From the Pastor – November 3, 2019

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY CONFIRMED YOUNG PEOPLE!!! They celebrated theSacrament of Confirmation yesterday with Bishop Cruz. Now they have a responsibility to us all to give thegift of Jesus to us, guided by the Holy Spirit!CONGRATULATIONS TO HUGH KEFFER!!! Tonight, at the parish of Notre Dame, NorthCaldwell, Hugh will be formally enrolled as a deacon candidate as he continues to ordination. He will beordained a deacon on Sunday, May 17, 2020.We continue this Month of Remembrance of our departed relatives, friends and parishioners. The church setsaside this month to honor all those who have touched and affected us with their care, concern, love, affectionand faith. On TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, AT 7:30PM, we will celebrate Evening Prayer of the Dead for allthose from our parish and families who died this past year. The names of all those from our parish who diedthis year are posted in the Book of the Dead, which is placed near the Baptismal Font, for they now shareeternal life with the Father and Son.In today’s Gospel, Jesus meets Zacchaeus, who was anxious to meet Jesus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector,which means he worked for the Romans who occupied the land on which he lived and worked. Tax collectorslike Zacchaeus were despised, not just because they collected taxes, but also because they collected bribesover and above the taxes. Yet, Jesus meets and talks with him, offering him the opportunity for new life.Jesus offers us the same opportunity for new life every time we are open and receptive to his new life. It is anencounter with the Lord that transforms us and renews us in his image. But it also challenges us to be avibrant sign of his new life to all we meet. Most of our conversions are not as dramatic as Zacchaeus’s was,because they usually reinforce what we believe and how we live. Our conversions may mean a change ofheart, attitude, or the way we speak and behave toward each other. But they are just as serious and importantas what happened to Zacchaeus.Jesus always calls us to new life, to holiness and conversion, so that we may live according to his way and notour own.HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!~ FR. JOEMESSAGE FROM THE PASTORCONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEWLY