Dear Parishioners,
Last weekend we remembered Father Mike Donald’s 46th Anniversary of his Ordination to the Priest- hood. This weekend I would like to recognize our tremendous deacons. Deacon Bill Smith will be celebrating his 20th Anniversary of Ordination to the Diaconate this coming Wednesday, May 30th.
Deacon Carl Sommer will be celebrating his 2nd Anniversary of Ordination to the Diaconate Monday, June 4th. Thanks to our two “active” Deacons. Our retired Deacons should be recognized as well.
Deacon Ray Miller will observe his 26th Anniversary of Ordination on Wednesday, June 6th. Deacon Bob Birkenmaier will observe his 15th Anniversary the next day, Thursday, June 7th. May God bless the four of you and reward you here and in the hereafter. Next Saturday, June 2nd will see
25 new Permanent Deacons ordained for the Archdiocese, including Kirk Lackas, the son of our parish- ioners Shirley and Duane Lackas. May God bless them, their families, and their parishes. God willing in two years hence we will have another Permanent Deacon, Mr. Bill Smith, ordained for service as an Ordained Deacon. We will be seeing Bill serving as a Lector and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion more regularly now that the schedule from his former parish, Saint John Bosco, has run out. So, Deacons are a very important part of the Church today and the future of the Church since, on Saturday May 26th, we only had two priests ordained for service in the Archdiocese. Please pray for vocations and perseverance of vocations!
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We celebrate today the relationships at the heart of our faith. As God eternally participates in the relationship of Father, Son and Spirit, we too participate in this sacred community and in the great historic sweep of God’s people past, present, future. Through Baptism, we are called by God to become part of this deeply connected family. Let us commit to loving and serving not only members of this family, but all people.
Next weekend we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Something unique happened at the Last Supper and happens whenever we share in the Eucharist. Jesus instituted a new covenant, sealed in his Body and Blood. The covenant between God and us means that we are deeply connected not only to God, but to one another. Our connections, and the commitments they imply, extend to all people everywhere. Participating in the Eucharist may be the most challenging thing we are invited to do.
Pentecost: For those of you who attended the 11:30 A.M. Mass last Sunday it was a joyous day of hearing the Word of God proclaimed in five languages … somewhat speaking of the universality of the Church. While the “Festival of Nations” Food Truck experience didn’t go as some of us would have hoped, those who attended enjoyed themselves and the food was quite good. We all need to continue to pray “COME, HOLY SPIRIT,” all the time so that we will be open to His working in our lives, in our families, in our communities, in the Church, and throughout the World.
Memorial Day is tomorrow, Monday, May 28th. As is our custom we will have one Mass, at 9:00 A.M., followed by a Flag Ceremony and decorating the graves of the veterans buried in our cemetery. While the Scouts will be involved with the decorating of the graves, I hope many come and participate. While we commemorate those killed in the service of our country next Monday I invite all veterans (obviously we are still living!) to come with their service hats (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, American Legion, VFW, Amvets) to be worn during the ceremony following the Mass. (If you can still get into your uniform, all the better!) Thank you!
Parish Carnival: It’s that time of year again! So let’s get “fired up” for the Carnival to be held next Friday and Saturday. There will not be confessions at 3:30 or a 5:00 P.M. Mass next Saturday. There will be a Mass, primarily for the workers, following “cleaning up,” around 11:00 P.M. next Saturday evening. All are welcome, of course, but please remember the hour fast between eating / drinking and receiving Holy Communion.
Parish School and Finances: As well as I can ascertain throughout the history of our parish our school has been using a “stewardship model,” meaning that all the parishioners help support the school, with a special request that the parents of our school children, both full time and PSR / CCD classes, would be especially attentive to the financial needs of the entire parish, and not just the school. Accordingly I am MOST happy to continue that practice as long as it is feasible. As of this writing we currently have 60 families who claim St Monica as their parish of registration who are enrolled for our full time school next year. Part of the registration process (for both full time and PSR families) is that they complete their Stewardship Commitment Form, stating their intentions for participating in the life of the parish through the use of their talents, their time, and their treasure. It takes all three, plus, of course, a vibrant prayer life, focusing on the attendance at Holy Mass each weekend, to be faithful stewards. While these 60 families have made their intentions known that they want to return to school, we only have 18 of those families who have returned their stewardship intention cards. Just before submitting this article I “ran” the amount of money that we are expecting to receive from our school families next year. The “treasure” intention cards add up only to $77,540. We ask for 5% of your GROSS income … which is something we are asking for all the families of our parish to aim at … if not 8%. Since we base our budget on the projected amount of money that we will be receiving, we are in very deep trouble. There will obviously be more on this topic the next few weeks.
Faithfully yours,
Fr Joe Weber