IT MAY BE THANKSGIVING WEEKEND, BUT PARISH MINISTRY CONTINUES..........

It is just after 8 am on ThanksGiving Saturday holiday weekend, but the day ahead holds a fair amount of work for me in the form of parish ministry. At 1 pm I will preside at a Quinceanera Mass and an Infant Baptism, for a family in the parish having the joint celebration.  Then, at 4 pm the weekly Saturday Confessions, followed by the Sunday Vigil Mass, at 5 pm.  Between the Quinceanera / Baptism and the Confessions / Vigil Mass;, I will spend the time putting my homily and other resources for the First Sunday of Advent, in final order for tonight and tomorrow.  Sister Felicity Brusadelli, has arranged the Advent Wreath for the church sanctuary, after arrival of the candles yesterday by UPS, set off by a Tuesday afternoon scramble, realizing we did not have a sufficient number of purples to join with the pink, to form the Wreath.  With the ThanksGiving holiday weekend closing in, Kauffer's Religious Goods, were very good to expedite their delivery without us being roasted by the cost, assuring the Parish Advent Wreath is ready and exactly as it should be for the next four weeks.  Like on most significant holidays, parish priests must work around the ministerial responsibilities that remain on the calendar, and make windows of opportunity out of times we are not otherwise scheduled to be on duty. I use that down time to chillax or relax, in keeping the holiday.  I did that yesterday after celebrating the 8 am Morning Mass, a 10 am Funeral Memorial Mass, and keeping a 1:30 pm appointment.  I broke away, and spent several hours visiting with Msgr. Kavanagh and went to dinner with him, for what he referred to at the end of the evening as, "an always enjoyable opportunity to catch up".  And indeed it was, as well as a wonderful holiday experience of relaxing and re-energizing.  Sunday afternoon and evening provide one last chance during this four day weekend, to do the same, before resuming the daily schedule of Advent and pre Christmas ministry activities of seasonal intensity Monday morning ..........In ThanksGiving For The Pastoral And Parish Ministry Church Year 2010 Has Given Me The Chance tTo Serve And To Lead,   Fr.  Troy