Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

This weekend we begin a new liturgical year with the Season of Advent.  With each passing day from now until Christmas, we will lose about 20 minutes more of daylight.  There is something about darkness.  We slow down, and in the case of reflecting upon the Season of Advent, we prepare.
 
The message we will be hearing throughout the season of Advent is exactly that.  Preparing – preparing our hearts, for our God is sending a Saviour, Emmanuel, which means God-with-us.
 
This preparing involves prayer and our active participation in the liturgy and sacraments of the Church, and our willingness to serve and to be of service to one another.  Advent draws us in and invites us to do all this, with the help of Holy Spirit, to meet our God, who comes to us in the form of a baby.
 
As we begin this Advent journey as a parish family, may we ponder the birth of our Saviour some 2000 years ago as we unite our prayers together to prepare for the coming of Christ into our hearts this Christmas. 
 
O come, O come, Emmanuel.

May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend as we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent together.

Fr. Greg

Feast of Christ the King
 
Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

Here we are, the last Sunday of Ordinary Time.  This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  The Feast of Christ the King was given papal recognition by Pius XI in 1925 with the calendar celebration set as the last Sunday in October.  In 1960 when the liturgical calendar was revised, the Feast was moved to the last Sunday of the Year before Advent.  

I pose a simple yet profound question for all of us.  Is Jesus the King of your life?  This is the question that we are to ponder this Sunday.

Bishop Barron sees the Liturgical Year as kind of a grand procession, at the end of which comes the most important person, Jesus Christ, the Lord, the King of the Universe.  The Latin word for “Lord” is “Dominus”.  It is a good word because it invites us to ask ourselves whether or not Jesus is the dominant influence in our lives.  If we say anything other than Christ is the King, then we need to revisit what Christianity really means.  If we only think of Jesus as a good, kind person, that is not enough. If we let him into only one or two rooms of our house, we are playing games. This is not real Christianity.  He should be the King of every room.  That is the real challenge of this Feastday.

My canon law professor put it this way:  In your personal life you should feel comfortable having Jesus sitting next to you while you are doing whatever you are doing.  If you try to hide from God, even if no one else knows about what you are doing, then Christ is not the King of your life.  Acknowledging Christ as King means that you are in steady contact with the Lord, so that all we do is dedicated to him.

Jesus must be the “Dominus,” the dominant influence in our lives.

May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend as we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.

Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

Since my arrival here at St. Julia in July of 2019, my goodness have we been through alot together.  In midst of it all, many good things have taken place in our parish.  Most of all, I pray that we have grown in our faith.

Please consider this your invitation to join me this Monday evening, November 14th, in our Divinity Room from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Faith for today.  Vision for tomorrow.

As a caring Roman Catholic Community, it is my blessed opportunity to nourish each of you in your faith for today.  Together, we look to the future, as we share our vision for tomorrow.  Powered and inspired by the Holy Spirit, and fueled by Synod, we face these opportunities and challenges together.

I have included the agenda for the evening in this newsletter, and the minutes will be included next week.  I hope to see you there.
 
May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you at mass this weekend.

Fr. Greg

Dear parish family and friends of St. Julia,

It has been a busy and blessed start to the month of November here at St. Julia.  From the celebration of a funeral for a founding member of our parish, All Saints mass on Tuesday, All Souls mass on Tuesday morning, a funeral chapel service Wednesday afternoon, our Memorial Mass Wednesday evening, our Holy Hour this morning, a BLD mass this evening at the Cathedral at 8:00 p.m. (open to everyone), a chapel funeral service Saturday morning, and our masses this weekend.  I have been most blessed to witness how the Holy Spirit is alive in our parish and community.
 
In my now six plus years of priesthood, as I noted at our memorial mass, celebrating the anointing of the sick and journeying with families as they say goodbye to their loved one has been some of the most touching and moving times in my ministry.  It is at these times when hearts are moved, reminding one of the importance of our faith, our relationship with God and our creator, and that we will see our loved ones again in heaven.  Just as important is that we need to continue praying for those who have gone before us, and that those prayers are what continue to keep us connected.
 
Yes, the funeral is for the beloved family member or friend who has died.  But the funeral mass is for the living as well – all those who mourn the loss of a loved one or friend.  It is meant to bring comfort, strength, and peace to all, and to assure the family that they are not alone, and that this parish family is here to pray alongside them.  So why should the funeral be held at the church?  It is in the church where we welcomed that soul into the family of faith, at baptism, and it is at the church, at the funeral mass, where we entrust that soul to the love and mercy of God.  The beautiful mass, and the eucharistic prayers are offered just for that loved one – your loved one.  Plus, as I say, we are no closer to our loved ones who have gone before us than at the celebration of the mass – every mass.
 
As we pray for all the departed souls who have gone before us, I pray that each of you, who mourn the loss of the loved one, whether it be recent or many years ago, be assured of my prayers and the prayers of your family here at St. Julia.  May these prayers bring you comfort, strength, and peace.

This weekend we welcome the seven-year-old children from our parish preparing for the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist at our 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning mass.
 
May God bless each of you and those that you love, and I look forward to seeing you and welcoming you to mass this weekend.

Fr. Greg