October 2, 2022
Dear Ladies and Friends of TASTE,
- As we began our 2022/2023 season this past Thursday, we had a great turn-out with many new faces and women returning from 2 years ago (before COVID). In addition to our inspiring talk from Fr. Swink, those women who attended Mass before TASTE were treated with a special blessing from Fr. Mattia Cortigiani as well as an awesome homily about the archangels.
- Speaking of angels, we celebrate our guardian angels on Sunday, October 2nd. The age-old tradition of the Church is that every Christian, and perhaps every human being, has a guardian angel protecting him/her from physical and spiritual harm. Christ warned, “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven” (Mt 18:10). An angel was at Christ’s side in the Garden of Gethsemane, and an angel delivered Saint Peter from prison. The Fathers of the early Church wrote prolifically about the dense realm of the spirit inhabited by angels. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that the angels belong to Christ. “They are his angels” (CCC #331). The Catechism also quotes Saint Basil, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life” (CCC #336).
- TASTE's Spiritual Director, Fr. Larry Swink opened up our 16th season with a talk entitled "Abide In Me." This year our focus is on rekindling our devotion to the Eucharist as the center of our lives. Fr. Swink introduced our topic with his talk by focusing on the Mass, He began by telling us about the First Mass, the celebration of the Priesthood on Holy Thursday when Jesus turned bread and wine into His Body and Blood for the first time. We often talk of the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, as it is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary. Fr. Swink reminded us of the importance of celebrating the Mass with reverence, and on how our prayers and actions in the Mass can reflect its sacrifice, beauty, and sacredness. When things are tough, the Mass becomes important. And life is difficult at the present time. We can think of these difficult times as a taste of the Cross, of the Passion of Christ. God is purifying us. In the Mass, the priest brings Heaven to Earth. Fr. Swink continued his talk by telling us of the four ends (purposes) of the mass – Adoration, Thanksgiving, Atonement and Petition. For a summary of what he said about each, click HERE.
THIS WEEK AT TASTE:
- NEW TALK — This week, we welcome back Colleen Duggan as she gives a talk entitled "Healing Through Forgiveness."
- THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION — We will discuss Fr. Larry Swink's talk entitled "Abide In Me," A video of his talk, reflection questions, a full summary of the talk, and a composite list of quotes and stories from the talk can be found HERE.
SPECIAL REMINDERS
- PRAY FOR PRIESTS — One of our three TASTE missions is to encourage priests in their ministry. Our "Pray for Priests Program" enables this by assigning a specific priest to each woman to spiritually adopt and pray for during the year. To sign-up to pray for a priest, click on this LINK. The date of our formal ceremony where we take a picture of all women holding their prayer card will be announced this week.
- PRAYER REQUESTS - Please continue to pray for our TASTE program, our speakers, and our ability to offer child care if needed. We pray for: 1) continued healing and full/speedy recovery for Teresa Jeschke (TJ) and Katylee McInerney, 2) complete irradiation of all Kate Christianson's cancer and restoration of health, and 3) peace and comfort to the families of each of the people mentioned above. New prayer requests can be sent to Joy Parker at joyparker73@gmail.com.
- DONATIONS — There are 3 ways you can donate to TASTE to help defray our costs: 1) in-person, 2) electronically on our web site, or 3) by physical mail. Checks should be made out to "TASTE" and can be mailed to: Joy Parker, 12649 W Oak Drive, Mount Airy, MD 21771. As usual, thank you so much for your generosity!
- SMALL GROUP ZOOM — password TASTE2022
- BLESSING OF ANIMALS — In remembrance of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, many of the local churches are having a blessing of the animals on or around Oct 4th. If you have a pet that you would like blessed, please attend one of the local celebrations (weather permitting of course). Amongst many opportunities is the blessing at St. Mary of the Mills, Laurel, Oct 4th at 5:30 in front of the Church.
- We so look forward to seeing each and every one of you soon! Stay safe.
Blessings,
Joy, Michele, Karen, Teresa, and Helen
Jesus, I trust in You!
CARRY-OVERS - The below information is carried over from the last email.
- THE EUCHARIST - This year's TASTE theme "ABIDE IN ME" aligns with our Church's 3-year Eucharistic Revival (Additional LINK). As mentioned earlier, Blessed Carlo Acutis (Additional LINK) catalogued the Eucharistic Miracles of the World.
- CHILD CARE - If you are in need of child care to attend TASTE, please contact Joy Parker joyparker73@gmail.com directly. Likewise, if you know of any young mothers who you think would like to come to TASTE, but would need babysitting to do so, please contact Joy about this as well.
- REGISTRATION - We want to say thank you to all of the women who have already registered as it helps us significantly with our planning. If you haven't registered yet or if you know someone who is interested in attending, please sign up and/or encourage them to do the same. REGISTRATION LINK.
- INVITE A FRIEND - We encourage you to invite a friend regardless of where they are on their faith journey. If they are interested, please also encourage them to register. Attached is a POSTCARD that you can text, email, or print as an invitation to others.
ATTACHMENTS:
- Small Group TASTE Zoom Invitation
- E-Invitation: 1-Sided Front Back 2022/2023
