From the Pastor's Desk
December 18, 2011
The 4th week of Advent runs from today until 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon December 24th. That’s when we will offer the first of our Christmas Masses.
So our time of prayerful preparation will transition into celebration as we rejoice and give thanks to God for sending us the Present of all presents … His Divine Son, Jesus!
It goes without saying that the Birthday of Jesus is a very Holy Day and all Catholics are bound to attend Holy Mass on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Christmas is the second highest Solemnity of the year, second only to Easter, and gathering at Mass gives us the opportunity to praise and thank God for His Gift in the most powerful way possible … through His Gift, with His Gift and in His Gift … Jesus … truly present on our Altar!
So, make plans to attend Mass next weekend and try to gather all of your family together, especially those who have fallen away from the Church.
If there is no impediment to them coming back such as “living together outside marriage” or “having been married outside the Church” then encourage them to go to Confession and return to the Sacramental life of the Church.
What a wonderful day to get back on the road of building a loving relationship with our Creator and Redeemer.
Christmas is such a special day … the Saints tell us that more souls are released from Purgatory on Christmas Day than on any other day of the year … so special is this day to God the Father.
Therefore, remember to pray for all your dearly departed family members and friends on Christmas Day … that they may quickly enter into the blessedness of Heaven.
Remember too that January 1st is much more than simply New Years Day; it’s the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,.
Falling on a Sunday, this liturgy will be celebrated at the usual 5:00 PM Saturday and 8:30 & 11:00 Sunday Masses.
May the happiness that the whole world knew on that First Christmas Day be with you and yours this Christmas and all throughout the Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Father Deering
December 11, 2011
Ready or not, Christmas Day will be here … in 14 days!
Yes, schools will be closed, some businesses will be on shut-down and many people will take time off for vacation.
It seems that this would be the perfect time, to really slow down and reflect upon your life. How’s it going? Are you living in accord with your priorities … or are changes needed?
Ready or not, the New Year will begin … in 21 days!
It’s the customary time to make new resolutions and to strive to live in the way you really want to live.
Of all the things you can hope for in the new year, I’d like you to contemplate the idea that we the people of God are called to actually become hope for the Church and the world.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict says,
“hope is a recognition of the ongoing need for salvation.”
In other words, we’re not supposed to just sit still and await the arrival of the Lord as if He was some beautiful decoration coming to a world already saved.
Rather, we’re to actively participate in the work of guiding others to salvation in Jesus Christ.
The goal to achieve is God … for us and for all!
And that should be our top priority as we enter year 2012.
So, ask yourself the question, “What can I do differently to improve my relationship with Jesus?
And at the same time, ask yourself, “What can I do
to help others begin or renew their relationship with Jesus?
Do you have family members and friends who are living away from the Catholic Church for one reason or another?
Well, this would be a particularly good time to invite them to come back to God and come back to Church!
Great graces are flowing during the Christmas Season and many people will feel the call to be back in Church.
So, please pray for the courage and the words to invite all of your fallen-away family members and friends to come and be reconciled with the Church.
Encourage them to start the New Year out right by meeting with their Parish Priest and charting out a course to come back into the Sacramental life of the Church.
As we celebrate the Great Hope that God gave us when He gave us His Son 2011 years ago, let’s pray to actually become hope for many others as we invite them to come and adore Baby Jesus whose image is in the Manger, and
whose true presence is in the Tabernacle!
Advent blessings!
Love Father Deering
December 4, 2011
We now begin the second week of the holy season of Advent … that 4-week period of preparation for the great celebration of Christmas, the Birthday of our Lord!
Remember the 2-fold purpose to the season of Advent:
First, it is the time where we reflect on the significance of Christ’s first coming … when He came into our world as a newborn baby in the little town of Bethlehem some 2010 years ago.
Second, it is a time where we prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming … when He comes at the end of time.
Advent is a season of devout yet joyful expectation!
I do hope that in the midst of all the excitement of shopping and celebrating, you will use the Advent season to draw closer to Jesus in prayer, especially in … the Mass!
Please make the extra effort to attend 6:30 Morning Mass one or more days a week during the 4 weeks of Advent!
This little sacrifice to get up and get going earlier will have infinite value … both for you and for all those whom you pray for during Mass.
The one weekday that you are obliged to attend Mass is on Thursday, December the 8th, which is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and a Holy Day of Obligation.
To assist you in fulfilling your obligation to attend Mass for this Holy Day, a Vigil Mass will be offered Tuesday evening, December 7th at 6 PM at St. Henry.
Mass will also be offered Thursday December 8th at:
6:30 AM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and
6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Fulfilling your Holy Day obligation will not only bring you much grace, but it will give you the chance to experience how wonderful and effective it is to attend Mass at least one additional day each week!
This weekend is the time to pick up your contribution envelopes for 2012 in the vestibule.
Do not use them until the new year and then please do use them every week as you bring your tithe to the Church as this is the easiest way for us to record your contributions and be able to provide you with a summary of your charitable giving.
May God bless you in your Advent preparation!
Prayers and blessings.
Love, Father Deering
The 4th week of Advent runs from today until 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon December 24th. That’s when we will offer the first of our Christmas Masses.
So our time of prayerful preparation will transition into celebration as we rejoice and give thanks to God for sending us the Present of all presents … His Divine Son, Jesus!
It goes without saying that the Birthday of Jesus is a very Holy Day and all Catholics are bound to attend Holy Mass on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Christmas is the second highest Solemnity of the year, second only to Easter, and gathering at Mass gives us the opportunity to praise and thank God for His Gift in the most powerful way possible … through His Gift, with His Gift and in His Gift … Jesus … truly present on our Altar!
So, make plans to attend Mass next weekend and try to gather all of your family together, especially those who have fallen away from the Church.
If there is no impediment to them coming back such as “living together outside marriage” or “having been married outside the Church” then encourage them to go to Confession and return to the Sacramental life of the Church.
What a wonderful day to get back on the road of building a loving relationship with our Creator and Redeemer.
Christmas is such a special day … the Saints tell us that more souls are released from Purgatory on Christmas Day than on any other day of the year … so special is this day to God the Father.
Therefore, remember to pray for all your dearly departed family members and friends on Christmas Day … that they may quickly enter into the blessedness of Heaven.
Remember too that January 1st is much more than simply New Years Day; it’s the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God,.
Falling on a Sunday, this liturgy will be celebrated at the usual 5:00 PM Saturday and 8:30 & 11:00 Sunday Masses.
May the happiness that the whole world knew on that First Christmas Day be with you and yours this Christmas and all throughout the Christmas Season.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Father Deering
December 11, 2011
Ready or not, Christmas Day will be here … in 14 days!
Yes, schools will be closed, some businesses will be on shut-down and many people will take time off for vacation.
It seems that this would be the perfect time, to really slow down and reflect upon your life. How’s it going? Are you living in accord with your priorities … or are changes needed?
Ready or not, the New Year will begin … in 21 days!
It’s the customary time to make new resolutions and to strive to live in the way you really want to live.
Of all the things you can hope for in the new year, I’d like you to contemplate the idea that we the people of God are called to actually become hope for the Church and the world.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict says,
“hope is a recognition of the ongoing need for salvation.”
In other words, we’re not supposed to just sit still and await the arrival of the Lord as if He was some beautiful decoration coming to a world already saved.
Rather, we’re to actively participate in the work of guiding others to salvation in Jesus Christ.
The goal to achieve is God … for us and for all!
And that should be our top priority as we enter year 2012.
So, ask yourself the question, “What can I do differently to improve my relationship with Jesus?
And at the same time, ask yourself, “What can I do
to help others begin or renew their relationship with Jesus?
Do you have family members and friends who are living away from the Catholic Church for one reason or another?
Well, this would be a particularly good time to invite them to come back to God and come back to Church!
Great graces are flowing during the Christmas Season and many people will feel the call to be back in Church.
So, please pray for the courage and the words to invite all of your fallen-away family members and friends to come and be reconciled with the Church.
Encourage them to start the New Year out right by meeting with their Parish Priest and charting out a course to come back into the Sacramental life of the Church.
As we celebrate the Great Hope that God gave us when He gave us His Son 2011 years ago, let’s pray to actually become hope for many others as we invite them to come and adore Baby Jesus whose image is in the Manger, and
whose true presence is in the Tabernacle!
Advent blessings!
Love Father Deering
December 4, 2011
We now begin the second week of the holy season of Advent … that 4-week period of preparation for the great celebration of Christmas, the Birthday of our Lord!
Remember the 2-fold purpose to the season of Advent:
First, it is the time where we reflect on the significance of Christ’s first coming … when He came into our world as a newborn baby in the little town of Bethlehem some 2010 years ago.
Second, it is a time where we prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming … when He comes at the end of time.
Advent is a season of devout yet joyful expectation!
I do hope that in the midst of all the excitement of shopping and celebrating, you will use the Advent season to draw closer to Jesus in prayer, especially in … the Mass!
Please make the extra effort to attend 6:30 Morning Mass one or more days a week during the 4 weeks of Advent!
This little sacrifice to get up and get going earlier will have infinite value … both for you and for all those whom you pray for during Mass.
The one weekday that you are obliged to attend Mass is on Thursday, December the 8th, which is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and a Holy Day of Obligation.
To assist you in fulfilling your obligation to attend Mass for this Holy Day, a Vigil Mass will be offered Tuesday evening, December 7th at 6 PM at St. Henry.
Mass will also be offered Thursday December 8th at:
6:30 AM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and
6:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Fulfilling your Holy Day obligation will not only bring you much grace, but it will give you the chance to experience how wonderful and effective it is to attend Mass at least one additional day each week!
This weekend is the time to pick up your contribution envelopes for 2012 in the vestibule.
Do not use them until the new year and then please do use them every week as you bring your tithe to the Church as this is the easiest way for us to record your contributions and be able to provide you with a summary of your charitable giving.
May God bless you in your Advent preparation!
Prayers and blessings.
Love, Father Deering
November 27, 2011
Did you see the paper? There on the back page of last week’s “One Voice” newspaper were the donation results for the 2012 Catholic Charities Pledge Drive.
The contributions from all 73 Parishes of the Diocese are listed as the combination of monies paid or pledged for 2012.
Here are the numbers for our two parishes:
2012 Pledge Drive
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Goal: $53,418 Paid or Pledged: $71,329
St. Henry
Goal: $19,226 Paid or Pledged: $ 24,760
Total of Both Parishes: $ 96,089
Wow! Both parishes easily surpassed their goal!
How proud I am of you!
Even in the midst of our current recession, you good people continue to follow God’s call to give alms to the poor and needy in our Diocese.
This shows your understanding that while we belong to a Parish Church, we also belong to a bigger Church, namely the Diocesan Church, and that we have the duty to help them in their needs.
My sincere thanks go to all of you who paid or pledged to Catholic Charities for the year 2012 … you’ll experience great satisfaction just by knowing that you’re enabling others to receive real tangible help in securing their most basic needs … namely those of food, clothing, shelter and medical help.
May God bless you for your compassion and generosity!
Today, we enter into the holy season of Advent where we actively prepare ourselves spiritually for the great celebration of Christmas … the Birthday of Baby Jesus!
Here we reflect on the significance of Christ’s first coming some 2011 years ago as we prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming at the end of time.
Advent is a season of devout yet joyful expectation!
I sincerely hope that in the midst of all the excitement of shopping and celebrating, that you will use the Advent season to draw closer to Jesus in prayer, especially in … the Mass!
Please make the effort to attend 6:30 Morning Mass even one or two days a week during the next 4 weeks of Advent!
May God bless you in your Advent preparation!
Prayers and blessings. Love, Father Deering
November 20, 2011
There’s an organization that’s doing everything in its power to take the name of God out of our speech and out of our sight. It’s called the ACLU … which supposedly means the American Civil Liberties Union, when they’re acting as the Atheistic Civil Liberties Union.
True Americans are proud of the heritage of our country that included a deep devotion to and dependence on … God!
One of our many great leaders went so far as to establish a National Holiday, called Thanksgiving, so that everyone could take an entire day to thank God for the innumerable blessings that He bestows upon our land and our people.
Yes, back in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made this proclamation:
“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven in all history, that ‘those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.’”
This Godly man quoted from God’s word (Psalm 33) to explain what makes our country so special and to encourage an ongoing reverence for and gratitude to Almighty God.
As you gather together this week to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with your families and friends, you are invited to express your thanks to God in the most powerful way possible … through the mystery of the Mass.
We will offer Mass on Thursday morning, Nov. 24th
at 8:00 AM in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
You’ll be out by 8:30 and free to go and visit or prepare your own Thanksgiving meal for your family.
In any case, I hope that you’ll spend some time over this upcoming long weekend taking stock of the many blessings bestowed upon your life and your country.
When you do, I’m sure that you’ll be filled with great gratitude to God … for He blesses us in so many ways … may we never take His blessings for granted.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Father Deering
November 13, 2011
A teaching of the Catholic Church declares that all baptized persons are called to evangelize everyone they meet!
Did you know that? It’s a teaching that came out of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s and it highlights the understanding that in the Church there is diversity of ministry, but unity of mission.
We, the baptized, make up the Church, which is also known as the Mystical Body of Christ. And while we live out our lives in one of 3 different vocations (married, single or religious), and in a wide variety of professions, each one of us is called to bring the Gospel message of Jesus to the world!
We refer to the 4 writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as Evangelists because they brought the Good News of salvation to us through their written word.
By Baptism, we’ve all been given that same mission, which is to let others know about God and bring them to Him. This could be done through writing, but it’s more likely to be done through speaking to others or even just by living a holy life and letting your actions and choices declare to all around you your love for the Lord.
This is a great time of year to reflect on your mission and consider who is in your circle of family, friends and co-workers that you could invite to come closer to God.
Many of you are already doing this, which is why some 20 non-Catholics are attending our RCIA classes.
