28 June 2024
These are happy times for the church. Last Sunday we had a wonderful reception for the choir after the Sung Mass, celebrating their hard work and devotion. Many thanks to those who coordinated the reception. The choir will return to sing on the last Sunday of July.
Meanwhile the church calendar gives us much to celebrate, as this Sunday we will be resting within the Octaves of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist and the Holy Apostles, Saint Peter and Saint Paul. After the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion for the Sixth Sunday of Pentecost, we will have prayers for the Nativity of John and the Holy Apostles. This is one of the beautiful aspects regarding Octaves; they allow us to hold different feast days in tandem, bringing new insights. In a society in which we are always rushing from one thing to the next, with octaves the Church provides a full week to ponder various mysteries of our faith.
But there is more than Pentecost VI, the Nativity of John, and Saints Peter and Paul this weekend. On Sunday evening at Vespers and Benediction, we have the Eve of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts and minds will be overflowing with theological riches this weekend.
There really is no better place to be than in the Church. As the world chases after pop culture and its mind-numbing effects, with its reality tv shows, social media glamor shots, glorified violence, and drugs ruining promising lives, the Church celebrates a life overflowing with the presence of Jesus Christ with feast days, Sacraments, and the relationships of the faithful. It is easy to comprehend why John the Baptist, Peter and Paul, and countless other saints would sacrifice their lives for this faith. Once you have tasted new life in Jesus Christ, and once you have been redeemed by his most Precious Blood, you want to give everything you have for God.
Father Paul Lillie +
