Holy Family’s 2022 Gala
Our 2022 Gala, Rock Fest, will be held here at Holy Family on Saturday, April 23, and for those of you planning on attending get your tickets soon. There are only 350 available this year and they are selling fast! The funds raised at the Gala support efforts in our parish and academy that would not be possible in our regular budgets. Recently we have upgraded our first responder radio coverage on campus; upgraded streaming, sound and video capabilities in our church and chapel; replaced our original kitchen appliances; enhanced our community outreach efforts; purchased new computers and laptops for Academy students along with a new math curriculum; provided student counseling services, and much more. Join us at the Gala and I guarantee you will have a rockin’ good time.
If you can’t make to this year’s Gala you can still show your support by donating to our ‘May I Have The Envelope Please’ challenge. We have 500 envelopes valued from $1 to $500 available; if we can fill all 500 envelopes with the corresponding donation amount, we will have raised $125,000. You can purchase one or more envelopes on-line at the Gala website, or take an envelope from the board in the Narthex and return it with your donation to the front office. See the Gala ad in this Bulletin for more details.
As of this writing there are still 141 tickets available and 23 VIP Tickets. Please join us for some fun and to support a great causes.
The Nature of Mercy
I have been collecting words and statements from various sources, including scripture, that are helping to lead me to clarify the very nature of mercy and thus leading me to embrace both our Lenten theme and the Mercied portion of our Adventures in Grace pilgrimage.
This week’s Gospel according to John tells us of some extravagant mercy extended to the adulterous woman by Jesus, and then to a hostile crowd who want to stone her. I have often said that Jesus masterfully shifts the focus from a sinful woman into the hearts of a condemning crowd. Brilliant!!!!
So one of the statements that is helping me clarify the nature of mercy is:
Let the one among you with no sin be the first to cast a stone at her.
I believe that the Nature of Mercy is to realize that we are all sinners, and if we dare to condemn another – even for something that we have NEVER done – if we dare throw a stone for whatever reason, we better make damn sure we have no sin. Since there is no one who has ever lived, other than Jesus and Mary, who has never sinned, then we all should make sure that we throw resources instead of stones to those who are hurting in our midst; resources for improvement, recovery, healing, compassion, support and hope. In short we must extend forgiveness and mercy rather than throwing stones of condemnation.
Two other statements came from Fr. David Kelly who preached at all of our Masses last weekend and is the leader of the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation with whom we are partnering this Lent to advance the cause of Social Justice and Catholic Social Teaching. He said:
Mercy does not overlook sin,
it overwhelms sin.
I am inspired by this image and notion of Mercy. The reality of sin cannot be overlooked, but so often genuine, sincere mercy can overwhelm it, like a strong steady rain overwhelms dirt and grime in our world leaving it cleansed, but not forgetting why it needed cleansing.
The second statement is one that I crafted after hearing his comment on healing mercy. My statement is:
Don’t let your hurt turn you into a hurter;
let your healing turn you into a healer.
I hope that both of these statements help you in identifying the Nature of Mercy.
FM
Our next multi-generational Mass will be at 9:00am on Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday leads us into Holy Week, just as Jesus entered into the holy city of Jerusalem to complete his mission on earth: to suffer, die and rise to new life.
Please join us for this and all FM Masses, and please encourage three generations of your family to attend, to pray together and, on Palm Sunday, to begin the holiest week of the year with this unique, vibrant and inclusive Mass.