But there’s room for many more!
Yes, there’s many other people who have yet to experience, or have fallen away from, the grace and mercy of God as we know it in the Catholic Church.
Please keep up the very important work of evangelizing those around you. Invite them to attend Mass or to come to one of our Tuesday evening RCIA classes.
Just think how wonderful it would be if at Easter, someone you invited, decided to become Catholic!
It’s very possible, you know. God wants everyone to be together in the Church started by His Son.
Invitations are available in the vestibule.
Let’s carry out our mission by evangelizing others to come to know and love and serve Almighty God.
God bless you!
Love, Father Deering
November 6, 2011
Perhaps you saw the article on page 3 of Tuesday’s paper stating that the Federal Dept. of Health & Human Services, has decided to stop funding the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in the work they do to help victims of human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery.
And the reason for this is because the Bishops, acting in line with Church teaching, have refused to refer trafficking victims for contraceptives or abortion.
Therefore, this Federal Dept, headed by a Catholic woman, Kathleen Sebelius, said they made a policy decision to award the grants to agencies that would refer women for those services.
What a grand misuse of the word services. Yes, the noose is tightening on our culture as it continues to march toward its eventual demise.
No culture can sustain itself when it works against the fruitfulness of the people.
Listen to this wisdom in the editorial column of the paper: “Businesses don’t need tax breaks … they need customers!”
How true! Where are the customers? Well, we’ve aborted them or contracepted them … and so now they’re not here to require the goods and services that businesses provide.
Every human person is a consumer … a customer.
But when one of every 4 babies is aborted in America, that means we have 25% less need for diapers, and bikes and school teachers, and cars and food and everything.
When a majority of married couples have either been sterilized or are contracepting, then we have a huge loss in the number of consumers added into society.
And so we suffer with 10% unemployment because there’s not sufficient demand for goods and services.
We’re killing ourselves as a people, but none of our leaders are courageous enough to admit it.
A related article in Monday’s newspaper reported that “the aging of the population has been faster than anyone could have imagined. (And) for the countries that hit the fertility brakes the hardest, that graying of society has become a full-blown crisis. They’re suddenly desperate for babies. They need more workers to provide goods and services to huge numbers of pensioners.”
Every time we act in opposition to God’s plan, we suffer.
Be courageous and align yourselves with our Bishops and speak to others about the sins of abortion and contraception – they’re not just killing our babies … they’re killing our future.
God bless America.
Love Father Deering
Did you see the paper? There on the back page of last week’s “One Voice” newspaper were the donation results for the 2012 Catholic Charities Pledge Drive.
The contributions from all 73 Parishes of the Diocese are listed as the combination of monies paid or pledged for 2012.
Here are the numbers for our two parishes:
2012 Pledge Drive
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Goal: $53,418 Paid or Pledged: $71,329
St. Henry
Goal: $19,226 Paid or Pledged: $ 24,760
Total of Both Parishes: $ 96,089
Wow! Both parishes easily surpassed their goal!
How proud I am of you!
Even in the midst of our current recession, you good people continue to follow God’s call to give alms to the poor and needy in our Diocese.
This shows your understanding that while we belong to a Parish Church, we also belong to a bigger Church, namely the Diocesan Church, and that we have the duty to help them in their needs.
My sincere thanks go to all of you who paid or pledged to Catholic Charities for the year 2012 … you’ll experience great satisfaction just by knowing that you’re enabling others to receive real tangible help in securing their most basic needs … namely those of food, clothing, shelter and medical help.
May God bless you for your compassion and generosity!
Today, we enter into the holy season of Advent where we actively prepare ourselves spiritually for the great celebration of Christmas … the Birthday of Baby Jesus!
Here we reflect on the significance of Christ’s first coming some 2011 years ago as we prepare ourselves for Christ’s second coming at the end of time.
Advent is a season of devout yet joyful expectation!
I sincerely hope that in the midst of all the excitement of shopping and celebrating, that you will use the Advent season to draw closer to Jesus in prayer, especially in … the Mass!
Please make the effort to attend 6:30 Morning Mass even one or two days a week during the next 4 weeks of Advent!
May God bless you in your Advent preparation!
Prayers and blessings. Love, Father Deering
November 20, 2011
There’s an organization that’s doing everything in its power to take the name of God out of our speech and out of our sight. It’s called the ACLU … which supposedly means the American Civil Liberties Union, when they’re acting as the Atheistic Civil Liberties Union.
True Americans are proud of the heritage of our country that included a deep devotion to and dependence on … God!
One of our many great leaders went so far as to establish a National Holiday, called Thanksgiving, so that everyone could take an entire day to thank God for the innumerable blessings that He bestows upon our land and our people.
Yes, back in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made this proclamation:
“It is the duty of nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven in all history, that ‘those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.’”
This Godly man quoted from God’s word (Psalm 33) to explain what makes our country so special and to encourage an ongoing reverence for and gratitude to Almighty God.
As you gather together this week to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with your families and friends, you are invited to express your thanks to God in the most powerful way possible … through the mystery of the Mass.
We will offer Mass on Thursday morning, Nov. 24th
at 8:00 AM in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
You’ll be out by 8:30 and free to go and visit or prepare your own Thanksgiving meal for your family.
In any case, I hope that you’ll spend some time over this upcoming long weekend taking stock of the many blessings bestowed upon your life and your country.
When you do, I’m sure that you’ll be filled with great gratitude to God … for He blesses us in so many ways … may we never take His blessings for granted.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Father Deering
November 13, 2011
A teaching of the Catholic Church declares that all baptized persons are called to evangelize everyone they meet!
Did you know that? It’s a teaching that came out of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s and it highlights the understanding that in the Church there is diversity of ministry, but unity of mission.
We, the baptized, make up the Church, which is also known as the Mystical Body of Christ. And while we live out our lives in one of 3 different vocations (married, single or religious), and in a wide variety of professions, each one of us is called to bring the Gospel message of Jesus to the world!
We refer to the 4 writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) as Evangelists because they brought the Good News of salvation to us through their written word.
By Baptism, we’ve all been given that same mission, which is to let others know about God and bring them to Him. This could be done through writing, but it’s more likely to be done through speaking to others or even just by living a holy life and letting your actions and choices declare to all around you your love for the Lord.
This is a great time of year to reflect on your mission and consider who is in your circle of family, friends and co-workers that you could invite to come closer to God.
Many of you are already doing this, which is why some 20 non-Catholics are attending our RCIA classes.
But there’s room for many more!
Yes, there’s many other people who have yet to experience, or have fallen away from, the grace and mercy of God as we know it in the Catholic Church.
Please keep up the very important work of evangelizing those around you. Invite them to attend Mass or to come to one of our Tuesday evening RCIA classes.
Just think how wonderful it would be if at Easter, someone you invited, decided to become Catholic!
It’s very possible, you know. God wants everyone to be together in the Church started by His Son.
Invitations are available in the vestibule.
Let’s carry out our mission by evangelizing others to come to know and love and serve Almighty God.
God bless you!
Love, Father Deering
November 6, 2011
Perhaps you saw the article on page 3 of Tuesday’s paper stating that the Federal Dept. of Health & Human Services, has decided to stop funding the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in the work they do to help victims of human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery.
And the reason for this is because the Bishops, acting in line with Church teaching, have refused to refer trafficking victims for contraceptives or abortion.
Therefore, this Federal Dept, headed by a Catholic woman, Kathleen Sebelius, said they made a policy decision to award the grants to agencies that would refer women for those services.
What a grand misuse of the word services. Yes, the noose is tightening on our culture as it continues to march toward its eventual demise.
No culture can sustain itself when it works against the fruitfulness of the people.
Listen to this wisdom in the editorial column of the paper: “Businesses don’t need tax breaks … they need customers!”
How true! Where are the customers? Well, we’ve aborted them or contracepted them … and so now they’re not here to require the goods and services that businesses provide.
Every human person is a consumer … a customer.
But when one of every 4 babies is aborted in America, that means we have 25% less need for diapers, and bikes and school teachers, and cars and food and everything.
When a majority of married couples have either been sterilized or are contracepting, then we have a huge loss in the number of consumers added into society.
And so we suffer with 10% unemployment because there’s not sufficient demand for goods and services.
We’re killing ourselves as a people, but none of our leaders are courageous enough to admit it.
A related article in Monday’s newspaper reported that “the aging of the population has been faster than anyone could have imagined. (And) for the countries that hit the fertility brakes the hardest, that graying of society has become a full-blown crisis. They’re suddenly desperate for babies. They need more workers to provide goods and services to huge numbers of pensioners.”
Every time we act in opposition to God’s plan, we suffer.
Be courageous and align yourselves with our Bishops and speak to others about the sins of abortion and contraception – they’re not just killing our babies … they’re killing our future.
God bless America.
Love Father Deering
October 30, 2011
This Tuesday we celebrate All Saints Day … it is the annual Feast Day where we acknowledge and applaud all of the men and women who have gone before us and now live in everlasting peace and happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven.
That’s certainly our goal too! Heaven is ours if we sincerely want to go there. And so the Church celebrates the many souls who reside in Heaven … ones who have been named as Saints and many more who are unknown to us.
By declaring certain souls to be in Heaven, the Church gives us many models of what it takes to win the crown of heavenly glory.
This Feast is a Holy Day of Obligation which means that all Catholics are bound to attend Mass. You can attend any of the following at our parishes: Monday Oct. 31, 6:00 PM Vigil Mass at St. Henry Tuesday Nov. 1, 6:30 AM or 5:30 PM Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
On Wednesday, we celebrate All Souls Day … it’s then that we remember in a special way all of our family members and friends who have died. We then continue to offer prayers for them throughout the whole month of November.
What exactly are we praying for? We’re praying to lessen the intensity and shorten the duration of their purification in Purgatory.
As Catholics we believe that all sins wound the body of Christ. Sins are forgiven by the Mercy of God, but His Divine Justice demands that reparation of the wounds be made.
Some people atone for their sins in this life, some atone for them in Purgatory. Once a soul is in Purgatory it can no longer make reparation for itself; it must rely on the prayers and good works of the living that are offered up for them.
Hence the custom of offering Masses for our loved ones who have died. If our loved ones are in Heaven they have no need of our prayers. And Almighty God will direct our prayers where they are most needed. But if our loved ones are undergoing purification in Purgatory, then our prayers will serve to ease and shorten their time there.
“All Souls” Mass envelopes will be available in Church throughout the month of November. You are invited to list the names of your deceased family members and friends and include an offering and place the envelopes in the collection basket.
All envelopes will be placed on the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton altar where the souls listed will be prayed for each day at Mass. God bless you always!
Love Father Deering
October 16, 2011
This week we celebrated a great anniversary.
None of the local news teams reported on this and so I wanted you to know that October 11th was the 49th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council that took place in Rome … with nine-week sessions being held during the fall in each of the four years, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965.
This was the 21st time in history that the leaders of the Catholic Church convened in a Council with 2,300 Bishops from all over the world representing the 584 million members of the Catholic Church.
These Bishops, accompanied by their finest scholars and theologians, gathered to ponder all the issues facing the Church: matters of belief as well as of policy, of internal structure as well as pastoral concern.
They held 168 general congregations, voted 544 times and marked over a million ballots!
At the Council’s end, their conclusions were summarized in sixteen Constitutions, Declarations and Decrees promulgated by Pope Paul VI.
Vatican Council II was truly the landmark event of the 20th Century for the Church and for the world!
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was the first document to come out, and was presented to the world in 1963. It included the directive for Priests to offer Mass in the vernacular language of each country all around the world instead of celebrating it everywhere in Latin.
While a credible job was done in providing the first English edition of the Roman Missal back in 1973, a new more accurate translation will be brought into use in 6 weeks.
These changes will serve to make our prayers to the Father even more glorious and we’ll also obtain an even greater appreciation for the love of God!
Prayers and blessings,
Love, Father Deering
October 9, 2011
This past week, you hopefully received your Parish Quarterly Statement in the mail as a record of the contributions that you have made to the Church through the Third Quarter of this year.
This was sent to give you a status-check on how well you’re doing toward meeting the goal that you entered on your Personal Pledge Card at the beginning of the year.
The Pledged Amount, shown at the end of your statement, was the amount of your income that you prayerfully decided to give to the Church in 2011 … hopefully it was between 5% and 10% of your annual income so as to satisfy God’s plan for running His Church.
Your total contribution to the Church is the sum of your moneys given in the Offertory, Capital Improvement and Building Fund envelopes.
Separating your contributions into various envelopes helps us distinguish funds that are taxed by the Diocese and funds that are not taxed.
Next year we will go with just 2 envelope choices each week … an Offertory envelope: where the monies will go toward operating the Parish and providing our many Parish Programs, and a Building Fund envelope: where the monies will go into a savings account until they are used for our next main capital expenditure.
Thanks to your good stewardship, we are paying our bills and as of August, we are debt free! This means that we can now go forward and really begin to accumulate money in savings to invest in the next item that we decide is most needed for our Parish family.
Please be thinking of what you would personally like to see at our Parish as we will be asking you to fill out a “Wish List” Ballot of priorities one day soon at the end of Mass.
Our church campus is already highly functional and most beautiful! It is the result of your generosity! Thank you for contributing to your Church. It just shows that when we follow God’s plan for giving, He comes right back and blesses us in a profound way.
For those of you who may have missed one or more weekends due to travel over the Summer, please consider making up your missing contributions in the weeks ahead so as to meet your promised Pledge Amount by year-end.
Thanks again for your generous support!
May God bless your faithful commitment to His Church.
Love,
Father Deering
October 2, 2011
Jesus says something mighty profound in Matthew 22: 31 :
“Have you not read what was said to you by God,
'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead, but of the living."
When Jesus spoke those words, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been dead some 1800 years … and yet, they were not dead to God!
For God is life and those good men were alive with God in eternity.
