Memo from Msgr. Raun - Tuesday, June 30th, 2020
My dear family,
Greetings in the Lord Jesus!
Ways to Find Peace While Transitioning out of Quarantine
Lament What Was Lost
We all lost something in these past few months. Cancelled graduation ceremonies, job lay offs, food security, school routines, physical touch, relationships, failed health and life are among the casualties during this crisis.
When expectations fail to unfold as hoped, disappointment unfolds. And the disconnect that occurs results in grief. Something died. Unacknowledged grief can manifest itself in various ways. Scripture offers numerous accounts of prayers of lament. Expressing our disappointment, discouragement, or anger to God allows us to move toward healing.
“O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry. Psalm 88:1-2
Aubrey Sampson writes about the practice of lament. “Lament says, “God you have described yourself as one thing, but my life, my community, and my city currently reveal something totally different. Please! Help me see your hand in this. You broke the power of evil on the cross and at your resurrection-so please be victorious again! Show me your goodness again!”
When we lament we allow God to hold us in our pain.
CONGRATULATIONS to our third and final group of Confirmandi who will receive the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit tonight. May God bless you now and in the future as you are strengthened in the service of Jesus Christ!
With tonight's Confirmations, we will be "caught up" with all the sacraments that normally would have been celebrated in the Easter Season. God bless the Sisters and the school and catechism teachers who did so much to prepare our children for First Confession and Communion, and Deacon Ed and his team and Deacon Dave and his team who worked so hard to prepare our teens and adults for confirmation!
THIS PAST WEEKEND went well, with no big problems, thank God. Attendance at the 9 am was up a little, attendance at the 11 am was down a little, so no Mass hit our capacity of 250. All the other Masses had around 150 people. The moral of the story is, come to Mass early!
I really don't like distributing Holy Communion at the very end of Mass, but it's what we have to do for the time being to keep everyone safe. But no one is leaving Mass before the last blessing! There is a silver lining to every cloud!
LOOKING AHEAD :
On Friday, July 3rd, there will be no 5 pm confessions or 6 pm Mass. The reason is that on Saturday the 4th we priests will be busy, so we are going to have a little Independence Day B-B-Q on the evening of the 3rd.
The parish office will also be closed on the 3rd.
Saturday, the 4th of July, is Independence Day. As is our custom, it will be a day of special prayer for our beloved Nation, and the 9 am Mass will be the special Mass of Independence Day. Our nation needs prayer so greatly right now! Only God can solve our problems and heal our wounds. I do hope we will all try to keep our nation in our prayers as we approach Independence Day!
There will be 2:30 pm confessions and the 5 pm Vigil Mass on July 4th.
IF YOU ARE UNDER 60, JESUS NEEDS YOUR HELP!
At this moment I have seven home-bound people who want to start receiving our Lord in Holy Communion again. But they can't - because we have only one home-bound Eucharistic minister under 60, and she is already taking care of four people.
Are you the one Jesus wants to take Him to them?
To be a Eucharistic Minister you need to be a practicing Catholic (including being married in the Church or living a single life), love Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, have a desire to serve people, and have common sense! And, at the moment, you need to be under 60 years old (i.e. low-risk from Covid-19).
I know the Lord is speaking to the heart of someone reading this to offer themselves in service, so that these sweet old saints can start receiving our Lord again.
Plus, we need parishioners under 60 who are willing to serve as ushers, church Eucharistic ministers, and cleaning crews after the Masses.
Younger parishioners, this is your hour to step up and serve God's People. Will you meet the challenge God is giving you right now?
To offer your services in ministry, just call the parish office - 892-1511.
HOW TO GO TO MASS:
1. All Masses - just show up. But remember that we have to close off the church when we reach 250 people in attendance.
2. Wear a mask.
3. Be prepared to receive Communion in the hand.
IF WE REACH 250 PEOPLE AT A MASS, and a person arrives after that, they will be invited to come to another Mass, or they can go to their car and wait, and they will be allowed to join the Communion line at the end of Mass. Together with this, we are now broadcasting every Sunday Mass on our new low-wattage FM transmitter, at 106.5 FM. You can receive this signal from anyplace in the parking lot of the church. If you still do not feel comfortable going into the church for Mass, you can listen to it in your car and at the end of Mass come in to receive Holy Communion!
CONFESSIONS:
Weekdays: 8 am and 5 pm
Saturday: 8 am and 2:30 pm
BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES,SICK CALLS and FUNERALS are all taking place, albeit under the restrictions mandated by the Archbishop and the Governor. Just call the parish office and we will gladly help you with the preparations needed.
PLEASE SHARE ALL THIS INFORMATION WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET!
HOLINESS TIP : words of wisdom from St. John of the Cross:
“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE:
Real quotes from church bulletins......
Lent is that period for preparing for Holy Weed and Easter.
Ushers will swat the latecomers
OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: as we prepare for Independence Day...
Heavenly Father, please protect our nation and our leaders. Turn our nation’s hearts towards you. Holy Father, may we put You first and obey Your commandants. Grant that we may not be lukewarm in our lifestyles but stand courageously and confidently in Your most holy and precious Word. We pray that we may acknowledge You always in our daily lives and glorify You with all that we do. Amen.
I send you my fatherly blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen !
Msgr. Doug Raun
Greetings in the Lord Jesus!
