Pastor’s Letter: February 25, 2024

Pastor’s Letter: February 25, 2024

23 Feb 2024 | Posted by: chadmin

Dear friend,

Fr. Luke Spannagel will offer a Lenten Mission at St. Philomena. Fr. Luke lives in the St. Philomena Rectory and serves the Cathedral and downtown parishes. He is one of the National Eucharistic Preachers for the National Eucharistic Revival leading up to the Congress in Indianapolis this summer. In response to the Pew Study that showed doubt among Catholics in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the Bishops launched this Revival to deepen Catholic faith in the United States. To engage this call at St. Philomena, Fr. Luke will preach the St. Philomena weekend Masses on Mar. 9 and 10 and then offer evening conferences on Monday, Mar. 11 through Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2024. Further details are in this bulletin. Please join us for this time of Eucharistic renewal.

Last Sunday our RCIA candidates celebrated the Rite of Sending and the Rite of Election. At the 9am Mass, the St. Philomena community formally sent the RCIA class to the Bishop. On Sunday afternoon, the Bishop celebrated the Rite of Election at the Cathedral. In this ceremony, the Bishop questioned the candidates, sponsors and educators to make sure that all are preparing well for the Easter Sacraments. This ceremony is always a joyful time for those who have pondered the Christian faith and the Catholic Church for the last several months. I personally enjoy teaching the RCIA classes and helping form the candidates’ understanding of the Christian faith. We have 20 candidates for Confirmation this year. Please keep them in prayer. It is a time of joy and prayerful discernment. The Easter Vigil is my personal favorite Mass of the entire year. It is the Church’s celebration of the whole mystery of salvation. As the story is told through the Biblical readings, the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist allow all of us to experience the power of the Sacraments. If time allows, the celebration of the Triduum – Holy Thursday 7pm Mass, Good Friday 3pm Liturgy, Holy Saturday 8pm Easter Vigil  – is a great way to conclude prayer in the Lenten Season.

This Sunday we hear the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus. Jesus takes his closest friends, Peter, James and John, and climbs a high mountain. The geographic location allows for the theophany, the manifestation of God. The clothes of Jesus became dazzling white, Moses and Elijah appeared in spirit and the voice of God the Father is heard. “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” This is one of the few times we have a direct command from the Father. The reason we stand for the Gospel reading at Mass is because we believe God is speaking to us in the first person in Jesus. God the Father calls us to listen to God the Son. If we take this command seriously, it increases our desire for prayer, our attention at Mass, our preparation for Confession, and our practice of the Golden Rule. The lives of the great saints show us that when we live the commandments, especially the corporal works of mercy, we truly hear the voice of God. As we continue our Lenten journey, may our “hearing” of God’s voice result in love and compassion for one another. In order to help our Lenten spiritual experience, we have confession opportunity at 5pm and Mass at 5:30pm Monday – Friday. I hope these additional opportunities help us to grow closer to Christ.

In Christ’s Peace

Father David