St. Michael Church at 612 N. Walnut St., Plymouth, IN 46563 US - From the Pastor's Desk

We celebrated with great joy this past weekend the Solemnity of  Our Lord as King.  The concept of Kingship is foreign   to the American mind. Usually our thoughts are of some romantic medieval ruler, or of a figurehead as the King of England. When the Church speaks of Christ the King it is a statement of faith which indicates that there is neither in heaven nor on earth any authority above that of the Lord Jesus. You and I, therefore, live as His loyal subjects striving with all of our might to conform our will to His teaching.  It was a great day for us to stand in triumph and proclaim to all the world that Christ is Our King. Viva Christo Rey! 

In the depth of faith we brought our sister, Lucille Giarraputo, to be buried last weekend. She moved from Plymouth to live with her daughter in recent years.  But many remember her and her husband as active and wonderful parishioners.  In your kindness I ask that you would remember her in your prayers, and also her daughters who are mourning the loss of their mother.  “May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.  Amen”

I may not have made this point clear enough. Inserted in our monthly packet of envelopes we will find one labeled “For the Parish Debt”.  This is optional and no one should consider themselves obligated to use it.  It is simply there to remind us that our parish is in debt, and secondly, to ask us for a gift if we have a few extra dollars on “envelope” day.  This is a part of a threefold promise that I made to the Financial Director of our Diocese.  The two other parts are one, a fundraising dinner auction and the other, which would impact us the most, is a Debt Reduction Program intended for early 2010. Again I know that we get many envelopes, but it is important for you and me to work on our debt.  Thank you for your generosity.

One of our nation’s best things is Thanksgiving Day.  I think that as a holiday I like it better than Christmas. So I invite all of you if you are going to be home to come to Mass on Thursday, so that we as a community can express our gratitude to God for His manifold gifts.

The Mass will be at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning (Fr. Eloy will celebrate Mass in Spanish at 7:00 a.m.)  During this Mass we ask everyone to bring some food; food will be collected in a procession at the Offertory of Mass. In addition, we will pass the basket for a money collection, these monies will be given to the poor. Also at this writing I am planning to bless bread which you may use for your Thanksgiving meal.  All good things are from God and we are thankful for all that He has given us.  Fr. Eloy and I  thank you for your gift of faith and we wish you a blessed Thanksgiving Day. Have a great week.    

Peace…