Pastor’s Letter & July 11 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & July 11 Bulletin

9 Jul 2021 | Posted by: chadmin

The July 11 bulletin is now available online.

Dear friend,

I hope everyone had a nice celebration of Independence Day. July 4 always brings a lot of nice patriotic celebrations across the country. The public fireworks seemed a bit bigger this year. People were probably making up for the lack of celebrations last year. The private celebrations throughout the neighborhoods also seemed a bit bigger this year. Hopefully everyone had a safe and fun time. The beginning of July always feels like the beginning of the end of summer. The summer continues to be quiet on campus. Aside from the new drop ceiling installation in the school cafeteria and hallways, we’ve enjoyed a time of recovery after the end of the school year. The floor waxing in school is about complete. Soon the teachers will start to set up the rooms for next year. Like I said, July 4 always feels like the beginning of the end of summer.

The parish has enjoyed a recent increase in the number of adorers of the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel. While we don’t have the same number of chapel visitors as before the pandemic, the recent increase is encouraging. The Adoration Chapel exists to bring the Eucharist close to the people. The intimacy of the Chapel allows individual Catholics to feel the closeness of Christ to humanity, expressly lived out in the Eucharist displayed publicly in the monstrance. Those who come to the Chapel to visit the consecrated Blessed Sacrament experience the Real Presence of Jesus as an extension of the Mass. Eucharistic Adoration should encourage our love of the Mass and pubic prayer, while helping us to grasp that Christ comes to save each of us personally. The tradition of a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament developed from the hour in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked for support and comfort. When we go to love and support God with His sorrowful heart for the sins of the world, we enjoy the benefit of being in the presence of God’s love. The benefits of Eucharistic Adoration are endless as it’s an extension of the miracle of the Mass. If you’d like to have your Adoration Chapel card activated or if you would like to learn more about visiting the Adoration Chapel, please call the parish office for assistance.

This week I will be on retreat with the Junior Clergy of the Diocese of Peoria. The Peoria priests ordained ten years or less gather a few times a year to pray and socialize. The annual retreat is a mix of silent time, prayer time, Mass, conferences, and comradery. It is important for the guys to have these days together. This year Msgr. Steven Rohlfs, former St. Philomena Pastor, will deliver the conferences. Many of the younger priests knew Msgr. Rohlfs as their seminary rector at Mount St. Mary’s in Maryland. Please say a prayer for the younger priests of our Diocese as they grow in their love for the priesthood and get a time of rest.

God bless,

Father David