To My Spiritual Family of Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony,
Our Advent Focus: As a parish and as a Catholic community, our 2023 Advent focus is firmly fixed on Christ. We want to see his face. We long to hear his voice. We desire to know his love. There are no concerts or special celebrations planned for this Advent. Rather, we are communally and individually seeking to be still, hushed, silent, and attentive. The cold days and the dark nights are to our advantage. Kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament at church or huddled under a warm blanket at home, our hearts will be ready for contemplation. Remember: Christ longs for us even more than we long for him! Let him love you this Advent season. Let his grace seep deep into your soul. God is so very, very good, and you are his beloved child!
What a Year: One of our parish strategic anchors is “Place of Refuge.” In other words, we work to make sure that our parish is a home for our parishioners, our community, and for anyone in need. This takes many forms, and over the past 12 months, numerous folks have found a refuge at Holy Redeemer through our hospitality and support. Allow me to share a listing of some of this past year’s “Refuge” occasions: (1) The Warren Knights of Columbus and the Sheffield Knights of Columbus both make their home in our parish; (2) Special Olympics was welcomed nearly 50 times for everything from bocce to basketball; (3) We hosted an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for one of our own Scouts and his family; (4) People voted here, donated blood here, and listened to the Warren Philharmonic here; (5) Families celebrated a birthday, baptisms and weddings in our facilities; (6) They also mourned the loss of their loved ones and shared funeral meals with their friends; (7) A huge EOC clothing giveaway and a touching formal wear giveaway took place under our roof; (8) Retreat days, Amazing Parish Clarity gatherings, and diocesan training events were hosted; (9) We came together for a “Red Sand” Ceremony to stand against human trafficking; (10) Students Against Drunk Driving held an event here; (11) The HEROES group welcomed a record number of trunk or treat participants; (12) Throw in a gender reveal party, the senior class brunch, countless Walking with Purpose and Faith Formation sessions, an Epiphany concert, and the weeklong, crazy-wild-fun-a-palooza Vacation Bible School– and we can legitimately say – WHAT A YEAR!
Ignite the Fire (literally): Inspired by the work of a fellow Amazing Parish community in Kansas, and thanks (in a large part) to a freshly received grant from the Catholic Foundation of Northwestern Pennsylvania, we are going to build a fire pit area adjacent to the Holy Redeemer parking lot next spring! Kind of exciting, isn’t it? We talk often about how the fire of the Holy Spirit wishes to leap from one person to another, and this is a way (a particularly fun way, in fact) of helping that happen. Our fire pit will be a place where we can gather, relax, pray, share fellowship, enjoy a meal, and otherwise grow closer as a community of faith. During the frigid winter days of January and February, feel free to warm your hearts with thoughts of the fire pit. I can’t wait to see it ablaze!
A Crucial Invitation: Finally, a word about vocations to the priesthood. It may seem that God is calling fewer young men to serve at the altar these days, but it is more likely that while God continues to call, young men are simply struggling to hear and respond. Your prayers for priestly vocations are critical. Thank you for making that intention a daily part of your prayer. Yet there is another thing that you can do which may have an everlasting effect: You can invite a young man to consider that he may be called. Data shows that being asked is a significant part of many priests’ vocation stories. God, evidently, uses that question to open up a new channel of grace in a young man’s heart. We have some wonderful young men in our Catholic community. Is God calling one or more of them to be a priest? Why don’t you ask!
Mary, Mother of the Redeemer – Pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us! St. Anthony – Pray for us! St. Joseph – Pray for us!