God brings us to life, He sustains us in this earthly life, and He provides us with Eternal Life.
Yes, God is Life and so we His people, must be people of life.
Why is it so important to speak of this ?
Because sadly we are surrounded by a culture of death!
We are living in a world where disrespect for human life is at an all time high, with wars occurring in many parts of the world, with murders occurring in all of our major cities and with large numbers of abortions being performed under the protection of the law.
What’s particularly sinister about abortions is that they are not being done in the street where they are visible, rather they are being done in secrecy in supposed health care clinics and women’s centers.
The order of magnitude of these hidden murders is staggering … with 42 Million abortions being performed each year worldwide, and 1.3 Million abortions being performed each year in America!
This is in direct opposition to the law of the God of Life who etched in stone as His Fifth Commandment, “Thou Shalt not Kill.”
As people of God and people of Life, we can never stop trying to replace this world’s Culture of Death with a Culture of Life.
And so I ask for your extra prayers and support as we enter into yet another 40 Days for Life to attempt to transform minds and hearts to embrace God’s commands and respect human life in all its various stages … from it’s very beginning in the womb to its natural death.
From now until November 6th, there will be several ways that we can do something special to promote the cause of life.
One would be to attend our Pro-Life Rally in Fultondale this Sunday afternoon for any period of time between 3 and 5 PM.
We will gather near the Fultondale Mini Storage on Highway 31 alongside our Church sign that says, “WE ARE PRO-LIFE”.
There we will maintain a peaceful, prayerful presence for the sanctity of all human life.
Another way to support the cause would be to attend the annual Her Choice Banquet on Tuesday evening, October 18th, at The Club Restaurant high atop Red Mountain and make a donation to the wonderful work they do there in offering life to Babies and Mothers who are in crisis pregnancy situation.
And too, taking an empty Baby Bottle into your home, school or office and bringing it back filled with money would also be helpful.
Let’s be united in witnessing to our God … our God who is Life!
Love, Father Deering
This Tuesday we celebrate All Saints Day … it is the annual Feast Day where we acknowledge and applaud all of the men and women who have gone before us and now live in everlasting peace and happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven.
That’s certainly our goal too! Heaven is ours if we sincerely want to go there. And so the Church celebrates the many souls who reside in Heaven … ones who have been named as Saints and many more who are unknown to us.
By declaring certain souls to be in Heaven, the Church gives us many models of what it takes to win the crown of heavenly glory.
This Feast is a Holy Day of Obligation which means that all Catholics are bound to attend Mass. You can attend any of the following at our parishes: Monday Oct. 31, 6:00 PM Vigil Mass at St. Henry Tuesday Nov. 1, 6:30 AM or 5:30 PM Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
On Wednesday, we celebrate All Souls Day … it’s then that we remember in a special way all of our family members and friends who have died. We then continue to offer prayers for them throughout the whole month of November.
What exactly are we praying for? We’re praying to lessen the intensity and shorten the duration of their purification in Purgatory.
As Catholics we believe that all sins wound the body of Christ. Sins are forgiven by the Mercy of God, but His Divine Justice demands that reparation of the wounds be made.
Some people atone for their sins in this life, some atone for them in Purgatory. Once a soul is in Purgatory it can no longer make reparation for itself; it must rely on the prayers and good works of the living that are offered up for them.
Hence the custom of offering Masses for our loved ones who have died. If our loved ones are in Heaven they have no need of our prayers. And Almighty God will direct our prayers where they are most needed. But if our loved ones are undergoing purification in Purgatory, then our prayers will serve to ease and shorten their time there.
“All Souls” Mass envelopes will be available in Church throughout the month of November. You are invited to list the names of your deceased family members and friends and include an offering and place the envelopes in the collection basket.
All envelopes will be placed on the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton altar where the souls listed will be prayed for each day at Mass. God bless you always!
Love Father Deering
October 16, 2011
This week we celebrated a great anniversary.
None of the local news teams reported on this and so I wanted you to know that October 11th was the 49th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council that took place in Rome … with nine-week sessions being held during the fall in each of the four years, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965.
This was the 21st time in history that the leaders of the Catholic Church convened in a Council with 2,300 Bishops from all over the world representing the 584 million members of the Catholic Church.
These Bishops, accompanied by their finest scholars and theologians, gathered to ponder all the issues facing the Church: matters of belief as well as of policy, of internal structure as well as pastoral concern.
They held 168 general congregations, voted 544 times and marked over a million ballots!
At the Council’s end, their conclusions were summarized in sixteen Constitutions, Declarations and Decrees promulgated by Pope Paul VI.
Vatican Council II was truly the landmark event of the 20th Century for the Church and for the world!
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy was the first document to come out, and was presented to the world in 1963. It included the directive for Priests to offer Mass in the vernacular language of each country all around the world instead of celebrating it everywhere in Latin.
While a credible job was done in providing the first English edition of the Roman Missal back in 1973, a new more accurate translation will be brought into use in 6 weeks.
These changes will serve to make our prayers to the Father even more glorious and we’ll also obtain an even greater appreciation for the love of God!
Prayers and blessings,
Love, Father Deering
October 9, 2011
This past week, you hopefully received your Parish Quarterly Statement in the mail as a record of the contributions that you have made to the Church through the Third Quarter of this year.
This was sent to give you a status-check on how well you’re doing toward meeting the goal that you entered on your Personal Pledge Card at the beginning of the year.
The Pledged Amount, shown at the end of your statement, was the amount of your income that you prayerfully decided to give to the Church in 2011 … hopefully it was between 5% and 10% of your annual income so as to satisfy God’s plan for running His Church.
Your total contribution to the Church is the sum of your moneys given in the Offertory, Capital Improvement and Building Fund envelopes.
Separating your contributions into various envelopes helps us distinguish funds that are taxed by the Diocese and funds that are not taxed.
Next year we will go with just 2 envelope choices each week … an Offertory envelope: where the monies will go toward operating the Parish and providing our many Parish Programs, and a Building Fund envelope: where the monies will go into a savings account until they are used for our next main capital expenditure.
Thanks to your good stewardship, we are paying our bills and as of August, we are debt free! This means that we can now go forward and really begin to accumulate money in savings to invest in the next item that we decide is most needed for our Parish family.
Please be thinking of what you would personally like to see at our Parish as we will be asking you to fill out a “Wish List” Ballot of priorities one day soon at the end of Mass.
Our church campus is already highly functional and most beautiful! It is the result of your generosity! Thank you for contributing to your Church. It just shows that when we follow God’s plan for giving, He comes right back and blesses us in a profound way.
For those of you who may have missed one or more weekends due to travel over the Summer, please consider making up your missing contributions in the weeks ahead so as to meet your promised Pledge Amount by year-end.
Thanks again for your generous support!
May God bless your faithful commitment to His Church.
Love,
Father Deering
October 2, 2011
Jesus says something mighty profound in Matthew 22: 31 :
“Have you not read what was said to you by God,
'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead, but of the living."
When Jesus spoke those words, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been dead some 1800 years … and yet, they were not dead to God!
For God is life and those good men were alive with God in eternity.
God brings us to life, He sustains us in this earthly life, and He provides us with Eternal Life.
Yes, God is Life and so we His people, must be people of life.
Why is it so important to speak of this ?
Because sadly we are surrounded by a culture of death!
We are living in a world where disrespect for human life is at an all time high, with wars occurring in many parts of the world, with murders occurring in all of our major cities and with large numbers of abortions being performed under the protection of the law.
What’s particularly sinister about abortions is that they are not being done in the street where they are visible, rather they are being done in secrecy in supposed health care clinics and women’s centers.
The order of magnitude of these hidden murders is staggering … with 42 Million abortions being performed each year worldwide, and 1.3 Million abortions being performed each year in America!
This is in direct opposition to the law of the God of Life who etched in stone as His Fifth Commandment, “Thou Shalt not Kill.”
As people of God and people of Life, we can never stop trying to replace this world’s Culture of Death with a Culture of Life.
And so I ask for your extra prayers and support as we enter into yet another 40 Days for Life to attempt to transform minds and hearts to embrace God’s commands and respect human life in all its various stages … from it’s very beginning in the womb to its natural death.
From now until November 6th, there will be several ways that we can do something special to promote the cause of life.
One would be to attend our Pro-Life Rally in Fultondale this Sunday afternoon for any period of time between 3 and 5 PM.
We will gather near the Fultondale Mini Storage on Highway 31 alongside our Church sign that says, “WE ARE PRO-LIFE”.
There we will maintain a peaceful, prayerful presence for the sanctity of all human life.
Another way to support the cause would be to attend the annual Her Choice Banquet on Tuesday evening, October 18th, at The Club Restaurant high atop Red Mountain and make a donation to the wonderful work they do there in offering life to Babies and Mothers who are in crisis pregnancy situation.
And too, taking an empty Baby Bottle into your home, school or office and bringing it back filled with money would also be helpful.
Let’s be united in witnessing to our God … our God who is Life!
Love, Father Deering
September 18, 2011
Why did God establish Tithing? He did it for 2 reasons … so that we keep God the #1 priority on our lives, and
so we support His Church and the needy financially.
“Tithing” refers to giving “one-tenth” of our income to God in gratitude for the income we receive to sustain ourselves.
How do we give money to God? We give it to the Church … which is the visible household of God on earth.
Giving 1/10 of our pay to the Church is a constant reminder of our dependence on God and a way to show our gratitude for being able to work and provide for our families.
Moreover, it’s the way we help sustain the physical operation of the local Church and provide help to those in need of food, clothing, shelter, medicine and other assistance.
It’s in this last area that Catholic Charities serves as the agent to distribute our donations most appropriately to the needy.
As you are well aware, the need for help in our community is great. The calls for assistance for the essentials of life are non-stop. And we can each play a part in satisfying those needs by contributing to Catholic Charities.
Hopefully you’ve embraced the tithing plan proposed by our Bishops that enables you to direct 1/2 of your tithe to the charities of your choice … giving your the freedom to support those needs that are closest to your heart.
My request is that you direct some of your funds to Catholic Charities so as to help serve people’s needs in our Diocese
The goal that we’ve been asked to meet next year for our Parish is $53,418.00. This is very attainable if all 300 of our families give generously.
Please pray about this and then bring your Pledge Card showing your intended offering for 2012 to Mass next week.
God promises incremental blessings when we give to take care of our neighbors in need. Let’s take Him up on his offer!
Thank you and God bless you, Father Deering
September 11, 2011
I had the pleasure of attending the opening meeting of the Catholic Students Association at Samford University this past Wednesday. Wow! Thirty Catholic students attended and several expressed their desire to be able to know and live their Catholic faith more fully.
How refreshing to see young adults, like our very own Victoria Rogers, wanting to grow their relationship with God as they grow in the knowledge of their chosen profession.
The Chaplain of the CSA was a student named Molly, who revealed that she was a convert to the Catholic faith. And the Faculty Advisor for the CSA was Dr. Thomas Wooley, who revealed that he too is a convert to the Catholic faith. And another professor, Chuck Wooley, and his wife Betsy happily shared that they just came into the Church this year!
It seems everywhere you look people are discovering the beauty of the Church that Jesus started. Even at our little Parishes of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Henry some 25 people come into the Catholic Church here each year!
All of us can play a part in helping people find their way into the Catholic Church by inviting them to attend the instruction classes that will begin in 2 weeks.
Starting on Tuesday, September 27th, we will offer weekly, one-hour classes in the Parish Hall to introduce or reacquaint people with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
At 7:00 PM each Tuesday we will present a different topic about the Church. Then, after some 25 weeks of prayer and study, non-Catholics will have the chance to come into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Mass in 2012.
And so I’m asking you to personally invite people to attend this instruction.
If your spouse or your boyfriend or girlfriend or coworker is non-Catholic, or is a non-practicing Catholic, then getting them to attend these classes would be a powerful way to help them discover or re-discover the beauty of the Catholic faith.
Just as the above converts at Samford have found great joy in becoming Catholic, your family and friends can too!
Please call names, addresses and phone numbers into our Office and we will mail or telephone an invitation to them all.
Also, you can hand out an RCIA invitation to everyone you feel might be open to learning about the Catholic faith.
And please invite any “fallen-away” Catholics and encourage them to come back Home!
Thank you and God bless you.
Love Father Deering
September 4, 2011
As Catholics we are certainly blessed … for we are members of the living Body of Christ!
In this, we know that our faith is “ever ancient, ever new”. This means that the word we profess, the sacraments we receive, and the mission we devote ourselves to all came from Jesus and continue to grow and find new ways of expression in His Church.
In other words, the way that the Church explains and articulates the mysteries that we hold to be true has developed over the last 2000 years and continues to do so.
One of the great developments that came out of Vatican Council II in the mid 1960’s was the decision to offer the Mass in the native language of each land all around the world instead of celebrating it everywhere in Latin.
The First English edition of the Roman Missal was published in 1973. A Second Edition with minor changes followed in 1985.
And now the Third Edition of the Roman Missal is ready to come out here in 2011! Yes, after receiving Vatican approval back in April of 2010 the New Roman Missal will become the universal prayerbook of the Mass beginning the First Sunday of Advent, which is November 27, 2011.
While the structure of the Mass is not changing, some changes have been made to the wording of the prayers we pray and to our manner of praying them.
As the result of a new translation of the Mass prayers from the original Latin language, the Mass will look the same but sound a bit different … becoming more formal, more majestic, more poetic, and more clearly reflective of its Scriptural origins.
Over the next 12 weeks I will present you with guidance and insight to help adapt to the changes.
Prayers and blessings,
Love, Father Deering
Why did God establish Tithing? He did it for 2 reasons … so that we keep God the #1 priority on our lives, and
so we support His Church and the needy financially.
“Tithing” refers to giving “one-tenth” of our income to God in gratitude for the income we receive to sustain ourselves.
How do we give money to God? We give it to the Church … which is the visible household of God on earth.
