Entries for November 2024

Dear Parishioners:

This Sunday we begin a new Liturgical year (Year C) with the season of Advent. We have experienced separation and worry because of the Pandemic but also great hope and great acts of care. This new liturgical year begins with new colors, new readings and different sights and sounds. O Come, O Come Emmanuel is our cry.

Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming. It is a season of preparation not only for Christ’s birth but also for the final coming of our Lord.

This season has much the same feeling as a woman who awaits the birth of her child with all the anticipation, wonder, and joy as she awaits this gift of life. We too as Christians use this season to help us in our awaiting the coming of our Lord.

One focal point for the Advent season is the Advent Wreath. The wreath dates back to ancient celebrations of the winter solstice, that time of year when the sun reaches its southernmost point in the heavens and the days are the darkest and gloomiest. Because the ancients longed for the return of the sun’s light and life, they stopped all usual activity, sacrificed their wagon wheels, and hung them up, festooned with lights and greens in their celebration halls. There they awaited the return of the sun-god, thinking of the warmth and light he brought. Celebrations culminated in the “nativity” of the sun -–the turning point of the year.

As Christians, we use the same meaningful custom to anticipate the feast of light and life – the Nativity of the Savior. We illumine one light on the wreath for each Sunday in Advent. We remember the darkness of Adam’s sin and watch the growing hope and light as the prophets and the Virgin Mary help us to prepare for His saving birth.

Let this season of Advent not get lost in the hustle and bustle of this holiday season. Let Advent be a time of hope and joyful anticipation. To help prepare for Christmas this Advent the sacrament of reconciliation will be available Monday, December 16 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Again, let our cry be O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

Advent Blessings!

Msgr. John Shamleffer

The parish office is closed Wednesday through Friday and will reopen Monday, December 2.

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Dear Parishioners:

While the passing of Amendment 3, by a little over 50% of the voters, presents a challenge for all, it does not change the Church’s long held position on the dignity of all life. Given the scientific fact that a human life begins at conception, the only moral norm needed to understand the Church's opposition to abortion is the principle that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person. This is the foundation for the Church's social doctrine, including its teachings on war, the use of capital punishment, euthanasia, health care, poverty and immigration.

Conversely, to claim that some live human beings do not deserve respect or should not be treated as persons (based on changeable factors such as age, condition, location, or lack of mental or physical abilities) is to deny the very idea of inherent human rights. Such a claim undermines respect for the lives of many vulnerable people before and after birth.

The concept of human dignity is a strong theme throughout the social documents of the Catholic Church, and it is this theme that serves as a starting point for the Church's commitment to the protection of life. The universal dignity of all human persons and peoples is, in its broadest sense, the fundamental principle that underlies everything the church teaching has to say about human lives and their value.

Obviously, the reverence, the respect of human life is a dominant concern, but added to that umbrella of respect for human life must also cover issues such as immigration, imprisonment and capital punishment, poverty, racism and depression among young people.

That is why we are a Church of life from conception to natural death. With this in mind then we must do all we can to support women and men who find themselves in difficult situations. We must work for an end to abortions and at the same time work to support single mothers, those who find themselves in poverty, those without medical care, our immigrants. We must work for an end to executions (our country has the means to project our citizens through incarceration).

At the same time, it said, the Church must call for policies that assist women and their children in need, while also continuing to help mothers through local pregnancy help centers and a nationwide, parish-based initiative, Walking with Moms in Need, the statement continued. We must likewise continue to extend the hand of compassion to all who are suffering from participation in abortion, through the Church’s abortion healing ministries like Project Rachel Ministry.

Lastly, our parish is in need of a robust Pro-Life group of men and women working to support and educate our parish community in all issues surrounding life. I will be reaching out to see if we can establish this group. Thank you to all who voted and participated in our election and thank you to all who support life in all of its myriads of forms.

God Bless!

Msgr John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

The month of November is a time of prayer, remembrance and thanksgiving for our God and all the blessings he has sent into our lives.

In The Practice of the Presence of God written by Brother Lawrence, he presents a simple but powerful concept that God is always there. Right beside us. Every day, all day. Every night, all night. Never leaving us. Never turning away from us, even when, He ought to. Even when we behave in a manner so completely unlovable, so callously hurtful towards He who is love, still He never leaves our side and never loves us less.

