Dear Parishioners and Friends of Saint Jerome,
Pax Christi semper vobiscum!
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has announced that next week will be dedicated to Vocation Awareness. It is an invitation to our families to promote this holy lifestyle to our young people and encourage them to explore the possibilities of the priesthood, religious life, and other forms of consecrated life. You are surely aware that we have been praying for holy vocations in all our public prayers and devotions. “Send, O Lord, Holy Apostles into Your Church,” is our constant invocation to ask the Lord to send us holy and zealous ministers of the Gospel.
It is unfortunate that many of us do not truly understand the importance of praying for Holy Vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The Sacraments of Jesus Christ are dispensed and made available through the sacred office of the priesthood. These Sacraments give us access to the presence of God and His grace. That is why, it is important that whoever is presiding the rites of the sacramental celebration be truly conscious of its meaning and the grace that flows from the Sacraments for the spiritual growth of God’s people. As a parish community, we have the responsibility to pray for Holy Vocations so that the Lord may grant us men and women who are willing to continue the mission of Jesus Christ in the Church. Someone must continue the work of Our Lord Jesus in the ministerial priesthood by being dispensers of God’s grace through the Sacraments. Could it be one of your children? Could it be you as you make yourself available to the call of Jesus to be His collaborator in His mission?
As a response to the bishops’ call for Vocation Awareness, I would like to invite everyone to pray for Holy Vocations in a very meaningful way on the evenings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week in the chapel of Notre Dame. We will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on the altar as we reflect on the evangelical call of the First Disciples of Our Lord. This would be a good opportunity for us to come together and reflect on how we contribute to the building God’s Kingdom among us. Come and pray with us.
Last thing to share with you is that there was another maintenance emergency. We needed to respond quickly to the broken heating pipes in the Parish Center. Please see the attached pictures so you have an idea of what I am talking about. Those pipes have been buried under the floor since the construction of the Parish Center building in 1958! They are totally deteriorated, and we cannot turn on the heat until they are replaced. There are significant maintenance needs in all our buildings that we are addressing one by one, according to level of emergency. It is a lot of work, and our collaboration together is the only way to keep our buildings safe and efficient for our ministries. I would like to thank you for your support and sensitivity to the needs of our parish.
See you next weekend. Be safe in all you do.
Sincerely in Christ and Mary,
