This is graduation “season” for many students, whether live in-person, or online. I remember my son Aidan’s graduation from Boca High School a decade ago. At the commencement ceremony at the Fairgrounds, the school principal, in his “speech,” twice quoted St. Paul. What got my attention was his quotation of the famous line from First Corinthians, “Faith, Hope, and Love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The primary theme of the Principal’s address was to encourage the graduates to do the loving and right thing throughout their adult life. This seems to be contrary to so many graduation speeches where the speaker advises the students, “Follow your dreams, find yourself, and do what makes you happy.”

I remember as a college chaplain in New England, during the recession in the early 1980’s, hearing what I still consider the worst graduation speech ever. Basically, this professor from a well-known business school in the northeast told the graduates that “You’re not going to find a job; your time in college was basically worthless; your education won’t guarantee happiness in the real world,” and gave them no hope that things could ever get better! After such a despondent message, when it came time for the benediction, I approached the podium, and simply said, “May God bless you with a sense of hope and a sense of humor. Amen,” and sat down. (Cardinal Medeiros, the Archbishop of Boston who was a featured speaker and sitting next to me on the dais, whispered “That’s the best benediction I’ve ever heard!” (LOL, it was certainly the shortest.)

Growing up into adulthood means taking on more responsibility and learning, sometimes the hard way, that life is not “all about us.” Some people may grow older, but never mature! Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday. One of the primary messages of our celebration of the gift of God’s Holy Spirit, is that “we’re all in this together.” Like every parish, we are all challenged to change a culture that asks “What’s in it for me?” to an attitude of “ It’s not about us.” The Church exists for those who have yet to become members. This past year has forced us all to be more considerate of those who are in need of the things we often take for granted: not necessarily material things, either. Maybe one of the greatest gifts we as Christians can offer is the gift of encouragement, knowing that, in the words of St. Francis, “ It is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.

NOTICES:

Sunday’s Worship – We are open for live worship on Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. We also “live-stream” our 10 a.m. service.

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 pm.

ECW Raffle is ongoing. Please return completed ticket stubs with your check by May 30 for drawing. Tickets stubs can be placed in offering plates or mailed to the office. Prizes are $100, $200 and $300. Thanks for your support. Thanks. Linda

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Volunteers to Deliver Flowers: We are in need of volunteers to deliver flowers to our sick and shut-in members after our Sunday 10am services two to three times a year. It is such a nice ministry that brightens people’s lives and easy to do. Hope we can get more volunteers so we can continue this ministry. Please contact Linda McKeown if you are available at 561-254-3902, or email llmckeown51@comcast.net

Sunday School: There is no Sunday school this week.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Eucharistic Adoration 6:00 p.m.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Ampy, Barbara, Beth, Danny, Donna, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike, Oscar. For the departed: Robert Norene. For birthday celebrations: Charles Sandell, Grace Hadicke, Victoria Wolliston. For our expectant mother: Meghan.

A group of teenagers were working on a Habitat project. By the end of a long week, they were pretty scruffy looking sitting on their duffels waiting for their parents to come and collect them. “What is this?” a passerby asked. They were exhausted, worn out, looked terrible and smelled worse. Then one of the “passersby” said to the boys: “Are you tired?” to which one of the teens replied, “Whew! Am I tired!” Then he added: “But this is the best tired I have ever been.” In the Bible it’s called joy.

On this Sunday after the Ascension, and one week before we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, we do well to remember that salvation came with a price. Even though the “Admission Fee” into heaven has been paid by Our Lord, we need to take steps in the right direction to claim our inheritance with the saints and angels who inhabit that Kingdom where there is no death, nor crying, but the fullness of joy which comes by getting off our “duffel bags” and traveling along that road that leads to everlasting life. Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending; because even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

NOTICES:

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Please note that our Vestry voted at its most recent meeting to lift the requirement on wearing masks inside the church and parish hall, leaving it up to the discretion of each individual.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

ECW Raffle is ongoing. Please return completed ticket stubs with your check by May 30 for drawing. Tickets stubs can be placed in offering plates or mailed to the office. Prizes are $100, $200 and $300. Thanks for your support. Thanks. Linda

Help Needed: Pay is low but result is top of the scale. We need help on Saturday, May 22 at 8:30 to finish the trimming of the palmettos. With some more help, we could be finished in 2-2 1/2 hours so please try to come even for one hour. Water provided and a snack. Bring a chain saw or other electric or battery operated cutting devices.

