Looking Ahead in Faith

Happy 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time! Our Gospel this week reminds of the importance of Stewardship. Our Lord entrusts us each with unique talents and gifts. It is remarkable the uniqueness of each person with unique personality, gifts, talents, etc. Our great joy is to use these gifts for God’s glory in love of Jesus and neighbor. Reminder, our Pre-Advent Mission is coming on Nov. 15-16. Fr. Jayke and I will be looking at Nativity Artwork and gleaning lessons from the artwork for Advent. Fr. Jayke will speak Nov 15 at 6:30pm in the Parish Center. This weekend, the Altar and Rosay Society will be having the annual baked goods and frozen soup sale. Always a hit and treat. They will have items available in the back of Church. Finally, the Feast of Christ the King is coming up Nov. 21-22. We will have Parish Breakfast to celebrate our Parish Feast Day after 8am and 10am Masses on Nov. 22. We will also have incense at 10am Mass that weekend. Worship Candlelight Adoration: Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 from 7-8pm Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 at 6:30pm Stewardship Annual School Fund Fund–over 62K raised CentennialCampaign $1.84 Million in Pledges (180 households participating) $620,000 collected so far In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule January 9-10 and February 19-21

Happy 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time! This Sunday’s gospel is rooted in the wedding traditions of Jesus’s time. The 10 virgins (bride maids) accompanied and assist the bride before the wedding. The groom and best man (friend of the bridegroom) prepared the wedding feast plus new home for the new couple. After the home and wedding feast were ready, the friend of the bridegroom and groom would go get the wedding party at an unknown hour. I wil expand more in the homily, but Jesus is reminding us that we always need to be vigilant and ready for His call in our lives. On Nov. 8, we will have our last talk of the Sacred Art Series. We pray that you have enjoyed this series and grown in appreciation of Sacred Art plus devotion to our Lord Jesus and His Saints. Reminder, our Pre-Advent Mission is coming on Nov. 15-16. Fr. Jayke and I wil be looking at Nativity Artwork and gleaning lessons from the artwork for Advent. Next weekend, Altar and Rosay wil be having the annual baked goods and frozen soup sale. Always a hit and treat. They wil have items available in the back of Church. Feast of Christ the King is coming up Nov. 21-22. We will have Parish Breakfast to celebrate our Parish Feast Day after 8am and 10am Masses on Nov. 22. Finaly, reminder that the baby bottles and envelopes for First Step Women’s Center are due today. Just drop them off in the back of Church or Parish Office. Worship Candlelight Adoration: Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 from 7-8pm Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Stewardship Annual School Fund Fund – over 62K raised Centennial Campaign $1.7 Milion in Pledges (175 households participating) $580,000 colected so far In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule November 6-7 and January 9-10

Happy All Saints Day! What a great joy that All Saints Day falls on Sunday this year. As I have said many times, the goal of the Christian life is friendship with Jesus Christ in the Church. The saints show us what friendship with Jesus looks practically. Today we rejoice and celebrate the saints’ witness to Jesus. Our 1st session of the Sacred Art Series went very well and had a nice turn out. Everyone is welcome to attend Nov 1 and 8. Fr. Jayke will talk on Nov. 1 about the painter Rembrandt. Thanks to all the men who came out for Cigar Night. It was a great night of fellowship that we will do again sometime. We also have Mass of Remembrance coming on Nov. 7 at 4:30pm. At this Mass, our beloved parishioners who passed away this past year will be remembered and prayed for. We will start Mass with a special procession with 1 family member representative carrying a candle forward to honor their beloved family member. The procession will take roughly 15 minutes. Our Pre-Advent Mission is coming on Nov. 15-16. Fr. Jayke and I wil be looking at Nativity Artwork and gleaning lessons from the artwork for Advent. Worship Candlelight Adoration: Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 from 7-8pm Mass of Remembrance: Nov. 7 at 4:30pm Mass Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 after 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Stewardship Annual School Fund Fund – over 60K raised Centennial Campaign $1.65 Milion in Pledges (170 households participating) $550,000 colected so far In Jesus our King , Fr. Mark Trac y Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule November 6-7 and January 9-10 

