My Dear Friends,
It is so wonderful to be back home at Little Flower after some time of rest this summer. I have missed all of you, and more importantly, I have missed sharing with you the Word of God and the presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Vacations are moments of rest, reflection, and ideal opportunities to draw closer to our Lord. I pray you have found rest this summer as well.
The parish is starting to slowly come back to life after its summer slumber. This week our school begins classes on Tuesday. Please pray for all the students at our parochial school and for all our dedicated teachers and staff who minister to them. Our Carmelite Sister returned two weeks ago after spending time with their families and with the entire Carmelite community in Los Angeles. This school year we have SIX! Carmelite Sister assigned to us. Two of them are new to us (well sort of.) We welcome Sister Anne Marie, and we welcome home Sister Mary Patrice who was baptized here in Little Flower and was a parishioner before joining the Carmelites. Her family is still very active in our parish, and they are beyond thrilled to have Sister Mary Patrice back home, as we all are. She is the first Carmelite vocation to come from our parish, but we pray that more young women form Little Flower may follow in her footsteps and join this grace-filled religious community of courageous and joyful nuns who have served our parish and school for over 30 years caring for our students, praying for our priests, and praying for all of you!
This summer was marked by a seminal event in the history of the Catholic Church in our country: the National Eucharistic Congress that was celebrated in Indianapolis last month. Tens of thousands of Catholics, including members from our parish, attended the congress and were transformed by the event. I invite you to revisit some of the transformative talks that were given during this event by prominent Catholic figures like Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Chris Stefanick, Jonathan Roumie, and our very own Mother Adela Galindo of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Each talk that was given emphasized the importance and centrality of the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics. You have been hearing about the Bread of Life in the gospel reading the last few weeks as we read from the sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel. The Holy Spirit is definitely calling us to what is most important in our lives: Jesus present in the Eucharist. The talks from the Eucharistic Congress may be found on EWTN’s YouTube page. I also invite you to read the article about the Congress posted on the Archdiocesan website written by Angelique Ruhi-Lopez who is one of our parishioners who was in Indianapolis with her family.
Finally, we remember that there is no Eucharist without the priesthood, which leads me to announce a joyous occasion in the life of one of our priests. This year Father Fidelis Uko celebrates his 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary of his priestly ordination. We will celebrate with Father Uko as a parish community at his Jubilee Mass on Saturday, August 24th at 7:00 p.m. here in our church. Everyone is invited! Father Uko is a model priest who shares the joy of Jesus Christ every time he celebrates Mass. Join us on August 24th in giving thanks to God for the gift of Father Uko’s priesthood and for all the good he has done and will do with God’s help as he continues to minister here at the Church of the Little Flower.
God bless you all,
