LORD, SEND OUT YOUR SPIRIT AND RENEW THE FACE OF THE EARTH! Today, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost and the fact that Jesus kept His word and sent the Holy Spirit to the apostles gathered in prayer. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were able to begin the mission that Jesus gave them before He ascended into heaven to go out to all the nations and preach the Good News. This is the same mission that we have all been given by virtue of our baptism when we, too, received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live the faith we profess by being witnesses to the love of God in the world today. Jesus came to reveal the Father’s love for us, and He continues that mission through the Church and all that the Church teaches and proclaims. The sacraments that we receive are truly more than just reminders of God’s love; they make His love present and real in our lives and in the world. The world has great need of this witness to God’s love because there are so many forces at work that do not want us to know that God does love us and is with us always. It has always been God’s plan that we be one with Him. He made us for Himself and so our hearts long to be with Him, whether we realize what that longing is or not. YOUR HELP IS NEEDED. There are a few big-ticket items that need to be taken care of this summer around the parish. The first is the air conditioning in the church, which has served us very well for many years, probably more than would have been expected. We are concerned about the main nave and the west nave. I am not sure what kind of summer we will have but we can safely say it will be warm. We have ceiling fans, but we are not really able to open the windows anymore as we are preserving the stained glass windows. So, if we want it to be comfortable in the church during Masses, weddings, and funerals, we need to address the need as soon as we possibly can. The other item concerns the steps at the main entrance of the school. The school was built over thirty years ago, so the steps and entrance need attention. The best time to do this is during the summer vacation. This is not just about improving the looks of the school entrance, but it is also for the safety of the children and all who enter the school by way of the main doors. Also, there are parts of the church roof that need attention, especially the roof on the bell tower. We have had some damage due to the weather and the insurance claim is still pending, but the need is still there and should be addressed very soon. When you get to the bottom line, we are looking at $275,00 plus. We have a little over 200k in the capital improvement fund, but that would deplete the fund, which is not a good idea because we need to have something to fall back on as needs arise. So, I ask you again for your great spirit of generosity to take care of our parish facilities. Your great generosity in the past has always enabled us to do so much to improve and enhance our parish facilities. We have done so much over the past years without ever having to borrow any money from anyone. Please pray and search your hearts so that you may again make the needed sacrifice to take good care of what has been entrusted to us and what is needed to continue the work of the Church here in our parish community. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. The Feast of the Sacred Heart this year is on Friday, June 12. Since the Feast of the Sacred Heart occurs on a Friday, we are permitted to move the celebration to the weekend because it is our patronal feast. So, we will celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the weekend of June 13 and 14 at all the Masses. Following the 5 PM Mass on Sunday, June 14, we will hold our parish picnic, weather permitting, on the school grounds. Please call the Parish Office to volunteer.
Fr. Joe’s Letter
