Dear St. Simon Parish Family,
As Thanksgiving approaches, my heart is filled with gratitude for each one of you. This season invites us to pause and reflect on the profound blessings in our lives—blessings that shine most brightly through the gift of community.
We are made for connection. God, in His infinite wisdom, places us in communities: within our families, our extended families, and here in our parish family. Each of these communities is a sacred space where we encounter His presence. This Thanksgiving, let us give thanks not only for the abundance on our tables but also for the richness of relationships that sustain us and reflect God’s love.
Henri Nouwen beautifully describes community as a mosaic, where every piece matters:
“Community is like a large mosaic. Each little piece seems so insignificant. One piece is bright red, another cold blue or dull green, another warm purple, another sharp yellow, another shining gold. Some look precious, others ordinary. Some look valuable, others worthless. Some look gaudy, others delicate. We can do little with them as individual stones except compare them and judge their beauty and value. When, however, all these little stones are brought together in one big mosaic, portraying the face of Christ, who would ever question the importance of any one of them? If one of them, even the least spectacular one, is missing, the face is incomplete. Together in the one mosaic, each little stone is indispensable and makes a unique contribution to the glory of God. That’s community, a fellowship of little people who together make God visible in the world.”
This Thanksgiving, let us also reach out to those in our communities who have lost a loved one this past year. These dear ones, though no longer physically present with us, remain part of our community through the communion of saints. Their lives, like shining gold in our mosaic, remind us of the eternal hope we share in Christ. May we surround those grieving with compassion and love, reminding them that they and their loved ones are indispensable to the beauty of our parish family.
Each of us at St. Simon Parish is one of those mosaic stones. No matter your story, your gifts, or the season of life you’re in, you bring something irreplaceable to the beauty of this parish. Together, we form a mosaic that reveals the face of Christ to one another and to the world. Without you, the mosaic would be incomplete.
As you gather this Thanksgiving—whether around tables laden with food, in quiet moments of reflection, or in prayer with loved ones—I encourage you to be truly present. Be present to your family. Be present to your extended family. And whenever possible, be present here with your parish family, where we grow together as God’s people.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, gratitude, and the awareness of God’s grace alive in every community you belong to. You are cherished, you are essential, and you are deeply loved.
Happy Thanksgiving!
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan