On Sunday, Holy Family Parish celebrated a “birthday bash.” It was the 8th Anniversary of the rebirth of this Catholic community and as an added incentive the parishioners “burned their mortgage.”
I didn’t want anyone to miss this celebration of our rebirth. I wanted it to be like a” birthday bash” to celebrate their love for one another. Make no mistake, it is their faith, their sacrifices and stubbornness who literally bought their church for $110,000 from the Buffalo Diocese and made it financially self-sufficient. It has become a living presence of Jesus love for everyone not only in North Java but in all our neighboring towns.
On Sunday, I shared that this time of year farming takes precedent to till the soil, fertilize and plant the seed that has been delayed by our soggy Spring. However, this “shepherd’ decided to call each of your homes to invite you to this celebration. I realized that you get spam calls on your cell phones and I worried that if the priest is calling your home it must mean trouble or worse a tragedy. Think about it. When was the last time your pastor called you on the phone to invite you to have some fun?
So, I made over a 100 phone calls and after two hours either left messages or talked to some nice parishioners inviting them to our birthday bash. The most interesting response was a voicemail that had the Notre Dame Fight song on their phone to take a message. Then there was a person who answered while in their locker getting ready to start their shift work. Another response: “What can I bring to the party, do you want cookies or mimosas?” Someone shared that they were so happy that a family member started coming to church with them and that brought them much joy and comfort. Yes, a few calls were dropped, or went to a fax machine instead of the phone. And then there was this sarcastic voicemail: “You know what to do. Go ahead and when I get time I will call you back.”
I always tell people that the real celebration takes place after the last blessing at Mass. No one leaves this church early because the celebration continues with our social gathering after Mass. While all the other Catholics are running over one another in their parking lots, at Holy Family people stay to chat and share their stories about what’s happening on their farms. This is a sacramental moment in which we are transformed into a community that really cares about one another. People want to know how they can help each other in life. We are a community brought together by food, at the altar in the bread and wine and at the table in the back of church with our kirsch, cookies, brownies and breakfast pizzas.
This is what I know a pastor is supposed to do - show his people how good God is in his creation: "Look and see, taste and see, touch and smell and hear and see that God is good." That is my role as shepherd of this wonderful, generous community to help you taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that includes all these amazing people at Holy Family. They have discovered the secret of your teaching. Love. "Where charity and love prevail, there God is always found. Brought here together by Christ's love, by love are we thus bound.” Next week, six of our children will be making their First Holy Communion. Why not come and experience another sacred moment? We would love to have you join our family.
