Dear Parishioners,
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost. The early Christian community knew that Jesus and the life-giving Spirit were with them. That conviction sustained and empowered them to deal with unimaginable challenges. We are given the same presence, peace, and forgiveness when we come together, and we are called today to pass that on to others. What signs of this presence do we experience? How do we express it to others?
Next weekend we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Relationships — even genetic ones — are a mystifying reality, and the best efforts to explain them are often poetic. They are often described in terms of their results, as in next weekend’s readings on this celebration of God as a community. God’s love, peace, truth and hope deepen our relationship to one another, the Earth, and all creatures. We don’t need to understand this, only to believe and live it.
Easter Duty: It is still a “requirement” that to be a Catholic in good standing he/she is to receive Holy Communion worthily at least once during the “Easter Season,” which runs from the First Sunday of Lent to the First Sunday after Pentecost, i.e., Trinity Sunday, next weekend. Sacramental Confession is required one needs in order to be in the state of grace to receive Holy Communion worthily. We will have the Sacrament of Penance available next Saturday3:30 until 4:30 P.M. and anytime by appointment.
Father’s Day: Next weekend will also be Father’s Day. We will have a special blessing for all the dads that day. ALSO please remember the special novena of Masses that are celebrated each year for the men whom you enroll in the special envelopes at the entrances. It is a lovely tradition here at Saint Monica, and we encourage you to enroll your dads, living or dead, in the novena.
Father Mike’s farewell reception will be after the 11:30 A.M. Mass Sunday, June 23. It will be held in the gym, so there is handicapped access available. Thanks to Father for his dozen years of faithful service here at Saint Monica. Prayers for his new ministry at Saint Joseph Parish in Clayton.
Parish Carnival: As this is being written there is a good chance of a lot of rain, and perhaps storms, this weekend. Since you will not get this until after the Carnival is over, I hope that everything went well. THANKS to ALL the members of the planning committee and to all those who worked for a successful carnival. I hope that the return of the rides aided with attendance and, perhaps, income!
The Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus has requested that each Council to sponsor CONSECRATION TO THE HOLY FAMILY, as a “Faith in Action” Program. The Knights invite each Saint Monica parish household to consecrate itself to the Holy Family and to devote itself to the ideal model of family love set out by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. To help your family live out the joy of Christ, a special Consecration to the Holy Family prayer card will be distributed at the weekend Masses next week so that families might come together to consecrate themselves under the protection of the Holy Family. In this prayer, we will ask for the aid or intercession of the perfect son, Jesus Christ, Mary the perfect mother, and Joseph who is a model for every father. Preparing for the Consecration to the Holy Family is not a single event. It is choosing a way of life for your family. Through this consecration, each participant is consciously choosing to be a beacon of God’s love through his church.
The Program’s Time Frame
As mentioned, the prayer cards will be distributed next weekend, June 15th and 16th, Father’s Day weekend.
We will make the Act of Consecration at the Masses the weekend of June 29th and 30th. In order to have a great spiritual awakening, we encourage each family to intentionally fast a week prior to the consecration. Consider fasting from something that would normally be consumed or an activity that is regularly done (like Lent, perhaps smaller meals, no candy, less time on the Internet, etc. (We are not asking you NOT to eat anything during the day, just use this time to help you “to be more focused on God.”) Fasting helps to discipline our minds and hearts, and moves us to be more focused on God. We also strongly encourage family members to go to Confession before the Consecration.
It is our prayerful hope that you are able to embrace this program, as a family, and solemnly participate during the weekend of June 29th and 30th. Peace be with you all.
I think that we need special prayer for families, regardless if the family is one person, or ( twenty people, now more than ever. Please prayerfully consider making this a very good opportunity to enhance your spiritual life!
The Feast of the Sacred Heart will be on Friday, June 28th. If you want to make a Novena in His Honor, also in preparation for the Act of Consecration to the Holy Family, that Novena would begin on Wednesday, June 19th. Prayerfully consider a Novena in Honor of the Sacred Heart as we pray to “the Heart that has so loved men, but has been so little loved in return.”
Faithfully yours in our Risen and Ascended Lord, who sends us the Holy Spirit,
Fr Joe Weber