen by Jesus Himself. Of course another important reason is that the Catholic Church is the only church with seven sacraments of which most other Christian religions may only have one sacrament, Baptism. We may ask ourselves, “Why is having all these sacraments important?” First, we should know the definition of a sacrament. It is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give us grace. After learning this definition it is also important to comprehend the value and importance of receiving any of the sacraments but especially the Eucharist which truly is the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every time we receive one of these sacraments, we are inviting God to dwell within us; we want Him to be a part of us, we want to feel the warmth and joy of His Love all the time.
Another reason to be thankful for our faith is because of all the saints who lived and died before us to help us grow our faith in Jesus and His church like St. Augustine one of our early saints who taught many things and helped us to understand the teachings of the apostles and is now considered a doctor of the church. Or maybe some of our later saints like St. Padre Pio who died in 1968 and who had the stigmata, the wounds of Jesus for fifty years for the conversion of souls. And Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who is soon to be declared a saint by the church; and gave her life to God to help the hungry and poor of the world and to be a living example of what it is to be Jesus to all peoples of our time.
These are just a few reasons to be thankful for our faith. If you are asking yourselves, what about the rest of the world and those that are not catholic, what happens to them. No one knows the mind of God but we do know that He created us for one thing and that is to share eternal life with Him. We believe that He is a loving, forgiving and merciful God and so naturally all souls have a path to heaven but we also believe that the Catholic road although it is sometimes rocky, it is the shortest route to Heaven.
So try to take time on a daily basis and thank God for your Catholic faith and the joy of knowing that you are fulfilling the plans and directions of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who lived and died among us to prove His love for each and everyone of us.
May God bless you,
Deacon Sammy Diesi
The bulletin for the week of July 24, 2016 has been posted. Click here to see it.
The calendar on the website has been updated with all events for the coming week along with prayer intention information and information on the second collection for all of the masses. Take some time to look at our calendar here.
Updates are also being made to our St. Landry Catholic Church blog. You can get to the blog from the church home page under the Bulletins and News section or you can just click here to go to it.
Don't forget, we're also sending out live updates via Twitter. Our Twitter name is StLandryCath. You can see updates by clicking here.
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