Happy Fathers’ Day to all the fathers in our parish community and may God bless you on this special day. Let us pray that all fathers will use the love of God as their example as they strive to be the best father to their children. A father’s love is so important to children, more important than we sometimes realize. So often many people in our society believe that the father’s presence is not all that important in the development of a child. There are parts of our society that would have us believe that a child does not really need to have a father while growing up, and so we have those who think it is perfectly alright for a woman to have a child to raise him/her by herself. This kind of thinking defies God’s plan of creation. God created man and woman, so that from the love they have for each other in the context of marriage, new life can be brought into the world. God very definitely intended all of us to have a mother and a father. Of course, we don’t always do things His way, but that does not mean we should try to accept His Plan as our way of thinking in the world as it is today.
As we celebrate this Fathers’ Day, we should reflect on God’s love for all of us, and how His love can be so beautifully revealed in the love of a father for his children. Fathers can often be very busy, and it is easy for them to begin to think that the best way to show their love for their families is by providing for them through their jobs. That is all well and good, but there is much more to being a good father. Fathers need to spend time with their children, and I think more fathers realize this today than in years gone by.
HOW TO DRESS FOR MASS. As always with the warmer weather now upon us some need to take special care of how they come dressed to Mass. There is a great temptation to be very casual and a desire to be more comfortable. Shorts, short shorts for girls and women, t shirts, tank tops, and flip flops are not really suitable attire to worship the Lord. Let us remember that our worship of God is not about us and our comfort. It is about praising and thanking the Lord as we remember the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Please be careful and parents please pay attention to your children and teens attire for Mass. Be careful not to settle for the minimum and think we should be happy just because they are there. We need to teach our children about the importance of Mass and how we present ourselves. God does care what we wear; He wants the very best of what we have and what we are. I am sorry that I have to bring this up every year because most people in our parish are very good about this, but there are some who need reminding.
We are very grateful to our Bishop, Edward Malesic, for his visit to our parish on June 6, to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to 45 of our young people and 3 young people from Sts. Peter and Paul Parish in Doylestown. Please keep the new confirmed in your prayers that the Holy Spirit will continue to grow in their minds and hearts transforming them into true disciples of Jesus Christ. Let us pray that all of us will be good and holy examples to all our young people and to one another. Thank you to all who helped in preparing our young people for this Sacrament of Confirmation, Fr. Joe Robinson, Deacon Rich, Maggie McCarron, and our catechists. Thank you also to those who helped to make the Mass on June 6, so very prayerful and beautiful. May God bless everyone for their effort and devotion.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is next Sunday, June 22nd. We will again have an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament after the 10:30AM Mass, weather permitting. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to gather and publicly express our devotion to and our belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Please plan to join us for this very special time of prayer.
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. We will celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the weekend of June 28 and 29 at all the Masses. Following the 5 PM Mass on Sunday, June 29, we will hold our parish picnic in the school parking lot. The Family Life Commission and the Parish Council will be working to plan the event, if you would like to help, please call the parish office as soon as you can.
