Lent and Adoration

Greetings to all of you!

I hope this Lenten season is going well for all of you!  It always gives me confidence when I am able to discipline myself and overcome things in my life that keep me from being the best version of myself.  Giving up golf for lent has truly made my stress level decrease immeasurably!  Maybe some of you out there ought to try it.  

The Lenten fish fries have been a wonderful success thus far and the weather has been brilliant!  It's always great to see singles and families come together and enjoy the food and fellowship at our Church and I thank the Knights of Columbus for making this such a successful and fun event. I've had the backbreaking job of being the official taste tester and although it can be unbearable at times, I do wish to make sure our product is suitable to the discriminating tastes of our St. Mark family.  So if you haven't gotten the chance to attend this fun event, I invite you to do so before lent ends.  You will truly enjoy it all!  

Lastly, I have been noticing how many people have either signed up or simply attend the times for adoration and prayer these last few months.  In January we decided to invite individuals to sit before the Blessed Sacrament in our Chapel and pray for the success of Stewardship in our parish.  As you know, Stewardship impacts our faith life to a huge extent and from that practice, many great things begin to happen in our lives and in the lives of our parish family.  So take some time out of your busy week and come to adoration whether it be for a few minutes or an hour.  One can only imagine what the power of prayer can do especially when praying right in front of the true presence of Christ!  

Well, that is all for now.  May God continue to bless your goodness in this most holy season of Lent.

Peace,

Fr. David   

Golf Tournament a Big Success

Greetings to all of you!

I realize this is a little late in writing about the golf tournament but I just have to say what an incredible day we all had.  Despite some quick rainfall, we managed to make this day a joyful event for everyone as more than 136 golfers participated!  Not only was there golf, but we also had my favorite food, sausage and peppers, on the "Beat the Priest" hole among hole-in-one contests for everybody who came through.  Although I was not eligible for the contest, I did manage to hit the pin on one shot and knocked another shot almost two feet away from the pin.  Needless-to-say, the groups certainly didn't "Beat the Priest" after those shots!  However, there were some that did though, more than I can bare!  However, we made some money for our new Church, and everybody had great fun.  It doesn't get any better than that!  Hopefully we will have the total monies raised after some expenses are paid.  I would like to express my deep gratitude to Mike Eggeling, Rich Larson, Cyndi Letzeisen, and Tom Bosso for providing and cooking all the sausages and peppers along with the pretty ladies to serve them! Thank you also to all of those wonderful people who provided baskets and items for our silent auction and raffle.  I can't wait for next year!

That delicious odor you smell on Friday's is the annual Lenten fish fry done by the Knights of Columbus.  Over 480 dinners were served on the first night and I'm sure they will crack the 500 barrier with ease as Lent goes forward.  They have also great home made desserts done by the Columbiettes in which I have been nominated as the taste tester!  So if you haven't made it to the fish fry yet, come on out and bring your family and see what a fun event it truly is!

Well, that is all for now.  May Lent continue to be an experience that inspires all of us to greatness!

Peace,

Fr. David

What a year it has been so far!

What a year it has been so far!  First the GIANTS win the Super Bowl and then Matthew Kelly from Dynamic Catholic hits a homerun in his morning workshop here last Saturday!  First of all, my condolences to all you New England Patriot fans out there.  Despite a superior team they have fielded these past years, it just seems the G-Men have their number and thus have bragging rights for the next year!  Of course I am not one who likes to "rub it in" but I can hear that song playing in my mind right now "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS" and for that I'm grateful.  

Last Saturday Matthew Kelly was outstanding in his presentation on Catholicism and how we can be "better versions of ourselves" as over 800 people gathered together to hear him speak.  It was a wonderful shot in the arm for all of us as he reminded all those attending that we are a phenomenal presence in our country and in the world and we need to remember how our Church had been the innovators of medical care, schools, and universities in our history.  We have simply blended into our secular society and forgotten our past and have given over our power for change in the future by not being the best version of ourselves.  There was so much more but I have limited space here to write about our experience.  You can find much of it in his book "Rediscover Catholicism" that is available in our gift shop.  I'm already seeing great things happening in our parish since this workshop and it makes me excited to see how much more God has in store for us!

Lastly,  as you read this, we are already engaged in our yearly golf tournament at Hunters Green C.C.  This year over 135 golfers will be vying to become the "St. Mark golfers of the Year" award which is a wonderful grace in itself.  This year we also have a food tent on the 7th hole where not only can they eat some great Italian "sausigge" and peppers but also get a chance to win a trip to Hawaii with a hole-in-one!  In addition they will have the opportunity to "Beat the Priest" and win a tee shirt, free confessions for a year, and a sleeve of balls that float on water when you hit it in the lake.  It looks like it's going to be a great day!  All proceeds go to the construction of our new Church.  

Well, that is all for now.  Let's keep each other in prayer and continue to be grateful for the blessings that God has given us in this life!

Peace,

Fr. David

It Has Been Awhile

Greetings to all of you!  Well it has been awhile since I have written an article to you and     finally the powers that be have given me permission to dust off my typing skills and venture back into the realm of amateur “columnist.”  I thank all those who have been sitting in for me these past months writing about their desire for a new Church and I have been very impressed by their heartfelt writings and impressions.  Speaking of which,
I have received very good news on the progress for constructing our new church. We will be able to commence construction when we have cash of five million dollars in our account. To date, 401 families have pledged $3,613, 861 of which we have $1,290, 486 in our account.   Therefore, we have need for an additional $3,709,514 in cash so we can   commence construction.  I am so appreciative of the very good work accomplished by our campaign chairman Monty Weigel and his committee thus far.  So folks, if we want to build our Church in the near future, we need to start making pledges!  I find it amazing that 401 families thus far have made pledges which amount to over a third of the grand total of $10 million.  It is also amazing to me that 2500 families in our parish have YET to make a pledge!   I do realize that economic times are tough, but this is also an opportunity to strengthen our faith in a God who has been so generous to us and who will never be outdone in generosity!  Take a step IN FAITH and make a pledge!  Then sit back and watch how God will work in your life.  We may even start building our Church as early as next year! 