Altar Flowers and Candles: We have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School is still in operation with the necessary protocols in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 pm.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Ampy, Barbara, Beth, Danny, Donna, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike. For birthday celebrations: James Belden Sr., Andrew Elmore, Denise Wilson, Virginia Barley, Angelica Cortez-Bennett. For anniversary celebrations: Wally and Cindy Hernandez, Debbie and Joseph Piconcelli, James and Erika Belden, Laurie and Irwin Cohen.

Lucy asks Charlie Brown in the popular cartoon series, “Charlie,” she says, “Life is like an ocean voyage on a cruise ship. Some passengers sit in their deck chairs in the bow and look hopefully into the future, while others sit in the stern and reflect on the past. Now, Charlie, in the cruise of life, where do you sit?” “You know,” Charlie replies, “I can never get my deck chair open.”

So maybe during the Pandemic, we’ve had trouble opening our “deck chairs.” I suspect that many of us have more years behind us than ahead of us, but we know that we can’t live in the past, or rewind it like rewinding a tape player. (Remember those gadgets?) However, the Good News is that God has opened the gates of eternal life by the resurrection of His Son. All throughout this Easter season we celebrate what we believe and practice throughout the entire year; that life is worth living, the past can be redeemed, and our hope is not in vain! And even though we might not know precisely what lies ahead, the reality of His resurrection gives us hope. “May we go where He has gone, rest and reign with Him in heaven. Alleluia.” (Hymn #195, vs. 4.)

NOTICES:

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Shop with Scrip: Gift card fundraising is the best way to raise money. Start giving back to St. David’s the moment you buy a gift card with the RaiseRight mobile app today! You can join the program by downloading the app on your phone or go to https://www.ShopWithScrip.com on your computer. The enrollment code to set up your free family account is BB6656B177722. For more information, please pick up a flyer in the narthex, or email Kimberly Joy Castellotti-Ward at choiceplusrealestate@gmail.com

New Procedure: Starting this week, we will have a bag on the credenza to collect all flower and candle donations for upcoming Sundays. If you would like to donate for altar flowers for memorials and celebrations, please put your check for $40 with a request showing the date you want altar flowers and the reason for your donation into the bag. If you want to donate candles, please put your check for $20 and request showing date and reason for donation. Do not put flower and candle requests in offering plates.

Sunday School is still in operation with the necessary protocols in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesday: Eucharistic Adoration 6:00 pm.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 pm.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Alberto, Ampy, Andi, Barbara, Beth, Cindy, Danny, Donna, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Mike, Patricia, Shelby. For birthday celebrations: Ella Falco, Donna Halle. For anniversary celebrations: Charles and Jenifer Elmore. For our expectant mother: Andi.

After one of the school chapel services this week, when it was time for the classes to leave the pews and walk out, one of the little girls said, “Aren’t we going to go up to the altar and look at the crèche?” She remembered that each class as a group came up last week into the sanctuary and examined the Easter crèche with my explanation of the various features and characters. Seeing the disappointment on her face, I thought later about the women who originally went to the tomb on the first Easter Sunday. Did they return just to convince themselves that the person they saw wasn’t a ghost, or a figment of their imagination? We know in fact that the original site is now a pilgrim shrine in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

