From Father George's Desk 6/29/2025

Today is the last of six solemnities we are observing during the month of June—an unusual but not unheard of occurrence.  We have one of our occasional, unusual intersections of the Seasonal Cycle of Sundays with the Sanctoral Cycle (calendar of the saints) as the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.  This feast is always celebrated on June 29 and when the date falls on a Sunday, since it is a solemnity (a feast day of highest rank), it takes precedence over our observance of the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  The feast of these two great apostolic pillars has been observed on this date since at least the third century.  These two great preachers and missionaries to the Jews (Peter) and Gentiles (Paul) suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Nero.  He persecuted Christians in order to take attention away from the fire that destroyed much of Rome.  Peter was crucified around the year 64 on the Vatican Hill.  Tradition says that he asked to be hung on the cross upside down because he was not worthy to be crucified as was Christ.  Paul, because he was a Roman citizen, was not crucified, but beheaded around the year 67.  Basilicas bearing their names were built over the places where they were buried.

 Earlier this month we celebrated the Solemnities of Pentecost, the Most Holy Trinity, and the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.  This past week we celebrated two other solemnities…

  On Tuesday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.  While the actual date of John’s birth is not known, this solemnity has been celebrated on June 24 since the early centuries of the Church.  In Luke’s Gospel the angel Gabriel told Mary at the Annunciation that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant, tradition has placed a six-month interval between the birth of Jesus and the birth of John.  Some, including St. Augustine, have discerned a cosmic significance in the placement of this feast.  Just as the birth of Jesus is celebrated at the winter solstice, so the birth of John is celebrated at the summer solstice.  After the birth of Jesus the days get longer, but after the birth of John, the days get shorter.  Thus, the universe recalls the truth of John’s saying concerning the Messiah: “He must increase; I must decrease.”  May we grow ever more united in faith and love so that, like this herald of the Messiah, we will always make ready the way of the Lord...St. John the Baptist, pray for us!

 On Friday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  This latecomer to the liturgical calendar celebrates not an event but the love of God manifested in the heart of Jesus.  Devotion to the Sacred Heart grew throughout the late Middle Ages and reached its climax with the visions of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in 17th century France, when irreligion and the harshness of Jansenism had obscured this aspect of divine revelation.  The feast first appeared on the universal Church calendar in 1856, occurring on the third Friday after Pentecost.  (LTP 2006 Sourcebook, p. 220)  The date on which we celebrate this solemnity varies from year to year since it is dependent upon the date of Easter—Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter—but it almost always falls during June, which is why this month has traditionally devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

 Our parishes’ new fiscal year begins on Tuesday.  Our business manager, Gretchen Winklosky, and I have been working with each parish’s Finance Council to develop a parish budget that is as accurate as possible.  Early this fall I will share with you the parishes’ annual financial report for the fiscal year ending on June 30 once it is complete.  As we begin the new fiscal year I encourage everyone to reflect upon your present level of financial support of our parish; if it has been some time since you last increased your offertory or if you are able to do so now, please prayerfully consider an increase in your offering.  Your parish is reliant upon reliable, healthy offertory income all year long.  May God bless you for your generosity!

 With the Fourth of July coming up on Friday, please note that the parish offices will close at 11:00AM on Thursday and will not reopen until Monday, July 7 at 9:00AM.  Only one Mass is scheduled for Friday morning at 9:00AM at St. John.

 And finally, on Thursday the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle.  History has given him the unfortunate nickname of “doubting Thomas” because in the account of Jesus’ appearance to his apostles on that first Easter Sunday in Chapter 20 of John’s gospel he was not present when the Lord first appeared: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”  A week later, when Thomas has his poignant encounter with the Risen Lord, his Easter faith is stirred to life.  After the Pentecost he was sent to evangelize among the Parthians, Medes, and Persians in what is present-day Iran.  He would later continue traveling eastward toward India, where tradition tells us he founded a number of churches before being martyred near the Bay of Bengal around the year 72.