Pastor’s Letter: May 12, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: May 12, 2024

10 May 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend, 

Happy Birthday to Fr. Daniel on Sunday, May 12. He is still the youngest priest in the Diocese! Many great years of service to come from him, after an excellent first year in the priesthood at St. Philomena.

This Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord into Heaven. Traditionally based on the number of days (40), the Ascension was celebrated on Thursday of the Fifth Week of Easter: Ascension Thursday. Mostly for convenience sake, the vast majority of Dioceses in the United States moved the feast of Ascension to the Sixth Sunday of Easter. In the Resurrection, we celebrate that Jesus conquered sin and death. His new life is an invitation for all of us to new life, physical, spiritual, emotional or in anyway we need the love of Christ to bring us healing. The Ascension marks Jesus’ return to the Father in glory. We are not to see this as a departing from the world, but rather a completion of His ministry and post-Resurrection guidance of the Apostles. Next Sunday the Church will celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it was necessary for Him to Ascend to Heaven in order to send the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to be the helper and guide for the Apostles. The Apostles needed the Holy Spirit, and so do we. The Spirit brings many blessings to the world, but first to the Apostles it was clarity and a reminder of all that Jesus said and did. These days remind us that we need constant guidance, affirmation, and instruction in the ways of faith. Primarily our daily prayer and communion with God at Mass serve as that reminder of the closeness of God. As Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, our daily encounter with the personhood of God challenges us to realize we all have a long way to grow in humility and knowledge of God.

Happy Mother’s Day! On Friday, May 3, we celebrated our annual May Crowning Mass at school. On Friday, May 10 we invited all of our school mothers to a Mass of thanksgiving for their service as mothers. The month of May is when we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary and so it is when we honor our mothers as well. This past week, our PK4 children hosted their mothers in the Banquet Room for a Mothers’ Tea. The children did such a beautiful job honoring their moms and preparing for the time. They set the tables, made fresh squeezed lemonade, snack mix and even presented each mom with a sprouting flower. The number of beautiful events that happen on the St. Philomena Campus to honor human life is so beautiful to behold. Thanks to our PK4 teachers, Mrs. Krista Dippold and Mrs. Jen Williams for their time and effort for the Mothers’ Tea. Throughout May we are reminded that Mary fulfills a pinnacle role in the plan of God’s salvation. Mary’s “yes” to God allowed the Son of God to freely enter the human condition in love and service. Mary serves not only as the Mother of Jesus, but also as a spiritual mother for all of us. As we remember our own mothers this weekend, we pray for guidance from Mother Mary. Asking that she will always pray for us and lead us to her Divine Son.

Pray for our 8^th graders as they will graduate this Thursday night. It’s always a beautiful time to see how much St. Philomena means to the kids. Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger.

God bless,

Father David