Spirit of the Eagle – November 2017
Spiritual Tidbits for November from Father Tim
As November arrives we finish up the long Trinity Season. Holy Days begin, another Saint John Annual Meeting is scheduled, and Advent is just around the corner. November is the month of Thanksgiving and we at Saint John the Evangelist have much to be thankful for. We go about our busy days and take so much for granted. Simple things like clean water. How about hot water on demand? Complicated things like communication devices we use daily. How about calling a loved one anywhere in the world? What about a comfortable home or a convenient church to have fellowship with family? We do have much to be thankful for. And without doubt most, if we truly stop to think about it, can too easily be taken for granted. The Holy Bible says much about the proper giving of thanks. Saint Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians 5:18 sums it all up pretty well: In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Let us take extra time this November to give thanks for literally everything, both our blessings and even our crosses. We should immediately give thanks for the salvation offered by Jesus the Christ, Son of God. Where would we be without Him? We should give thanks for each other because each other is where we are to look for the life of Christ. I give thanks here, today, for all of you. May this November be a month of thanksgivings for which all of us will remember it to be the will of God in Christ Jesus. ~ Father Tim
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Briefly, therefore, where the soul hath the full measure and compliment of happiness, where the boundless appetite of that spirit remains [so] completely satisfied that it can neither desire addition nor alteration — that, I think, is truly heaven. ~ Sir Thomas Browne, Religio Medici
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Nine Lessons and Carols
Please come join in the holiday festival spirit at St. John’s Lessons and Carols! We will gather at 4:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, the 16th of December, read the nine Christmas lessons and sing carols. There will not be a Mass, but we will have some guest choristers, some parish lay readers (who may want to dedicate their portion of reading to the memory of a loved one), and plenty of hand candles to light up during our final carol. Afterwards we will meet in the parish hall for a meal and joyful festivities! This is a great opportunity to introduce friends, family, and neighbors to our church family!!!
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November Spirituality Class
Please join us after Holy Mass on the 19th of November as we continue our discussion on Prayer and our Prayer Life. This month we will cover Rules for the Practice of Prayer. “Prayer, says Evelyn Underhill, will include many different kinds of spiritual work; and also—what is too often forgotten—the priceless gift of spiritual rest. It will include many kinds of intercourse with Reality—adoration, petition, meditation, contemplation—and all the shades and varieties of these which religious writers have named and classified.” Have you thought about your own prayer life lately? Would you enjoy learning ways to deepen your prayer life? If so please come to the class and bring a friend!
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And that which is most secret is most dangerous. It is so also here in the societies of men, in states and commonwealths. Twenty rebellious drums make not so dangerous a noise as a few whisperers and secret plotters in corners. The cannon doth not so much hurt against a wall, as a mine under the wall; nor a thousand enemies that threaten, so much as a few that take an oath to say nothing. God knew many heavy sins of the people, in the wilderness and after, but still He charges them with that one, with murmuring, murmuring in their hearts, secret disobedience’s, secret repugnance’s against His declared will; and these are the most deadly, the most pernicious. ~ John Donne, Devotions
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Psalm-Children
Thank you to everyone who participated in the All Hallow’s Eve/All Saints’ Day Party. This month the children will finish our lessons on Holy People of God with a lesson on Mary, Mother of God on November 5th. During the parish meeting, the children will have the opportunity to make cards for our parish shut- ins. November 19th we will discuss the liturgical year with a special focus on Advent. There will be no class November 26th, which is the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Please feel free to write down or e-mail me with intentions for our Prayer Cross. We invite all children ages 2-12 to join us as we learn through lessons, activities, and fellowship. ~ Mary Matias Akhtar
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Thus worketh love outward in a soul, opening the ghostly [spiritual] eyes into beholding Jhesu by inspiration of special grace . . . . This opening of the ghostly eyes is that lighty murkness and rich nought that I spake of before, and it may be called: Purity of spirit and ghostly rest, inward stillness and peace of conscience, highness of thought and onlyness of soul, a lively feeling of grace and privity of heart, the waking of sleep of the spouse and tasting of heavenly savour, burning in love and shining in light, entry of contemplation and reforming in feeling. ~ Walter Hilton, The Scale of Perfection
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Don’t forget our Annual Parish Meeting on the 12th of November!!! This is an important Sunday to attend and help set the direction of our parish for 2018. Lunch will be provided.
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Mary Anne Neuroth – Birthday – November 9
Elsie Sams – Birthday – November 10
Bob Schmerge – Birthday – November 13
Carol & Bob Schmerge – Anniversary – November 16