Giving 1/10 of our pay to the Church is a constant reminder of our dependence on God and a way to show our gratitude for being able to work and provide for our families.
Moreover, it’s the way we help sustain the physical operation of the local Church and provide help to those in need of food, clothing, shelter, medicine and other assistance.
It’s in this last area that Catholic Charities serves as the agent to distribute our donations most appropriately to the needy.
As you are well aware, the need for help in our community is great. The calls for assistance for the essentials of life are non-stop. And we can each play a part in satisfying those needs by contributing to Catholic Charities.
Hopefully you’ve embraced the tithing plan proposed by our Bishops that enables you to direct 1/2 of your tithe to the charities of your choice … giving your the freedom to support those needs that are closest to your heart.
My request is that you direct some of your funds to Catholic Charities so as to help serve people’s needs in our Diocese
The goal that we’ve been asked to meet next year for our Parish is $53,418.00. This is very attainable if all 300 of our families give generously.
Please pray about this and then bring your Pledge Card showing your intended offering for 2012 to Mass next week.
God promises incremental blessings when we give to take care of our neighbors in need. Let’s take Him up on his offer!
Thank you and God bless you, Father Deering
September 11, 2011
I had the pleasure of attending the opening meeting of the Catholic Students Association at Samford University this past Wednesday. Wow! Thirty Catholic students attended and several expressed their desire to be able to know and live their Catholic faith more fully.
How refreshing to see young adults, like our very own Victoria Rogers, wanting to grow their relationship with God as they grow in the knowledge of their chosen profession.
The Chaplain of the CSA was a student named Molly, who revealed that she was a convert to the Catholic faith. And the Faculty Advisor for the CSA was Dr. Thomas Wooley, who revealed that he too is a convert to the Catholic faith. And another professor, Chuck Wooley, and his wife Betsy happily shared that they just came into the Church this year!
It seems everywhere you look people are discovering the beauty of the Church that Jesus started. Even at our little Parishes of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Henry some 25 people come into the Catholic Church here each year!
All of us can play a part in helping people find their way into the Catholic Church by inviting them to attend the instruction classes that will begin in 2 weeks.
Starting on Tuesday, September 27th, we will offer weekly, one-hour classes in the Parish Hall to introduce or reacquaint people with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
At 7:00 PM each Tuesday we will present a different topic about the Church. Then, after some 25 weeks of prayer and study, non-Catholics will have the chance to come into the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Mass in 2012.
And so I’m asking you to personally invite people to attend this instruction.
If your spouse or your boyfriend or girlfriend or coworker is non-Catholic, or is a non-practicing Catholic, then getting them to attend these classes would be a powerful way to help them discover or re-discover the beauty of the Catholic faith.
Just as the above converts at Samford have found great joy in becoming Catholic, your family and friends can too!
Please call names, addresses and phone numbers into our Office and we will mail or telephone an invitation to them all.
Also, you can hand out an RCIA invitation to everyone you feel might be open to learning about the Catholic faith.
And please invite any “fallen-away” Catholics and encourage them to come back Home!
Thank you and God bless you.
Love Father Deering
September 4, 2011
As Catholics we are certainly blessed … for we are members of the living Body of Christ!
In this, we know that our faith is “ever ancient, ever new”. This means that the word we profess, the sacraments we receive, and the mission we devote ourselves to all came from Jesus and continue to grow and find new ways of expression in His Church.
In other words, the way that the Church explains and articulates the mysteries that we hold to be true has developed over the last 2000 years and continues to do so.
One of the great developments that came out of Vatican Council II in the mid 1960’s was the decision to offer the Mass in the native language of each land all around the world instead of celebrating it everywhere in Latin.
The First English edition of the Roman Missal was published in 1973. A Second Edition with minor changes followed in 1985.
And now the Third Edition of the Roman Missal is ready to come out here in 2011! Yes, after receiving Vatican approval back in April of 2010 the New Roman Missal will become the universal prayerbook of the Mass beginning the First Sunday of Advent, which is November 27, 2011.
While the structure of the Mass is not changing, some changes have been made to the wording of the prayers we pray and to our manner of praying them.
As the result of a new translation of the Mass prayers from the original Latin language, the Mass will look the same but sound a bit different … becoming more formal, more majestic, more poetic, and more clearly reflective of its Scriptural origins.
Over the next 12 weeks I will present you with guidance and insight to help adapt to the changes.
Prayers and blessings,
Love, Father Deering
August 28, 2011
Of the many beautiful ways to describe our Parish, we’ve just added another one: Debt free!
How does that sound? Absolutely Outstanding!
Yes, after paying the $100,000 tab to put the topcoat on our Parking Lot, we had just enough money left in our Building Fund account to pay off the balance of the loan that we took out to allow us to excavate our land and modernize our Parish Hall.
And so we are completely Debt Free!
This is thanks to the providence and protection of God and the generosity of you good people.
Thank you for the support that has enabled us to have such attractive and functional Church grounds.
And now … we start over … in building up our Building Fund savings account for the next project that we decide on for the good of the Parish.
I want to know your thoughts on this and so I’ll be requesting your input in the form of a ballot in the near future. What do you think we need most?
· A Catholic Elementary School
· A Child Learning Center / Day-care
· A Larger Parish Hall
· More Sunday School PSR Classrooms
· A Columbarium for entombment of cremains
How would you rank them? What would you add?
Please start thinking about what you’d like to have next for our Parish and be ready to give us your input when we ask you to mark a ballot after Mass.
Next weekend is the Labor Day Weekend!
My hope and prayer is that you enjoy that Monday, Sept. 5th without working and without shopping and without going out to dinner or the movies!
Help make it a day of rest for all people.
With gratitude and prayers,
Love, Father Deering
August 21, 2011
Ever wonder why our Protestants know the Bible so well?
They study it!
It’s that simple! Sunday morning after Sunday morning
and Wednesday evening after Wednesday evening,
they spend time studying the Scriptures …
And we Catholics can do the same thing!
Knowing the word of God in the Bible
elevates our experience of worshipping God in the Mass.
Knowing Scripture also increases our ability to effectively guide
our children and others in God’s plan.
It’s evident that the Holy Spirit is calling many
to a deeper understanding of God
as seen by the 70 Parishioners who attended
our Adult Retreat back in February,
and the 40 Parishioners who attended the 8-week Wednesday night Journey through the Bible classes over the summer.
And to keep this Spirit alive, we are pleased to offer …
Beginning on Sunday August 28th, and continuing each week,
a Faith Study and Sharing session
will be held in the Parish Hall from 9:30 to 10:30 AM.
This will be most convenient for parents who have brought their children to PSR Sunday School. All are invited.
Beginning on Thursday September 8th and continuing for 24 classes, a Survey of the Bible class will be held in the Parish Hall from 6:30 to 7:30 PM.
This will involve a 45-minute DVD presentation by Scripture Scholar Jeff Cavins and 15 minutes of discussion.
Beginning Tuesday September 27th and running until Easter, RCIA instruction will take place in our Parish Hall from 7:00 to 8:00 PM. All are invited to come and bring a friend.
Next February, we will offer another weekend Adult Retreat
at the beautiful St. Bernard Monastery in Cullman
led by Bishop Foley as our Retreat Master.
Please get involved in one or more of these activities.
The goal of all this is to get to Heaven.
It’s a journey that involves both prayer and study!
Love, Father Deering
August 7, 2011
Here’s good news for our Grade School Students, school will begin at 9:30 AM instead of 8:00 …
… on Sundays that is!
Yes, Sunday School, which is commonly known as the Parish School of Religion, or PSR will begin 2 weeks from now on Sunday, August 21st, and your kids can sleep in a bit longer than they do during the week because they just need to be here in their classroom and ready to go by 9:30 AM!
PSR Registration Forms will be mailed out next week to all families that participated in PSR this past school year.
And additional forms will be available in Church for those who will begin to attend PSR for the first time.
For all of our children now attending Catholic schools, they are still invited to attend PSR here as a way for them to be united with other Catholic kids in their same Parish Church.
My prayer is that every Catholic child is formally instructed in the faith either in a Catholic School or in our Parish School of Religion program or in both!
How wonderful that more Parents are discovering the lasting value of Catholic education as we have a good number of our kids attending one of the 5 Catholic schools in our area.
As a result of my recent plea for people to offer financial aid for students, we have a growing fund that we will use to offer tuition assistance for those in need.
If you would like to send your child to Catholic school, but just can’t quite afford the full tuition, let us know and maybe we can help provide the difference.
One way that we would like to continue growing our fund for Tuition Assistance is by continuing our Aluminum Can Recycle Program.
I’m asking every family to recycle your aluminum cans and food trays with us! Simply collect your aluminum cans … crushed or uncrushed … in garbage bags and bring them to church each time you come and throw them over the wall between our two sheds.
The Knights will crush the ones they need to and then transport all the cans to the Recycle Center to collect their value. They just presented me with a $600 Check for all the cans brought to Church over the past few months!
This money will be ear-marked for our Children and be used for either Tuition Assistance or to cover PSR or our Annual Retreat Fees.
Please bring all the aluminum cans that you can, even those from your work place. You’ll feel good about recycling and be bringing money to the Church for a worthy cause!
Prayers and blessings, Love Father Deering
July 31, 2011
Before entering the church to begin each Mass, the Priest prays a specific intention for the Mass.
On weekdays, the intention is commonly for a specific person, living or dead. But the Sunday intention is always for you … the people of the Parish!
Each Sunday Mass is for the blessings to stay together as Parish Family … steady on the road to Heaven in Jesus Christ!
My hope is that you would similarly lift up a personal Mass intention before every Mass begins.
Come with a specific Mass intention and ask God to satisfy it … if it be in accord with His holy will..
Then, after every Mass, consider staying a few minutes to thank God for the privilege of being in His presence, hearing His word and receiving His Son in Holy Communion.
It’s a great privilege to be in God’s House, where we’re so close to Him in the Scriptures, the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion
So, thank God for this privilege in the prayers you pray before and after Mass.
It’s important to know there’s a level of participation that’s expected of us at each Mass … and that level is full!
Yes, the Church expects every person to celebrate every Mass with full, conscious and active participation.
This means listening attentively to the prayers prayed, the readings proclaimed and the homily preached.
It also means lending your voice to singing the songs and to reciting the communal prayers such as the Penitential Prayer, the Creed and the Lords Prayer as well as the many Responses such as “And also with you” & “Amen”.
It’s then that we “get the most value out of the Mass” … which is what all people are seeking.
Now one way to take your participation in the Mass to a higher level is to serve in one of the following roles: Usher, Altar Server, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, or Lector.
I invite you to consider serving in one of these roles … so please call the Office if you’d be willing to be trained!.
One role that doesn’t require training is Gift Bearer.
Our Ushers try to select a different family each week to bring the gifts of bread and wine to the Altar. Please take your turn when asked in representing all of the people present at Mass!
Please remember to pray before and after Mass and be fully and actively engaged in celebrating every Mass.
May the countless blessings of every Mass be yours!
Love, Father Deering
July 24, 2011
I’m sure you feel like me, that the summer has flown by! Consider that 8 weeks have passed since the June 1st arrival of Seminarian Jim Handerhan for his Summer Assignment.
How especially good it’s been to have Jim here, assisting in many capacities, as one of our very own Parishioners!
The first two weeks of August will be a time of vacation and travel for Jim before he returns to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans to continue his studies for the Priesthood.
Yes, time is marching toward the beginning of the new academic school for all students. And with opening day just 3 weeks away, I want to invite all Parents & Grandparents, once again, to consider Catholic schools.
My 5 yr. old niece will be one of 50 children beginning their schooling in August at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Grade School in Homewood.
About 20 other children will begin their formal schooling at St. Rose Academy in Birmingham.
There are openings in many of the higher grades to accommodate children who transfer in.
We also have children attending Sacred Heart and St. Bernard in Cullman & John Carroll Catholic in Homewood.
We offer daily transportation to and from both OLS and St. Rose on our School Vans for the low cost of $2 per trip.
Many Parents are recognizing once again the benefits of providing their children with a Catholic education and are making the sacrifices needed to send them to Catholic schools.
This is no small thing because there is a definite financial investment required to fund Catholic School tuition.
Now if there are any Parents in our Parish who would indeed send their children to a Catholic School if they had just a little financial help, please let me know of your situation.
And, if there are any Parishioners who would like to provide some tuition assistance to families who need a little help, please call me.
Catholic education is a wonderful investment!
Rest assured that we would put up a Catholic School on our Gardendale property tomorrow if we had the money to do so!
All it takes is money and so I hope you’ll keep the Church in mind in your estate planning and especially if you should win the lottery. Just imagine your name etched in stone over the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School Library or Gym!
Let’s keep praying for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s intercession as we use other Catholic schools in the meantime.
May God bless your sacrifice and your generosity.
Love, Father Deering
July 17, 2011
Perhaps you’ve received your Mid-Year Statement of contributions to the Church that was mailed this past week.
It provides a status-check on how well you’re doing in meeting the financial giving goal that you entered on your 2011 Personal Pledge Card at the beginning of the year.
The Pledged Amount, which is shown at the bottom of your statement is the amount of your income that you prayerfully decided to give to the Church … hopefully it was between 5% and 10% of your annual income so as to satisfy God’s plan for running His Church.
Your total contribution to the Church is the sum of your moneys given in the Offertory, the Capital Improvement and the Building Fund envelopes.
Thanks to your generous giving, we will be able to pay cash for the recent “top-coat” of asphalt that was just applied to our entire parking lot surface … it totaled $100,000!
What a milestone that is to finally complete the work that was begun so many years ago to make our Church buildings and grounds both functional and beautiful!
With this project accomplished we will now accelerate payments toward the loan we took out 2 years ago to help us with site prep for our expanded Parking Lots.
We still owe $130,000 on our $200,000 loan.
As of mid-year 2011, we have $125,000 in savings.
I am very grateful for your financial support of the Church.
Thanks to your good stewardship, we are paying our bills and building our reserves for the things that we’re going to need as we continue to grow.
I know that some of you have had to take a cut in pay; that some of you have had a loss of hours and that some of you have even lost your jobs. Rest assured that you’re not expected to fulfill your pledge in these situations.
Please look over your Mid-year Statement to determine if you’re on track to paying your tithe to the Church.
If you’ve been away traveling or vacationing, please consider making up your missing contributions in the weeks ahead so as to meet your promised Pledge by year-end.
Thank you for your support!
May God bless your faithful commitment to His Church.
Love, Father Deering
July 10, 2011
Just over a year ago, I invited you to attend an evening presentation at Samford University that was sure to provide you with insight and inspiration.
The event was a presentation by Dr. Scott Hahn entitled “Covenant and Communion” and it was most outstanding! Many of our adults and 30 of our youth attended that talk and got great value.
Well, once again, Samford is hosting a quality speaker who is sure to give a most interesting presentation. His name is Chuck Colson. During the Nixon administration, he was an aide to President Nixon.
As a result of the Watergate scandal, Mr. Colson did prison time and then went on to found the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families called Prison Fellowship.
He has traveled all over the world bringing a message of hope to all people.
And now the people of Birmingham have the chance to hear his insights as he presents a Christian worldview for today.
Mr. Colson will be speaking at 7 PM on Sunday evening, July 17th at the beautiful Wright Auditorium on the Samford University campus … located on Lakeshore Drive in Homewood.
Admission is free and all are invited to attend.
This presentation is being offered in an attempt to rally all people of good will to read the signs of the times and to take an active part in spreading and defending the Christian worldview in our country.
You may know that Dr. Timothy George, the president of the Beeson School of Divinity at Samford is one of three men who authored the Manhattan Declaration in 2009.
That document emphasizes three areas that are absolutely critical to insuring the continuation of our society. They are:
the sanctity of human life, the dignity of traditional marriage, and the importance of religious liberty.
I myself and Bishop Robert Baker and numerous other Bishops across America have attached our names in support of this Declaration. You too can sign your support by simply going to manhattandeclaration.org to read and sign.
I ask all of you to come to this presentation at Samford University next Sunday evening. We will run both of our vans for those who would like to ride or you can follow us when we leave St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parking lot at 6:15 PM.
Please come and witness our support for goodness!
God bless you! Love, Father Deering
July 3, 2011
On this weekend, 235 years ago, Thomas Jefferson and 55 other Founding Fathers of our country signed a document and sent it to the King of England declaring that the Thirteen Original Colonies in America were separating from his rule.
This document was our Declaration of Independence and it announced our united determination to become a distinct, self-governing body of people!
The second paragraph of our bold declaration stated:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men … are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
How wonderful that our ancestors were a God-fearing people, who had God’s vision in mind of how to live … a vision that the Catholic Church has upheld for 2000 years.
Yes, we are to foster and uphold a Culture of Life, which means we are to reverence all human life, from conception to natural death, as sacred and worthy of respect and protection.
We are to foster freedom from oppression of any kind. This means striving to eliminate any forms of racial or religious discrimination.
And we are to pursue those endeavors that will bring happiness for ourselves and our families. These must be legal, ethical and morally good pursuits that take into account the common good. And this especially includes religious freedom which allows people to pursue the ultimate Happiness, union with God, as they desire.
As we, the people of the United States of America, pause this weekend to celebrate that day on which we boldly declared our independence from Europe, let’s give thanks to God for the solid foundation on which we chose to build our Country … Him!
And, let’s pray that the grace of God will transform our current President and all legislative and judicial leaders to embrace the guidelines our forefathers established for the American people.
We have been richly blessed by God and we pray for His continued blessings upon our land and our people so that we can continue to be:
The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave!
Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!
Love, Father Deering
Before entering the church to begin each Mass, the Priest prays a specific intention for the Mass.
On weekdays, the intention is commonly for a specific person, living or dead. But the Sunday intention is always for you … the people of the Parish!
Each Sunday Mass is for the blessings to stay together as Parish Family … steady on the road to Heaven in Jesus Christ!
My hope is that you would similarly lift up a personal Mass intention before every Mass begins.
Come with a specific Mass intention and ask God to satisfy it … if it be in accord with His holy will..
Then, after every Mass, consider staying a few minutes to thank God for the privilege of being in His presence, hearing His word and receiving His Son in Holy Communion.
It’s a great privilege to be in God’s House, where we’re so close to Him in the Scriptures, the Eucharistic Prayer and Holy Communion
So, thank God for this privilege in the prayers you pray before and after Mass.
It’s important to know there’s a level of participation that’s expected of us at each Mass … and that level is full!
Yes, the Church expects every person to celebrate every Mass with full, conscious and active participation.
This means listening attentively to the prayers prayed, the readings proclaimed and the homily preached.
It also means lending your voice to singing the songs and to reciting the communal prayers such as the Penitential Prayer, the Creed and the Lords Prayer as well as the many Responses such as “And also with you” & “Amen”.
It’s then that we “get the most value out of the Mass” … which is what all people are seeking.
Now one way to take your participation in the Mass to a higher level is to serve in one of the following roles: Usher, Altar Server, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, or Lector.
I invite you to consider serving in one of these roles … so please call the Office if you’d be willing to be trained!.
One role that doesn’t require training is Gift Bearer.
Our Ushers try to select a different family each week to bring the gifts of bread and wine to the Altar. Please take your turn when asked in representing all of the people present at Mass!
Please remember to pray before and after Mass and be fully and actively engaged in celebrating every Mass.
May the countless blessings of every Mass be yours!
Love, Father Deering
July 24, 2011
I’m sure you feel like me, that the summer has flown by! Consider that 8 weeks have passed since the June 1st arrival of Seminarian Jim Handerhan for his Summer Assignment.
How especially good it’s been to have Jim here, assisting in many capacities, as one of our very own Parishioners!
The first two weeks of August will be a time of vacation and travel for Jim before he returns to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans to continue his studies for the Priesthood.
Yes, time is marching toward the beginning of the new academic school for all students. And with opening day just 3 weeks away, I want to invite all Parents & Grandparents, once again, to consider Catholic schools.
My 5 yr. old niece will be one of 50 children beginning their schooling in August at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Grade School in Homewood.
About 20 other children will begin their formal schooling at St. Rose Academy in Birmingham.
There are openings in many of the higher grades to accommodate children who transfer in.
We also have children attending Sacred Heart and St. Bernard in Cullman & John Carroll Catholic in Homewood.
We offer daily transportation to and from both OLS and St. Rose on our School Vans for the low cost of $2 per trip.
Many Parents are recognizing once again the benefits of providing their children with a Catholic education and are making the sacrifices needed to send them to Catholic schools.
This is no small thing because there is a definite financial investment required to fund Catholic School tuition.
Now if there are any Parents in our Parish who would indeed send their children to a Catholic School if they had just a little financial help, please let me know of your situation.
And, if there are any Parishioners who would like to provide some tuition assistance to families who need a little help, please call me.
Catholic education is a wonderful investment!
Rest assured that we would put up a Catholic School on our Gardendale property tomorrow if we had the money to do so!
All it takes is money and so I hope you’ll keep the Church in mind in your estate planning and especially if you should win the lottery. Just imagine your name etched in stone over the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School Library or Gym!
Let’s keep praying for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s intercession as we use other Catholic schools in the meantime.
May God bless your sacrifice and your generosity.
Love, Father Deering
July 17, 2011
Perhaps you’ve received your Mid-Year Statement of contributions to the Church that was mailed this past week.
It provides a status-check on how well you’re doing in meeting the financial giving goal that you entered on your 2011 Personal Pledge Card at the beginning of the year.
The Pledged Amount, which is shown at the bottom of your statement is the amount of your income that you prayerfully decided to give to the Church … hopefully it was between 5% and 10% of your annual income so as to satisfy God’s plan for running His Church.
Your total contribution to the Church is the sum of your moneys given in the Offertory, the Capital Improvement and the Building Fund envelopes.
Thanks to your generous giving, we will be able to pay cash for the recent “top-coat” of asphalt that was just applied to our entire parking lot surface … it totaled $100,000!
What a milestone that is to finally complete the work that was begun so many years ago to make our Church buildings and grounds both functional and beautiful!
With this project accomplished we will now accelerate payments toward the loan we took out 2 years ago to help us with site prep for our expanded Parking Lots.
We still owe $130,000 on our $200,000 loan.
As of mid-year 2011, we have $125,000 in savings.
I am very grateful for your financial support of the Church.
Thanks to your good stewardship, we are paying our bills and building our reserves for the things that we’re going to need as we continue to grow.
I know that some of you have had to take a cut in pay; that some of you have had a loss of hours and that some of you have even lost your jobs. Rest assured that you’re not expected to fulfill your pledge in these situations.
Please look over your Mid-year Statement to determine if you’re on track to paying your tithe to the Church.
If you’ve been away traveling or vacationing, please consider making up your missing contributions in the weeks ahead so as to meet your promised Pledge by year-end.
Thank you for your support!
May God bless your faithful commitment to His Church.
Love, Father Deering
July 10, 2011
Just over a year ago, I invited you to attend an evening presentation at Samford University that was sure to provide you with insight and inspiration.
The event was a presentation by Dr. Scott Hahn entitled “Covenant and Communion” and it was most outstanding! Many of our adults and 30 of our youth attended that talk and got great value.
Well, once again, Samford is hosting a quality speaker who is sure to give a most interesting presentation. His name is Chuck Colson. During the Nixon administration, he was an aide to President Nixon.
As a result of the Watergate scandal, Mr. Colson did prison time and then went on to found the world’s largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families called Prison Fellowship.
He has traveled all over the world bringing a message of hope to all people.
And now the people of Birmingham have the chance to hear his insights as he presents a Christian worldview for today.
Mr. Colson will be speaking at 7 PM on Sunday evening, July 17th at the beautiful Wright Auditorium on the Samford University campus … located on Lakeshore Drive in Homewood.
Admission is free and all are invited to attend.
This presentation is being offered in an attempt to rally all people of good will to read the signs of the times and to take an active part in spreading and defending the Christian worldview in our country.
You may know that Dr. Timothy George, the president of the Beeson School of Divinity at Samford is one of three men who authored the Manhattan Declaration in 2009.
That document emphasizes three areas that are absolutely critical to insuring the continuation of our society. They are:
the sanctity of human life, the dignity of traditional marriage, and the importance of religious liberty.
I myself and Bishop Robert Baker and numerous other Bishops across America have attached our names in support of this Declaration. You too can sign your support by simply going to manhattandeclaration.org to read and sign.
I ask all of you to come to this presentation at Samford University next Sunday evening. We will run both of our vans for those who would like to ride or you can follow us when we leave St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parking lot at 6:15 PM.
Please come and witness our support for goodness!
God bless you! Love, Father Deering
July 3, 2011
On this weekend, 235 years ago, Thomas Jefferson and 55 other Founding Fathers of our country signed a document and sent it to the King of England declaring that the Thirteen Original Colonies in America were separating from his rule.
This document was our Declaration of Independence and it announced our united determination to become a distinct, self-governing body of people!
The second paragraph of our bold declaration stated:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men … are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
How wonderful that our ancestors were a God-fearing people, who had God’s vision in mind of how to live … a vision that the Catholic Church has upheld for 2000 years.
Yes, we are to foster and uphold a Culture of Life, which means we are to reverence all human life, from conception to natural death, as sacred and worthy of respect and protection.
We are to foster freedom from oppression of any kind. This means striving to eliminate any forms of racial or religious discrimination.
And we are to pursue those endeavors that will bring happiness for ourselves and our families. These must be legal, ethical and morally good pursuits that take into account the common good. And this especially includes religious freedom which allows people to pursue the ultimate Happiness, union with God, as they desire.
As we, the people of the United States of America, pause this weekend to celebrate that day on which we boldly declared our independence from Europe, let’s give thanks to God for the solid foundation on which we chose to build our Country … Him!
And, let’s pray that the grace of God will transform our current President and all legislative and judicial leaders to embrace the guidelines our forefathers established for the American people.
We have been richly blessed by God and we pray for His continued blessings upon our land and our people so that we can continue to be:
The Land of the Free and The Home of the Brave!
Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July!
Love, Father Deering
June 26, 2011
The minute we stop doing something we ordinarily do, we begin to lose familiarity with it. That’s how we end up losing both good and bad habits … we stop doing them!
Now, while it’s great to lose a bad habit, it ‘s not great to lose a good habit.
And one good habit that we never want to lose is growing in our knowledge and love of God! And that’s why we offer Vacation Bible School for the children each summer.
Throughout the school year many of our kids get the benefit of learning their faith either in Catholic school or by attending our Parish School of Religion.
So, we feel it’s a good idea to give them a brief boost of instruction during their days away from school so that they don’t lose the habit of praying to God and studying about God.
This past week, we instructed between 30 and 40 kids each day in their knowledge of Jesus by getting them to focus on 5 of the ways that Jesus described Himself.
Through instruction, prayer, crafts, games and songs, the children got to contemplate what Jesus meant when He said:
“I am the Good Shepherd.”
“I am the Vine; you are the branches.”
“ I am the Light of the world.”
“I am the Bread of Life.”
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”
So, these kids prayed and studied, and now it’s up to their Parents and Grandparents to help them hold onto this habit.
The Church is here to assist in the teaching of children, but that duty really belongs to the Parents. Parents are responsible for teaching their children about God and for guiding them to do God’s will so that they make it to Heaven.
Sadly, many kids don’t know much about God & Church and practicing their religion because their Parents aren’t teaching them and praying with them in the home!
What a loss! Young children are literally sponges when it comes to soaking up new information. If Parents would only read to them and pray with them, their kids would quickly grow strong in what it takes to make it to Eternal Life.
