About the Pastor

Hello, I’m Father Anthony Armstrong, a Carmelite priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Osprey, Florida. It is my joy and privilege to serve this vibrant community, helping others deepen their faith and grow in their relationship with God. With a heart for prayer, service, and contemplation, I strive to live out the values of the Carmelite tradition in all that I do. My mission is to guide others with compassion, offering spiritual support and inspiring all to live with humility, peace, and love. Thank you for visiting, and I look forward to walking this journey of faith with you.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday, a moment each year when the Church pauses to remember who Jesus is for us—and who we are called to be in response. Today’s readings speak to the deep human longing for guidance, protection, and purpose, especially in a world that often feels uncertain and overwhelming.

In the first reading, Peter’s bold preaching pierces the hearts of his listeners. They suddenly recognize that the One they rejected is the One sent to save them. Their question—“What must we do?”—is the question every disciple must ask. Peter’s answer is simple but demanding: repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. Conversion is not a one‑time event; it is a daily turning toward the Shepherd who leads us to life and continually invites us to begin again.

Saint Peter continues this theme in the second reading, reminding us that Christ suffered for us, leaving an example “that you should follow in his footsteps.” Jesus does not shepherd us from a distance. He walks the same rocky paths we walk. He knows the weight of suffering, the sting of injustice, and the loneliness of rejection. Yet He responds not with bitterness but with mercy. To follow the Shepherd means learning to endure hardship with patience, trusting that God can bring grace even from what wounds us, and believing that no suffering is wasted when united to Christ.

In the Gospel, Jesus calls Himself the Gate and the Shepherd. He knows His sheep by name, and His sheep recognize His voice. In a world filled with noise—opinions, fears, pressures, and distractions—Jesus invites us to tune our hearts to His voice. He leads not by force but by love. He does not trap us; He frees us. He does not steal life; He gives it abundantly. This image of the Good Shepherd is not sentimental. It is profoundly practical. Sheep survive only by staying close to the shepherd. We flourish only by staying close to Christ.

A Practical Challenge for the Week

Choose one concrete way to “listen for the Shepherd’s voice” each day this week. This could be:

five minutes of silent prayer,

reading a short passage of Scripture, (especially the readings of the day)

asking Jesus before a decision, “Where are You leading me?”,

or practicing one act of patient kindness toward someone difficult.

Let this week be a small but intentional step toward the abundant life Christ promises!

~ Father Anthony

It’s that time of year again! And so, with this Pastor’s Corner, I want to let you know that, thanks to your great generosity to the parish, our Catholic Faith Appeal (CFA) goal for 2026 has gone from $267,000 for 2025 to $298,000 for the new CFA year. Actually, the CFA goal for this year should have been $324,000 but the Diocese acknowledged that a jump of over $50,000 in one year was too much and so reduced our CFA goal for 2026.

Our assessment jumped that much because, basically, for every $10 given to the offertory collection last year, $2.60 of that donation was added to our CFA goal for this year. Last year we had over $250,000 extra in donations through the offertory collection! The upside of those extra donations is that our savings account is growing but the downside is that we’re asked to pay more CFA.

For those of you who don’t understand the CFA process a quick explanation. Each diocese in the country has their own equivalent of CFA with different rates and different calculations. However, here in the Diocese of Venice, each parish is assessed 26% of their income from the previous year. Whilst this is higher than in some dioceses, the CFA in this Diocese supports many more programs than in other dioceses, programs that directly support parishes and which help underwrite the costs of the Diocese.

Many of you see CFA as a tax from the Diocese and don’t like supporting CFA because you want to support the parish rather than the Diocese. However, as explained above, if you give to the parish, the Diocese will assess us 26% on all of that income anyway. Last year only 18% of parishioners gave anything to CFA so, to put it another way, 82% of households who supported the parish gave nothing to CFA. I will list some of the many benefits that we as a parish receive from CFA in future Pastor’s Corners but, from a purely financial point of view, if we don’t make our CFA goal, as we were in danger of not doing in 2025, then the Diocese would simply have taken the money from our savings account anyway.

So, bottom line, whether we make our goal or not, the Diocese will still get its CFA assessment from us, whether by parishioners supporting CFA or from the parish savings account. So, as we are about to start the CFA 2026 year my invitation to all of you who don’t give to CFA, or haven’t given for a while, is to consider giving at least a quarter of your donations to the parish via CFA so that we can meet our goal. That way our CFA goal for 2027 will be less because you gave less to the parish in offertory contributions in 2026. Hopefully, this Pastors Corner will encourage you to consider making a contribution to CFA this year. Thank you, and God bless you all.

~ Father Anthony