Armed Services Dinner

Greetings to all of you!

Last Sunday night I had the honor of attending the Armed Services Dinner held at Hunters Green sponsored

by the 4th Degree of the Knights of Columbus. What a wonderful night it was as we were honored by the presence of 5 young men who were wounded in war and a retired Colonial who gave us a resounding

speech on what it means to be an "Authentic American." I'm so proud of my brother Knights for

continuing to honor these brave men and women who do so much for our country and many times at

great sacrifice! As we celebrate Memorial Day weekend, let us keep in mind those people who gave us

the ultimate gift of themselves so we can all be free. May God bless their souls! As you may have noticed, there is a new Honda Civic Hybrid car sitting in one of the Priest's parking spaces. Yes, it's mine, well at least I'm paying to drive it around. What happened was that I brought my Honda Insight in for service last

Friday and as I was minding my own business working on my homily for the weekend, this Jamaican Angel walked over to me and said that God said I needed a new car. Pffft...I said. "I only came in to have my car serviced and I don't need a new car so go away!" Well, before I knew it he put a magic spell on me

and I woke up later to find that I was driving down I75 behind the wheel of a new car! Don't ask me what happened because I have no idea. But I do know that there is this new car parked in my garage and now I'm thinking that God really wanted me to have this! I love the car so far and I didn't have to spend

anymore money for it. It MUST be God's Will! Anyway, so now you know and I simply ask that you do not approach me trying to sell the Sunshine Skyway bridge. I'm not sure the spell is completely worn off yet and I just might take you up on it.

Well, that is all for now. Let us continue to love each other as Christ has taught

us!

Peace,

Father David

Vacation

Greetings to all of you!

Last week I took a short vacation to Jacksonville to meet up with some friends and just hang out seeing the sights. I also figured that since I was so close to the famous place where they play the Players Championship at Sawgrass every year, I would get there ahead of the players and get a view of this famous golf course. As I parked my car and tried to act like a pro player as I walked the grounds to gain access to the clubhouse, the golf course police caught me wearing my golf knickers and realized that Payne Stewart was no longer alive and I must be an impostor! How dare them! Needless-to-say, I

was put in the golf jail and that was the only part of the course I was able to see. The only way I was released was when an angel appeared in my jail cell and opened up the bars to let me out. I'm so glad there are golf angels to save us all from despair. Now if only they could work on my follow through!

On Saturday after I returned from vacation, I was invited to speak at St. Jerome parish in Largo regarding our efforts at St. Mark when it comes to our practice of Stewardship. They are trying to revive the Stewardship way of life at their parish and they invited a few speakers to come in and speak about their own experience. It seems that St. Mark is getting a reputation among the diocese on what a good Stewardship parish looks like, and although we still have a long way to go, people are noticing. Anyway, the people who attended the seminar were amazed at what we do here already and they bombarded me with so many questions that I had to run for my life! However, it was a fun time to share what we have been doing with other parishes and it's also great to see the people's faces light up as they begin

to understand the true spirit of what Stewardship is all about. I appreciate all the efforts our own Stewardship Commission puts into our own parish to bring God alive in our daily lives. If you're still unsure what the Stewardship way of life is all about, I invite you to call the parish office and speak to Cyndi who will give you an earful. I guarantee that if you embrace the Stewardship way of life, your life will change dramatically. Take a step and see what happens!

In another few weeks (June 16 and 17) we will begin the Season of Ordinary Time and it will be during that time that we will be making a small change at Mass. From then on, there will be no more announcements before Mass since in a spiritual sense, we are trying to prepare people to get into the "mood" of celebrating the Sacred Mysteries, and in a practical sense that very few people really listens to them anyway. The Liturgical Commission has talked about making this move for awhile now and I think

it's a very good idea. If there are any important announcements to be made, the Priest will speak to them toward the end of Mass. I hope this doesn't add more stress to your Mass experience since change is always hard at first. I'm still trying to get used to the New Mass so I know what stress is like. Well, that is all for now. Let us continue to love each other as Christ has taught us!

Peace,

Father David