Happy 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time! "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." This powerful line has confounded many over the years. The crowds seek to trap Jesus by him denying God or denying political authority. How we balance authority of God with authority of the state? A great book to read on this topic is by Archbishop Chaput titled Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life. Beginning in mid-January, Andrew Bilgri wil be doing his seminary internship semester with us similar to Dennis Trickey’s internship year. You can find Andrew’s bio in the buletin. We are excited to welcome him and have him be part of our Parish family. We have similar Parish Life opportunities coming up. We wil have Adult Faith Formation on Oct. 25, Nov. 1, and Nov. 8 after 5pm. Series wil be on Sacred Art presented by myself and Fr. Jayke. We also have a special men’s ministry opportunity coming up Oct. 24. I wil host a Cigar night for men to come together for faith and felowship around bonfire. We also have Mass of Remembrance coming on Nov. 7 at 4:30pm. At this Mass, our beloved parishioners who passed away this past year wil be remembered and prayed for. We wil start Mass with a special procession with 1 family member representative carrying a candle forward to honor their beloved family member. The procession wil take roughly 15 minutes. Worship Candlelight Adoration: Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 from 7-8pm Mass of Remembrance: Nov. 7 at 4:30pm Mass Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 after 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Fellowship Men’s Ministry and Felowship- Cigars and Brotherhood in Christ Oct. 24, 7:30pm-10pm. More details soon Stewardship Annual School Fund Fund – over 58K raised Centennial Campaign $1.7 Milion Pledges Received (175 households have participated) $300,000 colected so far In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule November 7-8 and January 9-10

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Happy 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time! As I mentioned last weekend, this weekend is our Paish Pledge Weekend for Centennial Campaign. If possible, we would like to collect all pledge cards this weekend. You can drop the pledge cards in the offertory, bring them to the parish office, or mail them. We will send a few reminders via mail in October about pledge cards, but this will conclude the public phase of fundraising for the campaign. From now on, I simply plan to keep you updated on Pledges amount, money collected, and project plan. On that note, we have received over 1.2 Million in pledges as of Sept. 28. Our current plan is to execute School Window and Lintel Projects in summer of 2027, gym roof in summer of 2028, and parish center roof in summer of 2029. I also very grateful for the Annual School Fund contributions this year. We have received over $48K so far. This annual fund will greatly assist with the unexpected needs from water main leak damages and water main replacement. Work on the Water Main Replacement will begin in early October will school remaining in session. Worship Candlelight Adoration– Oct. 4, Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 at 7pm Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16,and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Catholic Crash Course: Sept 20 and 27 after 5pm Mass Family Faith Formation Series: Sept 27, and Oct. 4 after 10am Mass Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 after 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Fellowship Trunk or Treat hosted by PTO: Oct. 17 1:30pm-3pm Men’s Ministry and Fellowship-Cigars and Brotherhood in Christ Oct. 24 7:30pm-10pm. More details soon Stewardship Pledge Commitment Weekend : Oct 3 and 4 In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule October 16-18 and November 7-8

Happy 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Our 2nd reading from St Paul is extremely powerful and beautiful in many ways. The 2nd part of today’s reading is one of the earliest Christological hymns that we have in the Church. The first Christians would have known the reference by St. Paul as being from a Mass hymn. And the words are extremely powerful in Jesus using his Divine power and authority to save us by pouring out His life in His ministry, death, and resurrection. This weekend, I wil be giving our State of the Parish Homily. In this homily, I lay out the past fiscal year numbers. I look at our financial numbers briefly (see buletin attachment), ministry numbers, and next steps. Last year, I looked at updating our Parish Vision and Mission while at the same time tackling some deferred maintenance items including Pre-K HVAC, Pre-K tuckpointing, Pre-K and K-8 playgrounds, and K-8 portions of tuckpointing. In this year’s State of the Parish Homily, I wil also be looking at our Centennial Campaign and explaining the Why, What, and How. I see the campaign as part of our ongoing stewardship that enables the great work of Christ the King to happened. FYI, we have received over 1 Million already in pledges. If you would like to return your pledge card, simply mail in, drop in offertory basket, or drop it at parish office. I also thank you for the Annual School Fund contributions this year. We have received over $40K so far. This annual fund wil greatly assist with the unexpected needs from the water main leak damages and water main replacement. Finally, I want to thank everyone who was able to participate in our first Family Formation. It was a great turnout filled with prayer, fellowship, and formation. We wil continue the service this Sunday and Oct. 4. Worship Candlelight Adoration – Oct. 4, Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 at 7pm Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Cath o lic Crash Course: Sept 20 and 27 after 5pm Mass  Family Faith Formation Series: Sept 20, 27, Oct. 4 after 10am Mass Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 after 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Stewardship State of the Parish Homily: Sept 25 and 26 Pledge Commitment Weekend: Oct 3 and 4 In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule October 16-18 and November 7-8

