At Our Lady of Perpetual Help, our Mission Statement is to “Build Up the Body of Christ.” Over the past two months, I could not help but notice the numerous ways we as a parish continue to live out our mission.
In the middle of April, we concluded another successful year of our PREP classes with our family catechesis being the catalyst for the growth of our youth and their families. Building Up the Body of Christ is not just teaching our youth about their faith and the love of God, but participation by the family as a whole.
Starting off in May, we celebrated our catechists who take time out of their lives to pass along their faith and what it means to them. Their dedication and tireless efforts make our PREP program what it is today.
We then celebrated thirteen children receiving their First Holy Communion. There is nothing like witnessing a child’s first time receiving the Body of Christ and we pray there will be many Holy Communions received in their lives.
Our Youth Group had an outstanding turnout at our first ever Youth Group BBQ. It was inspiring to hear that this youth group was created by a number of young adults who wanted to learn more about their faith and how they should apply it to their daily lives after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. Any young adult in 8th to 12th grade should reach out to me to learn more.
May also saw the start of a new initiative which I hope will continue in sharing our faith by the showing of Christian themed movies/series. We were happy to provide the parish with the first four episodes of season 4 of The Chosen. This was extremely successful in bringing people together to share their faith and discussing the ways this programming had an impact on living out their Christian life. People were able to share how this series had brought a human element of what we hear and read in the scriptures.
A common expression in sports is that “you have to get in the game,” meaning you must participate to influence the outcome. This also applies to our faith. What can we do to get in the game to grow our relationship with God? With all of what you see happening at OLPH, what do you want to do to help with our mission and to seek God? Maybe you see yourself as a volunteer at church as a greeter, lector, or Eucharistic Minister at Mass. However, maybe you want to help others learn more about their faith by becoming a PREP or Kingdom Kids catechist. Whatever you choose, it takes action to produce results.
I can guarantee you one thing, the choice to follow God and to do His will, will only produce positive results. Stay tuned for next week’s bulletin message on how to put your faith in action.
God bless,
John Napoli
Pastoral Associate of Faith Formation