We also have some great plans ahead of us in securing additional funds to bring about much needed cash to our Campaign.  They include fund raising events such as our annual golf tournament, Parish socials, etc, in addition to our continuing second collections, and new parishioner pledges. 

As I have stated before, our current facility is not really an adequate church building [in the traditional sense]. Frequently it is difficult to provide needed space for many of the parish functions we have here. With the new church, the present worship area will become an “all purpose” facility providing needed space for activities, meetings, youth functions, religious education and social hall for the parish and New Tampa community.

So PLEASE make a pledge and help us to make this a real Spiritual Center for New Tampa!  Just think how many others will be touched by your sacrifice as we try to bring more and more people to God!

Peace,
Fr. David

PS: learn more about our new church at: www.stmarktampa.org/NewChurch

As we head into summer...

Greetings to all of you!

As we head into the summer period there are a few changes in the parish staff that I would like to announce and that I hope will continue to make St. Mark a great parish in the years to come. First of all, it is with a mixture of deep sadness and joy that our Director of Faith Formation for adults and the RCIA will be retiring at the end of this month to spend more time with her family and finally get some rest from the rigors of ministry these past 20 or more years. Sandra Bonilla and I go way back to our St. Jerome days in Largo when I was a young administrator and she was in charge of the Religious Education program there. I had always admired Sandra's passion for God and when I had heard that she moved to the New Tampa area, I was thrilled that she would be coming to work with us. While here, she has done marvelous things with our program and has made it into the top programs in the Diocese. Now that she is a grandmother and a caretaker for her family, she certainly will need the added time to rest and recharge to accomplish her new duties. She will continue to stay a member of St. Mark and will use her time and talents to help in our Faith Formation program when she is able. Join me in thanking Sandra for her wonderful contributions to our great parish in the years she has been with us. God speed Sandra!

In some other good news, our Director of Faith Formation for Children, Claudia Garcia, has earned her degree from the Diocesan Lay Pastoral Institute! It has been a four year process in which she took a full load at school, took care of her children, and also worked full-time here at St. Mark. It just goes to show what intelligence and determination can get you when you put your faith in God. Congratulations Claudia!

As you know, David Larson has come on board to become our Parish Administrator and already he has done great things for our parish and our staff cohesion. David is a marvelous man and a great organizer and I am thrilled that he has become such an integral part of our parish. I look forward to even greater things to come!

Due to all the restructuring in our parish staff, I am sad to say that we will NOT be having Summer Bible School for this year. As you know, this takes a great deal of coordination and logistics to pull off and we just didn't have the personnel to make it happen with the quality of earlier years. I promise that next year we will be introducing a new summer program that I think will be a very effective tool for further education of our young. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Last but not least, I have been heartened by the amount of people coming forward to involve themselves in the life of our parish! This is truly Stewardship in action and what a parish should be when it comes to serving God and our neighbor. Why don't some of you step forward and GET INVOLVED! I have found that many of our new ministry members come out of Christ Renews His Parish which is a weekend retreat held here at the parish. I know there is a weekend for men and women coming in July so those of you who have been sitting on the fence with their relationship with God, come and experience this spiritual event. You won't regret it!

Well that is all for now. Continue to enjoy the gift that God gives us in each other.

Peace,

Fr. David

Don't Try To Do It On Your Own!

Don't Try To Do It On Your Own!

Many times when we are worried about something we make the mistake of trying to rely on ourselves and our own will power to find a way out of our problems. Will power only works for so long. Eventually we are worn down and we are back to square one. If we want REAL change we need to rely instead on God's Power. For as it says in Romans 8:32: "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

When God is on our side we can act boldly and with out fear. In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul tells us: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love".

I urge you to NOT try to fight your way though life on your own. Instead, trust in our loving God and become a part of His plan for you. Ask God to fill you with His love because, as we read in 1 John 4:18, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear".

When we let go of our fears and we truly trust in God, we become free to follow the advice of Blessed John Paul II when he said: "Do not be afraid. Do not be satisfied with mediocrity. Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

Peace,

Fr. David DeJulio

Upon This Rock...

Upon This Rock...

Personal Thoughts and Reflections on Our New Church

NOTE: This is the first in a series of personal thoughts and reflections from members of St. Mark regarding our new church. If you would like to share your thoughts with the parish, please email them, along with a photo of your family toBulletin@stmarktampa.org

Hello fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today I would like to share a personal story of one of many of God’s miracles in my life.

We all want our Church to be built and I know pledging and sacrificing is not always easy. But having the faith and trust in God is our first step.

After I had made my pledge to our capital campaign I stretched a bit as I am asking all of you to do. A few weeks had gone by and I received a call from an insurance investigator inquiring about an aunt of mine that had passed away.

I had taken care of my aunt in her later years when she had difficulty taking care of herself. My aunt never had an abundant amount of money although she did fine and lived a simple life. After she passed away I did what I could to take care of her business.

Unexpectedly I received a letter just a few days later from the insurance investigator that had called me. I opened the letter and to my surprise there was a check in the envelope, my aunt had a small insurance policy that no one knew about. The check in the envelope was for the exact amount of money that I had pledged a few weeks prior. As I looked at the check I was quiet for a moment… God does provide. Take the step and trust in our Lord. He works in marvelous ways.

May God continue to bless you and your family abundantly.

Peace,

Fr. David

“Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

- Proverbs 10:3