A Message from Fr. Brian & Farewell to Stephanie Sonnick

In this Sunday's Gospel, after Jesus has selected His 12 Apostles, He sends them out to preach in His name and He tells them to proclaim to the world that "the Kingdom of God is at hand."

The Kingdom of God is, indeed, at hand and it is present to us at every moment in time. We have now concluded the Easter season and those feasts immediately following Easter (Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi) and the Church has entered into what is called "Ordinary Time," which will last until the first day of Advent, which this year is December 3 rd .

In a way, "Ordinary Time" is a regrettable term because it may cause us to believe that time is somehow ordinary. But there is nothing "ordinary" about time because at all moments the Kingdom of God is at hand, for Christ walks among us and transforms our lives. In addition, every single day is holy to God, for He created it, and we should find reasons to rejoice every day, even amidst the challenges and struggles we daily face.

As has been previously announced, this weekend we offer our fond farewell to Stephanie Sonnick, our Ministerial Associate. Stephanie is moving to Houston, Texas to join the staff at the Houston Catholic Worker House, which goes by the name of Casa Juan Diego. This house is for refugees and migrants (females and children). Stephanie will be assisting with outreach in the Houston community and being a witness to Christian charity and hospitality. Out of solidarity with those to whom she will be ministering, Stephanie will live on a VERY low wage. Please join us for coffee and donuts after the 10:00 and 11:30 Masses this Sunday to thank Stephanie and to wish God's blessings upon her.

Stephanie joined our parish staff 3½ years ago and has been an incredible blessing to our entire parish. She is not only very intelligent and theologically astute (with a master's degree in theology), but just as importantly she is pastorally sensitive, a splendid communicator (both oneon-one and in large groups), creative and self-motivated, a true team player who collaborates beautifully with other staff and parishioners, and organized and zealous in her ministry. Most importantly, she always approached her time here as a disciple of Jesus Christ, seeing her role as a mission and not just as a job.

Personally speaking, I'm going to miss Stephanie very much. I first hired her at Seton Hall University when I worked there. Aside from the qualities I've already highlighted, on a human and personal level, Stephanie is engaging, warm, approachable, positive, and has a great sense of humor! The Psalmist encourages us this Sunday to "serve the Lord with gladness." Stephanie certainly does that!

As Jesus sent out His 12 Apostles to preach and teach in His Name, we at OLS send Stephanie out to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who are in need. While we will miss her terribly, we are grateful to God for having sent her to OLS and we are glad that God will now have Stephanie working in His vineyard in Houston, bringing His peace, compassion, love, and joy to all those who God places in her path. We pray that Stephanie will continue to help build the Kingdom of God among us. We therefore ask God, through the intercession of Mother Mary, to bless Stephanie, always and in all ways.

We will miss you, Stephanie!

Kingdom Blessings,