TASTE EVENTS

• LAST WEEK — We welcomed  back  Sr. Mary Michael Fox as she gave a talk entitled "Press on, Habakkuk (How Hope Gets Us Through One More Day!)". We welcomed back our dear Sr Mary Michael Fox with great joy as she gave a talk on the power of the virtue of hope, especially when we live in such troubling times as these. She made use of the minor prophet Habakkuk as our guide: he had a heart to heart conversation with God, telling Him of all the woes which befell Israel at his time. And God said to him “Have hope. The vision [Habakkuk’s vision for the restoration of Israel] still has its time.” Sister heard these words as “Hang in there, it’s gonna happen. Press on!” We often hope for things that are important, that are valid, but yet do not come to pass. This can cause us such great discouragement that we dare not hope anymore. Yet it is precisely at those dark times where it becomes all the more apparent that our faith and our hope do NOT come from ourselves but from God. And so we learn what true hope is about. Hope is first a passion, an emotion of the soul, but this is not true hope. We are hard wired to hope for things, and most of them are rather trite. The emotion is fleeting, the virtue is steadfast. It is steadfast because it is rooted in the Eternal Reality that is God. Hope IS God’s presence in our soul. And this presence allows us to withstand the daily, the yearly, the hourly trials and tribulations. Why do we still struggle with hopelessness at times? Why do we still give up on ourselves or on our loved ones or on a situation? It is our attention and our attachments to particular desires rather than to God Himself that get us in trouble. We have been baptized in the Lord, and we have the gifts of faith, hope and love that anchor our souls. How attentive are we to His presence within us? How quick are we, when things go wild with anxieties, concerns, and worries, to stop, pause, breathe, “Jesus you’ve got this?” We have situations in our lives that are worthy of healthy concerns, and we must give them to the Lord in a true “I can’t, you can, and I am going to let You.” It is not passive, it is an active letting go. We have the strength to let go because of the virtue of hope. We have that presence, that reality, that confidence. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, but we know He is already there. We do not know if our children will pursue God, but we know He is pursuing them. We do not know if our health will get better, but we know Who is waiting for us in our sufferings. How do we increase this virtue of Hope? It is a gift, but how can we increase it, make it grow? We FEAST on Truth. He is who He says He is, He keeps His promises. Psalm 23 tells us “The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing…” Hope is not wishful thinking. It is a reality that is within us. In her closing prayer, Sister asked us to surrender the things that we needed to let go of and completely give them to God, because He wants them.

• NEW TALK — This week, we welcome Fr. Charles Hammond as he gives a talk entitled "World Day of the Poor."

• THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION — We will discuss Sr. Mary Michael Fox's talk entitled "Press on, Habakkuk (How Hope Gets Us Through One More Day!)" The audio, video, reflection questions and other related material can be found HERE. The Zoom small group meets on the following Tuesday morning. Details on how to join can be found in a link at the bottom of this message.

• PRAY FOR PRIESTS SIGN-UP — This past week, we had our "Pray for Priests Program" to encourage priests in their ministry. We assigned a specific priest to each woman who wanted to spiritually adopt and pray for him during the year. If you have not signed up but still want to, it is not too late.  Simply respond to this email and we will assign you one of the priests who can still use someone to pray for him. 

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Please continue to pray for our TASTE program and our speakers. This week, please pray for:

• OUR SPEAKERS AND FRIENDS OF TASTE:
  • For all of our speakers — especially in thanksgiving for our last speaker and for the Holy Spirit to guide our upcoming speaker.
  • For all priests — Stir up in them the grace of their vocation which is in them (Litany of Prayers for Priests)

• OUR TASTE MEMBERS AND FAMILIES:
  • For the repose of the soul of Juliana Kopec, mother-in-law of TASTE member, Courtnay Kopec.
  • For restored health of new TASTE member, Justine Wimsatt.
  • For Pat Krug, healing for her sciatica causing many painful episodes.
  • For the repose of the soul of Wendy "Cristl" Spicer, daughter of TASTE member, Cathy Homens.
  • For the repose of the soul of Margaret Brown, sister of TASTE member,  Helen Martin.
  • For Nancy Beckfeld, mother-in-law of Joy Parker, for peace and comfort as she receives palliative care for a brain tumor.
  • For Hope Collins, granddaughter of Evelyn Collins, who is having open heart surgery on Dec. 3rd.
  • For Karen Giermek’s friend, Katie M. who suffers from a chronic debilitating illness, that she receives healing so that she can fully participate in life and especially that she can enjoy her son’s wedding a few months from now.

• BEYOND OUR TASTE COMMUNITY
  • For lasting peace in the Middle East and for all people caught in war-torn regions across the world—especially in Ukraine/Russia, Sudan, Myanmar, Yemen, and other areas plagued by conflict. May God protect the innocent, comfort the grieving, free all hostages, and guide leaders toward justice and lasting peaceful resolution.
  • For our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering persecution for their faith around the world. We pray for their strength, courage, and protection and that they may remain steadfast and find hope in Christ even amid danger. May their witness inspire us to live our own faith more boldly and faithfully.
  • We also pray for 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.