It’s not too late to start! It will be rewarding for both you and your kids. Please be a good Teacher by helping them to have a daily relationship with Jesus in prayer and deed.
Many thanks to our VBS Staff of Jim Handerhan, Scarlet Bishop, Mary McMinn, Tami Bamberry, Casey Thomas, Mary O’Laire and many other adult and youth Leaders who made this year’s VBS program a big success!
May the Good Shepherd guide you always, Father Deering
No Pastor's Desk for June 12 or 19, 2011
June 5, 2011
As you firm up your summertime plans, there are a couple of dates that I hope you’ll pencil into your calendar for events that promise to bring you great value.
The first event will take you on a Quick Journey through the Bible! It is designed to take just one hour a week for the 8 weeks of summer running from June 15- August 3.
Beginning promptly at 6:30 PM each Wednesday evening, a 45-minute DVD presentation by Jeff Cavins will be shown in our Parish Hall. Add in another 15 minutes for discussion and questions and you’ll be out in 1 hour.
After just 8 weeks, you’ll have completed a Great Adventure Bible Timeline giving you a clear overview and a much better understanding of God’s book … the Bible.
The second event will give you a refreshing glimpse of what a Christian worldview looks like here in America. It’s a desirable worldview that sadly is at odds with much that we have in our own culture.
In a single presentation held at 7 PM on Sunday night July 17th, renown speaker, Chuck Colson, will fill us with insight and inspiration to carry us forward in today’s world..
His 1-hour presentation will be made at the big and beautiful Wright Auditorium on the Samford University campus in Homewood.
Another event that we would like to resurrect in the coming months is that of the “Renew” Groups that were so helpful and well-attended in the years leading up to the Jubilee Year of 2000.
You may remember how then Pope, John Paul II, called all members of the Church to gather in home communities to enter into prayer and study of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
So on a regular basis, such as once a month, parishioners would gather in groups of 10 to 20 people in their homes where they would discuss and share their understanding of God.
Many people made new friends that they have kept through the years. And many people experienced their spirit being fed in a new and powerful way … which really enlivened their faith and brought them to a new appreciation of God and family and life.
That’s really what we all want … to experience a sense of purpose and be reassured that we are on the right path in life.
Stay tuned for more information about when this renewal of Renew will take place in our Parish!
Prayers and blessings,
Love, Father Deering
May 29, 2011
You the people of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Henry have played an important part in the formation of Priests because of the way that you have welcomed the Seminarians who’ve been with us for their Summer Assignments.
Here are some of the Seminarians who’ve been here:
Fr. Kevin Bazzel in 1999, now Rector of the Cathedral
Fr. Michael Deering in 2001, now your Pastor
Fr. Tim Pfander in 2002, now Pastor in Winfield
Fr. Jim Booth in 2004, now Pastor at Blessed Sacrament
Mariusz Miedziak, in 2005, from the Detroit Diocese
Fr. Anthony Weis, in 2006, now Associate Pastor at OLV
Dc. Vincent Bresowar in 2010, being ordained June 4th
I know that you are proud of this roster of men now serving the Church and I hope that you recognize that you truly played a part in their journey to Priesthood!
Well, once again you’ll have the opportunity to support a Seminarian on his journey to Priesthood as we open our doors & our hearts to welcome Jim Handerhan to be with us!
Jim has completed his first year of Seminary training and will be here to serve our two parishes in an 8-week Summer Assignment that begins on June 1st.
This is similar to the co-op program offered at many colleges where students attend classes for some semesters to gain knowledge in their particular field of interest and then spend summertime to actually work in their particular field to practice applying what they learned in the classroom to real life situations.
As a First Year Seminarian, Jim will have the opportunity to serve at daily Mass, to proclaim the Readings at Mass, to distribute Holy Communion both at Mass and outside Church to the sick and homebound, to be involved in our Vacation Bible School program and assist in several other summertime Parish events.
How wonderful that our Parishes will have one of our very own Parishioners to serve us this Summer. I’m delighted as I know you are that Jim will be with us till the end of July.
Please extend your usual love and support to Jim and help in any way you can to make this a fruitful experience for him.
And most importantly, please continue to pray for Jim and Beau McMinn and for all Seminarians who are discerning God’s call and forming themselves for service to the Church.
May God continue to bless us all!
Love, Father Deering
May 22, 2011
Summer is almost here! Here are some of the signs …
17 of our Children made their First Holy Communion,
10 of our 8th Graders were confirmed by Bishop Baker,
14 of our Seniors will graduate this week,
RCIA classes and PSR classes have ended, and
most schools will be closed by Memorial Day!
What a busy time this month has been!
Hopefully Summer will give us some time for relaxation away from busy routines and schedules.
And yet as we vacation, it’s important to remember one thing …
There’s no such thing as taking a vacation from God!
You see, no matter what you do or where you go, it’s essential that you keep your weekly appointment with God!
Whether you’re in the mountains … or at the lake … or on the beach … you’re still obliged to attend Mass each and every Sunday!
The #1 Precept of the Church is to go to Church … every Sunday … for the rest of your life.
And you can do it with just a little pre-planning … logging into www.MassTimes.org to get a listing of all the local Churches and available Masses wherever you may go.
Keep Sunday Mass as one routine that never changes!
And for you Parents & Grandparents of small children, please plan to bring them to Vacation Bible School during the week of June 20th.
This year they’ll become familiar with 5 of the ways that Jesus described himself!
In 5 half-day sessions, they’ll come to know Jesus as:
I am the Good Shepherd
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life
I am the Vine, you are the branches
I am the Bread of Life
I am the Light of the World
Not only will your children grow in knowledge … but they’ll have a lot of fun in the process!
Our adult leaders will instruct the children through interesting visuals, and songs and prayers and crafts.
I hope you’ll bring your children, ages 5 to 12, each morning from 8 to 11:30 AM to enjoy this fun-filled religious experience.
Please call the office if you would like to help in any way with this important Summer experience for our children.
And let’s stay united in Mass … even on vacation!
Love, Father Deering
May 15, 2011
In two weeks we’ll celebrate the Memorial Day weekend … a National Holiday established to remember all those men and women who have died while in service to our country.
The first commemoration to our fallen soldiers was made at the end of the Civil War on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Then in 1971, Memorial Day was shifted to the last Monday in May to ensure a 3-day weekend for most workers.
Sadly, over the years, the observance of Memorial Day has diminished to the point where many Americans have forgotten the meaning of the Memorial Day holiday.
The graves of many of our fallen soldiers are ignored and neglected and many don’t even fly the flag on that day.
Fortunately, some organizations like our very own Knights of Columbus continue the tradition of celebrating Memorial Day each year as it was intended.
For the past 6 years our Knights have organized a Memorial Day Service at our local cemetery so that people from our community can come together to pray and reflect on the supreme sacrifice that fellow American men and women made to preserve our country’s safety and freedom.
And realizing that many people will be traveling away from home on Memorial Day Weekend, the Memorial Service will be offered one week early.
So next Sunday, May 22nd at 2:00 in the afternoon, everyone is invited to gather at Oakwood Cemetery in Gardendale for a half-hour Memorial Service of prayers, songs and speeches inside their air-conditioned chapel.
We’ll then step outside for the placing of the Wreath, the firing of a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
This Service will set the tone for the following 3-day weekend and fill us with gratitude and appreciation for the price that others paid to preserve our freedom and way of life.
It’s a moving ceremony and a great way to keep alive the memory that our freedom came at a price … others sacrificed dearly so that we could live and be free.
This is the very wisdom of gathering together each week in Church … so we remember the great price that Jesus paid to free us from sin & death; He also died so that we could live.
Please keep these memories alive.
And may God bless America!
Love, Father Deering
May 8, 2011
With our last cold-spell behind us, the temperature will likely be 80° or more throughout the days of Summer.
When this happens it’s customary to adjust the way we dress in order to be cooler.
And therefore want to remind you of the guidelines for the proper way to dress when you come to Church.
And 2 descriptors that always apply
to appropriate dress for Church are:
Modest and Nice!
Whether it’s Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, all people are to enter Church dressed modestly and nice.
There’s no need to dress cool as if the temperature in Church would be oppressively hot. Thanks to our heating and cooling systems, you’ll always find the temperature to be most comfortable in Church … just like in your home and office.
And so, here are the guidelines for Church:
No shorts
No tank tops
No T-shirts
No sleeveless blouses or dresses
No low-cut blouses or dresses
No mini-skirts
These guidelines have been posted in the Vestibule for the past 8 months … they apply season to season.
Dressing for Mass should be special … it should mean wearing your “Sunday best”!
A good number of you dress up to go to work every day. And that’s just to meet customers and co-workers.
Well, it makes every bit of sense that you’d also want to dress up on Sunday because then you’re going to have an intimate encounter with the Living Lord!
Our Lectors, Ushers, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have been modeling for years what it means to dress appropriately for Sunday Mass. The men wear suits or sportcoats or at least a nice casual shirt and long slacks. The women wear dresses, or suits, or skirts & blouses.
So please follow the above guidelines and always dress appropriately for Mass … modestly and nice.
God bless you!
Love, Father Deering
May 1, 2011
In our First Reading at Mass this past Wednesday from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter says to a crippled man, “I’ve neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you.” He then takes the man by the hand and raises him up. The man stands on his own and goes into the Temple praising God!
And that’s precisely what many of you good people did this past year. You took others by the hand, guided them to the RCIA class and raised them up to the Truth of the Catholic Church enabling them to stand on their own and on the Easter Vigil, enter into the Church praising God!
Eight months ago, in September of 2010, I asked you to invite your non-Catholic family members and friends to come explore the Catholic faith in our RCIA program.
Many of you did … and the result was that 21 people came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass!
8 were baptized and 13 made a profession of faith
4 Came on their own
3 Husbands were invited by their wives
6 Wives were invited by their husbands
1 Boyfriend was invited by his girlfriend
Son was invited by his father
1 Daughter invited by her mother
1 Sister inviter by her sister
2 Friends were invited by parishioners
1 Employee was invited by her boss
1 Daughter- in-law invited by her mother in law
Which means that of the 21 new Catholics,
17 of them were personally invited by you!
What a tribute to all of you for having the courage to share your Catholic faith with your friends and loved ones.
This is truly a win-win situation because the new Catholics now get to participate in the Sacramental life of the Church, and our Parish family now benefits from the prayers and the gifts these new members bring to the Church!
If you still have non-Catholic family members and friends, recognize the important role that you can play in bringing them into the Church … 81% of this year’s class came because they were personally invited!
We plan to resume our weekly classes in September, but in the meantime, we can provide books, tapes and CD’s for those who want to begin learning about the faith early.
I’m delighted with the way so many of you embrace and share the treasure of your faith. Keep up the good work by inviting all of your family and friends to stand up and come into … the Holy Catholic Church.
Happy Easter again and again, Love Father Deering
You the people of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Henry have played an important part in the formation of Priests because of the way that you have welcomed the Seminarians who’ve been with us for their Summer Assignments.
Here are some of the Seminarians who’ve been here:
Fr. Kevin Bazzel in 1999, now Rector of the Cathedral
Fr. Michael Deering in 2001, now your Pastor
Fr. Tim Pfander in 2002, now Pastor in Winfield
Fr. Jim Booth in 2004, now Pastor at Blessed Sacrament
Mariusz Miedziak, in 2005, from the Detroit Diocese
Fr. Anthony Weis, in 2006, now Associate Pastor at OLV
Dc. Vincent Bresowar in 2010, being ordained June 4th
I know that you are proud of this roster of men now serving the Church and I hope that you recognize that you truly played a part in their journey to Priesthood!
Well, once again you’ll have the opportunity to support a Seminarian on his journey to Priesthood as we open our doors & our hearts to welcome Jim Handerhan to be with us!
Jim has completed his first year of Seminary training and will be here to serve our two parishes in an 8-week Summer Assignment that begins on June 1st.
This is similar to the co-op program offered at many colleges where students attend classes for some semesters to gain knowledge in their particular field of interest and then spend summertime to actually work in their particular field to practice applying what they learned in the classroom to real life situations.
As a First Year Seminarian, Jim will have the opportunity to serve at daily Mass, to proclaim the Readings at Mass, to distribute Holy Communion both at Mass and outside Church to the sick and homebound, to be involved in our Vacation Bible School program and assist in several other summertime Parish events.
How wonderful that our Parishes will have one of our very own Parishioners to serve us this Summer. I’m delighted as I know you are that Jim will be with us till the end of July.
Please extend your usual love and support to Jim and help in any way you can to make this a fruitful experience for him.
And most importantly, please continue to pray for Jim and Beau McMinn and for all Seminarians who are discerning God’s call and forming themselves for service to the Church.
May God continue to bless us all!
Love, Father Deering
May 22, 2011
Summer is almost here! Here are some of the signs …
17 of our Children made their First Holy Communion,
10 of our 8th Graders were confirmed by Bishop Baker,
14 of our Seniors will graduate this week,
RCIA classes and PSR classes have ended, and
most schools will be closed by Memorial Day!
What a busy time this month has been!
Hopefully Summer will give us some time for relaxation away from busy routines and schedules.
And yet as we vacation, it’s important to remember one thing …
There’s no such thing as taking a vacation from God!
You see, no matter what you do or where you go, it’s essential that you keep your weekly appointment with God!
Whether you’re in the mountains … or at the lake … or on the beach … you’re still obliged to attend Mass each and every Sunday!
The #1 Precept of the Church is to go to Church … every Sunday … for the rest of your life.
And you can do it with just a little pre-planning … logging into www.MassTimes.org to get a listing of all the local Churches and available Masses wherever you may go.
Keep Sunday Mass as one routine that never changes!
And for you Parents & Grandparents of small children, please plan to bring them to Vacation Bible School during the week of June 20th.
