From Father George's Desk 6/1/25

The final days of the Easter Season, between the Ascension and Pentecost, have their own special character as a particular period of preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This weekend “places us between the departure of Jesus in his ascension and the arrival of the Spirit at Pentecost. We gather with the disciples in the upper room of prayerful anticipation during the nine days that formed the original novena for the Church.”(2004 Soucebook for Sundays and Seasons, LTP, p. 158) We rely on the Holy Spirit to animate our lives of faith; to guide the Church, the Body of Christ; and to intercede for us in heaven. As we conclude the Easter Season next weekend with the celebration of Pentecost, commemorating the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and celebrating the birthday of the Church, I encourage you to wear red when you come to Mass next weekend since red is the color generally associated with the Holy Spirit.

With the Easter Season winding down, the school year wrapped up and summer upon us, life in the parishes is finally slowing down after an incredibly busy Lent and Easter.

• Belated thanks to Jody Taylor, Bob Mason, and everyone who offered such splendid hospitality to Bishop Kulick, the confirmandi, their sponsors and families when we hosted confirmation for the parishes of our region on April 30.

• Congratulations and belated thanks to the St. John Rosary Altar ladies and the members of the Craft Show committee for a successful spring craft show on May 3 and then getting the social hall ready the next day to host the reception for the Diocesan Scout Convocation Mass.

• Big thanks to all of our music ministers at both parishes for sharing your time and talent with all of us all year long! Even though the choir and the handbells will be going on hiatus for the summer, our organists and cantors will continue to be hard at work.

• A special word of thanks to Jason Brinker and the Lopatich Brinker Funeral Home for producing the Pope Leo and Pope Francis prayer cards.

• Even though the pace of life at our parishes may be slowing down for the summer, there is still much to be done…

• Our recently created Buildings & Grounds Committee will continue to do “walk-throughs” of all of our parishes' facilities through the summer so that we can better evaluate and prioritize maintenance needs and physical improvement projects. • We are getting some of the work lined up on DLA projects at both parishes.

• Planning has begun for both parishes to host a ministry fair this fall. Watch for more details later in the summer.

• Other things are in the hopper as well. Stay tuned. As the active phase of the 2025 Diocesan Lenten Appeal begins to wind down, both parishes have passed their diocesan targets...

• Holy Family has passed its goal! Our total now stands at $118,570 in pledges and gifts (this 104% of our parish goal of $114,000) Our parish share currently stands at $42,379 and grows with each gift since everything we collect for the remainder of this year’s appeal will be returned to the parish, assessment-free so that we can get to work on our parish project: addressing the two leaks in the stone work on the façade of the church.

• St. John is 86% of the way to its parish goal. Our total now stands at $39,712 in pledges and gifts. Our parish share current stands at $5637 and grows with each gift since everything we collect for the remainder of this year’s appeal will be returned to the parish, assessment-free so that we can get to work on our parish project: the refurbishment the crucifix in the church.

• Thanks to everyone who has already made a pledge or a gift to this year’s appeal. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! If you have not yet made a pledge or gift, it’s not too late! Please prayerfully consider a pledge or gift to this year’s DLA. You may return your pledge or gift by mail, in person during office hours, drop it in the collection basket, or online.

Finally, a stewardship thought for this week on the stewardship of talent, drawn from the United States Bishops’ pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response. “When we volunteer to help others by sharing our talents with them, we give them something far more precious than our time or money. We give them something of ourselves, an intimate sharing of ‘who we are’ for the good of others. All of the parishes, schools, agencies, and institutions of the Church in the United States are blessed with thousands of volunteers who share their talents with others. The ‘time and talent catalogues’ that many parishes publish each year describe hundreds of ways that people can and do give of themselves, from visiting the sick to frying fish, from counseling youth to serving on parish committees. These gifts of self are every bit as important as the financial contributions we make to support the Church’s ministry.”