August 11, 2016
…”Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!’” This weekend’s Gospel is really one of my favorites. It is at the heart of a term we often use/hear in the Church called “the new evangelization.” At its heart is this Gospel. How do we spread the fire…the light…the compassion…the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone – everywhere? That really is the mandate and commission of Christ to each of us. It’s also what our world desperately needs. If you watch the news, it’s easy to see/conclude that there are many other forces in our world spreading like wildfire. What is needed is for us – as followers of Christ – to spread the fire of God’s love and the flame of God’s faith throughout our world. This happens best when we share the Light of Christ to those in need. It happens best when we invite and encourage people to come to the Lord….join us for Mass….turn to the Lord in prayer in times of need. How can we spread the fire of our faith and love of God throughout our community – our world?
…Many thanks to all who joined us last Sunday at The FEST. Special thanks to so many members of our parish who worked so hard to bring this day of faith, family and fun to life for thousands and thousands across our region. It was a great moment of the ‘new evangelization.’ The music, activities, crafts and displays all reinforced a message near and dear to our parish community – Jesus Christ is EVERYTHING for us. When we give our everything to God….God gives us everything we need. Special thanks to Tom Bonezzi, Helen Lanzarotta and Fr. Rob, all who helped coordinate the FEST Mass. Simply inspiring.
…At The FEST, we launched an initiative to build a coalition around the terrible heroin epidemic that has impacted so many in our region – and so many families in our parish. Special thanks to our members Ryan Muir and Christie Cereshko for building an incredibly helpful website: greaterthanheroin.com. It’s filled with helpful resources. Check it out. Spread the word. Together we are greater than this epidemic.
…Another example of the ‘holy fire’ comes from some of our younger members. Over the past few weeks one of our young ones and his grandfather did some ‘extra work’ to raise some money for the hungry and poor. A group of sixth grade girls also made cupcakes and sold them to raise money for those in need in our mission community. It is humbling to see and hear what our younger members are doing – on their own – to continue the mission of Christ and bring care and compassion to those most in need. Simply inspiring!
…Our Junior High Youth Ministry is called “ABLAZE.” It comes from this weekend’s Gospel. Josh Arborgast and Janet Majka are working to continue to strengthen our efforts in bringing the message of Christ to all our junior high students. Given all the challenges and messages of our world, they need to hear and find support in living out the Gospel values. In order for us to have a thriving junior high and high school youth ministry program, we need the help and support of our entire community. We also need some young adults and adults to help us. There are ways for everyone to get involved. If you play a musical instrument – we need you. If you can help do some food/clean up for some of the programs and events – we need you. If you are good working with teens – we need you. If you can watch the parking lots to make sure every teen is safe – we need you. We need to stir a holy fire that inspires our teens. It takes all of us to be involved. For more information, or to sign up to help, contact Josh at JArborgast@StAmbrose.us or Janet at JMajka@StAmbrose.us.
…Speaking of holy fire – the STEAK ROAST is back! The long Saint Ambrose tradition is coming back this year (thanks to steak prices becoming a little more reasonable again) thanks to our Knights of Columbus. It’s going to be on Saturday, September 3, 2016, and will include the dedication of our new Mother Teresa statue, which will be placed outside the Mother Teresa Room in the PLC. The K of C are leading the efforts on the Steak Roast so that we can have a great community night together AND help raise funds to complete the statue (which they are giving as a gift to our parish community). See this weekend’s bulletin for details. GREAT meal. GREAT people. GREAT fun….Holy fire – this time – a Steak Roast. Help support the K of C and the new statue.
…Random shout out – many thanks to our good friends from Rapid Cleaners. They do all our Mass vestments and altar clothes as a gift to God and our parish community. If you stop by Rapid Cleaners, please offer a word of thanks. It’s a huge help to our parish and allows us to make sure things are always clean and best for our prayer to the Lord.
…Many thanks to Mike Strmac and our friends from Universal Windows Direct. Not only did they do a GREAT job with our new school windows, but this coming week they are installing two new doors in the rectory and a new garage window…as a gift to our parish community. This, again, is a huge help. It allows us to take care of our campus. If you know Mike or see any of his team, please offer a personal world of thanks.
…Speaking of thanks – thanks to ALL who supported our summer festival and raffle. Check out the new school building doors and the new doors inside and out for Hilkert Hall. They work better…will be warmer…and, most importantly, will be safer for all the young people who constantly use our buildings/campus.
…Bingo also helps support some of these projects around our campus. Our Friday night bingo game brings together really good people for a fun night. It also does GREAT good for Saint Ambrose. We are desperately in need of some Bingo volunteers. It’s fun. It’s easy. It’s a great help to our parish. Can you lend a couple of hours a month to help our parish? For details, contact Mike Mascio (MMascio@StAmbrose.us).
…It’s GREAT to see all the student athletes on our campus these days. Football, volleyball, cheerleading and cross country are all up and running. We are so blessed with a strong CYO program and wonderful…wonderful…wonderful coaches. I was out at football practice and as I walked on the field, the team was on one knee being lead in prayer by their coach. What a great way to spread the fire of our faith to our young people.
…God bless Kathy Jake, who lead the charge to distribute yard signs in support of those who serve to protect us. God bless Dan LaGuardia and Repros for helping us have these signs for our community. We have ordered more….they should be available next week.
…We are in full go mode at Saint Ambrose. There is a fire … a passion … a strong whirlwind of faith and compassion around our community. So many are working to spread the fire of our faith and the Good News of Jesus. God bless you! Thanks for all you do for our parish community. Have a blessed week.