The Gospel accounts following the resurrection record the several appearances of Jesus to his disciples; often at unexpected times. When Jesus appeared to the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, they were caught “off guard,” discussing the events of the past week, trying to figure out just what happened – perhaps avoiding the authorities who were responsible for Jesus’ death. Maybe this road describes the one we’re on. Often times we don’t know what has happened; we’re desperately trying to figure it out. And into such despair and confusion comes Jesus, but we don’t recognize Him because we are so caught up in our own difficulties. We really don’t recognize anything other than ourselves and our own problems – even if the Lord Himself is walking beside us. However, when the disciples invited Jesus into their home, and He took bread and broke it, then their eyes were opened. So, is Jesus an honored resident in our homes and lives, or just an occasional guest? When we lose hope and think it’s the end, God says, “Relax, it’s just a bend, not the end.” Remember: “Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” — Elton Trueblood

NOTICES:

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

Sandwiches for St. George’s: Please bring your sandwiches to St. David’s west side parking lot each Thursday morning from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Sunday School is still in operation with the necessary protocols in place.

Forward Day by Day brochures for the next quarter are now available in the narthex. Donation $3.00

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 pm.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Alberto, Andi, Barbara, Beth, Cindy, Danny, Donna, Francis, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Patricia, Shelby. For birthday celebrations: Earle Williams, Emma Torres, Michelle Gardner, Erin Thomas, Assad Thompson, Patricia Burke, Vince Bianco, Phyllis Gibbs-Thomas, Kathleen Lannaman, Blake Wolliston, Francis Morlu. For anniversary celebrations: Rudolph and Pat Bernard, Victor and Jeanne Champagne, Howard and Karen Brown, Daryl and Shelby Walcher. For the departed: Dottie Watson, Edna Harris. For our expectant mother: Andi.

At a church in Bangladesh, the congregation was watching a film about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The audience was filled with people who had never heard of the Gospel before. The children sat in front, and the adults stood in the back. As the story of Jesus’ crucifixion unfolded, and his body laid in the tomb, there were tears and audible gasps. As the affected audience watched, one young boy suddenly spoke up. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “He gets up again! I saw it before!”

Have we heard the story of the Jesus’ death and resurrection so many times that we’re almost “immune” to its effect on us and the world over the centuries? True, we know the end of the story, but isn’t the resurrection the beginning of the real story of life, death, and eternity in God’s Kingdom, on earth and in heaven? Are we so caught up with the concerns and challenges of the present life, that we forget that our true and eternal home is the next life? So, “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ALLELUIA! AMEN!

NOTICES:

Video Viewing Options for Sunday’s mass – there are three different ways to view our videos: 1) our church website; 2) our Facebook page; and 3) our YouTube channel.

The Holy Triduum:
Maundy Thursday – April 1st – 7:00 pm, followed by one hour Adoration in the church.
Good Friday – April 2nd – 12:00 noon-1:00pm – Stations of the Cross.
Holy Saturday – Vigil Mass – April 3rd – 7:00 pm, followed by a festive reception.
Easter Sunday – April 4th – 8:00 am & 10:00 am.
Easter Egg Hunt – April 4th – after 10:00 am mass – 11:15 am.

Opportunities for Giving – there are several options that safely and efficiently expedite your generous donations: electronic bank transfers or automatic bank transfers via personal accounts or credit/debit cards; personal checks delivered by USPS; and our favorite through joining our giving family online through our website or at https://www.myEoffering.com with our secure vendor Church Envelope Budget Company, who provides you with yearly offering envelopes. Please do NOT leave any envelopes with checks/cash unattended at church mailboxes.

ECW Meeting: A lunch meeting is scheduled on April 9 at 11:00 am in the church.

No Sunday School on Easter Sunday. Join the Easter Egg Hunt after the 10am mass.

Tuesdays: Holy Eucharist 8:30 am.
Wednesday: Eucharistic Adoration 6:00 pm.
Wednesdays: Holy Eucharist and Rosary 6:30 pm.

PLEASE PRAY – For the sick: Alfredo, Andi, Barbara, Beth, Calvin, Cindy, Danny, Donna, Francis, Irene, Jeanne, Joaquin, Kip, Max, Miguel, Patricia. For birthday celebrations: Victor Champagne, Beverly Wilson, Walter Dzubiak, Emma Erickson, Martha L’Abbe. For anniversary celebrations: Charles and Margie Sandell, Matthew and Maria Hogan. For expectant mother: Andi.