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Dear Parishioners:
Congratulations to our Special Needs family and a big thank you to our Special Needs Leadership Team, MaryJo and Peter, Joe, Stephanie, Marie, Mike and all the volunteers and parishioners who assist us in this ministry. As you know my nephew, Conor has cerebral palsy and I have been aware of the loneliness that a Special Needs adult can experience, so I was thrilled when I was appointed to St. Luke to see that we had our own Special Needs Ministry. Through the grace of God and much hard work, we affect the lives of this special group of people giving them the joy of their faith, an opportunity to express their feelings, time to have play, enjoy sports and have fun but most of all, to be called by name and recognized as active members of our parish. Bishop presented the award to our Special Needs family last Sunday afternoon at the Cathedral in Paterson during a beautiful liturgy. We met with Bishop after the liturgy, and he was thrilled to congratulate everybody. Several of our Special Needs young people came and felt pride in what they do and included as vital members of our parish mission. How special for us to celebrate this wonderful day on the feast of our patron, St. Luke. This holy man who gave comfort to St. Paul, who recorded the words of Christ and cared so much about the vulnerable. I look forward to a little show and tell at our next Special Needs Mass which will take place on Sunday, November 7th at 11:30 am. We will find a special place to display the medal and certificate given to this group of people that we are privileged to serve. Thanks to everybody for the support you all give to our Special Needs community.
I was delighted to visit our CCD children and young people in the classrooms last Sunday and to be able to acknowledge and support the catechists as they spend their time lovingly instilling our Catholic faith to our young people. I am thrilled to welcome two junior lectors who read for the first-time last Sunday. A big welcome to Michaela and Elisa Castro and thanks to Charles, our adult lector who helped to prepare them.
On Sunday night, we had a wonderful Antioch turnout. I was pleased to give a little teaching presentation on the life of St. Luke to about 45 young people who returned from their retreat weekend eager and excited to continue to be together in a Christ centered environment.
As a child growing up in Limerick, I absolutely loved Halloween. My mother really got into the excitement of everything and dressed us all with homemade costumes, visited the neighboring homes and always hosted a party in our house afterwards. I fondly remember playing a game of trying to bite an apple hanging on a string from the ceiling and trying to pick up coins from a basin with my tongue. Honestly, I think many adults enjoy Halloween as much as children and I do believe it is because they receive such joy from giving joy to the little ones from the not so little! We know that Halloween was a pagan feast and began at a time before people believed in God. They were scared by the oncoming dark nights and tried to make a big bonfire and lots of noise to scare away the evil spirits. Since Christianity, we are blessed because we have our own light, the Light of Christ which encompasses all truth and pushes away anything evil that might surround us. I wish all our parents and young people much fun this Halloween.
On Monday, November 1st, we celebrate All Saints’ Day, Maureen and I will ask all our children and young people to research their own saint’s name and write a short paragraph on what their saint means to them and how they can learn from the holiness of the life of their saint after whom they are called. We will explain this more in detail in the classroom and church setting. Adults are welcome to join in the fun as it is a valuable exercise that helps us to realize that we are blessed and surrounded by God and the many holy men and women who point us in the direction of perfection.
Fr. Owen