Dear Parishioners,
I will begin today by paying tribute to Rev. Msgr. Nicholas Schneider, July 14, 1930 – May 5, 2020. Ordained March 17, 1956. Pastor Saint Monica Parish, 1985-2005. May he rest in peace.
I already sent out a “constant contact” message Wednesday, May 9, with a moving tribute from one of his former parishioners, now pastor of Saint Justin Martyr Parish, Sunset Hills, Father Bill Kempf. Before coming here Monsignor was pastor of Our Lady of Providence Parish in Affton, where Father Kempf’s family were very active parishioners. Monsignor was a tremendous liturgist and writer. BUT most of you already know that! Because of the COVID-19 pandemic his funeral will be private, but there will be a public memorial Mass here after the lockdown is over. Meanwhile please keep his brother and all the family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.
This weekend is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. AND HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY! Today we honor our mothers, grandmothers, godmothers, and all who have been like mothers to us. Peter’s words in today’s second reading apply to many of them, for they have been cornerstones in our lives, chosen, and precious. In the Gospel today, taken from the Last Supper, Jesus teaches His disciples, and us, that He shows the way to His Father. Many of us were shown the way to faith by our mothers. May we pray for them, living and dead, today. The Blessing suggested today, which will be bestowed at the end of our 9:30 A.M. streamed Mass is: Loving God, as a mother gives life and nourishment to her children, so you watch over your Church. Bless these women, that they may be strengthened as Christian mothers. Let the example of their faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, their sons and daughters, may honor them always with a spirit of profound respect. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Next weekend we will celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter. At this time of year when flowers are blooming and daylight is lengthening and nature is full of life, it feels as though God’s creation has been reborn. During the Easter Season we recall that we ourselves have been reborn in Baptism. Next week’s Gospel, again taken from the Last Supper, reminds us that Jesus dwells within us. Not only that, the Holy Spirit is with us, too. Therefore, when we look around, we can see the full flowering of the divine in ourselves, in each other, and in the whole world. Truly, “let all the earth cry out to God with joy,” taken from Psalm 66, our Responsorial Psalm next weekend.
The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated on Sunday, May 24 in this part of the United States. So, Thursday, May 21 is NOT a Holyday of Obligation (although everyone is still dispensed from attending Mass anyhow!). Just a “head’s up.”
Very GOOD news: Rev. Mr. Dane Joseph Westhoff has been called to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood by Archbishop Carlson. The ceremony will be Saturday, May 23, 2020, at 10:00 A.M. at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis. Because of social distancing attendance is by invitation only. However, it will be live streamed at 10:00 A.M. at cathedralstl.org. I hope that you ALL will keep Deacon Westhoff in your prayers and that many of you will be able to participate in the ceremony by watching Deacon Westhoff and Deacon Chris Smith be ordained priests by the laying on of Archbishop Carlson’s hands and by the invocation of the Holy Spirit. (By the way, that day is a MOMENTOUS day in the Archbishop’s life, since it will be the 50th anniversary of Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood.)
Bad news: Because of the COVID-19, our parish carnival, which was scheduled for May 29th and 30th will not be held. Thanks to all the work that the committee had put into its planning. HOW- EVER, HOPEFULLY we can have a “scaled down” version sometime this summer, with a bar-b-q, games, silent auction, and music. The rides are all booked this summer and many of those other gatherings might be cancelled, too. So, let’s see how things go, and perhaps we can have something in the future.
I hope you are reading the Constant Contact blasts that are going out almost every day. We are updating numerous things there … so please at least look at them. Thank you.
Mass Intentions this week, for the streamed Masses shown at 9:30 A.M. on stmonicastl.org or on our parish’s FaceBook page: Monday: Nicholas Wavrinevich (Father Schumacher’s Intention at his Mass: Mother’s Day Novena); Tuesday: Don Schneeberger; (Father Schumacher’s Intention at this Mass: Mother’s Day Novena); Wednesday: Friends of Birthright; Thursday: Jo Ann Lange; Friday: Bernadine Gimenez; Saturday: Najette Delaney; Sunday: People of the Parish.
Again, Happy Mothers’ Day.
Faithfully yours, in our Risen Lord,
Fr Joe Weber