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March 28, 2021
Sacrifice and Celebration
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Today we begin the one week of the year which we call HOLY. This week was made Holy, not by anything we have done, but by what our Savior did 2,000 years ago. We call it Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday. We remember the Passion of our Lord, his burning and unwavering determination to fulfill his Father’s will. All the temptations of the devil could not sway him
from embracing the brutality and cruelty of the cross out of love for us and his Father’s will.
Please join me and our pastoral staff this week as we carve out time to worship our Lord and remember his love and mercy. Click here for a larger schedule of Masses.
Last year, because of the pandemic, we were not able to celebrate these wonderful life-giving ceremonies in person. May the pain of this past year make our celebrations this year all the more sweet.
Speaking of sacrifice, I wish to acknowledge the pain that many of you have experienced during this time while we were not able to celebrate Mass in all of our seven churches. I know this has been difficult. But if the pandemic has taught us anything, perhaps it has been keeping the main thing the main thing. The Lord has allowed us to come together and celebrate the sacraments when others could not: by being in the parking lot at the former Sears building in Union Plaza. Where there is a will, there is a way, especially by the grace of God!
Of course, once we no longer have restrictions on the number of people we can have in our church buildings, we will be able to discontinue having Mass outside of the Sears building. This does not mean that we will be able to go back to having 13 Masses in seven churches every weekend. That is not possible for a whole variety of reasons. Number one, we do not have four priests any longer, there are only three priests assigned to the parish. The financial burden of keeping all of these buildings functioning properly and safely is beyond what we can afford. I know that is painful, but it is the reality.
The good news is: we will do everything in our power to celebrate the feast day of each patron saint of the parish in their church. The first one is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. This is the Year of St. Joseph as declared by Pope Francis, and therefore it is most appropriate that this be a celebration for the entire parish. Details to follow.
We welcome all and encourage all in Holy Spirit Parish to participate in these feast days, if possible. We are celebrating the lives of, and praying for the intercession of, these special saints that they will help to unite our whole community and instill in us a greater passion for the Lord. May we
follow the example of our Savior in his total sacrifice and passion, keeping the main thing the main thing.
God love you,
