This weekend the Church will celebrate the final Sunday in Ordinary Time with the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. Jesus' kingdom is not like the political kingdoms of the earth, but his rule is universal, extending to all mankind and his throne is in heaven. 

I want to once again thank everyone who offered me well wishes for my birthday, sent a card or a gift. I wanted to write a personal thank you to all but every time I try something else comes up. Please know of my gratitude for your thoughtfulness and kindness. I've also appreciate all the Reeces Peanut Butter Cups after my mention at the end of Mass at the All Saints Vigil! 

It's time for me to take a little breather before we get well into the Advent season and preparations for Christmas. I will be heading out to the prairies of South Dakota after Masses on Sunday and will return on Monday, November 28th. I am looking forward to some time with my family away from the busyness of ministry. There will be no daily Masses next week or on Monday the 28th. We once again welcome Fr. Merlin Schrad for the 1st Sunday of Advent for all of our Masses and thank him for allowing me some time away. I hope that all of you have a blessed Thanksgiving with your family and friends and some time to relax. 

Two weeks ago I shared with you news of the new Decree Promulgating a Policy for Scheduling Masses in Parishes which I share with you below. This policy has been in the works for the last six months and comes from the fruit of a lot of research, consultation and deliberation. This policy directly impacts our parish as it will mean eliminating one of our Saturday evening Vigil Masses. I appreciate the comments I have received after that homily as we all strive to do what is possible and best for our parish and our priests. As I mentioned during that homily, policies like this, and the Code of Canon Law itself, establish these regulations to protect the dignity of the sacraments as well as the priest. It is unhealthy physically and spiritually to  say Mass after Mass after Mass on a given day, especially on the weekends. 

By way of some statistics, our 4pm Mass in Storm Lake has averaged 210 people per Mass throughout 2022. The 6pm Mass in Early has averaged 69 people per Mass throughout 2022. Together, there are an average of 279 people that go to Mass each weekend on Saturday evenings. The capacity of St. Mary's  is right at 500 people while the capacity of Sacred Heart is 206. Based on this information alone, it would not be feasible based on space to have the Saturday evening Mass at Sacred Heart. Based on data we do have enough people attending Saturday evening Mass to qualify for an exemption to have a fourth weekend Mass by moving it from Saturday evening to Sunday morning. For this reason, beginning in January, Sacred Heart will no longer have a weekend Mass and its status will change from a secondary church to a church building. As I mentioned, this does not mean the church is closed. It will remain a part of the parish and will be used for funerals, weddings, other occasional Masses and events.

This policy directs how a parish can schedule its Masses, offering some clear guidance based on Canon Law. I also want to reiterate a few other points from the policy. From Monday through Friday a parish can only schedule one daily Mass per priest in the parish and it cannot schedule a Mass on the day off of the priest. This includes funerals. I have reiterated multiple times that there are no Masses on Fridays on my day off. I consistently get asked for funeral Masses on Fridays. If I agree to one, then I have to agree to them all which means I would rarely get time off since most people now prefer funerals on Fridays or Saturdays to make things more convenient. While it may be convenient for families, please remember that Fridays are always unavailable for a funeral Mass and there will be some Saturdays when a funeral Mass will not be possible either if there is a wedding scheduled or another Mass on my schedule. I am only allowed a maximum of 2 Masses on a Saturday (which means one during the day- a funeral OR a wedding and one in the evening for the Vigil of Sunday). As I mentioned during my homily, the last thing I want to do is tell a family no to a certain day for a funeral but I also cannot accommodate  everyone's needs at the same time. In these instances, on Fridays or when it is not possible for a funeral Mass on a Saturday, there is usually the option for a deacon to have the funeral liturgy outside of Mass. 

Over the past several years my brother priests and I have noticed an increase in the inflexibility of families when it comes to planning a funeral. It is important for everyone to understand that the parish does what it can, with the priestly and diaconal resources that it has, to accommodate a families' need. Sometimes we will have to say no and offer alternatives. It is not because we like saying no, but we also cannot do the impossible. We are a large parish with a lot of things going on and we do our best to accommodate everyone as we are able. Please be flexible and patient when making funeral arrangements. 

Finally, beginning in January when we go to one evening Mass on Saturday, it does merit us asking the question about our schedule. Is 4pm the best or most preferred time for the evening Mass? Some say it is too early, others like the time. For me, with weddings and other obligations a bit later could be more helpful. I also want to note that it is increasingly difficult to get people to show up for ministries at the 4pm Mass. We often don't have servers, cantors, organists, lectors and ushers. I do not generally have this problem at the 6pm in Early. That means we have to step it up at St. Marys in signing up and showing up for liturgical ministries. I have included a short survey below for you to offer your preference. This will help me in making the best decision going forward. 

Sorry for the long message this week but there was a lot to say! As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for the gift of our faith, the sacraments and to all of you who make our parish and school what it is. God bless you! 

Father Lingle