This year they’ll become familiar with 5 of the ways that Jesus described himself!
In 5 half-day sessions, they’ll come to know Jesus as:
I am the Good Shepherd
I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life
I am the Vine, you are the branches
I am the Bread of Life
I am the Light of the World
Not only will your children grow in knowledge … but they’ll have a lot of fun in the process!
Our adult leaders will instruct the children through interesting visuals, and songs and prayers and crafts.
I hope you’ll bring your children, ages 5 to 12, each morning from 8 to 11:30 AM to enjoy this fun-filled religious experience.
Please call the office if you would like to help in any way with this important Summer experience for our children.
And let’s stay united in Mass … even on vacation!
Love, Father Deering
May 15, 2011
In two weeks we’ll celebrate the Memorial Day weekend … a National Holiday established to remember all those men and women who have died while in service to our country.
The first commemoration to our fallen soldiers was made at the end of the Civil War on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
Then in 1971, Memorial Day was shifted to the last Monday in May to ensure a 3-day weekend for most workers.
Sadly, over the years, the observance of Memorial Day has diminished to the point where many Americans have forgotten the meaning of the Memorial Day holiday.
The graves of many of our fallen soldiers are ignored and neglected and many don’t even fly the flag on that day.
Fortunately, some organizations like our very own Knights of Columbus continue the tradition of celebrating Memorial Day each year as it was intended.
For the past 6 years our Knights have organized a Memorial Day Service at our local cemetery so that people from our community can come together to pray and reflect on the supreme sacrifice that fellow American men and women made to preserve our country’s safety and freedom.
And realizing that many people will be traveling away from home on Memorial Day Weekend, the Memorial Service will be offered one week early.
So next Sunday, May 22nd at 2:00 in the afternoon, everyone is invited to gather at Oakwood Cemetery in Gardendale for a half-hour Memorial Service of prayers, songs and speeches inside their air-conditioned chapel.
We’ll then step outside for the placing of the Wreath, the firing of a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps.
This Service will set the tone for the following 3-day weekend and fill us with gratitude and appreciation for the price that others paid to preserve our freedom and way of life.
It’s a moving ceremony and a great way to keep alive the memory that our freedom came at a price … others sacrificed dearly so that we could live and be free.
This is the very wisdom of gathering together each week in Church … so we remember the great price that Jesus paid to free us from sin & death; He also died so that we could live.
Please keep these memories alive.
And may God bless America!
Love, Father Deering
May 8, 2011
With our last cold-spell behind us, the temperature will likely be 80° or more throughout the days of Summer.
When this happens it’s customary to adjust the way we dress in order to be cooler.
And therefore want to remind you of the guidelines for the proper way to dress when you come to Church.
And 2 descriptors that always apply
to appropriate dress for Church are:
Modest and Nice!
Whether it’s Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter, all people are to enter Church dressed modestly and nice.
There’s no need to dress cool as if the temperature in Church would be oppressively hot. Thanks to our heating and cooling systems, you’ll always find the temperature to be most comfortable in Church … just like in your home and office.
And so, here are the guidelines for Church:
No shorts
No tank tops
No T-shirts
No sleeveless blouses or dresses
No low-cut blouses or dresses
No mini-skirts
These guidelines have been posted in the Vestibule for the past 8 months … they apply season to season.
Dressing for Mass should be special … it should mean wearing your “Sunday best”!
A good number of you dress up to go to work every day. And that’s just to meet customers and co-workers.
Well, it makes every bit of sense that you’d also want to dress up on Sunday because then you’re going to have an intimate encounter with the Living Lord!
Our Lectors, Ushers, and Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion have been modeling for years what it means to dress appropriately for Sunday Mass. The men wear suits or sportcoats or at least a nice casual shirt and long slacks. The women wear dresses, or suits, or skirts & blouses.
So please follow the above guidelines and always dress appropriately for Mass … modestly and nice.
God bless you!
Love, Father Deering
May 1, 2011
In our First Reading at Mass this past Wednesday from the Acts of the Apostles, St. Peter says to a crippled man, “I’ve neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you.” He then takes the man by the hand and raises him up. The man stands on his own and goes into the Temple praising God!
And that’s precisely what many of you good people did this past year. You took others by the hand, guided them to the RCIA class and raised them up to the Truth of the Catholic Church enabling them to stand on their own and on the Easter Vigil, enter into the Church praising God!
Eight months ago, in September of 2010, I asked you to invite your non-Catholic family members and friends to come explore the Catholic faith in our RCIA program.
Many of you did … and the result was that 21 people came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass!
8 were baptized and 13 made a profession of faith
4 Came on their own
3 Husbands were invited by their wives
6 Wives were invited by their husbands
1 Boyfriend was invited by his girlfriend
Son was invited by his father
1 Daughter invited by her mother
1 Sister inviter by her sister
2 Friends were invited by parishioners
1 Employee was invited by her boss
1 Daughter- in-law invited by her mother in law
Which means that of the 21 new Catholics,
17 of them were personally invited by you!
What a tribute to all of you for having the courage to share your Catholic faith with your friends and loved ones.
This is truly a win-win situation because the new Catholics now get to participate in the Sacramental life of the Church, and our Parish family now benefits from the prayers and the gifts these new members bring to the Church!
If you still have non-Catholic family members and friends, recognize the important role that you can play in bringing them into the Church … 81% of this year’s class came because they were personally invited!
We plan to resume our weekly classes in September, but in the meantime, we can provide books, tapes and CD’s for those who want to begin learning about the faith early.
I’m delighted with the way so many of you embrace and share the treasure of your faith. Keep up the good work by inviting all of your family and friends to stand up and come into … the Holy Catholic Church.
Happy Easter again and again, Love Father Deering
April 17, 2011
Holy Week is here! Of all the weeks in the year, this week reigns supreme. That’s because the Liturgies of this week prepare us to celebrate the Highest Feast Day of the Year … Easter Sunday on April 24th … the day when Jesus rose from the tomb and was victorious over death.
This is the basis of our belief in eternal life … that Jesus, after taking on our humanity, died but then rose from the dead in a glorified resurrected body, never to die again.
I highly recommend you and your family to participate in one or more of the special Liturgiestaking place this week:
On Tuesday, Bishop Baker &all Priests will celebrate the Chrism Mass at 11:00 AM in St. Paul’sCathedral … this includes the renewal of our Priestly promises and the blessing of the Holy Oils that will be used throughout the year in administering the Sacraments.
On HolyThursday, we will celebrate the Last Supper of the Lord at 7:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church … commemorating Jesus’ institution of both the Priesthood and the Eucharist and His washing of the feet of His disciples.
On Good Friday, we will meditate on the Passion of Our Lord at 7:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church … as we hearthe Passion proclaimed, venerate the Cross, and receive Holy Communion.
On HolySaturday, we will celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass at 8:00 PM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church … as we rejoice with the news that Jesus is raised from the dead … and welcome over 20 people into the Catholic Church.
On EasterSunday, we will again celebrate theResurrection of the Lord at 8:30AM at St. Henry Church and at 11:00 AM at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
Easter Week follows with 8 days where we continue to celebrate the Easter event … and this is capped by the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Sunday after Easter. It’s on this day that the Church promises a plenary indulgence to all Catholics who have been to recent Confession , attend Mass and receive Holy Communionon that day!
What an enormous gift that is! A plenary indulgence means that our time in Purgatoryis erased up to that point!
In order to prepare ourselves to receive so awesome a gift, be sure to pray the Divine Mercy Novena (enclosed) each day for the 9 daysleading up toMercy Sunday on May 1st.
Remember to begin this novena on Good Friday.
Come to Church and make this your greatest Easter ever!
Prayers and blessings,
March 27, 2011
Living here in the Birmingham area we’re very blessed to have 10 fine hospitals relatively close by for the times we may need emergency medical help.
But where do we go for the times that we may need emergency spiritual help? Many times the need for emergency medical and spiritual help occur together … in life-threatening situations due to sickness or an accident.
That’s why I hope you’ll cut out the following table of Priest phone numbers and carry it with you and post it for your family so they’ll know who to call in emergencies.
Priests to call in emergency
In all areas: Fr. Michael Deering 631-9398
St. Vincent's Hospital: Fr. Emanual Isi or Fr. Ken Germain 939-7000
St. Vincent's East: St. Barnabus - Fr. Wrigley 833-0334
UAB: Blessed Sacrament - Fr. Jim Booth 785-9840
Brookwood: Our Lady of Sorrows - Fr. Muller, Fr. Jaya, Fr. Mike Adams 871-8121
Children's Veterans, Cooper Green, Princeton, Health South: St. Paul Cathedral - Fr. Bazzel 328-7209
St. Stephen - Fr. Keiser: 822-5429
Trinity: St. Francis Xavier Fr. Bob Sullivan, Fr. John McDonald 871-1153
The fact that most of our area hospitals are full shows how fragile we humans are and how likely it is that we or one of our loved ones will someday be in the hospital.
When that happens, we should have a plan to bring emergency spiritual help to those in need!
Please, when you know you’re going into the hospital for surgery and will undergo anesthesia, go to Confession and receive the Anointing of the Sick before you go in!
But when an emergency occurs and a person is in danger of death, call for a Priest right away to come and administer the Last Rites to the person.
May God bless you and keep you safe!
Love, Fr. Deering
March 20, 2011
As I greet people after Mass, it’s not uncommon for someone to say, “Father, would you pray for … my spouse or my child or my friend who is so and so in need of prayers?
And my heart sinks as I wonder if they have any idea of the magnitude of the prayer that we just prayed together … in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Sometimes I tell them, “You know, we just prayed the most powerful prayer in the world and now you’re asking me to pray for so and so … and while my prayers are good, they in no way compare to uniting our prayers with Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”
When I lift up the paten and the chalice at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, I am holding the true Presence of Jesus, and there with Him in the Paten and the Chalice are all the intercessions that we mentioned in the Prayer of the Faithful, all the intercessions mentioned in the Eucharistic Prayer and the personal intercessions that we hold in our heart.
And all of them are presented to the Father when I say the words, “Through Him, with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor are yours Almighty Father, forever and ever.”
To which, you the faithful reply, “Amen!”
In doing so, we have just beseeched the Father for our needs in The Most Powerful and Pleasing Way Possible … because we did it in union with His Dearly Beloved Son, Jesus, present sacramentally in our Paten and Chalice!
As your Pastor, you are always in my prayers. But please realize that our prayers are most efficacious when we unite them and attach them to Jesus in the mystery of the Mass.
This is why many people come to daily Mass. Once they realize that the Mass is the most powerful Prayer, they want to come as often as possible … even daily!
For 6-1/2 years now, we’ve been celebrating Mass every day at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. And you’re invited to attend.
Lent is the perfect time to begin this rewarding practice. We begin at 6:30 AM and always finish by 7 o’clock.
What a wonderful way to begin your workday! And for those of you who are retired, your entire day will be transformed if you get in the habit of praying daily Mass.
We also pray Mass on Wednesday evenings at 7 PM. And the Mass times for surrounding parishes are listed on the purple Lenten Mass Schedule available in our vestibule.
Let’s pray the greatest prayer … together … and often!
Love, Father Deering
March 13, 2011
Have you ever driven over to an event but then had to pass up the chance to go in … simply because you couldn’t find a place to park your car?
Well, that actually occurred for several men this past Monday … and it happened at a Church of all places!
Yes, it’s true! So many men came to St. Peter’s Church in Hoover last Monday, March 7th that all of the available parking was taken up and some men left without coming in!
St. Peter’s Church seats about 1000 people including their large side Chapel and their Cry Room. These were filled, plus countless chairs were brought in and lined the aisles and still there were many men left standing along the back walls.
In all, over 1200 men turned out to hear ideas on how they could be better Husbands, Fathers, Bosses, Catholics … in short … how they could be leaders and men of God.
And for all who found a parking space, they were not disappointed! The presentations made by Bishop Baker and John Martignoni, and guest speakers: Patrick Lencioni and Jeff Cavins, were all outstanding.
A core message found in each of the presentations was the fact that the world is telling us a Big Lie when it holds up happiness as the goal of life.
People say, “I just want to be happy.” And they also say, “All I want is for my kids to be happy.”
And they don’t understand that happiness is an emotion that is fleeting at best. And so, if we listen to the world and hold happiness as the goal … we’ll be very disappointed. That’s why there are so many unhappy people in the world! They’ve bought into the lie that the goal of life is to be happy and since life isn’t showing up that way, they’re un-happy.
What we really want and really need … is peace. And the only place where we will find peace is in God, which is why He sent His Son into the world … Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
The way we experience God’s peace is by reading about our Faith, by praying and by sharing our faith with others.
The challenge put forward at the Men’s Conference was to read 5 pages a day … choose from any of the countless good books available here at Church, in Bookstores or on-line.
My challenge is to attend Mass one extra day a week … pick up a Lenten Mass Schedule in the vestibule listing the daily Mass times of the Catholic Churches in the area.
And finally, talk about the Faith … to your spouse, to your children, to your co-workers, to everyone who will listen.
This guidance is for men and women alike. Let’s accept the challenge so that we’ll be Strong People of Strong Faith!
Love, Father Deering
March 6, 2011
In just three days we will begin the Lenten Season, which consists of 40 days of preparation before we celebrate the great gift of our Redemption on Easter Sunday.
A meaningful way to begin Lent is to receive ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday. It is a profound act of mortification whereby we acknowledge that our mortal bodies will surely die and change into nothing but ashes. Hopefully, this will move us to make whatever changes are needed to insure that our immortal souls will reflect the goodness of God and make us ready to live with Him forever in Heaven.
Ashes will be distributed at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Wednesday, March 9th during both
the 6:30 AM Mass and the 7:00 PM Mass
Remember to abstain from all meat and limit yourself to one meal as Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.
A popular Lenten devotion is to pray the 14 Stations of the Cross on the 6 Fridays of Lent.
