May 8, 2022 – PASTOR’S CORNER

PASTOR’S CORNER
Dear Parishioners:
I would like to thank all of you who came out for our “A Taste of Mexico”
dinner this past Sunday — we had a great time socializing with fellow
parishioners while enjoying some truly authentic Mexican food! A special
thanks to the Hispanic Ministry Committee which organized the event,
and to all those who worked so hard to make it a success! Not only did
we have over 100 people come out for this parish social event, but we
brought in over $4,500 for the construction and furnishing of our new
Youth Center!
During my last few weeks here at St. Helen and Our Lady of the Caves, I
would like to address a few issues that, I hope, will impact the life of this
parish community, and help the parish to grow stronger. These are
things that have been close to my heart for some time, and I’ve tried to
work on them, but four years (and two of them affected by the
pandemic) was not sufficient time to address them all.
First: we are united as Catholics by our Faith (expressed in the Creed, the
Catechism, and the official teachings of the Church on faith and morals),
by our participation in the Sacraments (especially in the Holy Eucharist),
and by prayer. But we are called to a union of hearts and minds as a
family, as the “People of God” in pilgrimage through this life to the
eternal life of heaven. This is lived out in practical terms by our being
formed into parish communities. The parish is our spiritual family, our
community of faith that is part of the larger community of the
archdiocese, and of the entire Catholic Church.
We are not saved as autonomous individuals. We are saved as members
of Christ, joined to Him in His Holy Catholic Church. We need each other
in prayer, in witness, in common worship, and in being the extended
family of faith. We need to come together, as a parish, to socialize with
one another, to form friendships with those who share our common
heritage of faith — the heritage passed down to us by the saints and our
ancestors in the faith. We need to see St. Helen as our “Catholic Village”,
where we help one another on the way to eternal life.
This past Sunday’s “Taste of Mexico” dinner was our first big, postpandemic event as a parish family. We have our annual Ice Cream Social
coming up in August — and we need people to volunteer! We need more
opportunities where we come together, as an entire parish, or in smaller
groups like Bible studies, Mothers’ groups, Men’s groups, Young Adult
groups, etc. Light the fire of community life in this parish! Introduce
yourself to someone in the parish that you haven’t met, start a
conversation, draw others into activities with you for the good of this
parish family!
~Fr. Ben