Presided over the wedding of my niece

Greetings to all of you!

As you read this I will have presided over the wedding of my niece Amanda, who is the daughter of my twin brother Frank and his wife, Terri. Moments like these always reaffirm my decision to go into the priesthood and thus be privileged to be a special part in important family life events. We have family coming in from all over to be here and it portends to be a fun event since it has been awhile since I've seen them. The wedding will be in a Catholic Church in Ybor City so I just hope nobody from the family ends up in the slammer after it's all over!

This week we also welcome Fr. Diego who will be working part-time for us mostly with the Spanish ministry. Fr. Diego comes to us from Our Lady of the Rosary and he will be splitting his time between both parishes. He will be here at St. Mark on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and we are thrilled to have him with us! When you see him, give Father a warm St. Mark welcome.

In addition it seems the Holy Spirit is working over time here lately. Not only have we been given permission to break ground and welcomed a new priest, we also have been blessed with individuals who are contemplating the Priesthood and Religious life. Next week, some of them will be traveling to St. John Vianney Seminary in Miami to spend a weekend seeing what it's all about. Please continue to pray for them and for all those who are being called to a religious vocation. God is indeed working here at St. Mark and I hope one day in the near future to have their First Mass here in the new Church!

Well, that is all for now. May God continue to bless the people of St. Mark parish!

Peace

Fr. David

A Miraculous Week

Greetings to all of you!

What a miraculous week it has been for us at St. Mark! As you know, we have been cleared by the Diocese to break ground on our new Church and I am still in a daze. The people of our parish have stepped in with great generosity to make this happen and I am so grateful to you and to God for this wonderful grace! I pray for your continued support during this process and I look forward to the day when this Church will be a reality. It just goes to show how persistence in prayer and a true focus on doing God's work will make this happen. Never give up!

It looks like Eric the Lion doesn't want to get up on the bell tower platform. I think he's thrilled with all the attention he has gotten down below and doesn't want to leave! However, he may not get his wish and I hope soon he will be lifted so he can watch over New Tampa a little better. It seems the powers that be wish to make sure of his security up there and ours down below, so keep watching!

Last week I attended a workshop called "Fortunate Families" in which the topic of discussion dealt with parents who have a of Gay, Lesbian, bisexual, or transgenderd child. I have to say how eye opening it was for me to see how parents deal with issues that affect those so closest to them. I was so impressed by the honesty of these parents and how they had to finally come to acceptance although it wasn't an easy path. There was a quote that struck me, "When children finally come out of the closet, many parents go in." In light of the words of Pope Francis that we should not judge, I thought the day was an uplifting experience for those attending and those children and parents need our prayers and acceptance. If anyone needs more information on this workshop, feel free to email or call me at the office.

Well that is all for now. May God continue to bless St. Mark and the wonderful people who make it all happen!

Peace,

Fr. David

Lots happening at St. Mark

Greetings to all of you!

Lots of things have been happening lately at St. Mark which has kept me quite busy! A few weeks ago the SMARTS group put together a fundraiser for our Youth Ministry to help some of our youth attend the National Youth Convention held every two years. This year it is in Indianapolis and thousands of Catholic youth throughout the country gather together to praise God for all His blessings. I will be attending with them this year and I'm looking so forward to this moving event. It's always amazing to see all these young men and women on fire for God. It truly is a life changing moment for many of them! I'm also thrilled that the "more experienced" members of our parish are willing to help out our youth. It's a great testament of our connectedness in Christ.

Last week was the Annual Convocation for Priests of our Diocese held at the Bethany Center in Lutz. This year Catholic Relief Services put on an impressive presentation on all that CRS does for the world in terms of aid to the most needy. We, as Catholics, continue to lead the world in providing for the needy as the Gospel demands. Catholic Social teaching is also the impetus behind this great organization and I hope every Catholic educates themselves on the beauty of this teaching so we can bring people to Christ.

We also celebrated Oktoberfest last Saturday night and it turned out to be a great night for dining and dancing. I even saw some "break-dancing" going on as I looked on at the dance floor! The brats were also very good and I'd like to thank the Knights for another outstanding job! I just hope next year they can keep me away from the funnel cake booth!

Well, that is all for now. It looks like this football season will be a downer since the Bucs and Giants have yet to win a game. Maybe I need to perform a blessing for them to get rid of all the evil spirits! A fall trip to NY would also be a good thing too!

Peace,

　
Fr. David