Happy 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Our Gospel today at first sight seems pretty unfair with the last receiving the same payment as the first ones who worked since at 9am. We can be tempted maybe to think of people who make deathbed confessions or conversions to a priest and think they got out of jail free. They got to do so many bad things in life and got out of practice of faith their whole life like going to Mass, praying, virtue, etc. I had the privilege of hearing these deathbed confessions or conversions before and I would not describe it as getting a free pass. Often, they are stories of struggle and suffering and wasting life on things that did not matter. They regret not spending more time on relationships including with God. And that is one the central points of our Gospel today. The good life is life with Jesus in the vineyard, no matter what time we join. In relationship with Jesus is the privileged life and thank God he is unfair and keeps inviting us back to the vineyard.  I want to give a brief update on our Centennial Campaign and School Annual Fund. I am humbled and grateful for your generosity to both. Our Centennial Campaign is receiving pledges now and we have received over $700K already in pledges. If you would like to return your pledge card, simply mail in, drop in offertory basket, or drop it at parish office. I was very pleased with our Campaign Receptions and Information Sessions. For the School Annual Fund, this is one of our yearly school fundraisers that we moved up this year due to water main leak. We receive donations for it from all kinds of folks including parishioners, school families, grandparents, alumni, friends of Christ the King, etc. The Centennial Campaign on the other hand receives pledges mainly from parishioners. We received over 25K so far in donations from the School Annual Fund. Finaly, Catholic Crash Course wil be Sept 20 and Sept 27 after 5pm Mass in the Parish Center. Anyone is welcome to attend. If you know anyone interested in OCIA, please invite them to these nights. Fr. Jayke wil connect with them and make a plan with them for OCIA. Worship Candlelight Adoration – Oct. 4, Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 at 7pm Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 at 5:30pm Formation Catholic Crash Course: Sept 20 and 27 after 5pm Mass Family Faith Formation Series: Sept 20, 27, Oct. 4 after 10am Mass Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 a fter 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Stewardship State of the Parish Homily: Sept 25 and 26 Pledge Commitment Weekend: Oct 3 and 4 In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule October 16-18 and November 7-8 PLEASE NOTE: There will be no morning Mass on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday while our priests are away for Convocation.

Happy 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time! Our Lord’s teaching in the Gospel today is pretty challenging. Forgiveness is always tough because something wrong has happened and a hurt has occurred. Forgiveness though is not about ignoring the wrong or hurt. Forgiveness is not about saying what happened was right nor about putting ourselves in the situation again. Forgiveness is ultimately about some type of reconciliation and healing, which looks different in each circumstance. We seek to forgive because Jesus forgives us and living in Him we are called to participate in the difficult work of reconciliation. Reminder, next weekend is the first Sunday of the Family Formation series after 10am Mass. Childcare and food are both provided. You can attend 1, 2, or al 3 sessions depending on your family’s availability. As I mentioned in my homily a few weeks, we are offering this series as way to support families in handing on the faith to their children. Finally, Catholic Crash Course wil be Sept 20 and Sept 27 after 5pm Mass in the Parish Center. Anyone is welcome to attend. If you know anyone interested in OCIA, please invite them to these nights. Fr. Jayke will connect with them and make a plan with them for OCIA. Worship Candlelight Adoration – Oct. 4, Nov. 15, and Dec. 6 Marian Candlelight Masses: Dec 2, 9, 16, and 23 Formation Catholic Crash Course: Sept 20 and 27 after 5pm Mass Family Faith Formation Series: Sept 20, 27, Oct. 4 after 10am Mass Adult Faith Formation Series: Oct. 25, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 after 5pm Mass. Pre-Advent Mission: Nov. 15-16 Stewardship State Parish Homily: Sept 25 and 26 Pledge Commitment Weekend: Oct 3 and 4 In Jesus our King, Fr. Mark Tracy Fr. Mark’s Military Schedule September 11-13 and October 16-18