As I have mentioned in the past few Pastor’s Notes, it is with great joy that we can announce that Mike Portele, of our Parish, will be ordained for service to the People of God as deacon on June 4, at 10 a.m., at St. Mark’s Parish, at the hands of Archbishop Gustavo Garcis-Siller. Mike and Cathy have been studying and preparing for this moment for over 5 years now! That’s quite a commitment. I have asked Deacon-elect Mike Portele to preach at the masses on the weekend of June 4 and 5, with the exception of the Sunday evening mass (which is the mass for Confirmation). After the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. masses there will be receptions in the Henke Hall and we will all have the chance to congratulate Mike and Cathy! Of course, the ordination is the end of one journey, but only the beginning of another!
I also want to remind everyone that we will welcome Bishop Oscar Cantu on June 5th for the 5 p.m. mass to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for over 50 of our youth and young adults! The confirmandi (yes, that’s a word) have spent this past year in preparation for this final step of initiation into the life of the Church, the Body of Christ. Please pray for them as they approach this very important moment in life.
We continue to celebrate First Holy Communions throughout this month of May. I want to thank our parishioners for their support of the children who are receiving and for welcoming their families and friends – many of whom travel great distances to be with the children at this time.
I mentioned in last week’s homily that we need to maintain a certain dignity about receiving Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. I mentioned that it was OK to be casual in dress, but not sloppy! That we shouldn’t be chewing gum or eating candies as we approach the Eucharist, nor should we leave mass right after communion. I also reminded everyone to be spiritually prepared for communion by praying ahead of time and looking at our consciences to see if we have any serious sin that needs reconciling. Perhaps as we celebrate First Holy Communion it’s a time for all of us to be reminded about the basics!A big thank you to the Men’s Club for organizing a truly outstanding Casino Night for the parish last weekend! It was a big success with a wonderful turn-out and a truly good time was had by all. More importantly, we were able to raise funds to assist our sister Parish, Immaculate Conception, and to provide some funding for our own Youth Ministry mission trip. Great work, everyone!
Fr. Larry
Do people know if they haven't kept the Eucharistic fast they must abstain? But what's wrong with the photo? It's an illustration of why the people show no reverence toward the Blessed Sacrament. Home baked bread, presumably violating liturgical law by having ingredients other than water and wheat flour, then the Sacred Species is chopped up after the consecration and before the distribution of Communion by an army of lay people, which if it is not already reprobated (probably is) needs to be NOW. Then, because it's difficult to distribute the Eucharist on the tongue if this type of bread is consecrated, almost everyone receives Our Lord on their hand. Then brushes small particles off onto the floor as "crumbs". Under these circumstances, it is going to be almost impossible to foster reverence and devotion to the Real Presence. The rare person will insist on Communion on the tongue or at least lick their hand, and grieve at how Our Lord is treated there. And not to mention the difficulty of what to do with the consecrated Species so likely to spoil if It cannot all be distributed at daily Masses within a few days. If "the crumbs of bread" are sprinkled onto the ground outside, the people either weep over what is happening, or cease believing in the Real Presence. That kind of bread should just never be used. It's a simple change that will do a million times more good then pitifully telling people "no gum or candy in the Communion line". I am a former St Francis of Assisi parishioner.
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