Olympics in London

Greetings to all of you!

This weekend was the start of the Olympics in London. Held every four years in which people from all around the world compete to win medals, but most of all, give honor and glory to their respective countries for a job well done. After the Olympics, some of the winners go on to do TV commercials and get paid handsomely in promoting products for corporations etc. Yet, in the Diocese of St. Petersburg, every year there are people who are recognized from every parish who have performed outstanding feats all in the name of God. Although they won't be paid handsomely in this life, they are at least recognized by the Bishop and awarded the St. Jude Medal for outstanding Stewardship to their respective parishes. This year the winner of this prestigious award goes to Mary Strickland! If any of you know Mary, she has been working tirelessly with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) for some years now and has helped in the spiritual journey of countless people looking to come into the Catholic Faith. We congratulate Mary and we thank her for being such a wonderful disciple of Christ! Although the medal will be bronze, it is GOLD to us!
After watching the British Open last week, my heart went out for one of my favorite golfers, Adam Scott, for losing in the final holes to Ernie Els. It must be a devastating experience to lose a major championship as that one with only a few holes to play and I'm sure he must have been crushed. But on the other hand, being good enough to BE at that moment in history means everything! How many of us fear putting ourselves in any position that might fail? That's not what a true Christian is all about. Jesus came to give us life and to live that life to the fullest, and yet, so many times we fear failure so we don't put ourselves in a position to even try. So congratulations to Ernie Els, but an even bigger "atta boy" goes Adam Scott!
Well, that is all for now. Continue to embrace the challenge that life brings, and know despite it all, that God smiles not on the timid, but the strong!

Peace,
Father David

Parish (CRHP) Retreat

July 16, 2012

Greetings to all of you!
This weekend the Men's Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) retreat is going on here at St. Mark as many of us are reading this column. It always amazes me how so many men's lives are changed by this experience as the Holy Spirit begins to work during this weekend. I've seen marriages strengthened, lives turning around, priorities changing, among many other rich blessings. This is a weekend that recharges our batteries and puts us on the path to holiness. However, it's not magic! Many still have to be open to the Spirit and some times much sacrifice needs to be made. Yet, for those who take in this experience, great things begin to happen in your life. I know for me, it was CRHP that changed my life and led me eventually to seek the Priesthood. So let us pray for these brave men and may their hearts be changed! For the ladies, your weekend starts in two weeks. I'm not sure if there are any open spaces left for this retreat, but it will be repeated again in February. Watch the bulletin for details.
These past few months our staff has been undergoing some strategic planning workshops assisted by Alan Caron & Associates to better serve our parish family. With the input from our staff, Alan has put together some great ideas and strategies to make St. Mark parish one of the best in the country. We are so blessed to have Alan as part of our parish family and he is offering his services free of charge as part of his stewardship to God and our parish community. We all thank Alan for his wonderful gifts and helping us to achieve something that will propel St. Mark to even greater heights in the future! God has so blessed us with so many fine people here at our parish and Alan is one of them. Thank you Alan!
Well that is all for now. I hope you all are enjoying the hot and rainy summer so far and the kids are still loving the fact that there is no school! Anyway, continue to treat each other with kindness and love.
Peace,
　
　
　
Father David

LPMI

Greetings to all of you!

As some of you may know, the Diocese of St. Petersburg has been offering courses in the Lay Pastoral Ministry Institute on Liturgy, Scripture, Morality, etc during these past 12 years or so.  We at St. Mark have had a number of graduates from this institute who are now equipped to work in Parish Ministry and have been doing a great job for the Church of our Diocese. We have recently had two graduates, Noel and Nellie Negron whose ceremony took place a few weeks ago and are now full-fledged Lay Pastoral Ministers.  Another one of our parish family, Mary Strickland, is currently going through the program and has achieved high marks already!  We should all be so proud of these great people who take the time out of their busy schedules to deepen their relationship with Our Lord and I am so happy that many from St. Mark have participated in all or at least some of this training. The Church is VIBRANT and it bodes well for our future!

I'm also pleased to see that many of our parish family have been coming to Church consistently during these hot summer months!  Usually attendance trails off during the summer due to vacations and other activities but it doesn't seem to be happening here at St. Mark.  I'm sure that a lot of it has to do with the deepening relationship with Our Lord among our parish family and the joy that comes with knowing God in a more intimate way!  It just goes to show how deeply blessed we are here at St. Mark with so many devoted members who are on fire with God's love.  Now if only someone could turn down the temperature so I can get a round of golf in!  

Well, that is all for now!  May the Good Lord continue to shine His face upon you and give you His peace!

 Peace,

Fr. David

Summer School for Religion

Greetings to all of you!

I just finished watching the golf tournament at Congressional C.C. in which Tiger Woods won yet another tournament and I found myself pulling for him despite the fact that his personal life has been in chaos and it seems he's really not a nice person overall.  I'm not sure what it is but despite his personal side, Tiger Woods is good for golf.  Ratings sky rocket whenever he's playing and even more so when he is in contention.  Maybe we keep hoping that as his career is getting back on track, that somehow his conversion process would be also.  I also wonder if God sits up there in Heaven and hopes the same thing for us?  It is just amazing to me how somewhere deep down, we are all in this together and as Christians, we hope for the best in everyone.  Oh well, enough philosophizing for now!  I'm heading to the kitchen for a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

Last Friday we finished our first "Summer School for Religion" in which some sixth, seventh, and eighth graders took a two week intensive course in religious education.  It was met with extreme enthusiasm among the parents and participants and we look forward to continuing this for next year.  The junior high students attended Mass everyday during those two weeks and learned a great deal about God and how He fits into our daily lives.  We were blessed with great teachers and I would like to thank Claudia Garcia and her staff for putting together such an outstanding program. For further information for next year, call Claudia or one of her staff at the Faith Formation office.   

As some of you may well know, we will be "kick-starting" our Capital Campaign for our new Church sometime in the next few months.  We have an excellent group of individuals who are working hard to present new options in helping to build our future Church in a short time.  We finally have received the renderings for our new Church and it is absolutely breathtaking!  So keep watching the bulletin and website for information on how we are going to proceed.  Maybe this time next year we can break ground?  It will all be up to you!

Well that is all for now.  May God continue to bless your commitment to His Glory!

Peace,

Fr. David