From Father George's Desk 5/31/26

Having completed the celebration of the Easter Season with last weekend’s great Solemnity of Pentecost, the Church returns to the observance of Ordinary Time until the beginning of       Advent.  “We might feel exhilarated, exhausted, or a combination of both as the major seasons of the liturgical year—Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, Triduum, and Easter Time—are over for another year.  Filled with the Holy Spirit, we go forward to the counted weeks of  Ordinary Time in summer and fall.  The Sundays of this time begin with the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ reminding us of the core of our faith in God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a communion of divine persons and the source of our life together, the Body and Blood of Christ. 

The lengthy period of the counted weeks in Ordinary Time offers us an opportunity to step back and reflect upon the meaning of our faith as a whole. Unlike the previous seasons and major feasts of the liturgical year, Ordinary Time allows us to ponder the mystery of faith in its entirety every time we gather to celebrate the Mass. The Church remembers the witness of many saints during this time, allowing us today to see how our faith journeys   intertwine with theirs.  Lest Ordinary Time become tedious and uninteresting after the initial respite from the intensity of the high liturgical seasons, we ought to let the question of how we are to live as disciples here and now resonate with us as we discern daily how to follow Christ in the interim time before he comes again in glory.” [2017 Sourcebook for Sundays, Seasons, and Weekdays, pp. 213-214]

The active phase of the 2026 Diocesan Lenten Appeal has wound down...Both parishes have now passed their diocesan targets!  That means that everything we collect for the remainder of this year’s appeal will be returned to the parishes, assessment-free so that we can get to work on our parish projects…

¨  Holy Family has received a total of $125,509 in pledges and gifts (97% of the parish goal).  Our parish share—which now stands at $47,063 and grows with each gift—is designated to replace the locks on the church and rectory and repair the handicapped lift in the Divine Artwork Center.

¨ St. John has received a total of $42,435 in pledges and gifts (96% of the parish goal).  Our parish share—which now stands at $10,610 and grows with each gift—is designated to upgrade the handicapped entrance into the parish hall and to begin replacing other aging, rusty entry doors in the parish center.

¨ Thanks to everyone who has already made a pledge or a gift to this year’s appeal.  Your generosity is greatly appreciated!

¨ It’s not too late to make a pledge or gift to this year’s appeal.  You may return your pledge or gift by mail, in person during office hours, drop it in the collection basket, or online.

On Monday the Church celebrates St. Justin.  He was born into a pagan family at the beginning of the second century but following his conversion he became one of the Church’s first apologists.  Given his background in  philosophy, Justin explored the rational basis of faith and argued that true philosophy would lead to Christ.  He wrote extensively in defense of the faith but only two of his works are known to have survived.  Thanks to St. Justin we have one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass, from his work the Apology:

“On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or in the outlying    districts.  The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings.  Then we all stand up together and pray.

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward.  The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give their assent by saying, ‘Amen.’  The eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.”

Thus, already by the middle of the second century (when the Apology was written) the celebration of the Eucharist resembled something that you and I would recognize.  This is important for us to understand the development of the Tradition of the Church.

After a lifetime of writing and debating, Justin’s final act of witness to the faith was his martyrdom in the year 165 during the persecution under the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.