Bell Tower

Greetings to all of you!

Every day as I pass the bell tower, I continue to be more and more excited as the finishing touches are administered to this beautiful edifice! As you have seen, the bells await in our Worship space along our main aisle to finally find its resting place when the tower is completed. I hope you were able to see some of the video from the blessing and naming of the bells held a few short weeks ago on our website. It was an extraordinary night and one that I will always treasure!

 

As you read this we will have celebrated Latin Night this past Friday put on by members of our Latin community. They sure know how to throw a party as the dining and dancing charged up our New Tampa community! I would like to thank all those who coordinated and planned this successful event and all those who participated. All proceeds went to our building fund as we move closer and closer to building this great church. 

Next week we welcome Bishop Lynch who will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation to over 90 young men and women at the 5:30 pm Sunday Mass. This is always an exciting event for our parish when the Bishop comes, but I have to warn all of you who normally go to that mass that it will be a long one! You might want to plan accordingly. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Well, that is all for now, May God bless all of you on this "Birthday of the Church".

Peace,

Fr. David

Annual Tea Party

Greetings to all of you!
It seems April is just rolling along so quickly and before you know it May is here! Forget about April showers bringing May flowers because due !our crazy up and down climate here in Florida, I don't think the flowers know what time of the year it is! I'm just going to enjoy the last few weeks of cool weather before the hot summer comes. Where are my shorts????

Last week I attended the Annual Tea Party hosted by the Columbiettes and once again they outdid themselves! It's always a fun and happy time and I am so impressed by all the hard work these ladies put into this event. Each table was beautifully decorated in a different way and for a non-tea drinker, the tea was magnificent. I half expected Queen Elizabeth to make an appearance with her exotic hat but she must have forgotten. I'm also thrilled that the ladies decided to donate all of the proceeds from the Tea Party to the building fund! Thank you ladies!

As I'm writing this, the Masters is on TV and it looks like it's going down to the wire. I've been rooting for Angel Cabrerra from Argentina since we now have a Pope from there, we may as well have a Masters Champion from there too! I wonder if the Pope plays golf? Anyway, it's looking like a cliff hanger and I will know soon.

As you know we will be having the ancient rite of the Blessing of the Bells on Thursday, April 25th. It truly will be an historic moment in our Church history and it should prove to be a moving ceremony. Hope you can make it!

Well that is all for now. I hope you haven't eaten all your chocolate bunnies from Easter Sunday already!

Peace,

Fr. David

Easter Sunday

Greetings to all of you!
 

As I write this we are celebrating the Second Sunday of Easter so I wish to tell you a little about Easter Sunday! I have to say that I have never experienced crowds of this magnitude here at St. Mark in the ten years that I have been Pastor. I'm sure it was a combination of things that made this such a joyful Easter, first, especially, with the naming of a new Pope called Francis. Although I enjoy the mystery and majesty of the office of Pope, it can bring with it a feeling of stiffness and a lack of intimacy. Pope Francis seems to be a breath of fresh air to our Church at a time when I think it needs it, not that it's better, it is just different. Maybe that's what people are feeling all around the world. Secondly I also like to think that St. Mark is making a difference in our community with it's moving liturgies and warm hospitality. With a new Church we would be able to accommodate more people by having multiple Masses at the same time on Easter and Christmas. Just think if at least half of those who come during these Holy Seasons would begin to come every Sunday! New Tampa would be on fire for Christ and what a change it would be not only for our area, but all those surrounding us. We still have a lot of work to do and I pray that it will be accomplished according to God's Will.

Last Saturday I heard confessions and said Mass for the young men on retreat at Bethany Center who will be making their Confirmation in the near future. I'm always impressed by their willingness to allow God into their every day life and I was impressed by their desire to get closer to Him. Our Youth Minister, MaryAnn Weigel does an excellent job motivating these young men and women and I'm especially impressed by the adults who also attend the retreat as helpers. They bring so much to these young people and they get so much back in return. 

Hope you will be able to join us for the Blessing and Naming of the Bells on Thursday, April 25th at 7:30 p.m. This is a very ancient Rite which will be celebrated in the context of Evening Prayer. It promises to be a beautiful ceremony so mark your calendars and participate in this moment of history for St. Mark Church!

Well, that is all for now. May this Easter Season be one of joy for all of us as we celebrate our Redemption!

 

Peace,
　
　

Fr. David

Happy Easter

Greetings to all of you!
Happy Easter! What an amazing week it has been leading up to this great day in the Church Year. It all began with the crowds on Palm Sunday welcoming Christ into Jerusalem, the celebration of the Lord's Supper on Friday, the Crucifixion on Good Friday, to finally the Great Easter Vigil. The Catholic Church does these Rites so well as we enter into those last days of Christ on earth as if we are actually there! What a special blessing it was for all those who attended and I pray that more and more will come to Christ because of it. I would like to thank all the Priests, Deacons, Altar Servers, Music ministers, Church decorators, liturgy commission, and countless others who made these services go so beautifully. Many don't realize what goes into the planning and preparation for these events and without all of you, we wouldn't have had such a great experience. My many thanks to all of you!

It seems that this year our Mission was once again a great success. Over 600 people came each of the three days to hear him speak and many went away with a great experience. His humor was especially appreciated and his message was right on track. It was a good preparation to Holy Week!
As you may have noticed, the Bell Tower is in the midst of being constructed and we are all so very excited to eventually hear the bells in action! We are hoping to bless and name the bells in the near future so look for the date in the bulletin and/or email blast when the time comes. I hope many of you will be able to attend. 

