Father's Reflection 2.5.23

Rally Cry of the Parish Leadership Team: Three Parishes, One Family

Friends, Sunday was a homerun. Thank you all for your participation! Seeing all three parishes (St. James, St. Augustine, Sacred Heart) come together as one in prayer was phenomenal. And the parish leadership team is truly edified. The game plan was simple: a procession from Sabetha, to Fidelity, to Wetmore, combining Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary, and a great meal.

Our procession began in Sabetha before the Blessed Sacrament, continued in Fidelity before the Blessed Sacrament, and concluded in Wetmore before the Blessed Sacrament - with parishioners from all 3 parishes joining in a procession from parish to parish. We offered a rosary which began in Sabetha, continued in Fidelity, and concluded in Wetmore, invoking Our Lady who once helped to lead the Apostles in prayer at Pentecost, before the fire of the Holy Spirit descended upon them, making them one. As an aside, thank you very much to the St. James Alter Society for the lovely meal in the hall at the end of Adoration. It was perfect.

So where did this idea come from? For uniting the three parishes as one? “I pray Father that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me (Jn. 17: 23).”

Friends, our parish leadership team takes these words of Jesus very seriously. All three parishes are represented on this leadership team and our current rally cry is "three parishes, one family." We desire to be intentional about uniting our parishes. The Church is One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. And we on the leadership team intend to work intentionally to see this first mark, that the Church may be one, through to completion. This past Sunday was simply the beginning of what will be a much more intentional approach to uniting our three parishes as one family. And the secret is Our Lady and the Blessed Sacrament.

More on this in the coming weeks.