Father’s Monthly Column May/June

Posted on May 23, 2021 View all news

Today is the Feast of Pentecost. The day in which the Church was born and begun her mission. It was a new day for the world, to give it the opportunity to grow in holiness and virtue. On Pentecost, Following the 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses, we will chant the Veni Creator in thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit for all the fruits and gifts that He has bestowed upon us. A plenary indulgence is included with this, under the usual conditions. We will have Solemn Vespers at 3:30 p.m.

Today we also inaugurate a new way to do the bulletin and newsletter for the parishes. We are moving to a full-colored monthly newsletter that will include the information on things coming up over the next six weeks or so, in addition to some catechesis. A single-page weekly bulletin will be put out each Sunday, including that week’s Mass intentions and very brief information on things that either didn’t make it into the newsletter or needed reminders. I am hoping that this helps to streamline the way we communicate and also make it more efficient. Many of the same announcements were repeated, which seemed to be a waste of paper and resources. I hope that with this model, we save both time and resources while at the same time presenting the information needed efficiently and attractively. There will undoubtedly be tweaks over the coming weeks and months, but the newsletter will be released the first of each month while the Sunday bulletin will continue to be leased each Sunday. If you have any constructive feedback, please let us know! The next edition will come out in July.

The past several months have been busy, but we are grateful for what God has accomplished this past year, as difficult as it may have been. We are thankful for our three new priests, two for the Oratory and one for the Archdiocese. We are also grateful for the many new faces between our parishes, and now that the restrictions are slowly being lifted, we hope in the coming weeks and months to get to know you better! Please certainly keep our upcoming Masses and other events in mind and put them on your calendar now.

The next few weeks will also continue to be busy. We come first of all to the very busy first week of June. On June 1, transferred from May 26, we celebrate the Feast of St. Philip Neri, the founder of the Oratory. Please be sure to join us for Mass on this day to celebrate this saint of joy! We also celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi that week on June 3 (and again on June 6). There will be Eucharistic Processions on Thursday and Sunday, so be sure to mark these dates down now! On June 11, we will celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart with a special Feast Day Mass at Sacred Heart. Wrapping up the summer will be the Feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24 with solemn Mass at 6:30 p.m. A reception will follow both the Feast of the Sacred Heart and the Feast of St. John the Baptist.

We will enter into a summer slowdown after that, where I hope to plan our upcoming year and get caught up on several things we are behind on. Hopefully, things are back to mostly normal in the autumn, and all of our regular activities can resume!

May the Lord bless you over this month, and Mary keep you!