News - June 2017 RSS Feed

One of the things that really grieves me as a pastor is when I need to talk with families where a young adult is in the throes of drug addiction. I really empathize with parents who suffer so and feel so very helpless when they see their adult children in crisis.

Ordinary Time, the longest season of the church year, fills the weeks “which do not celebrate a specific aspect of the mystery of Christ.” It’s the no-particular-reason season. Christmas Time honors the birth of Christ. Easter Time rejoices in the resurrection. Ordinary Time is devoted to the mystery of Christ in all its aspects.

My sister Annemarie, my brother Jim, and I want to thank the parishioners who have sent us cards or stopped to offer condolences on the death of our mother. Yesterday (June 10) I was in Butler, Pennsylvania where I offered a second Mass for the repose of her soul and then said the prayers at the cemetery as she was laid to rest beside our father and our sister Katie. May mother rest in peace!

Today we celebrate Pentecost, which is traditionally celebrated as the “birthday of the church.” On this great feast of Pentecost we might spend some time thinking about the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. I am going to talk about the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in Isaiah 11:2-3 in a description of the savior: wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence), fear of the Lord (wonder and awe).

I want to begin this column with a Prayer for Memorial Day taken from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers. I found this prayer on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and present it to you for your thoughts and prayers, particularly for when we celebrate Memorial Day. I want to devote this rest of this column to the Mass Preferences Survey to report on some more of the interesting information that we have gleaned from it.