From the Pastor’s Desk:

Why do we go to Church? Why do we give money in the collection basket? Why did I choose to be a priest, giving up the choice to have a family? The answers to these questions are found in Jesus and what He told the Apostles and Disciples as He ascended, “Go and make disciples.”

The Church exists to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ. Anything we do that does not fit into that purpose is outside our mission and is a waste of time and money. If people are in a relationship with Jesus, the church’s mission is to help them grow closer to Him. If people do not know Jesus or have grown away from Him, it is the Church’s mission to introduce or reintroduce them to Jesus Christ. For people who already are on the discipleship path, it means helping them to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Acts of the Apostles describes the church as a movement that “turned the world upside down.” The Church exists to be a movement establishing the kingdom of God in people’s minds and hearts and to manifest itself concretely in our world. To be a movement, the church must move, never to be satisfied. When we think of church we so often think of buildings, but church is the people of God. St. Agnes Cathedral can be destroyed in a tornado, but unless every single member of parish was inside and were killed, the church of St. Agnes would continue. Since we are the church, the people of God, it means that the people have to move into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

When we read the Gospel, we find people coming to Jesus because they wanted something from Him: they came to hear him speak, they came to be healed, and they came because family or friends needed his help. They were simply consumers, focused on their needs. Even the apostles didn’t follow Jesus because they looked to him or believed in his mission. He was a rabbi who taught with authority and they felt good about themselves and he was popular. They were focused on being on Jesus’s left and right when he was made king. Even at the Last Supper the Apostles were arguing about who was the greatest.

Today with the virus rampaging through our country the Church’s mission is much harder to live out. Here at St. Agnes we are working in the school as well as in the church to be as safe as possible with the wearing of masks as well as the sanitizing. We are also trying to the best of our abilities to meet the sacramental needs of the people in these uncertain times. Our parishes exist to help move people to develop their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, taking ownership of their own faith, and then, out of that relationship, taking ownership of the mission of the church to go and make disciples. And all of this is strengthened by uniting around the Eucharistic table on Sundays and being fed with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Let us keep in prayer all those suffering from COVID-19.

ADVENT ACTIVITY KIT

Due to COVID 19 and being unable to meet as a parish for Advent Fair Activities or Breakfast With Santa etc, The Faith Formation program of St. Agnes Cathedral is offering an Advent Kit for families of