Today is the Feast of The Most Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is part of our faith that we become aware of very early in our lives. In many cases it is the first thing we learn about our faith when we are taught to make the sign of the cross. In Baptism we are baptized “In the Name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, thereby making us members of the Church but also incorporating us into the Trinity as well. We become members of the Body of Christ and so begin a relationship with God, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. This provides us with an identity and so we are taught to begin all our prayers by making the Sign of the Cross. This prayer and gesture reminds who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. It reminds us again of the relationship we have with the Trinity. It reminds us that we are called to live this relationship in our daily lives through our choices, words, and actions.
We have always been told that the Trinity is a great mystery that we will never understand in this life. It is important for us to understand what is meant by “mystery” in our Catholic Faith. A mystery in our faith is not something that we just cannot understand so we don’t have to think about it much, on the contrary, it is something that we need to think about a lot because every time we think about it we can get a new insight or a deeper understanding of it. The mystery of the Trinity means that we can go back to it again and again and come away with a deeper understanding of the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and our relationship with this Most Holy Trinity.
The Feast of Corpus Christi is next Sunday, June 19th. We will again have an outdoor procession with the Blessed Sacrament after the 10:30 Mass, weather providing. 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.
After the 5 PM Mass celebration of our patronal feast on Sunday, June 26, we will have our annual parish picnic. The picnic will be held in the pavilion next to the warehouse. WE WILL PROVIDE THE HAMBURGERS AND HOT DOGS, WHICH WILL BE GRILLED BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, AND WE ASK THOSE ATTENDING TO BRING SIDE DISHES TO SHARE. (Families with last names beginning with A to M please bring a dish to share and families with last names beginning with N to Z please bring a dessert to share.) SO PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND WITH YOUR FAMILIES. THERE WILL BE GAMES FOR THE KIDS, MUSIC, AND BEER TOO! SAVE THE DATE: JUNE 26, AFTER THE 5PM MASS Please note that included in our celebration of the Feast of the Sacred Heart we will also celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ordination of Deacon Roger. Deacon Roger has done so much for our parish family so please take the time to pray for him and his wife Helen. May the Lord bless them both for their service to the people of God especially over these past 25 years.
WARM WEATHER! Please remember to be careful of how you and your children dress when coming to Mass in the warm weather. The church is air conditioned so it is not necessary to dress as if we are going to the beach or a picnic. We should be respectful and reverent as we come to Mass. I would like to share with you some thoughts by Fr. Damian who, a few years ago, wrote on this topic for the Word On Fire website (wordonfire.org). There was a time not so long ago when folks just knew what was appropriate attire for church and what wasn’t. They didn’t need a reminder. Cultural trends have changed dramatically in recent years as far as dress is concerned, and we Americans have become much more casual in our attire. So we shouldn’t be too surprised that this trend has carried over to church. But is there anything we can do about it? One approach is to make the argument that immodest or improper dress is an offense to God. Most of us have heard this one somewhere along the way, that somehow the Master of the Universe is upset by the fact that you are wearing shorts, a t-shirt, a tank top or a skirt that is showing too much leg. And on one level this argument works—the church is God’s house, and dressing improperly as a visitor to God’s house is a sign of disrespect to Him. But, of course, there is that argument that many teenagers offer to their parents, priest or youth minister: “God doesn’t care what I wear to church—He’s just glad I’m at Mass, and you should be too!” There is something very right about this argument as well. As jarring as it sounds at first, we must always keep in mind the fact that God does not need us. God did not create the world or create us men and women in His image and likeness out of need—God creates out of love. God does not need us to come to church or even to pray. God does not need us to celebrate the sacraments. God does not need us to sing hymns of praise to Him.
