Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As you hopefully know, our parish pastoral council has been working hard on a long-term strategic plan for our parish. It is now time for your input! After each Mass this weekend, please come over to St. Angela Hall. There you will find stations with parish council members, who will help guide you on giving input and record any new comments or insights you might have. Please take a few moments to participate in this important part of preparing our parish’s future. I want to hear from you!
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The mystery of the Risen Christ is so powerful that it “reverberates” in a sense for weeks past Pentecost. Last Sunday, the whole Church throughout the world contemplated the Most Holy Trinity, the central revelation of our faith. Today as we celebrate Corpus Christi, we meditate more deeply upon the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament, our food for this journey of faith. This Thursday (Jun 23) we celebrate the transferred Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the principal patron of our diocese. This Friday (Jun 24), we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, followed the next day (Jun 25) by the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On this day, we ask Mary to help us ponder all these remarkable mysteries in our own hearts as perfectly as she did. (Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. – St. Luke 2:19) At each of these celebrations, we will have special music at the daily Masses.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
First, please note the summer change in the Wednesday daily Mass time and location. While school is out, Wednesday morning Mass will be in Old St. Mary’s beginning at 8:30am.
This summer, St. Mary’s warmly welcomes Erik Roman, a seminarian for our diocese Please see Erik’s words of introduction below. Welcome, Erik!
Finally, a short reflection on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which we celebrate today. When the eternal God entered time, beginning with His conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we were given far more than a noble example to follow or good advice to live by. All of humanity has been granted the invitation to experience the very inner life of God. Heaven will be a joyful experience beyond our imagining because we will be joined forever to the One who’s inner life of love could not be contained, and who willed to share this love through creation. The love of the one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is fruitful. The revealing of the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central revelation of our faith.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In between the time I wrote my last article and this one, it was incredibly difficult to believe that another mass shooting had occurred in our nation. This time, the lives of nineteen children in the fourth grade and two teachers were tragically taken. To reiterate a thought from my homily last Sunday, tragedy like this is not inevitable. We should encourage action to be taken, and it doesn’t need to involve being a republican or a democrat or whatever. It just involves being human. We pray for all those who have the power to do something. May the Holy Spirit guide them quickly.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
What does heaven look like? “I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and language. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9). The month of May has been busy! In the past several weeks, both here at St. Mary’s and in our diocese with the ordination of our new bishop, we have had a magnificent glimpse of the biblical vision of heaven. What a blessing to experience such an incredible blend of languages, races, music, and peoples from all over the world who make up our one, universal Church.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
For several weeks now, our parish council has been working diligently to gather data for a parish strategic plan. Our mission is clear, one which Jesus Himself gives us and which I mentioned in my column last week: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As of the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, we joyfully welcome our new bishop! Bishop Jacques Fabre was ordained and installed as the Fourteenth Bishop of Charleston on May 13. Through the rite of ordination, Bishop Fabre joins the ranks of the successors to the Apostles. The main part of the ordination rite is the ancient laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination. With roots in the Old Testament for commissioning priests, this was taken up by the Apostles in the New Testament to commission their successors, and it has continued unbroken for 2,000 years. Please pray for our new bishop. If you get the opportunity, perhaps send him a card of congratulations and assure him of your prayers.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It’s back! After a two year hiatus, this Sunday marks the return of one of our parish’s beloved traditions: Our annual May Procession and Parish Picnic.
Even if you attend the 5:00pm Saturday or 8:30am Sunday Mass this weekend, come back to join your parish family for the May Crowning and Parish Picnic. The 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 5:00pm Sunday Masses this Sunday (May 1) are being combined into one bilingual Mass at 11:30am. This Mass will be followed by a procession with a statue of our Blessed Mother down Park Ave and back where we will solemnly crown the image of Mary to the left of the altar. All are encouraged to bring flowers from home to leave at Mary’s feet!
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It’s back! Sunday, May 1: Come and join your parish family for our now-again-annual Parish Picnic! After two years of cancellations, we finally can have a family reunion of sorts. Our theme this year is “One Family in Christ.” Please note the special Mass schedule for the day! Mass will be at 11:30am (not a typo) and is followed by our May Procession and May Crowning. You are encouraged to bring flowers from home for the procession and crowning. Our special guests will be all of our young boys and girls who the day before will have received their First Holy Communion.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
“Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen!” This traditional Easter greeting expresses not only our Christian faith from the day of Jesus’ glorious Resurrection, but also the fulfillment of the words of the Prophets. The bodily, historical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead also prefigures what Christ will do for you and me. “He will change our lowly body to conform with His glorified body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). Looking back a little farther: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” (Isaiah 26:19). And the Prophet Daniel speaks of the dead awakening “some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2-3). In other words, we didn’t just make this up. Jesus, the Word of God incarnate, fulfills Scripture. In his incredible book Jesus of Nazareth, then Cardinal Ratzinger wrote, “Jesus’ resurrection was about breaking out into an entirely new form of life, into a life that is no longer subject to the laws of dying and becoming, but lies beyond it – a life that opens up a new dimension of human existence. Jesus has not returned to a normal human life in this world like Lazarus.
READ MOREDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We begin Holy Week, our most sacred time. These are the days that define who we are as Christians – as disciples. Come, walk with Jesus in His final steps. Some spiritual advice: Don’t try to “find time” to attend these important events. You won’t “find” it. We must make time to spend with Him like we do with anyone we love. See the full schedule in this bulletin. Some highlights of the week:
READ MORE