Turning to Prayer

     When NFL player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the football field from cardiac arrest, the TV cameras quickly focused on his teammates, his “brothers,” kneeling together in prayer. Then we saw opposing team players praying, coaches praying, people in the stands praying. An ESPN football analyst and former football player led a prayer on the air. People watching the drama unfold on TV were sending up prayers as were people on social media.

     Instinctively, people around the world turned to prayer when this tragedy struck.

     Now that this young man – who attended and graduated from a Catholic grade school and high school in Pittsburgh – seems to be returning to good health, can we say that the power of prayer is real? What about the medical professional first responders, and the scientific modern marvels of medicine that restarted his heart and assisted him with breathing until he was again able to breathe on his own?

     A father of a young girl who suffered from a rare disease that led to her untimely death recently asked me in all sincerity, “If as many people prayed as hard for my daughter as they did for Damar Hamlin, would she have recovered as he seems to be recovering?”

     Sometimes our prayers for recovery to good health during times of crisis and distress are answered according to our desires; sometimes they are not.

     Sometimes medical professionals and modern medicine are able to cure our ills; sometimes they are not.

     The true power of prayer is found in the unity that it creates amongst people from all different backgrounds and situations in life. Where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, there he is present. Prayer is indeed powerful, in ways that we experience now, and in ways that will ever remain a mystery during our lives on earth.

     Phillipians 4:6-7 tells us: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

     I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

     Thank you to everyone who helped decorate our churches for the celebration of the Incarnation of Our Lord, and for the entire Advent and Christmas Seasons!  Your care and efforts assist many people in entering into the liturgical festivities with hopeful hearts.

     Thank you also to everyone who sent our staff and clergy Christmas cards, gifts, and goodies!  We warmly received them, and are grateful for your generosity.

     All my best to everyone for a happy and healthy 2023!

 

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

     Merry Christmas to everyone!

     May the joy and hope that only the Christ child brings us pervade your hearts, because it is in the depths of our hearts that we find the heart of God, and God’s heart is one of love and mercy.

I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

We Await and Prepare

     As we near the Christmas holiday, a day and a season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus into humanity, we await and prepare for encounters with him on a daily basis – when we breathe our last, and when he comes again to redeem all people to himself. 

     This “active” waiting period is continual, and hopefully entered into with joyful hearts. It is a waiting, as Father Henri Nouwen says, that is not about journeying from nothing to something, but rather from something to something more! 

     I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

Generosity and Love

   Due to your generosity and love for the Church and our community, All Saints Parish remains financially stable as you can see by our year-end June 30, 2022 financial statements published in the Oct. 23 bulletin and on our website at AllSaintsButler.org/finances.

     To highlight key points of this annual review, members of our finance council will speak briefly this weekend at the following Masses:

     Saturday: 4pm at St. Michael the Archangel Church

     Sunday: 8am at St. Peter Church; 10am at St. Paul Church; 11am at St. Andrew Church; 11:30am at St. Conrad Church

     The good people who have been generous for many years to St. Andrew, St. Conrad, St. Michael the Archangel, St. Paul, and St. Peter continue their generous decisions to support All Saints Parish, which was created on July 1, 2021, when our five parishes merged into one.

     If you would like to review financial information from the past few years, please visit AllSaintsButler.org/finances for year-end reports that date back to 2014. While we remain financially stable for now, you will see that offertory revenues have declined slightly during the past eight years.

     Fortunately, we continue to benefit from parishioners’ bequests, which are gifts made as part of a will or trust. It is through our parishioners’ acts of generosity during their lifetimes – and upon their deaths – that our parish operates with positive cash flows. 

     Please contact our parish office if you would like to know how to create a bequest to All Saints Parish and/or Butler Catholic School.

     Our year-end financial report looks a little different this year because of changes mandated by Bishop Zubik – the new format is standard for every parish in the diocese.

     There also have been systematic changes to the Parish Share program, along with a name change, as it is now called the Parish Appeal. We are doing well in the current Parish Appeal year, which lasts for a few more months. Please know that every penny collected above our assessment remains with our parish. 

     You soon will be receiving information regarding the upcoming Parish Appeal year. 

     Additionally, Catholic elementary school subsidization is handled differently, as the diocese continues to move toward a regional approach to governance and distribution of parish monies in support of Catholic education.

     At this time, Butler Catholic School (BCS) remains a “parish school” as it is governed by the principal and pastor. However, All Saints Parish no longer directly subsidizes BCS. In fact, no parish directly subsidizes a school any longer. 

     Instead, every single parish in the diocese contributes about 10% of its revenues to Catholic elementary school education. It is from this contributory account, managed by the diocese, that subsidy money is dispersed to the elementary schools, based on their need.

     I continue to thank God every day for the opportunity to live in Butler and to serve all of you as disciples of Jesus Christ.

