Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

More and More Easter Graces! - Happy Easter!

Mother’s Day / Mission Weekend - This perhaps seems out of the ordinary but our missionary speaker is coming this Mother’s Day weekend.  Her name is Sr. Lisa Valentini MSC and she said how wonderful it would be for her to speak on Mother’s Day.  There are more details about her on page 3 of this bulletin.

Rogation Day - We will celebrate the minor litanies on Monday May 15 at 6pm.  This will include a procession outside (weather permitting) followed by Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

Eucharistic Renewal - Parish Phase
The Church in the United States is transitioning from the Diocesan to the Parish Phase of the Eucharistic Renewal.  Officially is starts on Corpus Christi (June 11).  In the days afterward we will have mystagogy sessions to help us make the Eucharist the source and summit of our lives (more on that when the time comes).  Between now and then, I will offer brief Eucharistic quotes or reflections in this column. I ask you take time each week to pray with them helping us all prepare for Corpus Christi and beyond.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem - …take care to lose no part of It [the Body of the Lord]. Such a loss would be the mutilation of your own body. Why, if you had been given gold-dust, would you not take the utmost care to hold it fast, not letting a grain slip through your fingers, lest you be so much the poorer? How much more carefully, then, will you guard against losing so much as a crumb of that which is more precious than gold or precious stones?

“O God, who have called us to participate in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of this love,
Grant we pray, that we may draw from so great a mystery the fullness of charity and of life.”

• from Collect prayer of Holy Thursday

CCC # 1357 - “We carry out Christ’s command [‘Do this in memory of me’] by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.” (emphasis in original)
 
What should we call it?
Thursday, June 29 is the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. We are planning to have a special parish Mass at 5:30 and a potluck picnic with games following.  The idea is since our parish patronal Feast Day is Jan 25 it is tough to celebrate with as much festivity due to the winter weather.  So providentially St. Paul has another feast day (albeit he shares it with St. Peter) six months later.  We figured why not celebrate our patron again?  So what do we call it? St. Paul Parish “mini-feast”?  “St. Paul Parish Feast 2.0” Any thoughts?
Regardless of what we call it, keep checking the bulletin for details in coming weeks.

Happy Easter!

St. Paul, Pray for us!
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr