Letter from the Pastor
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August 25, 2024We sadly say goodbye and farewell to Fr. Pius who will be leaving our parish at the end of this week. Father will travel a bit to see our beautiful State, and then back to Rome in mid-September.
Father Pius has been with us these past two summers. I, as well as Fr. Clarke are very grateful to Father Pius for his help during the summer months. He is a delight to live with, helpful in so many ways. I know you too are grateful to Father Pius for his fruitful homilies, his spirituality and his friendly personality.
Father goes back to Rome to finish his theological License in Dogmatic Theology at the Roman Pontifical Urban University. Then will return to his diocese of Batticaloa,
Sri Lanka, where he will be given his new assignment. Father was ordained in 2013.
Hopefully, he will come back to visit us in the near future. Thank you, Father for all you did for us here at St. Margaret’s. You will be missed.
August is known as the “Sunday of the Summer.” As we begin the last week of vacation, we know how important it is for us humans to take time to re-create ourselves. Vacations are supposed to rejuvenate our minds and souls. Leisure is that extra time for us to pray and reflect while sitting on a beach or looking at the sunset. It takes us out of our normal routines to experience something new or different.
However, we also know the problem with vacations is that one comes home more tired than when one left! For some families, vacations can be tiring, if not stressful; defeating the very purpose of a vacation. That can be especially true if you are on the go much of the time, if every minute of the day is planned or if you’re caring for young children.
Vacations are still so worthwhile. They offer a change of scenery, give us a change in our normal everyday life; introduce us to new or different experiences or places, perhaps give us more time with people we love.
Another problem with vacations is that they must end. Then we go back to work or school trying to hold onto the memories of the carefree living that we had while on vacation.
That sense of peace and calm should be with us during the year as well. It is not just reserved for a week or two in the summer.
St. Francis de Sales, wrote: “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit… Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”
So if you can, take one more day and go to the beach or the mountains and just be.
No need to plan or prepare, just get the kids and go for a ride as we say goodbye to the summer of ‘24 and plan for our next vacation!
