Pentecost Day 2022

This coming Sunday, June 5, is the fiftieth day of Easter, the Day of Pentecost. On this final day of Eastertide, the color changes to red in honor of the Holy Spirit, and we celebrate the birthday of the church as the Spirit descends upon Jesus’ disciples. There will be a potluck after the solemn mass, and everyone is invited to wear red for worship. I hope you will join us.

This Saturday, June 4, the Society of Mary meets for the rosary at 10:00 am and the mass at 10:30 am. Everyone is invited to attend, and after the mass refreshments will be served in the Parish Hall. I will give a talk about the role of Judaism for understanding the life and purpose of the Blessed Virgin Mary for our faith. During my continuing education leave this past May, I was afforded the time to do much reading on this topic, and I look forward to sharing some insights.

I would also like to thank everyone who helped with our Ascension Day solemn mass and dinner. Always celebrated on a Thursday, the Ascension is a feast that is often forgotten by churches. This is unfortunate, because it is an important day for our faith, being a crucial event in the life of the cross and the resurrection. We were blessed with a decent turnout for the mass, and the dinner after the mass was another exemplary St. Mark’s feast.

There is so much to celebrate at the end of Eastertide, and yet I also know hearts are heavy due to events in our world. The news from Buffalo, Uvalde, Ukraine, and now Tulsa, continues to haunt everyone’s hearts. This past Sunday I met with a group of parishioners that I have affectionately labeled the “worship think tank.” We reflected upon our Holy Week and Easter services, as well as St. Mark’s Day and the Ascension. We also spent some time ruminating about our daily masses and offices.

At the meeting, I mentioned that the atmosphere at the Ascension dinner was more sedate than I expected, and many commented that the events of Uvalde and Buffalo were weighing upon people. I agreed, and I shared how when such tragedies strike in our world, the daily mass is a real blessing. When the news unfolded about these tragedies, I immediately adjusted the evening masses to make space for remembering the victims. Each day the mass provides the place for people to come, pray, reflect, and be made whole.

If you have not made it a practice to attend a daily mass each week, I highly commend doing so. Our weekly masses are positioned so that people may come directly after work, even with traffic. The preschool closes at 6:00 pm, so the parking lot is open and accessible. If you have dinner plans in the evening, the 6:15 pm time allows one to attend a short mass before the evening festivities. Most masses finish by 6:45 pm, leaving the evening free for whatever one wishes to do. For those who can come earlier, Evening Prayer begins at 5:30 pm, although I know that for many workers, 5:30 pm is a bit early. Please come as you are able, for your presence is always a blessing.

Blessings,
Father Paul Lillie +