From Father George's Desk 6/14/2026

I would like to thank everyone at both parishes for all of the wonderful cards, gifts and prayers as I celebrated my 30th anniversary of ordination last month. I am especially grateful to the   social committee at Holy Family who organized the reception after the Saturday evening Mass on the weekend of my anniversary and to the staffs of both parishes who treated me to lunch.  I am so deeply grateful and humbled by your love and support!  May God bless you all!!

Summer is the season to work on projects...

Since both parishes have now passed their parish goals for the 2026 Diocesan Lenten Appeal, we will be seeking bids to work on our parish projects:

 At Holy Family, replacing the locks on the church and rectory and repair the handicapped lift in the Divine Artwork Center.

At St. John, to upgrade the handicapped entrance into the parish hall and to begin replacing other aging, rusty entry doors in the parish center.

It’s not too late to make a pledge or gift to this year’s appeal.  All DLA gifts received for the remainder of the year will be returned to the parish—assessment-free—to help tackle the many maintenance projects we need to work on.  You may return your pledge or gift by mail, in person during office hours, drop it in the collection basket, or online.

A different type of project that we need to work on this summer in both parishes concerns Parish Pastoral      Councils.  Bishop Kulick has directed that each parish in the diocese is to have a pastoral council, the mission of which is “...to serve as the forum in which pastors and the lay faithful gather on a regular basis to discern those pastoral and spiritual issues affecting peoples’ understanding and ability to live out their baptismal call in their   daily lives, and to recommend effective responses to these issues.” 

The Pastoral Council should consist of a minimum of six lay members but ideally 8-12.  Membership should be sensitive to the diverse makeup of the parish community including age, sex, socio-economic conditions, race, etc.  Members must be fully initiated Catholics, registered members of the parish, in full communion and in good standing with the Catholic Church and:

· Demonstrate a willingness to work for the mission of the Church and the Diocese.

· Be conversant with the lives and issues of people and groups living in the region served by the parish.

· Have a willingness to focus on the mission of the parish as a whole, and not a specific interest representation.

· Have the disposition to learn and the ability to engage in prayer and spiritual methods utilized in the pastoral council

· Have a basic understanding of parish and diocesan structure.

St. John does have an active pastoral council of five members that typically meets on the second Tuesday of the month.  Holy Family does not have a functioning pastoral council.  So I would ask parishioners of both parishes to take to prayer our parishes’ needs for this important ministry.  If you feel you may be called to this ministry or if you would just like more information about what is involved, please contact me.

And finally, on Saturday the Church honors one of its best-known and most beloved saints, St. Anthony of Padua.  Anthony was born in Portugal in 1195 and lived a very quiet and austere life as an Augustinian friar until being attracted by the Franciscan missionaries in Morocco. He was permitted to join the order but fell ill before making his missionary trip.  He moved, instead, to a hermitage in Montepaolo, Italy.  Legend has it that even the fish liked to listen to Anthony’s sermons! His preaching eloquence was discovered by accident one day when he hesitantly volunteered to speak at an ordination.  He began preaching throughout Italy and Southern France, becoming one of the most renowned saints in Europe, following his death in Padua, Italy in 1231. (2008 Sourcebook, LTP, p. 261)  Why is St. Anthony often depicted holding the child Jesus in his arms?  Tradition tells us that Anthony was a guest in someone’s home and was seen through an open window, deep in meditation and communion. He was holding Christ so single-mindedly in his heart that the Christ child was seen in his arms.

“Tony, Tony, turn around. Something’s lost and must be found.” Why pray to St. Anthony when something is lost?  Another story tells us of a novice who grew tired of religious life and pilfered Anthony’s Book of Psalms (books were quite rare in those days) as he was packing his things to go AWOL.  Anthony prayed that it would be returned to him and, lo and behold, the novice had a change of heart; he returned the book and came back to the order.