THIS THURSDAY'S MINISTRIES....OF THE VARIETAL NATURE..........

Settling into the remainder of the ministry week after my day off Wednesday, I am happy to report that with one session left in my 6 week, Faith Seeking Understanding Adult Faith Formation presentation, "The Mass Explained", the books for the Advent Series have arrived and are excellent.  It is a  part of Twenty Third Publications, "Threshold Bible Study Series", so that it is a scriptural reflections based Advent resource.  I will be offering it as a class the 4 Mondays of the Advent Season.  The Parish Advent Mission which will also be preached on texts from the book, "Advent Light", has been firmed yet this week as well.  Reverend Father Steven Avella, will be preaching the Advent Mission in early December, and will offer superb insights into the Advent / Christmas Scriptures we will be studying.  I am also excited that Reverend Father Benedict DeLeon and I, have made our arrangements for my Silver Jubilee of Priesthood Cruise of the Baltic Sea, next summer.  We were scheduled to make this Baltic Cruise in July 2007, until my dialysis treatments disqualified me from sailing at that time.  So four more years have past in zealous anticipation at seeing Russia and the Baltic, and falling within the year of my 25th Anniversary as a Priest of Jesus Christ, are increasing my enthusiasm for taking this Baltic Sea Cruise, with Fr. Ben, next summer, just as I joined him in 2005 on his Silver Jubilee Cruise of the Greek Isles..........Following my concelebrated Morning Mass and Breakfast with Fr. Tony Traynor, I returned to the Parish Office and put in three hours of desk work, answering phones and doorbells, writing Mass cards, sorting and reading the mail, and writing checks for parish expenditures.  One of the administrative changes that has taken place at the diocesan-parish level, since I was Pastor of Holy Family in Citrus Heights five and a half years ago, is that the monthly Parish Assessment and Insurance, and the Priest Health and Pension payments to the Diocese must all be paid by individual checks, instead of one.  On September 30, I wrote and signed our first of ten payments for Fiscal Year 2010-11, in one check, only to have it returned with the instruction to submit four checks each to their specific fund catergory and account number.  So I re-wrote and put those four checks in the mail today.  As the Parish Secretary Keith Gray winds up putting in the sacramental registers the names and details of our 2010 Confirmation, First Eucharist, and Easter Vigil, recipients, it is time to get the All Souls Day mailing ready to be mailed out to our parishioners next week.....Also today, I completed my mail in election ballot, so I have voted and put it in the mail.  However, I was unsuccessful in making a timely appointment online or over the phone to get my drivers license renewed before my birthday on November 4.  So I will trudge down to the DMV office without one and get it squared away next week....That's this Thursday in priestly ministry at OLOL.  I hope your Thursday, wherever you are, has been as varietal and engaging as mine...........All For The Greater Glory Of God And The Common Good,   Fr.  Troy