For a number of months now we have been saying the prayer for our new church during Mass. And yet, I am aware that there are some of us who do not join in the prayer either during Mass or privately. I'm sure this is due to the fact that these parishioners love our present church so much they don’t want to lose it or they don’t feel the need is there to warrant building a new church. I can understand the love and attachment they have because our present church is beautiful.

Last week I began educating the parish on the new strategic plan called “Pathways to Excellence” that will strive to strengthen our Catholic school system in the Archdiocese of New York for years to come. This week I want to cover parts two and three of the plan so that you are informed of its full purpose and goals.

I don’t know if you have seen or heard of “Pathways to Excellence” but I dedicate two articles, beginning with this one, to introduce to the parish this strategic plan of the Archdiocese of New York and the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. As a strategic plan of Dr. Timothy McNiff, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese, it will mainly deal with the elementary schools of the Archdiocese. With the blessing of Archbishop Dolan, “Pathways to Excellence” is about to be engaged within the Archdiocese.

In his treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, St. Louis de Montfort stated “It was through the Blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus came into the world, and it is also through her that he must reign in the world.” Mary is our Spiritual Mother and is due true devotion and praise.

As I sit down to write this reflection, I am inspired by the words of St. Paul to the Ephesians. He writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty arguments… Live as children of light” (Eph. 5:7 & 8). As I read these words I think of the many ways the world around us, and especially the media, tries to deceive us with “empty arguments” or deceptive semantics.

1. What is the fundamental Christian prayer?
2. True or false. We could say that the Our Father is the summary of the whole gospel.
3. The Lord's Prayer is unique among all prayers. Why?
4. In which of the following sacraments and sacramentals is the Lord's Prayer a part? Choose any combination of the following.
   
   1. Baptism
   2. Confirmation
   3. Eucharist
   4. Reconciliation
   5. Liturgy of the Hours

In 1991, Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical Centesimus Annus, celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of Pope Leo XIII Encyclical, Rerum Novarum. In this Encyclical, Pope John Paul wrote of our need to see in visible things, the message of the invisible God Who created them.

Before we all head off for summer vacations and long needed rest filled with family time and barbeques, I wanted to give you a brief update on the progress of our new church building project. We have settled on a site plan for the new church property which includes planning for a future catechetical center and gym as directed by the Archdiocese of NY. We will submit the site plan for a ten year approval from the town of Southeast so we have plenty of leeway for future building plans.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states “The Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.”

I want to share with you two true stories of two well known women who embraced consecrated life as religious. The wisdom they have gained in their years of prayer and consecrated life has helped them reflect the presence of Christ to the world. I offer these two stories for reflection knowing that each of us can strive for the same goals and spiritual maturity in our Christian lives.