Epiphany Reflections: A Parish Alive with Talents, Events, and Gratitude

Last weekend, Father Dan preached on the Feast of Epiphany, the arrival of the wise men who traveled from the East to offer gifts to the newborn king. He mentioned these were men of talent, who used their talents to travel and worship. He also shared some from the book we handed out this Christmas, The Three Ordinary Voices of God, by Matthew Kelly. He referenced the second voice of God, “talents.”

In speaking about talents, he mentioned that last Sunday we began offering a Mass in Spanish on the first Sunday of the Month. We are able to do this because of Father Dan’s talent with the Spanish language. When something new is offered in a parish, one never knows what the turnout will be. We were surprised and amazed that 194 people turned out for the Spanish Mass. This was our largest turnout for a Spanish Mass and likely the largest that has taken place in our Diocese. Great use of a talent!

We are frequently looking for people to share their talents with us. Right now we are looking for volunteers who are willing to serve our parish as a receptionist. We have made some changes in the layout of our offices. Our offices have also become busier. We could use some volunteers who are willing to make a commitment to a four hour shift each week. The shifts would be from 8 AM to Noon or 1 PM to 4 PM. It would involve greeting people who come to our offices, answering phone calls, and doing office tasks that any of our staff may need help with. Please contact me if you are potentially interested. 

We are also looking for one or more volunteers who do calligraphy. Occasionally we have things we would like written in this style and it would be helpful to have a list of a few people who are able to occasionally help with a project. Let me know if you have a talent for this

We could also use a few more people to help with snow removal at the church. A few years ago we started using volunteers for lawn mowing and snow removal. This would generally involve coming in to shovel or use our equipment to remove snow on weekdays before 8 AM, on Saturdays before the 5 PM Mass, and on Sundays before 8 AM. You can also let me know if you have a talent for this.

With the start of the new calendar year, we welcome Madeline Gagliardi, who is taking over as our coordinator for Eucharistic Adoration. Thank you to Barbara Gagliardi who has been our coordinator for the past several years. (Yes, Madeline is related to Barbara: she is her daughter-in-law.) Madeline and her husband, John, moved to Hudson a few years ago and we are grateful she is willing to share some of her talent with us.

As we continue with the new year, we have some exciting events coming up. At the end of January we will celebrate Catholic Schools weeks with the very popular Soup and Pie Social on Sunday, January 26. In February we will be sending two groups to our Sister Parish in Guatemala. Then Lent will begin in March. The first week in April we are hosting a display centered on Eucharistic miracles. This is a very informative and inspiring traveling display we are blessed with being able to bring to Saint Patrick’s. On April 2 will again host a special day of Eucharistic Adoration. For Adoration we will be bringing a special monstrance. It is the last monstrance Saint Pope John Paul II blessed, prior to his death. We will also welcome a popular Catholic musician, Aly Aleigha, who will join some of our own musicians in providing praise and worship music during Adoration. That will lead us into Easter, where we welcome into the Catholic Church and/or Confirm over twenty people at the Easter Vigil. 

Whether it is talents or events, there is always much to be grateful for.

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