Dear Ministry Leader,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family! Just as you set goals for your council/ministry so that you can be ever more effective in living the Gospel here at St. Gregory the Great Parish, I too set goals for us as a parish as a whole. Since I began my time here, these goals have included the support and enrichment of families and marriages; encouraging parents to be the primary educators of their children in the Faith; and carrying out the Pope and Bishop's call to depend on God's love ever more and share it ever more generously with others through works of mercy as part of the Year of Mercy. This year my overall goal is that we would grow in our knowledge and love for Jesus Christ the person, through knowledge of Scripture and in particular through ever greater knowledge of the Gospel of Matthew, and to live the Gospel ever more fervently in our daily lives.
As you probably know the cycle of Sunday Gospel readings is divided into three years, labeled A, B, and C. In liturgical year A (The liturgical year runs from the First Sunday of Advent through the last day of Ordinary Time before Advent begins), the year we are in now, we read mostly from the Gospel of Matthew (although the Gospel of John is read during the Easter season).
As ministry leaders, I ask you please to do two things in this upcoming year. First, at your ministry or council meetings please begin the meeting with a reading of the Gospel from the previous Sunday. This simple act done by all of our ministries and councils will accomplish many profound things. It will help us to grow in our sense of unity and common purpose through this shared activity across all ministries and councils. It will enable us to see how all of our ministries ultimately have the same mission and goal: to proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The practice will also connect us in a concrete way to the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist; the Eucharist of course is the "source and summit" of our Faith (Vatican II,
Lumen Gentium, 11). The reading of the Gospel will give our meetings a spiritual meaning and purpose from the very first moments. Lastly, the practice will help us to live the rhythm of the liturgical year and journey through the year with the person of Jesus Christ ever more closely.
Secondly, this year our parish Adult Faith Formation team is offering two courses:
Matthew: The King and His Kingdom, a 24-week Bible study of St. Matthew's Gospel, and
Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible, an 8-week overview of the Bible as a whole. Please consider signing up for one of these Bible studies. We all need continuing education in the Faith, to remain curious and open to new ideas and learning as we journey through life. See the bulletin or
our website for details on how to be part of either of these amazing offerings.
Thank you for all that you do to carry out our parish's mission: to respond to God's call by building a faith community and forming disciples of Jesus Christ through worship, living our Catholic identity, and service of others.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Father McClane
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