Preparing for Christmas

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are blessed and staying safe. For most people Advent and all of the preparations for Christmas fill their lives with joy. Despite the colder weather and shorter days, people tend to be happier and more kind to their neighbor. We are more focused on giving rather than getting. But for many, the season is one filled with sadness. Some people suffer from holiday depression, while others are reminded of those who are no longer with us. Due to the pandemic there will be far more of those people this year.

Let us keep in our thoughts and prayers all of those who have lost someone this year, especially those who have lost several people. While we all feel the stress of the holidays, this year that stress will be ten-fold. For many people the holidays are a reminder of their loneliness. That too will be magnified this year as most people will heed the warnings of the CDC and refrain from visiting family and friends. While we cannot reach out physically, we can call our loved ones, and I would encourage you to do so, especially those who you know will be alone. Let them know that they are in your thoughts and prayers. During this time of social distancing, maybe this is the best gift we can give someone.

I would ask you to keep the guys (and two Redemptoristines) in Liguori, Missouri, in your prayers. Apparently, one of the priests caught the virus during a dental visit. When the dentist learned that the patient before him had tested positive, he called St. Clement’s and suggested that they get tested. By the time they got tested 5 of them had the virus. We now have learned that 10 people have tested positive, including 2 nuns and a couple staff members. This is Fr. Bernie’s new home. So please keep Fr. Bernie and the entire community at Liguori, as well as, their staff, along with their staff’s families, in your prayers. It is amazing how fast Covid can spread, and you can understand why I shut the office down and went into isolation in order to keep people safe.

Fr. Denis Ryan also needs your prayers. Several people have asked about him since they have noticed the number of masses being said for him. He is really struggling with some memory issues that seem to run in his family. So please keep him in your prayers as well.

Michelle, and her downsized crew, have worked very hard to make sure we still had our Christmas Store this year, and that it was as safe as possible. One change they made this year is that everyone needed an appointment and their shopping time was limited so we could keep people separated. People have been very generous with their donations, and quite a few churches, organizations and businesses have raised their donations this year. Meijer donated another $7500, which is on top of what we received through the “simply give” program. I am so grateful for all of you who have given of your time and treasures. We sometimes forget the toll this pandemic has taken on our children, especially the younger ones, who cannot understand why they cannot play with their friends or visit their grandparents. This is at least one way that we can lighten that load and focus on the joy of Christmas.

Finally, I want to encourage everyone to participate in our Scrip gift card program. This is a great fundraiser opportunity for our parish, and with the drop in donations, and the probability that we won’t be able to do the Fish Fry, it is revenue that we truly need. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t cost you a penny. You get dollar for dollar, and in the case of a Visa card you actually save the $5 fee. Then for each gift card that you purchase we get a percentage from the company (not from you). That percentage varies form 1% to over 10%. While we encourage you to purchase these cards for your daily shopping, they also make great gifts and I know, due to people not traveling, more people will be sending gift cards this year for Christmas. There is a small list of some of the more popular cards in the bulletin, and you can see the full list online. All you need do is call the office and place your order and the cards arrive in less than a week. We have cards from almost everyone you can imagine: gas, fast food, clothing, entertainment, Amazon, Starbucks, and even Visa. If you regularly shop on Amazon or stop for a morning coffee at Panera, why not purchase gift cards for these places and help out your parish at the same time.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick