· 10th Sunday Ordinary Time (A), June 5, 2005
· Announcement Sunday

· As Christians, we are all called by God to be people who nurture one another and our community.
· Through our Baptism – we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to build the Kingdom of God:
· A Kingdom of Faith, Justice and Care for all people.

· Today’s readings tell us of the rewards of faith along with its responsibilities:
· God chose Abraham and Sarah because of their faith in the face of overwhelming odds to parent the Chosen People
· Jesus chose Matthew to be a disciple because of his faith and sense of gratitude, even in the midst of the disrespect and discrimination of others.
· God does great things with us – because God loves us.

· As Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church,
· It is my privilege to share with you what I see that God has done with us over the last year, And to share with you a vision of the parish for the future.
· It is also my privilege to invite you to share in this ministry through the sharing of your Time, Talent and Treasure.

· This has not been an easy year for any of us,
· As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to claim lives;
· As the economy continues to sputter along making life difficult;
· We are all doing our best to cope with the difficulties in our lives.

· However, thanks to the leadership of the Pastoral Staff and the Pastoral Council Officers (Carol Kozeracki, Lily Harris, and Irving Rios) and our Parish Financial Council, we have seen a number of successes.
· Let me name a few:

· Central to our parish is our Sunday Liturgy:
· Thanks to the dedication of our two VOLUNTEER Directors of Liturgy – Jan Sooter and Mercedes Cortes, along with the dedicated help of Milo Berris, our Music Director Rodger Guerrero, and Fr. Wayne Negrette, we now how a Liturgy Leadership Committee of which we can be extremely proud.
· In addition, we owe all the Liturgical Ministers a huge debt of gratitude for their efforts to make our celebrations beautiful and Spirit Filled.
· Thanks to all who work to make our liturgical life so rich.

· Blessed Sacrament School also continues to prosper under the professional and caring leadership of our principal, Mrs. Ava Haylock.
· Two success stand out this year:
· First, in accordance with the “No Child Left Behind Act,” a Public School Representative tested our students in the spring of 2005.
· Our students did so well in these tests that they had to be scored on the highest end of the testing scale.
· In addition, our 8th graders did extremely well on the High School placement tests. All were accepted to Catholic High Schools or to Magnet High Schools.
· We are very lucky to have our dedicated Principal, Mrs. Haylock, and an outstanding Faculty and Staff.

· Our Religious Education program is thriving under the leadership of Sr. Virginia Ciprés, along with the collaboration of all the dedicated catechists.
· This year there were over 400 students in our program
· 42 received Confirmation this year
· 130 received First Communion last Saturday
· Sr. Virginia has organized the catechists into teams who work with a volunteer coordinator.
· She has pushed Catechists to get professional training so that they can better work with our children.
· What has really impressed me this year is that the Catechists not only work with the children in the program, but also with the parents of the children, so that understanding of our faith is increased in the whole family unit.
· Thank you Sr. Virginia and to all the wonderful coordinators and catechists.
· If you are interested in helping out next year – you will have a very spirit filled and organized experience under the leadership of Sr. Virginia.

· The other key ministry at Blessed Sacrament is our Social Service Office.
· Ms. Yolanda Lichtman, the Director of Social Services, and a host of dedicated volunteers from the parish and from all over the city, perform miracles every day.
· Among the many services offered:
· This year, the Office has provided over 7500 showers and 400 free haircuts for the homeless in addition to the food and clothing that have been distributed.
· Besides this, the Office has helped 60 families establish stable housing, and enrolled 30 people in rehabilitation programs.
· The Social Services Advisory Committee, with members from Blessed Sacrament Parish and from St. Brendan Parish, is in the process of incorporating Blessed Sacrament Social Services as a Non-profit organization in order to help us apply for Foundation and Corporate grants, and thus expand our services.
· In our parish, we will continue to respond to the “Cry of the poor.”
· Thank you Yolanda and all the wonderful staff and volunteers of Blessed Sacrament Social Services.

· I cannot forget our Annual Carnival in the list of our parish ministries:
· Thanks to the energetic and persistent work of Valerie Milano with the help of Carlos Rubalcava, and a host of talented volunteers like Sara Garibay and Kimberly Crowley and hundreds more, we have a parish carnival that is second to none.
· The Carnival – raises money which both the School and the Parish desperately need to balance the budget,
· Even more importantly, it brings us together as a multi-ethnic community to celebrate and to have fun.
· Thank you to all who make the Carnival a success.

· I also want to call attention to our outstanding Web-site which is managed by Ms. Merci Javier of St. Brendan’s parish.
· As you know, St. Brendan and Blessed Sacrament have formed a partnership to share our gifts with one another.
· Merci and her work have been a real gift to Blessed Sacrament.
· Our dynamic web site is full of information and helpful links.
· Check out blessedsacramenthollywood.org

· I am very proud of what God has done at Blessed Sacrament.
· I am proud of all our ministries – you can see the list of them all in our bulletin – it is quite impressive.
· The people involved in these Ministries show the talent and dedication that exist in our parish.
· I am proud of our directors and staff, and how well we work together.
· I am proud of our connection with other church and civic organizations in Hollywood.
· God has been good to us.

· God’s Spirit is indeed animating us at Blessed Sacrament
· We are indeed working to build the Kingdom of God as we live out our parish motto, “Many Made One Around the Table of the Lord.”
· Nothing, however, can be accomplished without the prayers and participation of the parishioners of this parish.
· We need your involvement of time and talent (for the ministries and for the carnival and for community outreach).
· We need your financial support also, so that this ministry can grow.

· This week in the mail, all of the registered parishioners will receive a brochure outlining the financial picture of the parish
· It explains what our expenses are and what our income is.
· It also asks each family to consider what kind of annual financial commitment you can make to carry on the ministry of the parish.
· Next Sunday, we will ask you to actually put in writing what weekly commitment your family can make for the coming year
· Our financial commitment is one way to show our gratitude to our generous God.

· This year we need your help more than ever.
· Expenses have risen faster than income.
· Insurance premiums and general expense continue to rise
· Without a significant increase in Collections, we will not be able to pay all of our bills in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1.

· I ask you to read the brochure and to discuss it as couples, or as a family or as an individual if you live alone.
· (If you do not receive it by Friday, I ask you to come by the office to pick one up, and to make sure that we have your current address and phone number)
· I ask you to pray about your financial commitment to the parish. As I say every year:
· Some of you will say, “We can do more.” God Bless You
· Some may say, “We are doing as much as we can.” God Bless You.
· Some may say, “We have to do less than we have been.” God Bless you.
· The important thing is that you pray about it and make a commitment.
· Next week we will ask you to state your commitment in writing so that we can plan our parish finances for next year.

· I am privileged to be Pastor of this wonderful community of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament.
· As you know, I do hate talking about money, but we have to pay our bills.
· This parish home belongs to all of us, so I ask each family to help us keep the doors open and the ministries flourishing.
· As pastor, I thank you for your prayers and your support as we move into our 102nd year serving the community of Hollywood.

· Thank each and every one of you.
· Amen

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