From Our Pastor
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This past Friday the Church celebrated the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This special feast reminds us of the tender and compassionate love of Jesus, given to us through his Sacred Heart. This feast honors both the divine heart of Jesus, and his human heart as well. As the Catechism (#478) teaches: “Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings without exception.”
On this Feast of the Sacred Heart, the universal Church opened up a special Year for Priests that will continue until June 19, 2010. Pope Benedict wants to use this year “to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends.” So, to borrow from the old theme used by the US Army, it is meant as year for priests to strive “to be all that they can be”, to live out fully their life and call to serve generously in holiness. It is also meant as a year for the Church to reflect on and cherish more deeply the unique call to priestly ministry and the special and necessary place it has in the life of the Church. I look forward to sharing with you some of the special events that the Archdiocese and our own parish will have in celebrating this special Year for Priests.
Please join us in honoring and thanking Fr. Larry for his four years of dedicated service to our parish on Sunday, June 28 at the 11:00am Mass, to be followed by a reception in the Parish Center. I am grateful for his generous service to our parish and hope that we might send him off to his new assignment with a great sign of our love and affection as he prepares to move.
Finally, a special thank you to all those who made last Sunday’s Parish Picnic such a wonderful success. We had a great turnout of families, plenty of food, games for the kids, and wonderful weather, all of which made for a very special evening. I apologize that I wasn’t able to take up my super-soaker against the kids, but I was still recovering from being sick. So I’d like to find another night later this summer when we can have an all-out water battle after the 5pm Mass – stay tuned for details!
Rev. Erik Arnold, Pastor
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