Message from Msgr. Schwanger
My Dear Family of Our Lady of Lourdes,
Happy New Year!
We are blessed to have so many new beginnings to celebrate.
They call forth hope and allow for rebirth. This is why many
make New Year’s Resolutions.
Together with those who make resolutions there are also many who used to make them but no longer do. Why? Perhaps because they “know” that they will not keep to the resolution, so they don’t bother. I invite you to bother, to believe that with God’s grace tomorrow will be better than today; that we can and will grow in wisdom and in grace.
I even have a suggestion.
I suggest that we resolve to fulfill each of the pillars of parish life at Our Lady of Lourdes. Let us review and work through them, finding the way to integrate them into our daily lives. They are 1) Live the Precepts of the Catholic Church, 2) Pray a Holy Hour each week for the intentions of the parish family, 3) Consecrate ourselves to Jesus through Mary, 4) Join at least one parish group or ministry, and 5) Support the Church through Parish Soft or the parish’s weekly collection. These are certainly possible and have a power well beyond what you might expect to change our lives for the better.
God is good. If we make these and other resolutions with the desire to grow in faith, hope, and love He will surely bring the good work that He has inspired in us to fulfillment.
The new year is full of promise and possibility. Let us seize the moment.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us St. Bernadette, pray for us..
Msgr. Schwanger
Pastor