For the week of Sunday, July 4, 2021

Dear Friends:

I promise that this will be the last time you have to hear this from me as a reminder, but because this weekend marks a major shift in how we worship at Pax Christi I want to be sure that everyone is aware.  As of this coming weekend, we will be restoring the 11:00am Sunday Mass and discontinuing the noon parking lot Mass.  We will also be returning to receiving communion in the "normal" time and way in church, only with specific attention to maintaining social distancing, and without yet restoring communion from the cup.  You'll notice that, following archdiocesan recommendations, we still will not have water in the baptism font.  That too will come back eventually.  The wearing of masks is optional at both the 5:00pm Saturday and 11:00am Sunday Masses, but is requested at the 9:00am Sunday Mass so that families may feel safe bringing their unvaccinated young children to church.  We have no way to know who is vaccinated or not, and we will have to assume for at least a while that not everybody in church will be.  So thanks for your understanding and looking out for the vulnerable.  

To change topics, last week I received an unsolicited survey in the mail from the Southern Poverty Law Center concerning the activity of hate groups in the United States.  I have been aware of the SPLC over the years, but have never engaged in its activities, so I don't know how I was chosen for this survey.  To the best of my knowledge, it is a reputable organization that does a lot of culling of information (polling and analysis) on various topics.  

Included with the survey was a map of the U.S. which had variously colored dots to identify the more than eight hundred active hate groups across the country as of last year.  They were sorted into eleven categories, from the Ku Klux Klan to Anti-Muslim, to White Nationalist, Neo-Nazis, and so forth.  It is chilling to look at that map.

Interestingly, the greatest number of dots clearly follows a path along the Appalachian mountains from New Hampshire to Georgia, as well as along the coasts of Florida and a large cluster in Southwest California near the Mexican border.  But those groups are present in every single state of the country, including five in South and Central Minnesota.

I'm sure it's not new that such organizations exist.  They always have, dating back to the founding of the nation.  But it seems that they have been emboldened to carry out public acts of hatred, violence, and intimidation during the past several years.  It is why it is an important part of our Christian responsibility to speak plainly and often against their activities.  On one hand that seems like such a basic thing:  resist hatred.  Who could oppose a sentiment like that?  On the other hand, the data seems to suggest that we need to be constantly reminded of even something so fundamental to humanity and to religion.

I am constantly aware that the religion of the ancient Israelites, those self-identified "Chosen People of God," a people "set apart" from the rest, filled their holy scriptures (the Old Testament) with commands from God to welcome the aliens and the strangers and the foreigners and to treat them in the very same way that they would wish to be treated.  There is absolutely nothing biblical about hate or hate groups, whether in the Jewish scriptures or in the Christian ones.

Fr. Mike

This weekend will officially mark the Archbishop's reinstatement of the Sunday Mass obligation. For more information on this change, please see this letter from Archbishop Hebda - CLICK HERE.

Starting this weekend, will also be the first weekend where NO PARKING LOT MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED. Please consider joining us for the 11:00am indoor Sunday Mass. Like the Saturday, 5:00pm Mass, masking will be optional at this Mass.

We continue requesting that all remain masked for the 9:00am Sunday Mass. This is for two reasons.  One is that we have a lot of younger children who attend that mass and who presumably are not yet vaccinated, and are therefore at greater risk for the virus.  They and their parents have a right to be here without the needless risk of exposure.  Second, we have adult parishioners who are not yet feeling comfortable about being around unmasked people in a large group. They too have a right to be here.

As we continue the process of coming back together for in-person worship, please continue to stay tuned to the weekly eNEWS and to the Pax Christi website.

                                                                     

CLICK HERE to view Fr. Mike's blog.                                                                                                                                                                                         

A message of gratitude and community CLICK HERE. to view Archbishop Hebda's video message