Pastor’s Letter: May 22

Pastor’s Letter: May 22

20 May 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The May 22 bulletin is available online.

Dear friend,

A continued Happy Easter to everyone as we celebrate the 6^th Sunday of the Easter Season. As we prepare to finish the Easter Season with the celebrations of His Ascension to Heaven, the Feast of Pentecost and the Most Holy Trinity, there are many other accompanying celebrations. This time of year is filled with many different transitions.

This past week our 8^th graders graduated from St. Philomena School. From now until they begin High School in August, they will be in a time of transition. Most of our graduates completed all of their grade school years at St. Philomena. After many years as a Tiger, they will move on to a new stage in life. Like all transitions, it can be one of great excitement and anxiety. The smiles and tears around the last day of school and graduation solidify these emotional realities. It’s a great gift to serve as a priest at a parish grade school. I enjoy watching the many ways the kids grow over the years. Distributing the diplomas at Mass in our church emphasizes to all of us that truly everything we do and learn, flows from our love and service of God. I pray the many lessons each graduate learned over the years have prepared them to be successful in the next stage of life and faith-filled Christians for the duration of their lives. It’s truly a beautiful and humbling process to witness. Please pray for our graduates.

On Saturday, May 21, 2022, the Diocese of Peoria will celebrate the Diaconate Ordination at 10:30am in our Cathedral. Four diocesan seminarians, including Patrick Wille from St. Philomena Parish, will be ordained Transitional Deacons. A Transitional Deacon receives the same gift of the Spirit and ministry roles as a Permanent Deacon; however, a Transitional Deacon will eventually be ordained a Priest. After his diaconate ordination, Patrick will be a deacon until May 27, 2023 when he will be ordained a priest. This is a time of great joy and another example of life transitions. Please pray for Patrick as he prepares for ordination and begins his service to our Diocese as an ordained servant of God. After his ordination, Patrick will serve as Deacon and preach at the 4:30pm May 21 Mass and the 11:00am May 22 Mass at St. Philomena. You are most welcome to come to support him and acknowledge his achievement. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David