Dear St. Gabriel Parishioners:
- HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY … To all Mothers, we give thanks to God for YOU, who have been a true Gift from God and a Blessing to us as sons and daughters. To all Mothers who have gone before us, our prayer this day and always is that God’s promise of Eternal Life be granted to all of you as we confidently ask in continue celebrating Easter Season.
Borrow the Blessing from the Bible, we ask God to Bless ALL of our Mothers: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:22-26).
- In this Sixth Sunday of Easter, the Gospel text from John 15:15, we hear the powerful words: "No longer do I call you servants ... but I have called you friends." We are not useless servants but friends! The Lord calls us friends; he makes us his friends; he gives us his friendship. WHAT A TRUE FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.
In our modern day, the great popularity of online social media – friendship online!
We must carefully ask several questions: What is it doing for us?
These electronic tools help to bring people together and improve social networks. For example: homebound, infirm, chronically ill and elderly people can connect with a community of others in the same situation and new bonds of solidarity are born. Even in the Coronavirus time, it’s been useful socially and spiritually.
But there are also related questions: What is it doing to us? What is it doing to our sense of social boundaries? To our sense of individuality? To our friendships?
Friendship in these virtual spaces is quite different from real time friendship. Friendship is a relationship that involves the sharing of mutual interests, reciprocity, trust, and the revelation of intimate details over time and within specific contexts. True friendship depends on mutual revelations, and can only flourish within the boundaries of privacy and modesty.
On social networking sites, however, there is a concept of public friendship which is not the friendship spoken of by Jesus in the Gospel. We expose everything, but are we feeling anything? Such friendships, or rather acquaintances, are quite different desired and experienced by Jesus with his disciples.
- Thank you for families who have turn in your ACA pledges, please join with your fellow parishioners who have participated in the Annual Catholic Appeal Campaign 2021. The Annual Catholic Appeal supports over 60 different ministries in the Archdiocese. Individually we cannot respond to all the legitimate needs of the people of God in the Archdiocese; but TOGETHER, we will be able to accomplish the need for all people of God. It’s a MISSION POSSIBLE with your help. Please the check the bulletin for details.
- An “enthusiastic word of joy” like the Apostles from the Gospel in this Easter Season: “We have seen the Lord; as they told the apostle Thomas”. Different group of children who are saying to our faith community at St. Gabriel on Saturday and Sunday Masses: “WE have sat at the table and share the Body and Blood of Christ – in our First Holy Communion”.
Congratulation to all the children who have received Eucharist – “encountered the Risen Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist” this weekend.
6:30 PM Saturday: Sophie Uniszkiewicz, Nathan Olson
11:00 AM Sunday: Julia Cusanelli, Ian Joule
Also, a word of thanks to all the catechists, parents and Religious Education Staff who have shared their faith to these children and help them to continue to be opened to receive the Eucharistic nourishment from the Lord.
- A special word of thank to all parishioners who were presence in-person at the May Crowing (Mary and Jesus in her arm), the “parking lot Rosary”, so to speak and all parishioners who joined us through livestream, in honor of our Blessed Mother. Also, the Rosary will be praying before all Masses in the month of May.
May the Joy and Blessing of the Easter Season continue to help us actively involved in the Ministry of Jesus in our Church’s today.
Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Phuong Hoang