A Message from Father Bill Swengros

My friends,

 As you read this, I’m on mission in Panama at our sister parish Blessed Trinity in the mountains of Calobre.  This time we have brought a dental team as well as a team of evangelists who will share the Good News of the Sacrament of Marriage.  We will also bring some medical supplies and the money we raised in our car washes at Car Wash on the Greens as well as last weekend’s love offering.  These funds will be used to help build a small convent, chapel, and parish center in the mountain village of Chitra.

 Our dental team is spending their days seeing countless patients in the various remote villages which surround Calobre.  Unfortunately, for many of the people, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss are luxuries they cannot afford.  There is little hope of saving teeth.  The most we can do is to relieve them of pain by pulling the rotting teeth and provide toothbrushes and toothpaste so that they can save what they still have.  After assisting the dentists for a day, I have to say that I am an ardent advocate of brushing and flossing three times a day and treating drinking water with fluoride!

 I’ll be working closely with our team of evangelists.  Few couples in Calobre marry.  The rate of domestic abuse, infidelity, and alcoholism is so high, many women refuse to marry.  Many men shun marriage because they feel it would “domesticate” them.  Our hope is to share the Good News of the Sacrament of Marriage and to encourage them in their struggle against alcoholism, adultery, and domestic abuse.  And again, thank you, thank you, thank you for your generous and prayerful support for our sister parish.

 While the attitudes of our Panamanian brothers and sisters towards the social ills of their culture seem strange, the attitudes of many of our fellow Catholics towards abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, capital punishment, and other respect life issues is equally disturbing. 

 As Christians, we believe that every human life has an inalienable dignity and value.  This week we recall another infamous decision – Roe v. Wade.  Let us remember that we are all God’s children and are entitled to basic human rights – first and foremost – that is, to life itself!

 Please join us Monday at 7 pm for a special Mass of Penance in remembrance of the millions of children who have died through the horror of abortion and for all those whose lives have been devastated by this scourge.

 I am especially pleased that our parish will be represented this week in the National Right to Life March in Washington, DC by a contingent of young adults.  Let us pray for conversion of hearts and for all the victims of abortion: children, mothers, fathers, friends and relatives, and health care providers.  May our country be noted for its consistent ethic of life!

 Growing Together in Christ,