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Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - October 13th, 2019
Dear Parishioners and Friends:
The Gospel this Sunday speaks of the importance of giving thanks. How thankful I am after that powerful and beautiful installation ceremony. I thank Bishop O’Hara for his presence here at Blessed Sacrament. Thanks to all who helped organize and who participated in the Mass. Thanks to all who prepared the reception following the Mass. Thanks to Cardinal Dolan for this assignment and thanks most to God of for all God’s blessings.
I really learned the importance of thanks working with women incarcerated out on Riker’s Island. Working in the jail, I came across many people who through horrible circumstances found themselves in a strange place -- lost and afraid. Many are there because of the destructive curse of addiction; many are there who after so many years of physical and emotional abuse had fought back and are now paying the consequences. In this strange place, they begin to re-form their lives. It begins by finding something positive they can hold on to; it begins with thanksgiving. For some, after they have lost their kids, their families, their homes, it may just be thanks that I got up this morning, thanks that I am alive, thanks that I can begin anew, thanks that I have another chance. Searching for blessings in such a dark place helps fight off the feelings of hopelessness and depression. Giving thanks helps to keep ourselves focused on a God of second chances. I would ask the women every night as they prepared for bed to thank God for three things they are grateful for. It is through this act of thanksgiving that we stay connected with a God who restores us to sanity. Giving thanks helps connect us to a God who gives us our daily bread. Giving thanks does not remove our problems but helps us to keep focused on the One who gets us through the difficult times of our journey.
“For me, prayer is a burst from my heart, it is a simple glance thrown toward heaven, a cry of thanksgiving and love in times of trial as well as in times of joy.”
–St. Therese of Lisieux
As always, pray for peace.
Father David Nolan
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Father David Nolan
On Sunday, September 1, we welcomed our new Pastor, Father David Nolan, as he begins his assignment here at Blessed Sacrament. Born in Brooklyn, Father Nolan worked in the textile industry for many years, during which time he was a parishioner here at Blessed Sacrament, where he served as head of the Pastoral Council, ran CCD, and volunteered at the Women’s Shelter. Father Nolan was Ordained in 1995, and comes to us from the Parish of St. Joseph of the Holy Family in Harlem, where he has served for the past 11 years. Father Nolan has also just finished a five-year term, working as the Catholic Chaplain for the women incarcerated at Rose M. Singer Correctional, the women’s prison on Riker’s Island.