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Dear Parishioners,
October is the month when we celebrate the gift of life. As Catholics, we believe in the dignity of life from womb to tomb. The gift of life is the most precious gift and once a baby is conceived, he or she deserves the right to be born and to live as a child of God. Some talk about the right of the mom to choose, however, the baby’s right to live takes precedence over the mother’s choice once the little soul is in the mother’s womb. This child has a right to life. As Catholics too though, we understand that dignity needs to be a part of everybody’s life. A single mom needs support from her family, her church and the appropriate legal authority so that she can receive the necessary services during her pregnancy, maintain herself and in time, maintain the gift of new life. Over the many years, I have met with women who have had abortions. Nobody told them about the years of guilt and sadness that they would feel about the decision to terminate the new life in their bodies. An abortion can never be reversed and yet we need to reach out to a mom or dad who has had an abortion with love, understanding, counselling and most certainly, Confession. Every sin is forgiven by God and there is great rejoicing in Heaven over every sinner who repents and returns to a state of grace. During this month of October, let us pray for babies in the womb, the parents, the doctors, medical support people and communities, through the grace of God, to affirm the dignity of the unborn and the right to life. This coming Wednesday for the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary, I will lead a holy hour at 6:00 p.m. to pray for the dignity of life. I will conclude with Benediction at 7:00 p.m. Please join me for this beautiful prayer experience.
As we consider the dignity of life, we, who are a part of the Special Needs family were thrilled and delighted to host a wonderful barbeque and get together for our Special Needs friends, their parents and caretakers. It was initially supposed to be a tailgate party for our friends to watch the game after they had eaten. However, the cable and signal powers were not agreeable. Honestly, we realized that our friends didn’t care about the game. They really cared about being together, interacting and having fun. A big thank you to everybody who worked so hard on this joyful event and who ensured that all of us maintained social distance and wore our masks. We look forward to hosting a Pumpkin Patch party for our Special Needs friends on the parish lawn, Saturday October 24th, 1-3 p.m. During this month of October, I will write and speak more about life as a special gift from God; the life of the unborn, special needs, the working poor, the aged and the prisoner. All of which fills us with the hope that we can help them to reach the potential that God has given them through the gift of life.
Most parishes have a pastor and a vicar (assistant priest) who work together with their staff, caring for the needs of their local community. Sadly, at St. Luke, the parish has never been able to afford a vicar. However, we were blessed with the gift of Fr. Alex, whose salary and benefits were paid by the diocese. Fr. Alex lived in residence and while his major responsibility was to complete his studies, he gave support to me in the celebration of masses, in other areas of sacramental life and of course, we will never forget his help with live-streaming and Chats from the Rectory. I hope that eventually, we will be able to afford a vicar. Recently, I received a phone call from Bishop Kevin asking that I accept another priest in residence, here at St. Luke. I was thrilled to accept and happy to announce to you that Fr. Hubert Jurjewicz will begin his time in residence this coming Wednesday, October 7th, the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary. He will also be supported by the diocese. Fr. Hubert has been a friend of mine for many years. I became his mentor in 2008 when he arrived from Poland to our diocese. He remained at St. Rose of Lima after his ordination to priesthood until 2010. Since then, Fr. Hubert has had different positions in the diocese and for the last several years, has been offering counselling and psychological services at his office in Denville. Fr. Hubert is interested in returning to parish ministry while at the same time, continuing to use his gift of therapy. He is a bright, kind and caring young man and I am thrilled that he will come to our parish. I know that he will enjoy getting to know our wonderful St. Luke parish.
Fr. Owen