Connected in Christ
Beloved, this has been a week to remember. I am sorry for the rapidity with which things have again unfolded. I hope everyone is adapting to the new mask mandate for our state, which will be in place for at least the next two months. We quickly accommodated our liturgical settings to meet this requirement.
Once again, I understand the fear and concern that people have… all our sensitivities have been frayed. We are normally accepting of people’s choices and diversity, and have acted civilly to each other in other circumstances, and so I beg you to do the same here. There are persons who medically or psychologically cannot wear a mask. I ask everyone to be kind and not confront or challenge someone who is not wearing a mask in our church. That is not who we are.
I heard anecdotally there was a fair amount of high school graduations around our neighborhood this past weekend. Congratulations to all you who are moving on. Our hopes and prayers are with you.
And speaking of moving on, we have just heard from Deacon Jim Matthias that he will be moving on. Deacons are not ordained for an individual parish, but for the archdiocese and, just like a priest, get assignments. We have been fortunate to have Deacon Jim with us these last two years, but the need is great for his services in other parishes. Jim has been assigned to work with my old friend, Fr. Peter Patrick Kimani, at St. Sebastian and St Catherine parishes beginning in October. Dcn. Jim will be with us through September 12/13. This same weekend we will be, God willing, offering a congratulations and welcome to Kurt Peot as a new deacon with us. If you see Dcn. Jim congratulate and thank him for the great contribution he has made to our parish.
We have just received another update of the Archdiocesan Matrix on the Catholic Comeback. Our staff will be analyzing it in the days ahead. Next week, I will highlight for you what this means to our parish.
This is the last week of our Engagement Survey. If you have not already given us your thoughts, please do by answering this brief survey Engagement Survey. Through this we hope to be able to learn how and what we can do to help you through these very difficult times.
Congratulations to our Confirmation and First Communion candidates. We finished all our common ceremonies, though we still have a few individuals to go.
This weekend we will be celebrating our patronal feast day. The feast day of St. Dominic is officially Saturday, but on such an occasion, we can “move” the feast day to our weekend celebration. Normally we celebrate with a Mass in the Prayer Gardens. We had some great plans for a celebration this weekend, but as with everything, we had to reassess. It is still a day of celebration of the great parish that exists here and the many who have come before to make and maintain that legacy. I still remember when I heard I would have the honor of being pastor of this parish, my motto would be, “Don’t screw this up.” I still think of that on almost a daily basis, as the parishioners, their love for Jesus, and their support of me as pastor and the parish amaze me. Thank you all. Happy St. Dominic Feast Day!
I continue to pray for you every day and wish there was more I can do to make you feel at peace. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Remember that when you feel lost, alone, afraid, or just plain frustrated. God Bless.
~Fr. Dennis