Dear Parishioners,
Mass Attendance
We were down another 21 people this weekend.
Mass Inside Outside
4 PM 242 1
6 PM 130 0
8 AM 156 0
10 AM 198 0
12 PM 123 0
Total 849 1
What is the Problem with the World?
I keep trying to understand why bad things happen and even seem to be getting worse in this crazy world. It's the problem of evil. It's a mystery that we can begin to understand, but evil doesn't make sense. Even so, I try to understand the mystery of evil more and more. Anthony Esolen is one of the commentators I read who addresses this topic frequently. I just read the following:
I've been wondering how to proclaim Christ to people who don't have sufficient use of their reason, who are out of touch with reality. Anthony Esolen concludes, "Meanwhile, the fundamental human task remains: to build a culture among people who have none, who do not know what it would be like to have one, and who have no obvious desire for it."
Transforming and/or Building a Culture of Life
Pope St. John Paul II worked on transforming Polish culture which led to the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe. He then identified the struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death in
Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life).
We could use a transformation of our culture. Since Esolen argues that we lack culture, we ought to build a culture of life. And this can serve as a foundation for proclaiming Christ.
Eurovision Song Contest
Ukraine won the
Eurovision Song Contest last year and should have hosted it this year but couldn't because of the war. Ireland first won the ESC back in 1970. The video above shows the winning performance by
Dana. I had heard that she won, but I never watched a recording of it until today. Her victory, I think, spurred greater interest in Celtic music. She went on to sing more religious music after this including
Totus Tuus. It's based on Pope St. John Paul II's episcopal motto, Totus Tuus (Totally Yours).
Music is part of culture. Celtic music helps one experience Celtic culture. Dana also connects Celtic music to our Catholic faith.
Culture
Even the word "culture" has it's root in "cult" which has to do with religious worship. We currently use "cult" to describe false religious worship. The true "cult" is the Catholic Mass. With fewer people coming to Mass during the summer, we have the challenge of proposing Jesus Christ to people who lack an understanding of the Mass and perhaps also of culture. We might reach them through cultural activities to get them ready for true worship of the God who loves us so much.
Church & Chapel
Today, the diocesan committee that considers building requests is meeting. They will review my request for the church hall renovation project.
We have already begun sprucing up the chapel in order to move daily Mass back to the chapel. We'll save money on lighting, heating, and air conditioning. My office is becoming a confessional for Monday confessions - also to save money.
Using the chapel for Mass, I hope, will also help worshippers to enter more deeply into the sacred mysteries as members of the Body of Christ. That is, in a big church it's easy to think, "Jesus and me." In the chapel, it's also clear that it's "Jesus and us" worshipping God the Father.
We had been using the chapel ambo at the church presider's chair. It's back in the parish center. The stand that was used at the presider's chair is back. The chapel lights will be replaced with LEDs tomorrow. Tom has removed the wallpaper (which was falling off) and will paint the walls. We hope to remove the sanctuary wall tile and replace it with sheetrock. In the future, we could install a mural on the sanctuary wall - maybe the Knock apparition scene. We picked new tile for the sanctuary floor. We will install a sound system. I still have to work on the livestreaming. The rug and lobby floor can wait until September. Basically, we want to make the chapel a place to pray even beyond worshipping God at Mass.
This morning, I talked with a parishioner whose mother saved the original tabernacle from Old St. John's. At least, we assume it's the original tabernacle from 1874. We'll use it or the original tabernacle from the new 1974 church in the chapel. We'll use the remaining tabernacle during the Easter Triduum when the church and chapel tabernacles are empty.
Moving Furniture
Well, that's enough excitement for today. I really enjoy moving furniture around so that we can make better use of the church, chapel, offices, and rectory.
God love you,
Fr. Jim