What exactly is a parish? If one attends Holy Mass on Sundays and Holy days, one could say he attends one. Others may say they belong to one because they are registered at a specific church. But it is something more.
Parish comes from the Greek word paroikia, meaning “sojourning in a foreign land,” from paroikos, meaning “dwelling beside, stranger, sojourner.” The etymology of this word illuminates its true purpose in the Catholic tradition as it was once understood by Holy Mother Church’s children. To belong to a Parish is to be a sojourner, a stranger in a strange land, wayfaring to our rendezvous with our Heavenly Father, where we hope to join our fellow parishioners in receiving our eternal reward. In an increasingly pagan society that has distanced itself from its Christian beginnings, the sojourning soul is confronted with the unfortunate reality that this world no longer holds the commandments of the Lord as eternal truths. One must understand what his parish is, his obligations to it, and its obligations to him. One must come to know what his role is, joining his fellow sojourners.
For this installment of Tradition at the Table, join us in the Madonna Room at the Church of Saint Rocco on Sunday, October 27, in the Year of Our Lord 2024, at 1:30 pm for lunch, drinks, a lecture, and an opportunity to ask The Very Rev’d Dom Daniel Stephen Nash, Can. Reg., you may have questions about your role as a lay Catholic and what a rightly ordered understanding of parish life looks like.
Cocktail Attire requested.
Suggested Donation: $35 to be collected at the door.
Please RSVP by getting your ticket here or by email at TraditionAtTheTable@Gmail.com by Friday, October 25th. Please indicate if children are in your party so food for children may be provided. Please indicate if there are any dietary restrictions we must be made aware of.
Father Daniel Nash is the Pastor of The Church of Saint Rocco in Glen Cove, NY, and the School President of St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, NY. A priest for over 25 years, Fr. Daniel served seven years in three parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, before his novitiate in Klosterneuburg. He became pastor of the third largest church in Vienna, St. Leopold in Donaufeld, where he served for six years. He co-founded the Canonry of St. Leopold in 2011 and served as pastor of St. Patrick for six years before becoming pastor of St. Rocco in 2017 and St. Hyacinth in 2020.
