Participate in the Census Today! Jesus Himself Did It.

03-09-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Robert Aliunzi

My Dear Friends,

For the past two weeks, we have been inviting you to participate in our Parish Census, giving reasons as to why it is important to do so. My invitation still continues especially today when we begin our actual Census exercise. Did you know that a census is so important that one of the most significant events in Salvation History, that involved God being ushered into our world as a child happened around a census? The Gospel of Luke connects the birth of Jesus to a "worldwide census" ordered by Augustus Caesar in which individuals had to return to their ancestral cities to be counted. Jesus' parents, Joseph, and Mary, had to travel about 90 miles from their home in Nazareth, Galilee, to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Yes, the birth of Jesus happened around a census, that’s how important a census is.

Whereas the census during which our Savior was born might have had mundane motivations such as increasing taxes and building the military strength of the Roman empire, ours is far from that. As good Stewards, our Census is motivated solely by our desire to serve your spiritual and pastoral needs better. To understand the need for this better, we also pointed out that these last few years, we have gone through many transitions here in our Parish including the COVID 19 and multiple leadership transitions which have re-ordered our priorities significantly. As your new Shepherd, this has also offered me the unique opportunity to assess the real needs of our parish at this moment so as to address them effectively and realistically.

However, after the Census, in order to come up with a solid plan to address these needs, we shall be conducting a Survey to determine the real needs of our parish and the resources needed to meet them. This Survey will involve all those who participated in the Census in answering questions such as, what sets Our Lady of Mt. Carmel apart, from the other parishes? What are the things we are doing well which need to be continued? What things no longer work for us? And, what are the new emerging needs of our parish?

So, as pointed out, beginning this weekend through mid-April 2024, we shall be conducting our Census. Please, once again, I ask you to participate, as I have been doing in various ways these past weeks. Your participation is not only important to me but most importantly to the success of these efforts. Have a blessed Lenten Season and know that I love you!

I love you!