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12/18/22 Father Owen's Bulletin Message
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Dear Parishioners:
Wow! How quickly Advent has gone. As we gather today, the fourth Sunday of Advent, we are simply one week from the celebration of Christmas. I was very pleased that many people came to Saturday’s confession and do remember that we will not have confessions next Saturday, Christmas Eve.
How blessed I am in the gift of Priesthood bestowed upon me by Almighty God. In this gift, I share with my brother priests the joy of priesthood. We remember our Fr. Mike, Pastor Emeritus, my brother priest. We wish him the joys and blessings of the Christmas season and we thank him for the many years of faithful service he has given to our beloved St. Luke. We look forward to having Fr. Mike come to offer Mass many times and love to have him join us for special occasions. Our best wishes, of course, to Fr. Alex who is very happy and busy as the vicar in Our Lady of Notre Dame, Cedar Knolls. It is a special gift to share my priesthood here with my good friend, Fr. Hubert. His thoughtful and kindly presence both here in church and at the rectory makes sharing ministry with him a joy. His devotion to God and his sense of humor is appreciated by all. As you are aware, Fr. Hubert is spending Christmas with his family in Poland. I am thrilled that he can enjoy this special time with his parents, Elzbueta and Stan and his brother, Bartosz and his much loved, Molly. We here at St. Luke, wish the Jurjewicz family a Blessed and Holy Christmas and look forward to having Fr. Hubert home to St. Luke on December 27th.
A big thanks to everyone in our CCD program who contributed to the White Gift Sunday. The sacrifice of both our adults and young people truly makes a difference in the lives of those who have so little.
Congratulations on Aiden and Colin O’Neil who received their Eagle Scout award on Sunday, the 18th at the Lodge on Schooley’s Mountain. We are very proud of the O’Neil twins and of the good example given to them by Scott and Aliki O’Neil.
On Sunday the 18th, we celebrate our last St. Luke Antioch gathering. We conclude with a little Christmas celebration. We look forward to having a new team and new Antioch dates at St. Lawrence in January. Thanks to all for the support you give to all our Antioch kids. A special thanks to all the adult team members for the time they give to our young people.
As you can see, Monte Bros has been working at the church all last week. This weekend a member of their team is at attendance at all masses, to tweak the system and I hope and pray that through the grace of God, much expense and hard work, our sound is much improved.
The parish offices will be closed on Monday, December 26 and January 2. In case of an emergency, please call the emergency number at (908) 280 4311.
For those of you who will be travelling for Christmas, I wish you a peace filled and Holy Christmas and safe travels. I look forward to seeing you in the coming year. For those remaining at home, I look forward to seeing you all at one of the seven masses between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Fr. Owen