My Dear Friends,

As we gather for Mass this Sunday, there are many of our fellow parishioners who are returning from summer vacation because school begins this week. We pray that everyone had a blessed and restful summer, and we also pray for all our children in our parochial school and those who begin class in other schools may have a wonderful school year. Our teachers returned to work this past week, and I ask you to keep all of them in your prayers as well for all the heroic work that they do in classroom every single day.

Believe it or not, our big Parish Centennial Mass is less than two months away. It will be celebrated by Archbishop Wenski on Saturday, October 3 at 7:00 p.m. Preparations are well underway to make this celebration sacred and memorable as is warranted when a parish like ours reaches the unique milestone of 100 years which is rare in our archdiocese. This past week, our Parish Council met to start finalizing some of the plans for the Mass. Our Music Ministry has already begun rehearsing for the liturgy including the Blessing of the Organ. All of this was very present in my mind when I took a few weeks of rest last month, because more important than the events and the fundraising surrounding our centennial is the spiritual preparation of the parish for this jubilee. This is the question that I propose to you this day: “What am I doing to prepare my heart for the 100th anniversary of my parish community?”

Last year around this time, we launched the Hallow app at the parish level. So many of you take advantage of its spiritual benefits daily. I invite everyone to do a novena to our patroness, St. Therese, sometime in the next two months. Pray that she may teach us and that we may implement her “Little Way” in our spiritual lives. I also invite you to take part in our ministries for your spiritual benefit, and above all, aside from more frequent participation in daily Mass, start spending time in our Adoration Chapel to spend quality time with out Lord.

Finally, I ask the entire parish to pray our Centennial Prayer as often as you can. It will be published every week in our bulletin through the end of October when we conclude our jubilee. In fact, let’s pray it right now:

O Lord God Almighty,

by sending Your only Son to establish

the One True Church through

the power of the Holy Spirit,

you gave humanity a sanctuary from the world.

We humbly implore your blessing upon

the Church of the Little Flower

and St. Theresa Catholic School

as we observe our Centennial.

Through the intercession of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel,

Saint Joseph, and Saint Thérèse of Lisieux,

bestow perpetual growth on our parish family

as we take refuge in your infinite grace.

Enlighten us to learn from our past

as we build on the legacy

of our founding parishioners,

and help us to look to the future

so that we may persist

in the work of spreading the Gospel.

Fill us with gratitude in this Year of Jubilee

as we live secure in the certain hope

that you will be with us forever.

We ask this through Christ the Lord. Amen.

God bless,