Over the next few weeks, I will be asking everyone to prayerfully discern what it means for each us to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. How do I serve God? How am I serving my neighbor? In what ways am helping to build God's Kingdom?
We will be looking at Discipleship through the lens of Service, Gifts, and Spirit. We are going to begin this Sunday with Service. At each of our Masses, we will hear from parishioners who are involved in various ministries and how this has enriched their relationship with God, our parish and those they serve. I hope their stories will encourage you to prayerfully consider joining one of the many ministries we offer at our parish. Please take a few and see how you might get involved. Descriptions of our Services and Ministries are on our website, and here is the interest form.
The following Sunday we will focus on Gifts. Everything we have is a gift from God. How are we using those gifts to benefit others and build the Kingdom of God? Included in the many gifts God has blessed us with us are our financial resources. How are we using our financial gifts to serve God? Specifically, how do I view stewardship at St. Josaphat Parish? Have I prayerfully discerned how God is calling me to share my financial gifts with the parish each week? This is not a one-time special collection. It's an opportunity for each of us to prayerfully discern the commitment we will be making on a weekly basis to our parish throughout the year. Knowing our budget is essential to helping us plan our ministries.
The last Sunday of October we will focus on Spirit. What does it mean for me to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in terms of my spiritual life? How often do I pray? How do I pray? Why is the Eucharist important? I will be speaking at all of the Masses that Sunday to talk about the Spiritual Life of the Parish. I will be asking for your feedback on how I can help you to grow spiritually and serve you better as your pastor.
I hope these next three weeks will help you to reflect on what it means for you to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Some good questions for each of us to consider as we move forward are: "How can I serve? How is God calling me to be generous? Who can I pray for this week?"
Undoubtedly, each of us will answer those questions differently. Jesus is asking each of us to be his disciple in a unique way. Some of us may be feeling a greater draw towards deepening our prayer life or to become more actively engaged in ministry. Or we may feel a strong sense that we can be more generous in our fiscal support of the parish and the ministries that benefit our parishioners and our wider community.
The point is that we know God is always calling us to do more, to grow in our relationship with Him and to be witnesses of the Gospel to all those we meet. So I hope you will join me these next few weeks in prayerfully discerning the many ways we can say, "Yes!" to God's invitation to be his disciple.
Your Brother in Christ,
Important Upcoming Dates!
Friday, October 13th- 100th Aniversary of final Fatima Apparition Monday October 16th- School Board 6:30 pm Wednesday November 1st- All Saints Day (Holy Day) Thursday November 2nd- All Souls Day 7:00 Candlelight Mass Saturday November 11th- New Parishioner 5:00 pm Mass and Reception
Clothing Drive
The Boomers Plus Club will be collecting clothing for
Marillac St. Vincent Family Services Outreach Program. Masses on 11/4-5
.
It's not too late to sign up for Religious Ed!
Has your child been Baptized and received Reconciliation and First Communion?
Enroll your Children in Religious Ed on Tuesdays from 6-7:30 pm.
Contact maryjane
@stjosaphatparish.org
Unity Gala
Save the date for our parish's largest fundraiser -- Sat 2/10! We need YOUR HELP for opportunities large and small! Contact Stephanie Samz, at [email protected]
St. Josaphat Private Wine Tasting at VIN!
Thursday, 10/26 7-8:30pm VIN Chicago, 1836 N. Elston Ave
Join fellow parishioners while stocking up for the season!
VIN will graciously donate 10% of sales to St. Josaphat.
Barnes and Noble Book Fair
Come to the book fair at Barnes and Noble in support of SJS on Thursday, 11/2 from 10 am - 8 pm.
Do you have a topic you'd like to read about? Would you like to write an article? Contact [email protected]
By using the "Update Profile/Email Address" link below, you may choose which email programs, Take Five for Faith, or JosaFAST, you would like to receive. By unsubscribing, you revoke our permission to send you email.
