10-02-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Charlie Goraieb

Dear Friends,

The priesthood is the means that our Lord instituted to assure that the Church would always be able to provide the Sacraments and consecrated leadership for the flock. It is a moment of great rejoicing when a young man responds to God’s calling and offers himself in service to the Church. The priesthood is much more than a career or profession; it is a total way of life for the entirety of his life.

This year Fr. Aaron reached the milestone of his 10th anniversary. Today—Sunday, October 2, Fr. Aaron will celebrate the 11:00am Mass in honor of his priesthood followed by a light reception in McCready Hall (south side) where you can give thanks with him and share a piece of cake.

“Congratulations to Fr. Aaron for his servant’s heart and his love for God’s people.” We are blessed to have this joyful priest serving our parish.

So many people that I know have experienced great spiritual growth and strength in their lives as a result of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Here is a brief testimony of one such person:

Ash Wednesday 10 years ago I made a “Lent-ish” decision to sign up for weekly Adoration. I was amazed early on to realize that it never felt like a burden or a challenge to ful"ll the commitment through Lent. When Lent was over, it never occurred to me to stop my Wednesday evening with the Lord (except for illness or being out of town I have never missed my “date with Jesus”). I’d like to say that over the past 10 years I made miraculous strides in my faith life…but I can’t. It has been a slow deepening of faith and love that has seen me through two cancer diagnosis’s and treatment, family, friend and work challenges and I cannot imagine not having had that time to keep me focused on Him.

My time in Adoration is precious and guarded, I do not accept other commitments for the evening, because it is my time with the Lord….Life is still challenging, that will never change; but knowing I have my weekly Adoration time to “unload” and lean into His love is a gift in itself.

— S.H.

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