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
