Dear Fellow Parishioners, By the time you read this, we will have concluded the majority of our Christmas celebrations, though some families go on to celebrate in some way the “Twelve Days of Christmas” – that interlude between Christmas and Epiphany. And to the relief of many of our youngest parishioners, the “Elf on the […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This Second Week of Advent, now coming to an end, includes the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As you can see from the inside of the church, the spirit of the feast is still with us, and never quite leaves us. In addition to the temporary shrine, I […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Every place has its own markers of times and seasons. Here, the first signs of fall can begin in late September or early October, but really take hold in November. The pumpkin patches and corn mazes of October become the Christmas tree lots of late November and beyond. At local farmers’ markets, […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This Pastor’s Desk will be a collection of smaller items I hope you will find of interest. The October Mass Count has been tabulated, and I’m happy to tell you that for several years in a row, our Mass attendance has continued to grow, both at the English and Spanish Masses. It […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Since Sunday is the Feast of All Souls, I’d like to follow up on what I mentioned in my previous Pastor’s Desk. The Feast of All Souls is important enough that it is one of the very few observances on the liturgical calendar which, while not being a Holy Day of Obligation, […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, Within the next few days, we will celebrate what is really a triduum – i.e., a “three-dayer” – of Hallowe’en, the Solemnity of All Saints, and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. Traditionally, this three-day observance was known as “Allhallowtide.” Unfortunately, the connection between these three days is getting lost. “Hallow” […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, One of the events I most look forward to is the Blessing of Animals, which takes place on, or near, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th. This year, it will take place in the parish plaza and park after the First Friday Mass on October 3rd, at about […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, This past Wednesday, September 17th, my father died as a result of injuries from a fall in his home. He would have been 93 years old next month. This is sad, but not at all tragic in any sense of the word. When he was born in 1932, the life expectancy for […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, I was preparing my Pastor’s Desk to talk about the religious significance of Labor Day, and maybe a couple of other things. Meanwhile, the tragedy at Annunciation Catholic School and Parish in Minneapolis intervened, to the dismay and horror of an entire nation. The state of Minnesota, and even the White House, […]
Dear Fellow Parishioners, If you have been part of our parish community for any length of time at all, you know that I am very reluctant to ask for financial support. Sometimes, more than a year can go by without my making a single request for funds other than the weekly collection, and the national […]