I believe we oftentimes think of God in terms of someone we have to make a special point to call, like a long-distance friend, of sorts. It's far too easy to not be mindful of His presence and to find ourselves acting, speaking or thinking in ways that are very contrary to His.

With our minds and our attention being pulled in a thousand different directions in today's modern world, it is harder than ever to stay focused; especially to stay focused on what is ultimately the most important thing...God. Did I pay the electric bill? I cannot forget to stop by the grocery store. I have to get the kids off to school. I am afraid I will not meet that deadline at work. Am I going to be able to make the mortgage payment this month? Where are my keys? The phone is ringing again. Someone is at the door. I'm running late for my doctor's appointment.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

We need quiet time and when we feel that we do not have time for quiet time, which is when we need quiet time the most. We must make time in our day for God. We need to build our day around God, rather than fitting God into our day.

Were we to be more mindful of the reality that His presence is one thing that we can always count on, we would have a much easier (and much happier) time, living out our days on this earth, I do believe.

God Bless,

Msgr. John Shamleffer

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Dear Parishioners:

As our Elections take place this week, Catholics are called to participate in promoting the common good and, as far as possible, to take an active part in public life. Indeed, “by fulfilling their civic duties, guided by a Christian conscience, in conformity with its values, the lay faithful exercise their proper task of infusing the temporal order with Christian values.” (Gaudium et Spes, #36)

“The consequence of this fundamental teaching of the Second Vatican Council is that the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in public life.” (Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, #1)

To fulfill this calling, Catholics must be informed, active, and responsible participants in the political process. They must be knowledgeable about the political process and have a grasp of the moral dimensions of issues facing society. To do so, they need to understand the role of government in society, to be aware of their political rights as citizens, and to know how to influence public policy so that they may work within the political structure to effect change. They need to know about current social issues, to understand the Church’s teachings about their moral dimensions, to form their consciences in light of their faith, and to act out of their moral convictions.

There is a temptation to disengage, in this election, because the situation is such a mess. But let us name that for what it is: a temptation to despair. We are called to be a people of hope, and hope expresses itself in continued engagement. So, let us remember that the day after the election, Jesus will still be Lord. People will still need to hear the Good News of his saving love. Each of us will be called to take up our cross and follow Him, serving others and suffering for our convictions. That is how our faith has shaped culture in the past; that is how our faith will shape the culture in the future. In that sense, our mandate will not have changed, no matter the outcome of this election.  May the good Lord bless and guide you as you fulfill your civic duty to vote. (See material at church entrances and  the website archstl.org for more reflective material on the election, especially on prop. 3).

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Dear Parishioners:

As our Elections take place this week, Catholics are called to participate in promoting the common good and, as far as possible, to take an active part in public life. Indeed, “by fulfilling their civic duties, guided by a Christian conscience, in conformity with its values, the lay faithful exercise their proper task of infusing the temporal order with Christian values.” (Gaudium et Spes, #36)

“The consequence of this fundamental teaching of the Second Vatican Council is that the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in public life.” (Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, #1)

To fulfill this calling, Catholics must be informed, active, and responsible participants in the political process. They must be knowledgeable about the political process and have a grasp of the moral dimensions of issues facing society. To do so, they need to understand the role of government in society, to be aware of their political rights as citizens, and to know how to influence public policy so that they may work within the political structure to effect change. They need to know about current social issues, to understand the Church’s teachings about their moral dimensions, to form their consciences in light of their faith, and to act out of their moral convictions.

There is a temptation to disengage, in this election, because the situation is such a mess. But let us name that for what it is: a temptation to despair. We are called to be a people of hope, and hope expresses itself in continued engagement. So, let us remember that the day after the election, Jesus will still be Lord. People will still need to hear the Good News of his saving love. Each of us will be called to take up our cross and follow Him, serving others and suffering for our convictions. That is how our faith has shaped culture in the past; that is how our faith will shape the culture in the future. In that sense, our mandate will not have changed, no matter the outcome of this election.  May the good Lord bless and guide you as you fulfill your civic duty to vote. (See material at church entrances and  the website archstl.org for more reflective material on the election, especially on prop. 3).

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