Dear Family,
Tuesday, November 1st, the Feast of All Saints, is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION. In addition to 8:30 a.m., we will also celebrate another Mass at 6:00 P.M. both in the Main Sanctuary.

It struck me that all the names I wrote down for our All Souls Novena beginning November 2nd, are already Saints. If Mom didn’t make it (after seven kids) then no one did.

BUT... the prayers and Masses that we offer for them now are a powerful way of saying “Thank You” to God for the gift of their lives. After all, isn’t that what Eucharist means? THANKSGIVING!

And speaking of thanks, our (and I mean OUR) special thanks go out to Elli Hurst and the wonderful crew who gave us Oktoberfest 2022. What a wonderful night! What a wonderful meal! I hope we never take those kinds of things for granted. I heard over the weekend that the crew had to do serious shopping for the brauts: raids on various Publix meat counters. And then those desserts! Restaurant Depot is a name we (I) shall never forget.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,
After sitting here for I don’t know how long, staring at a blank screen and praying “Come, Holy Spirit”, once again I marvel at how Monsignor Jim composes a new and relevant “Twitch” every week! Thankfully, he will be back at it for next Sunday’s bulletin, God willing.

Today’s Gospel tells of two men praying in the Temple – a Pharisee and a tax collector. The fact that they were 1) in the Temple, and 2) praying, tells us that they were both trying to be good guys.

The Pharisee “spoke this prayer to himself” about his virtues and how he wasn’t like the rest of humanity. The tax collector, on the other hand, “beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’” Certainly, two very different view-points in prayer.

It seems that the Pharisee was all wrapped up in himself, thanking God that he was so special... and don’t we all like to think of ourselves as special, especially in the eyes of God? Yes, God made each of us unique and precious. We are just as special as everyone else God has created!

Dear Fellow Parishioners,
Our beloved Pastor Monsignor Jim is now enjoying his first vacation in three years. He will return for the weekend masses 22 October, and just in time for Oktoberfest on the 21st. In his absence Monsignor offered me the opportunity to write a Twitch. My intent is to give you an update of our current parish activities from my perspective as a member of your Pastoral Council.

During our forced absence from attending Mass, the thought that prevailed in my mind was what does church mean to me? The answer came to me when I was praying for the Holy Spirit to inspire me to make the best use of this opportunity to communicate with my fellow St. Sebastian Parishioners. I found the answer in Luke 11:27-28, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

Dear Family,
It’s hard to know where to begin. All I could think of was how we recovered after Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. The southern half of my parish was wickedly devastated and the northern half limped. But the saving grace about Andrew – if there could be one – was that it moved through quickly. For me personally, our power was off and so I could not watch any television coverage. Ian surely has been different.

Now we come to the part, as I said last week, when we look into the ways we can help. I also admit to being glad I have a cache of Star Trek Reruns. I’ve watched a few in the last week. It was a brief relief from looking at piles of wreckage. You can do that for just so long.