“…Love The Lord, Your God…”

…”Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” The first reading from Deuteronomy sets the foundation for our life of faith. If we put God first and love God totally with our lives, our actions and choices will always reflect that commitment….that foundation of our lives. How can we strive to love God more and center our lives more fully, more completely on Christ? What are the other ‘gods’ that distract us – that we make more important than God?? Love the Lord your God…with all your heart, soul, and strength.

…It’s hard to believe that we have flipped the calendar to the month of November. Over the past few days, we’ve been blessed to celebrate, and remember, our loved ones on the Feast of All Saints and Souls. The days ahead will give us a chance to reflect more deeply on the blessings of God in our lives – the reason we have to be grateful and thankful. Over the next few weeks, we will have a number of reminders to say ‘thank you, Jesus’ for all the ways that God loves us with abundance!

…Many thanks to Sue Esker who came in last Sunday with 40 coats/jackets for distribution in the city of Cleveland. She, along with many others, cleaned out their closets and also asked their neighbors to simply help us bring the warmth and compassion of Christ to those in need. We are still collecting coats until November 20. You can bring them to the parish entrance or parish office. God bless you for your goodness.

…Over the next few weeks, we will be ramping up to provide over 7,000 meals for our sisters and brothers in need across our region over the holidays. We will be collecting turkeys and pies on the weekend of November 10-11. We are currently looking for help – it takes about 800 of us – to cook, set up, carve and serve to make our Thanksgiving meal a blessing to those we care for. To sign up to help either the days before, or on Thanksgiving Day, please go to: www.stambrose.us/thanksgiving.
…This past week I reached out to Sheriff Miller to schedule another ALICE training session for Tuesday, November 27 at 7:00 pm in the Mother Theresa Room. Over the past few years, we have conducted a number of training sessions both for parish staff and our members. The goal of the training is to help you and our parish respond to any safety concerns that may come our way. Nothing is better than training and preparation. All are welcome to the ALICE Training. Please join us and spread the word.

…Our prayers continue to go out to the Tree of Life community in Pittsburgh. May God’s peace and mercy be with the families who have lost a loved one to the acts of tragic violence.

…Special prayers continue for our young members preparing for First Reconciliation. May they find great peace in the Lord. As we help them love God more fully, may they deep peace in the Lord.

…Next Sunday all of our candidates for Confirmation are invited to join us for the 5 pm Mass for the Rite of Enrollment for Confirmation. It’s one more way we can lift our teens to the Lord in prayer.

…As we move towards the holidays, we are looking for names of some people who would appreciate being a recipient of the 12 days of Christmas. For the 12 days prior to Christmas, our members will drop off wonderful, kind, thoughtful gifts to help them remember they are loved and cared for by the Lord and our community. The notes that come back to us from those who receive these ‘acts of kindness’ find great joy and love in the midst of the holiday season. If you know of someone (family member, neighbor, coworkers) who could use some joy and hope, please send their names to Lisa Homady at lhomady@StAmbrose.us.

…BTW….we are in need of some people who will drop off these little acts of kindness. It’s a great way to live out and stir the real reason for the season. Contact Lisa for more details.

…Last Monday I had the blessing of sharing in some of the Junior High PSR celebration. The students, with the help of some wonderful parents, were doing crafts and activities together to share life, faith and friendship. God bless Janet Majka and her team for their great efforts for our junior high students.

…Last weekend was a clear reminder of the blessings and vibrancy of our parish community. The campus was alive at Mass, for Baptisms, along with a great K of C Halloween Party, Trunk and Treat and a great flag football tournament. We are so blessed!!!

Fr. Rob and his 60+ pilgrims take off for the Holy Land on Monday. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. What a blessing to walk i nthe same place as Jesus and his disciples. They will be doing a picture…. show and tell…. in early January.

…We are currently looking for people interested in learning more or being a part of our June mission trip. We are doing great work for some of the poorest of the poor in the Dominican Republic. We would love to have you join us on one of the two trips taking place in June, 2019. To learn more, please contact Jake Bihari (JBirari@StAmbrose.us) or Marlene Antonius.

As you can see in today’s bulletin, we celebrate an Angel who made a difference – an unsung hero of Saint Ambrose – Bob Marzola. Feel free to submit a member of our community who makes a difference in your life and in our parish. Go to www.stambrose.us/unsunghero.

…in this autumn season, take some time to reflect on the blessings of God in your life. “ Thank you Jesus” is a simple and sincere prayer to express deep gratitude to God for many ways God shows His love and care for us. Every day I say ‘thank you Jesus’ for you and the good members of Saint Ambrose.