I love this time of year in fall as the seasons change. Nature is resplendent with majesty and its ever-expansive range of colors as if to showcase the creativity of God. The days get shorter, and the nights get longer. While it is still warm during the days, the nights get progressively colder. It is a reminder in nature that mirrors the cycle of our lives, the ups and downs of life. I love to hike in the early morning cold air and enjoy the view of the mountains and hills that are especially beautiful this time of year. Unfortunately, these last few days I have not been able to hike because of another setback in the recovery of my knee injury. Oh! I want to be past this pain and be healthy again. Who wouldn’t? But it acts as a reminder that healing needs its own time and cannot be rushed. A reminder to be simply grateful for what I have and not what I want! Yes. To be grateful for all that God puts in life.
As we head into Thanksgiving and the season of gratitude, I hope you can take some time with your family and friends and be grateful to them and to God for their presence in your life. It is important that we find the time to say thank you to God and express our love and affection for each other. We need to be grateful for what we have and not for what we want.
For my part, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all the staff at the school and parish who put together a fantastic STEM Building dedication. It was a wonderful event with generations of parishioners and alumni enjoying the upgrade to the campus. I am grateful to Theresa, Tina, Ann, Vani, Michael, Baldy, Victor and other staff and volunteers who spent endless hours getting everything cleaned and ready. In a special way, I want to express my profound gratitude to Michael for his leadership in this project from beginning to end. He has been amazing and the place looks like it has always been there. Thank you.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving we have a Friendsgiving Concert tonight, Saturday, November 19 at 6:30pm. John Angotti and Jesse Manibusan will play at the 5pm evening Mass followed by a 6pm reception with wine and cheese for adults, and snacks for children and 6:30pm concert. Please come to the Mass and concert, invite family and friends and celebrate all we have to be thankful together. Saint Simon Parish School children attending the concert will get a free dress pass for Monday, November 21. You can register for the reception here. It is a great way to welcome new friends.
I ask you to please mark your calendar for the three Tuesdays of Advent (November 29, December 6, 13) and Wednesday, December 21 for our Advent Retreat called Atomic Habits of Prayer. In this retreat I will shamelessly borrow from two books, Atomic Habits and Armchair Mystic. The first book is all about the formation of atomic, as in micro, habits. I will apply the science behind the formation of good habits and the breaking of bad habits to our prayer life. Then I will outline some “atomic” (small) examples using the mystical tradition with simple and easily applied prayer methods that will produce good fruits. My hope is that we will become men and women of prayer or better at the habit of prayer. Please mark your calendar for those dates. It would be great to have you come in person but will make it available livestream for those not able to make it. Come and join us as we learn new habits of prayer.
Finally, I wish you and your family a blessed and happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you, our Parishioners, that make Saint Simon Parish such a warm and welcoming community.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan