Summer 2017 Message From Father Peter

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Glory To Jesus Christ!  Glory Forever!

It was such a joy to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost with  all of you!  The  services were spiritually uplifting and the  Church, thanks to Karen Ivers  was beautifully decorated with greenery. We were blessed to have a wonderful new addition  to our Church  temple for this feast,  the beautiful icon of the Mother of God of the Sign, which was donated in memory of Helen Rowland.

This new icon is a source of great encouragement to us,  reminding us  that  if we emulate the  Mother of God we too can be bearers of God today.  Now more than ever, the world needs the Grace of God to lift it up from the burdens of daily life and give it hope and joy. You and I as members of this beautiful little parish, have the ability to make a huge positive difference in the lives of those God places in our path - not by anything we personally might say or do, but by helping them to experience the joy and peace of our Lord.

How wonderful it is that we entered into the season of Summer this past week, a time which thankfully means a slowing down of our school and work regiments. This allows us to spend more time working on our spiritual life, seeking to acquire the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." With the Holy Spirit dwelling within us in a deeper manner, we will have less stress in our lives, and a more gentle and peaceful spirit! And with this increase in Grace, we will in turn be able to share this peacefulness with others!

The good news is that it is indeed possible to for us to become bearers of God, to be filled with the Grace of the Holy Spirit. All we need to do is make a more conscious effort to place Christ and His Holy Mother, the Church, in the center of our lives. We can accomplish this by orienting our lives around the Church calendar – praying and fasting and feasting when She guides us to do so, keeping a daily rule of prayer, reading Holy Scripture and other spiritually profitable books on the Faith, and participating regularly in the Holy Mysteries of Confession and Holy Communion.

This summer, I challenge you and I to stay close to the Church and spend time in humble service to others. When we do this, we will see how sweet life can really be!

Let us walk together, then, on the path of holiness, doing whatever it takes to allow the Holy Spirit to take deep root within our heart and soul.

Now more than ever, the world needs the Grace of God to fill their hearts with  hope and  joy.  You and I as members of  this  beautiful little parish, have the ability to make a huge positive difference in the lives of  those God places in our path. Not by anything we personally might say or do, but by helping them to experience the joy and peace of  our Lord, that we experience in our own spiritual lives.

How wonderful it is that we entered into the season of Summer this past week, a time which thankfully means a slowing down of our school and work regiments.  This allows us to spend more time working on our spiritual life, seeking to acquire the  fruits of the  Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." With the Holy Spirit dwelling within us in a more deeper manner,  we would have less stress in our lives, and more of a more gentle and peaceful  spirit! And with this increase in Grace, we will in turn be able to share this peacefulness with others!

The good news is that it is indeed possible to for us to become bearers of God, to be filled with the Grace of the Holy Spirit . All we need to do is make a more conscious effort to place  Christ and His Holy Mother, the Church in the center of our lives. We can accomplish this by orienting our lives around the Church calendar – praying and fasting and feasting when She guides us to do so,  keeping a daily rule of prayer, reading Holy Scripture and other spiritually profitable books on the Faith, and  participating regularly in the Holy Mysteries of Confession and Holy Communion. 

This Summer,  I challenge you and I  to stay close to the Church and  spend time in humble service to others. When we do this, we  will see how  sweet life can really be!

Let us  walk  together, then, on the path of holiness, doing whatever it takes to  allow the Holy Spirit to take deep root within our heart and soul.

Fr. Peter