Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Sometimes in life, we encounter a particular project or situation that requires a vast amount of time and energy to accomplish. And sometimes our daily lives are incredibly busy and we’re hopping from one thing to another in very quick succession. It’s perhaps draining and exhausting to go through such things, but if they’re worthwhile, even though we’re tired, we’d likely say that it’s a good kind of tired. That’s how I feel this week coming off of the Carnival.
There have been many late nights this past week for many of us and a tremendous amount of hours given in service to the Carnival in all different places and facets to make it run. I could feel myself getting more and more exhausted as the week wore on, and despite my best efforts, there’s just only so much sleep that one can get with so much to do at the Carnival and in everyday life. But there’s a real satisfaction that comes with working so hard and so intensely. There’s a goodness to the tiredness that is so worthwhile. The Carnival is truly a labor of love for our parish community.
One of the metrics for a successful Carnival is the financial side of things. And by that yardstick, we’ve had another incredible year, grossing nearly $830,000. But I’ll be honest with you, while the money is very helpful in supporting the parish and school by allowing us to maintain and improve the facilities and in other ways, it’s not really the most important thing to me. That may sound strange, particularly given how impactful those funds are for our community, but anyone who’s been part of the Carnival and seen what it does beyond the dollars coming in and going out, probably understands what I mean.
The success of the Carnival, the aspect that makes it worth all the man-hours that go into it, is the way it brings the entire community together. The Carnival doesn’t function without all of us coming together and helping out. It doesn’t work unless there’s cooperation among the volunteers. And yes, some of us may get stretched out of comfort zones a bit by what is asked of us. And there’s no getting around that it can be hard work at times. But that sacrifice of sorts, that giving of one’s time, talent, and treasure, makes it so that the Carnival isn’t just some random event, but a real outpouring of personal effort for the good of the community. And for all the volunteers and patrons of the Carnival, that is felt and experienced, making this event tiring, but overflowing with goodness.
And so, I’m incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for your particular help with the Carnival this year. It was a wild success on all fronts. I hope we can all rest up this week after and continue to come together again for future Carnivals just like we did this year.
Peace and Goodness,
Fr. Dan
Recent Comments