Dear Parishioners, +JMJ
First of all, congratulations to all of our high school graduates! I was happy to get to a number of your parties and learn something about your lives, by means of the beautiful display boards and pictures you and your families obviously worked so hard to assemble. Pretty impressive! My prayer, and I am sure the prayer of all of our parishioners, is that you continue to grow in true freedom, i.e., in your capacity to choose the good and avoid evil, or perhaps better said – in your capacity to choose gutsy love every moment of your life. Education is supposed to lead you out of childish selfishness and into an adult capacity for sacrificial love. Perhaps you already know the etymology of the word “education”, from e- (Latin for “out of, from”); –ducere (Latin for “to lead, to guide”). May you continue to allow the Lord to lead you to a still greater capacity to choose for His glory. For those of you who leave for college, I hope that you will stay in touch with us by means of our online bulletin and our parish app. If you or your college friends ever need special prayers, call back to the parish, so that we can put you on our prayer line.
We have recently solidified details for another Mysterium Christi catechists’ training day. Perhaps you remember this is a training course offered by the Diocese towards certification for any of our schoolteachers and PSR teachers. We have set the date for Friday, July 24, from 10 AM until 4 PM, which includes an hour break for lunch. Since it will be summer time, we thought it would be best to avoid the weekend, and that it would even be convenient for teachers to make it on a Friday. This course is open to anybody; but teachers in Catholic programs are especially encouraged to sign up. Please do not worry that you will be somehow committing to teaching for us, simply by coming to the course. Since I am teaching it, I want to open it up as an adult education opportunity for all of our parishioners. Even if you’re not taking it for formal certification, you will still be asked to sign up ahead of time, so that the Diocese can keep track of participants, and so that we can have enough handouts and hospitality prepared. The topic this time will be “Prayer and Sacraments”. Please call Theresa Conley to register or to ask any questions.
For those people who initially expressed interest to go on next February’s pilgrimage to Rome, led by Fr. Matt Frisbee and me, the date for confirming a spot by means of a down-payment was May 31. So now we will be opening up the extra spots for anybody who would like to take them. This will include invitations to my former parishioners, and any parishioners from Fr. Frisbee’s current parish.
We are celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi this weekend. St. Juliana of Liège, Belgium–a 13th century saint who had a tremendous devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, inspired the declaration of this feast. She shared her desire for the feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament with two bishops, one of whom eventually became Pope Urban IV. The Lord had given St. Giuliana a vision of the Church, symbolized by a full moon. But the moon had a dark spot in it, and St. Giuliana was made to understand that this dark spot signified the lack of a feast specifically devoted to the Eucharist. The Feast of the Blessed Sacrament, Corpus Christi, began in the Diocese of Liège, and eventually the Pope gave the feast to the entire world.
May our awe at the gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist never fade! Choose actions each day that you can join to the Lord’s sacrifice in your next Mass, and you will be living the life of a saint.
Have a blessed week!
In cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Poggemeyer
