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United in Faith and Community Update

Let’s Continue to Make St. Rita Parish Stronger

Saint Rita parish has grown in many positive ways over the past year. Mass attendance is up, the number of students in our school and faith formation has increased, sacramental preparation and celebrations abound, service to others remains strong with programs like COME dinners, Thanksgiving and Christmas Angel Projects, and we developed our new mission statement to serve as a continued guide for the parish.

One of our goals has been to increase family participation in Eucharistic celebrations and engage more youth in parish activities. We have made some nice inroads in this area with our monthly children’s Mass, monthly family activity nights, and youth group.

Our collections have also increased, which has allowed us to take care of campus improvement projects that had been sidelined for more than five years.

So let’s continue to build our community of faith through our welcoming of others of all ages. Please continue to encourage Mass attendance and invite families, friends and neighbors to join our parish activities.

Additionally, I am asking for your ongoing financial support to help us keep up with parish expenses. Shortly, parishioners will be receiving a letter in the mail from me requesting your help to increase regular offertory collections. I fully recognize this is a challenge for each of you, but appreciate your prayerful and generous response.

Peace,

Fr. Tim

Eucharistic Communion and Seeing Those in Need

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that receiving the Eucharist “commits us to the poor” (1397). Why is this so?

Receiving the Eucharist means that we enter into union with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. And being in Holy Communion with Jesus himself means something profound. Let’s consider one facet of this great mystery.

The Eucharist is Jesus himself. He is the Eternal Word, living in Trinitarian communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But out of love for us, in order to save us from sin and death, the beloved Son of the Father chose to take upon himself a radical poverty: the weakness of the human condition of his beloved creatures.

Continue reading this article by Dr. James Pauley here.