     I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

Preparations

     Now that fall is here, I hope you are enjoying the cool, crisp air and magnificent changing colors of the western Pennsylvania landscape.

     These “pre-Advent” months of October and November offer many opportunities for us to participate in fall communal events that reflect the season. It also is a time for spiritual thanksgiving and preparation for the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

     Butler is home to many vocations -‒ religious vocations as well as vocations to married life and single life. Regardless of the specific call, we are all called to live for others, and not only for ourselves.  The yearning of the human heart draws us to give of ourselves for the sake of God’s Kingdom now and eternally in heaven.

     We celebrate Mike Kaufman’s calling this weekend as he is ordained a deacon on Saturday, Oct. 1. We hope and pray that his call to serve God and God’s children will be a fruitful and fulfilling journey for him and his family.  We also pray that he will be assigned to All Saints Parish as a faithful deacon to serve all of you (at the time of publication, we still did not know of his official assignment).

     As published in last week’s bulletin, the triennial Diocese of Pittsburgh clergy convocation is scheduled for the afternoon of October 3 through the afternoon of October 6 at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia.

     This is an opportunity for the diocesan priests of Pittsburgh to gather for a few days of prayer, liturgy, speaker sessions, and fraternity.

     Since Father John, Father Rick, and I are all planning to attend, our Capuchin Franciscan priest friends from Herman will celebrate the 8am morning Masses while we are gone. We will not have 12:05pm Masses on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (Oct. 4-6). Here is the All Saints’ Mass schedule for that timeframe: 

Tuesday, October 4:  8am at St. Paul
Wednesday, October 5:  8am at St. Paul
Thursday, October 6:  8am at St. Paul

     The Capuchins will also have our emergency phone in case anointings are requested. However, please consider that there will only be two of them to handle our parish, along with St. Francis of Assisi Parish and St. Clare Parish, which are located to the north and east of Butler.

     If any funerals are scheduled for the aforementioned days, they would be services only‒not a Mass‒led by one of our deacons (pending their availability).

     We will resume our normal Mass schedule beginning Friday, October 7.

     Thank you for your understanding during these days.  We will certainly take you with us in prayer.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

Triennial Clergy Convocation

     The triennial clergy convocation for the Diocese of Pittsburgh ‒ an opportunity for our diocesan priests to gather for prayer, liturgy, speaker sessions, and fraternity ‒ is scheduled for the afternoon of October 3 through the afternoon of October 6 at the Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia.

     Since Father John, Father Rick, and I are all planning to attend, our Capuchin Franciscan priest friends from Herman will celebrate the 8am morning Masses while we are gone. We will not have 12:05pm Masses on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (Oct. 4-6). Here is the All Saints’ Mass schedule for that timeframe:

Tuesday, October 4:  8am at St. Paul

Wednesday, October 5:  8am at St. Paul

Thursday, October 6:  8am at St. Paul

     The Capuchins also will have our emergency phone in case anointings are requested.  However, please consider that there will only be two of them to handle our parish, along with St. Francis of Assisi Parish, and St. Clare Parish, which are located to the north and east of Butler.

     If any funerals are scheduled for the aforementioned days, they would be services only ‒ not a Mass ‒  led by one of our deacons (pending their availability).

     We will resume our normal Mass schedule beginning Friday, October 7.

     Thank you for your understanding during these days.  We will certainly take you with us in prayer.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio

New School Year

    Now that the new school year is beginning, we certainly wish everyone in the education system a healthy and fruitful year in the classrooms and beyond for continued growth and human development.
    As we have noted in the past few bulletins, our faith formation program for 2022-23 commences on Sunday, September 11, at the St. Conrad Church campus. Please be cognizant and careful if you are driving on that campus on Sundays while faith formation classes are in session, as there will be a greater number of vehicles and people coming in and out of the church and the religious education building.

Huge Thank You

     A huge “thank you” to everyone who helped with the All Saints Parish and Butler Catholic School booths at last week’s Butler Italian Festival downtown, another opportunity for us to serve each other and our community, and get to meet new people along the way.

Difficulty Walking?

     If you have a difficult time walking, and need the assistance of a walker or a cane, please consider avoiding steps and entering or exiting our churches by using the ramps. At St. Paul Church, you also are encouraged to use the elevator. If you need help, please do not hesitate to ask a fellow parishioner or an usher.

We Need Ushers, Readers, Altar Servers, EMHCs

     We are need of ushers, readers, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of holy communion (EMHCs), especially at the 6pm Saturday and 6pm Sunday Masses at St. Paul Church.
    While we held training classes for all of our ministries earlier this summer, the dearth of interested volunteers continues. Please consider listening to the voice of the Lord if indeed you discern that he is calling you to such service, and contact the St. Paul office. We will keep your name on a list and contact you when we hold the next training session, which will probably be in the fall.

    Have a happy and blessed Labor Day Weekend!
    I pray for you daily.

Gratefully,

Rev. Kevin C. Fazio