Last but not least, I wish to thank all of you for your prayers and best wishes on my birthday. Even though it was over a week ago, I'm still eating birthday cake! My waist thanks you!

Well, that is all for now. May God continue to bless you in this glorious season.

Peace,
　

　
Fr. David

Lenten retreat, Feast of St Patrick, Yankee training & Cardinals in Conclave

Greetings to all of you!

 

This week we are privileged to have Fr. Michael Sullivan with us to do our annual Lenten retreat.  He will be preaching at all the Masses this weekend and the retreat will begin on Monday and run through Wednesday night!  Hope all of you will be able to attend at least one, or even better, all of the Mission program.  Make this Lenten experience be a life changing one for you!

 

As you all well know, we celebrate the Feast of St. Patrick this weekend and I'm sure all our Irish brothers and sisters will be out wearing the green in full force!  Even those of us who aren't Irish will also fill our bellies with green beer and corned beef and cabbage.  I'm so glad it doesn't fall on a Friday this year thus eliminating all those phone calls about a dispensation!  My hand for blessings and dispensations can get tired!

 

I did get a chance to take in a Yankee spring training game this week which was the first time in over 6 years I've been to a game.  It was one of those beautiful Florida days when all the northerners get burned by the sunshine as they eat their popcorn and cracker jacks.  I even tried to get Yankee manager Joe Gerardi's attention by saying a few words in Italian to him but he didn't seem to hear what I was saying.  Maybe he doesn't speak the language.  Anyway, it was nice to get out and see a live game for once and get out with the guys.  

 

As of this writing, I haven't heard from the Cardinals in the Conclave upon whether I will be called to Rome or not but It seems they most likely are thinking of another guy.  Maybe we will have a Pope by the time you read this and we can rejoice in the selection.  It's going to be hard not saying Benedict at Mass but I'm sure we will get it down after a few months practice.

 

Well, that is all for now.  May God continue to bless your Lenten experience.

 

Peace,

Fr. David

Update on Election of new Pope

Greetings to all of you!

 

As you read this, the Cardinals are beginning to gather in the Vatican to elect a new Pope and what an exciting time for the Church as the Holy Spirit begins to discern who the next man shall be.  Will he be Italian? European? African? South American? North American? Asian?  I think it's anybody's guess but one thing is certain, our God is a God of surprises so who ever it is, he will be the right person for the times.  We now say goodbye and a multitude of thanks to Benedict XVI for leading our great Church these past eight years.  It was a huge responsibility for this holy and shy intellectual and I'm sure he will rest well in retirement.  May God be with him!  On a side note, I did send my measurements over to Rome just in case.  My mother always told me that I would be Pope someday and I didn't want to disappoint her by not trying!  

 

I've been so impressed by our Elect and Candidates as they get closer and closer to Full Communion in the Catholic Church.  We celebrated the Rite of Election with Bishop Lynch two weeks ago and I'm still on cloud nine with admiration as these individuals shook the hand of the Bishop and now they more determined than ever to become Catholic. We will be celebrating the Scrutinies with the Elect in the next few weeks which is an ancient rite of spiritual self cleansing as they look forward to baptism.  Continue your prayers for them!

 

This week on Thursday, March 7th, every parish in the Diocese will be offering the Rite of Reconciliation from 5 pm to 8 pm at their local parishes. So where ever you are in the Diocese during that time, you will have the opportunity for Confession.  Here at St. Mark we will have 4 priests available so take advantage of this graced opportunity.  

 

Well, that is all for now.  I pray that Lent continues to be a life changing event in your life!

 

Peace,

Fr. David 

Lent, Golf Tournament & 1st Fish Fry

Greetings to all of you!

 

I hope Lent is going well for you thus far and I pray that you are not weakening under the burden of your promises during this most Holy time of year!  I realize it's not easy but with the strength of God we can do all these that seem impossible.  As you know, our golf tournament was a huge success once again this year as over 125 golfers teed it up at Hunters Green C.C. and balls were flying everywhere!  On the 7th hole, all the foursomes challenged me to a duel for closest to the pin and I came away with a 75% success rate!  Little did they know that I was using a "rigged" ball sprinkled with Holy Water but I needed the extra help!  Also, I had a back up plan as their hands got a little slippery as they ate an abundance of Italian sausage and peppers and drank the nectar of the gods before hitting the ball on my hole.  Anyway, we all had a great time and I'd like to thank Chairman, Mike Eggeling,  committee members Tom Bosso, Joe Cangi, and Cyndi letzeisen, along with many great stewards who came out to help us during the event.  We netted over $18,000 for a building fund which will really help us!  

 

Last Friday saw the start of our annual tradition here at St. Mark: The Lenten Fish Fry once again sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.  Over 500 dinners were sold which was a great opening night and we look forward to even more as Lent progresses.  This coming Friday on March 1st, Spirit FM will be here to judge our fish fry along with judging all the fish fries throughout the Diocese, so come on out especially that night and make St. Mark proud!  There will be great Christian music and most likely some giveaways so come on down!  I've always said our Knights are second to none when it comes to making St. Mark a great parish. Let's show them a lot of support!

 

As I write this, I will be meeting with the Bishop once again this week to determine if we will be allowed to break ground on our new Church.  Many of you have been praying very hard and I hope to make whatever announcement I can during this weekend's Mass.  Maybe I'll bring some nice Italian Lasagna to him and soften him up a bit.  

 

Well, that is all for now.  May this Lent continue to be a transforming experience in your life!

 

Peace,

Fr. David