Ways to Find Peace While Transitioning out of Quarantine
Lament What Was Lost
We all lost something in these past few months. Cancelled graduation ceremonies, job lay offs, food security, school routines, physical touch, relationships, failed health and life are among the casualties during this crisis.
When expectations fail to unfold as hoped, disappointment unfolds. And the disconnect that occurs results in grief. Something died. Unacknowledged grief can manifest itself in various ways. Scripture offers numerous accounts of prayers of lament. Expressing our disappointment, discouragement, or anger to God allows us to move toward healing.
“O Lord, God of my salvation,
when, at night, I cry out in your presence,
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry. Psalm 88:1-2
Aubrey Sampson writes about the practice of lament. “Lament says, “God you have described yourself as one thing, but my life, my community, and my city currently reveal something totally different. Please! Help me see your hand in this. You broke the power of evil on the cross and at your resurrection-so please be victorious again! Show me your goodness again!”
When we lament we allow God to hold us in our pain.
CONGRATULATIONS to our third and final group of Confirmandi who will receive the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit tonight. May God bless you now and in the future as you are strengthened in the service of Jesus Christ!
With tonight's Confirmations, we will be "caught up" with all the sacraments that normally would have been celebrated in the Easter Season. God bless the Sisters and the school and catechism teachers who did so much to prepare our children for First Confession and Communion, and Deacon Ed and his team and Deacon Dave and his team who worked so hard to prepare our teens and adults for confirmation!
THIS PAST WEEKEND went well, with no big problems, thank God. Attendance at the 9 am was up a little, attendance at the 11 am was down a little, so no Mass hit our capacity of 250. All the other Masses had around 150 people. The moral of the story is, come to Mass early!
I really don't like distributing Holy Communion at the very end of Mass, but it's what we have to do for the time being to keep everyone safe. But no one is leaving Mass before the last blessing! There is a silver lining to every cloud!
LOOKING AHEAD :
On Friday, July 3rd, there will be no 5 pm confessions or 6 pm Mass. The reason is that on Saturday the 4th we priests will be busy, so we are going to have a little Independence Day B-B-Q on the evening of the 3rd.
The parish office will also be closed on the 3rd.
Saturday, the 4th of July, is Independence Day. As is our custom, it will be a day of special prayer for our beloved Nation, and the 9 am Mass will be the special Mass of Independence Day. Our nation needs prayer so greatly right now! Only God can solve our problems and heal our wounds. I do hope we will all try to keep our nation in our prayers as we approach Independence Day!
There will be 2:30 pm confessions and the 5 pm Vigil Mass on July 4th.
IF YOU ARE UNDER 60, JESUS NEEDS YOUR HELP!
At this moment I have seven home-bound people who want to start receiving our Lord in Holy Communion again. But they can't - because we have only one home-bound Eucharistic minister under 60, and she is already taking care of four people.
Are you the one Jesus wants to take Him to them?
To be a Eucharistic Minister you need to be a practicing Catholic (including being married in the Church or living a single life), love Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, have a desire to serve people, and have common sense! And, at the moment, you need to be under 60 years old (i.e. low-risk from Covid-19).
I know the Lord is speaking to the heart of someone reading this to offer themselves in service, so that these sweet old saints can start receiving our Lord again.
Plus, we need parishioners under 60 who are willing to serve as ushers, church Eucharistic ministers, and cleaning crews after the Masses.
Younger parishioners, this is your hour to step up and serve God's People. Will you meet the challenge God is giving you right now?
To offer your services in ministry, just call the parish office - 892-1511.
HOW TO GO TO MASS:
1. All Masses - just show up. But remember that we have to close off the church when we reach 250 people in attendance.
2. Wear a mask.
3. Be prepared to receive Communion in the hand.
IF WE REACH 250 PEOPLE AT A MASS, and a person arrives after that, they will be invited to come to another Mass, or they can go to their car and wait, and they will be allowed to join the Communion line at the end of Mass. Together with this, we are now broadcasting every Sunday Mass on our new low-wattage FM transmitter, at 106.5 FM. You can receive this signal from anyplace in the parking lot of the church. If you still do not feel comfortable going into the church for Mass, you can listen to it in your car and at the end of Mass come in to receive Holy Communion!
CONFESSIONS:
Weekdays: 8 am and 5 pm
Saturday: 8 am and 2:30 pm
BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES,SICK CALLS and FUNERALS are all taking place, albeit under the restrictions mandated by the Archbishop and the Governor. Just call the parish office and we will gladly help you with the preparations needed.
PLEASE SHARE ALL THIS INFORMATION WITH THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET!
HOLINESS TIP : words of wisdom from St. John of the Cross:
“In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.”
LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE:
Real quotes from church bulletins......
Lent is that period for preparing for Holy Weed and Easter.
Ushers will swat the latecomers
OUR PRAYER FOR THE DAY: as we prepare for Independence Day...
Heavenly Father, please protect our nation and our leaders. Turn our nation’s hearts towards you. Holy Father, may we put You first and obey Your commandants. Grant that we may not be lukewarm in our lifestyles but stand courageously and confidently in Your most holy and precious Word. We pray that we may acknowledge You always in our daily lives and glorify You with all that we do. Amen.
I send you my fatherly blessing, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen !
Msgr. Doug Raun
Posted in Daily Memo from Msgr. Raun
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