Dear Parents and Catechists,

It is hard to believe that school and Faith Formation have been in session for almost eight weeks already. Life is in full swing here in our town communities and parish.

I want to take this time, on behalf of myself and our Pastoral Staff, to express our appreciation for your spirit of dedication and hard work. Our Faith Formation program is off to a good start with dedicated catechists, assistants and helpers, enthusiastic children and youth. You have offered a warm welcome to our new Parochial Vicar, Fr. Kamil, and I know he is thrilled to be serving in our community.

I am really happy to see more and more of our children taking part in the Liturgy of the Word With Children at the 10 AM Liturgy on Faith Formation weekends and to have some of our parents come forth to lead the program. It is a wonderful way for the kids to hear and understand the Word of God on their level.

In a spirit of support and encouragement, I would like to address to our parents and catechists a topic that came up at our recent Pastoral Staff meeting re. our children and sports activities as we were discussing the recent hype over the Mets playing in the World series and the popularity of and admiration for the most valuable Mets player, Daniel Murphy ( no relation but a great Irish name). As we know, Murphy is a devout and committed Christian and was quoted recently in the following words when asked the source of his great talent and energy. When asked what boosted his mental outlook, he plainly stated, “That was all Jesus.” When asked why he was able to so elevate his game, he responded, “I don’t know, sometimes the blessings come. Jesus is good.” Obviously, Daniel Murphy is not at all embarrassed to speak of his personal relationship with Christ and be very clear to admit from where his gift and talents come. God is his source.

We know how committed as parents you are to your children’s sports activities and the amount of time you spend in supporting and encouraging them. But, how often do parents help their children come to know and admit what is the source of their blessings in the fun of sports and their own individual talents?

NY Times OpEd writer, David Brooks, in his latest best-seller, The Road To Character, makes a challenging comment about our contemporary American culture in stating that we have lost and have failed to teach our children the gift of humility. We fail to recognize that we do not accomplish all by ourselves. The world does not rotate around us. Are we teaching our children to see all as blessing and give honor to our God who has created us, loves us, sustains us and empowers us with all the gifts and talents we have?

Do Murphy and Brooks have something important to say to parents today?

Could we perhaps make a better effort to encourage our children to pray at home to acknowledge our loving God as their source? Can we make a better effort to regularly come to one of the masses on a Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist which means “to give thanks”?

Some good and challenging things to ponder and consider.

Thanks again for the gift of you and the joy your children bring us all.

Sincerely In Christ,

Fr Dan Murphy