…”At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” The Gospel this weekend is a familiar Gospel story that really connects to our daily life. How often we get worried, afraid, and distressed forgetting to remember that promise of God’s faithfulness. God calls us to a deeper trust and confidence in Christ. This week how can we remember to put our trust in the Lord. A good way for us to remember the faithfulness of God is to look back at all the moments of our life when we were worried, afraid, and felt like we were sinking. In those moments, we will be able to clearly see the goodness and faithfulness of God.
…We have the best possible example of faith and trust in the Lord in the Blessed Virgin Mary. This week we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption (August 15). We look to her as an example of trust and faithfulness. God always found the proper way to give her the help and strength she needed. God wants to do the same for each of us. Please join us as we celebrate Mary taking her rightful place in Heaven. The Vigil Mass on Monday is at 7 pm and on Tuesday at 8:15 am, 12 noon, and 7 pm. Please join us as we celebrate this holy day of obligation and look for a deeper faith and trust in the Lord for ourselves.
…This is a special weekend for our parish community as we say ‘thank you’ to Tom Bonezzi for this nine years of service to our community as our Music Minister. Tom has been an amazing inspiration and blessing to our community. He has planted the song of God’s love, compassion and peace in our hearts through the generous sharing of his gifts and talents, his faith and love of God. We have been so blessed. This weekend is really more of a thank you and less of a goodbye. Tom is stepping off the ‘solid ground’ so that he can step forth in faith to open his heart to the Lord and discern and prepare for his next ‘yes’ to God. We pray that God will guide him in his vocation discernment. We blanket him with our thanks and our prayers. Earlier this week our Parish Staff presented him with a beautiful Prayer Quilt which contained images and words of some of the songs that he has taught us over the years. May this blanket him with our support and prayers.
…God bless his mom and dad, Mike and Deb Bonezzi. You can see from all the pictures of Tom, his deep love for his family. Vocations come from faith-filled homes like theirs.
…And, on the vocation front, Josh Cochrac moved in this week as he gets ready for his Internship Year at Saint Ambrose. He will head to Saint Mary Seminary for a few weeks at the end of August and then join us early in September for the year. We are blessed to welcome him.
…We also received word that our parish will be blessed to serve as a field ed parish for one of the deacon candidates. Watch for details.
…My prayer is that Tom’s discernment, along with a few men who are discerning the diaconate, coupled with Josh being here for his internship year, will stir a greater sense of openness and urgency to encourage and promote vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated religious life.
…BTW….you can see a version of that prayer quilt in the Gathering area of the PLC. God bless our Prayer Quilt Ministry.
…Many thanks to all who helped and joined us last Sunday at The FEST. It was a blessed day of faith, family and fun. If you could have walked through the entire place, you would have seen our good members from Saint Ambrose leading the way and working hard to create this family day for our local church. What a blessing!!! Our parish does so much for so many. In a special way our parish creates this great day for our Diocese. Thank you so much for all your help and support. God bless you for all the good you do.
…Special thanks to our member, Mike Strmac and his company, Universal Windows Direct. They are so good to our parish community. This past week they installed new windows in ½ of the rectory as a gift to our community. It’s amazing how much the new windows cut the heat from the sun and the outside noise. What a blessing.
…Speaking of blessing…our Building and Grounds volunteers are a force. They were a huge help at The FEST. Even more they do great work around our parish campus – all the time. This week and next they are tackling the school building to make sure that everything is ready for the upcoming school year. God bless our B/G Team along with our maintenance staff. We are very blessed!
…We are always looking for a few new people to join the B/G team. If you can give a couple of hours a month to help keep our parish in top condition, please contact Ken at _____________. God will bless your efforts AND you will enjoy great doughnuts.
…Speaking of school…it’s right around the corner. This week all of our students who attend Brunswick City Schools are back in action. The following week Saint Ambrose School begins the new school year. We pray for all faculty, staff and students. May this year be blessed – filled with God’s grace and peace.
…Speaking of peace….every day we all need to pray for peace throughout our world. The chapel is open every day. Stop by and spend some time for the Lord. World peace begins with a deeper inner peace that comes only from the Lord.
…Have a blessed week. May each of us use this week to nurture a deeper faith and trust in the Lord. God bless you for all the good you do. Take care.