This we will do, from 6:00 – 6:30 PM, each Friday.
On the first 3 Fridays of Lent, we will pray the Stations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
On the 4th Friday of Lent, April 1st, we will pray the Stations at St. Henry Church.
On the last 2 Friday’s of Lent, we will pray the Stations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
Please join us each Friday evening!
After the Stations this Friday, March 11th, you’re invited to come to the Parish Hall to enjoy a complimentary pancake supper provided by our Knights of Columbus.
In addition to praying the Stations on Fridays I invite you to share the Friday meal with us and take in the informative and inspirational videos we’ll show during Lent.
Moreover, I hope you’ll consider attending the 6:30 AM Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church each workday.
This is far more than a personal sacrifice … it’s the way that you can most closely unite yourself with the love of God.
This year, the Forty Days for Life campaign will run along with the 40 Days of Lent. What a perfect time to offer some prayers or penance for the overturn of our laws favoring abortion. Please review the enclosed flyer to guide you.
I hope that you will set aside some special time for daily Prayer and do try to come to either 6:30 AM morning Mass or the 7 PM Wednesday evening Mass as often as possible during Lent.
May you have a blessed and rewarding Lent!
Love, Father Deering
In just three days we will begin the Lenten Season, which consists of 40 days of preparation before we celebrate the great gift of our Redemption on Easter Sunday.
A meaningful way to begin Lent is to receive ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday. It is a profound act of mortification whereby we acknowledge that our mortal bodies will surely die and change into nothing but ashes. Hopefully, this will move us to make whatever changes are needed to insure that our immortal souls will reflect the goodness of God and make us ready to live with Him forever in Heaven.
Ashes will be distributed at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Wednesday, March 9th during both
the 6:30 AM Mass and the 7:00 PM Mass
Remember to abstain from all meat and limit yourself to one meal as Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.
A popular Lenten devotion is to pray the 14 Stations of the Cross on the 6 Fridays of Lent.
This we will do, from 6:00 – 6:30 PM, each Friday.
On the first 3 Fridays of Lent, we will pray the Stations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
On the 4th Friday of Lent, April 1st, we will pray the Stations at St. Henry Church.
On the last 2 Friday’s of Lent, we will pray the Stations at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.
Please join us each Friday evening!
After the Stations this Friday, March 11th, you’re invited to come to the Parish Hall to enjoy a complimentary pancake supper provided by our Knights of Columbus.
In addition to praying the Stations on Fridays I invite you to share the Friday meal with us and take in the informative and inspirational videos we’ll show during Lent.
Moreover, I hope you’ll consider attending the 6:30 AM Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church each workday.
This is far more than a personal sacrifice … it’s the way that you can most closely unite yourself with the love of God.
This year, the Forty Days for Life campaign will run along with the 40 Days of Lent. What a perfect time to offer some prayers or penance for the overturn of our laws favoring abortion. Please review the enclosed flyer to guide you.
I hope that you will set aside some special time for daily Prayer and do try to come to either 6:30 AM morning Mass or the 7 PM Wednesday evening Mass as often as possible during Lent.
May you have a blessed and rewarding Lent!
Love, Father Deering
February 27, 2011
Two reports have recently come out that identify the size and make up of various world religions.
The Status of Global Mission Report predicts that by the middle of this year there will be 2,306,609,000 Christians of all kinds in the world, which is 33% of the world population.
These 2.3 Billion Christians can be divided into
6 major groupings, namely:
Catholics 1,160,880,000
Protestants 426,450,000
Orthodox 271,316,000
Anglicans 87,520,000
Independents 378,281,000
Marginal Christians 35,539,000
The ranking of all world religions is as follows:
Christians 2.3 Billion
Muslims 1.6 Billion
Hindus 951 Million
Buddhists 468 Million
Chinese folk-religionists 458 Million
Atheists 137 Million
You might ask yourself, “How could it be that some 2000 years after the coming of the Jesus into the world, 2/3’s of the people still don’t claim Him as the Lord and Savior?”
And here’s the scary part … the number who don’t believe in Jesus as God is growing!
Yes, even though there will be an average of
80,000 new Christians per day (31,000 of them Catholic), there will also be an average of 79,000 new Muslims per day!
This is definitely a time to pray that all Christians would come back together and be a unified force and together evangelize the world to know the good news of Jesus Christ.
Jesus started one Church and for 1500 years there was just one Christian Church … the Catholic Church.
But sadly, division crept in and continues to grow:
there were 1,600 denominations in 1900,
there were 18,800 denominations in 1970,
there are 42,000 denominations today!
Let’s study these statistics and let them motivate us to do our share to spread the Gospel.
And let’s continue to pray for many more Priests to lead the people to salvation in Jesus Christ. While the latest Statistical Yearbook of the Church shows an increase of 5,600 Priests over the last 10 years, for a total at 410,593 Priests worldwide, as you can see - there’s much more to do!
Prayers and blessings!
Love, Father Deering
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
February 13, 2011
Perhaps you’ve seen the two Party Masks commonly associated with New Orleans … one mask is a happy face and the other mask is a sad face.
The Happy Face represents the frivolity of Mardi Gras and the Sad Face represents the solemnity of the Lenten season.
You see, Mardi Gras originated as a way for Catholics to experience one last hurrah before embarking on the holy season of Lent that calls us to live a more austere life of penance and sacrifice for the forty days prior to Easter.
The word Mardi Gras means “fat Tuesday” and this party is officially celebrated on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.
However, the tradition here in our Parish is to celebrate Mardi Gras on the Friday before Ash Wednesday to give more people the chance to attend the celebration.
And so, in keeping with that tradition, we will hold our Annual Mardi Gras Party at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Hall on Friday March 4th.
This is an Adult only party that carries the reputation of providing outstanding food, friendships and fun to attendees.
Soft Drinks and Set-ups will be provided … and you are welcome to bring along your favorite alcoholic beverages.
Great effort goes into decorating our Parish Hall to transform it into a mini New Orleans!
And the food is always authentic New Orleans cuisine, including such delights as shrimp gumbo, seafood corn bisque, crawfish dip and king cakes for this smorgasbord affair.
DJ Mike Shell will be returning once again to provide great music for both dinner and dancing.
So what does all this cost? A mere $15 per person!
Certainly you know that there’s no where else in all of Birmingham that you can go to get an evening of food & fun, with 130 of your fellow Parishioners, for the low cost of $15.
That’s because this event is simply meant to be …
a Fun-raiser not a fund-raiser!
Please consider coming but realize that only 125 tickets will be sold. So, get your tickets early … either purchasing them in the vestibule after Mass or at our Parish Office on weekdays between 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.
Tickets will not be sold at the door!
May God bless
each and every one of you …
each and every day.
Love, Father Deering
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
February 6, 2011
I know that you’ve heard me speak about Retreats!
As you read this, 15 of our 8th Graders, 18 Teen Leaders, 10 Parents and myself are away at Worldsong Retreat Center in Cook Springs Alabama participating in our annual Confirmation Retreat.
Two weeks from now, on the weekend of Feb. 18 – 20, some 70 of you Parishioners will gather up at the Benedictine Abbey in Cullman for our Adult Retreat that will be led this year by Fr. Mitch Pacwa.
And in late March we’ll have our 5th, 6th and 7th Graders away at Worldsong Retreat Center for their Annual Retreat.
Retreats are marvelous medicine for the soul. They are nothing short of vacations with God!
I must admit that I never went on a Retreat until I entered the Seminary … and maybe you’ve never been on one either.
But I highly recommend them as they provide privileged time away (retreating from the world) so you can really listen to the promptings of God.
Retreats can be very short (just a few hours long) or very long (like a 30-day Ignatian retreat).
Today I want to extend an invitation to all the men of the Parish to consider attending one of those very short 2- hour retreats that will be held next month at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Hoover.
On Monday night, March 7th, three nationally known Catholic speakers will help jump-start our spiritual lives.
Author Patrick Lencioni, talk show host Allen Hunt and TV presenter Jeff Cavins will share ideas and inspiration that will enable all men to strengthen their faith to fulfill their God given roles in the Family, in the Church and in the World.
It would mean a lot to me if every man in our parish (age 16 and older) would attend this Mini Retreat of just 2 hours on Monday, March 7th!
The cost is just $10 per person which will serve as a stipend for the 3 Guest Speakers. If that’s a hardship for anyone, I will pay for you. Don’t let anything prevent you from attending and partaking of this time of spiritual renewal.
How perfect that this Retreat takes place just 2 days before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent!
You’re most welcome to ride in our Parish Vans or follow in procession as we leave from the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parking lot at 6:00PM that Monday night. The Retreat begins at 7 and will conclude by 9 and we’ll be home by 9:45!
Let’s take this step together … and we’ll surely be … Strong Men of Strong Faith!
Love, Father Deering
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January 30, 2011
Last Monday, I met with the Parish Council in our first meeting of the new year. Two new members began their 2 year term of service replacing two members who had just finished their terms.
The new Parish Council for 2011 looks like this:
John Rogers – Chairman
Penny Vaughn – Secretary
Rod Cameron
Shawn Holly
Jim Jernigan
Ken Levesque
Jennifer Levesque
Michael Wallace
Donna Wallace
Bill Vise
Teresa Vise
If you should ever have a question or concern about the Parish, you could certainly contact any of these members for information or have them bring your concern up at our next meeting.
Two other organizations that are key to our Parish are
The Knights of Columbus
Ken Friedrich – Grand Knight of Council 10354
The Ladies Altar Sodality.
Donna Mealer – President
Scarlet Bishop – Vice President
Cindy Walker – Treasurer
Carla Doss – Secretary
I’m grateful for the involvement of so many of you good people over the years in these and other Parish organizations. Please continue to share your gifts and talents with the Church as we work together as faith family.
God bless you!
Love, Fr. Deering
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January 9, 2011
Today marks the formal end of the Christmas Season and our entry into Ordinary Time that will run up to March 9th, the beginning of Lent.
As we make this transition, I’d like to commend you for your faithfulness to the Church in honoring the Feast Days of Christmas and Mary, Mother of God. That meant coming to Church twice as often as normal. But the graces that you received in attending Holy Mass are way beyond counting!
And I hope that you have a deeper appreciation of the immense love that God has for us … that He would send His only Son to take on our humanity to redeem us from our sins.
And I hope too that you have a deeper appreciation of the role that Blessed Mother Mary played in our salvation and how having a true devotion to her will help us draw ever closer to her Divine Son, Jesus.
As we move into this New Year, I simply must thank you for the many kindnesses that you extended to me during the Christmas Season.
I truly enjoyed receiving your beautiful Christmas Cards, especially the ones that included pictures of your families.
And, I’m very grateful to you for your gifts, your gift cards and your Mass cards.
The cookies and candies are all being put to good use by me and my staff and it looks like we’ll have everything consumed by the start of Lent!
You know, when people ask me,
“How are things at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton & St. Henry?”
all I can do is smile … because God is smiling on us.
I thank God every day for you good people and I thank Him for the privilege of serving as your Pastor.
Please hold onto that spiritual hunger for God and together we will grow to a new level of intimacy with Him.
thank you for your service and generosity to the Church, to the community, to one another and to me.
look forward to being your servant leader in the year ahead as we continue to grow as parish family and deepen our relationship with God and with one another.
Wishing you all of God’s blessings!
Love, Father Deering
Last Monday, I met with the Parish Council in our first meeting of the new year. Two new members began their 2 year term of service replacing two members who had just finished their terms.
The new Parish Council for 2011 looks like this:
John Rogers – Chairman
Penny Vaughn – Secretary
Rod Cameron
Shawn Holly
Jim Jernigan
Ken Levesque
Jennifer Levesque
Michael Wallace
Donna Wallace
Bill Vise
Teresa Vise
If you should ever have a question or concern about the Parish, you could certainly contact any of these members for information or have them bring your concern up at our next meeting.
Two other organizations that are key to our Parish are
The Knights of Columbus
Ken Friedrich – Grand Knight of Council 10354
The Ladies Altar Sodality.
Donna Mealer – President
Scarlet Bishop – Vice President
Cindy Walker – Treasurer
Carla Doss – Secretary
I’m grateful for the involvement of so many of you good people over the years in these and other Parish organizations. Please continue to share your gifts and talents with the Church as we work together as faith family.
God bless you!
Love, Fr. Deering
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
January 9, 2011
Today marks the formal end of the Christmas Season and our entry into Ordinary Time that will run up to March 9th, the beginning of Lent.
As we make this transition, I’d like to commend you for your faithfulness to the Church in honoring the Feast Days of Christmas and Mary, Mother of God. That meant coming to Church twice as often as normal. But the graces that you received in attending Holy Mass are way beyond counting!
And I hope that you have a deeper appreciation of the immense love that God has for us … that He would send His only Son to take on our humanity to redeem us from our sins.
And I hope too that you have a deeper appreciation of the role that Blessed Mother Mary played in our salvation and how having a true devotion to her will help us draw ever closer to her Divine Son, Jesus.
As we move into this New Year, I simply must thank you for the many kindnesses that you extended to me during the Christmas Season.
I truly enjoyed receiving your beautiful Christmas Cards, especially the ones that included pictures of your families.
And, I’m very grateful to you for your gifts, your gift cards and your Mass cards.
The cookies and candies are all being put to good use by me and my staff and it looks like we’ll have everything consumed by the start of Lent!
You know, when people ask me,
“How are things at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton & St. Henry?”
all I can do is smile … because God is smiling on us.
I thank God every day for you good people and I thank Him for the privilege of serving as your Pastor.
Please hold onto that spiritual hunger for God and together we will grow to a new level of intimacy with Him.
thank you for your service and generosity to the Church, to the community, to one another and to me.
look forward to being your servant leader in the year ahead as we continue to grow as parish family and deepen our relationship with God and with one another.
Wishing you all of God’s blessings!
Love, Father Deering
