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During this sacred time between the Ascension of the Lord and
Pentecost Sunday, I invite you to join us, as a parish, in praying a
Novena to the Holy Spirit. The very first novena was prayed by the Blessed Mother and the Apostles after the Ascension as they awaited the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Those 9 days became the sacred tradition of prayer we call a novena.
May 23rd this year, Pentecost Sunday, is our feast day as a parish, since we have as our namesake and patron, the Holy Spirit. To celebrate in a special way this glorious feast, we will gather at St. Mary Church at
2:30 pm on Saturday, May 22nd. Following a brief prayer service with the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, there will be a procession to St. Vitus for Benediction followed by the 4:00 pm evening Mass.
During this time, we will be also celebrating Confirmation, beginning with a service on Monday, May 17th at 7:00 pm at St. Vitus. On Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd at 1:00 pm, Mass and Confirmation will be celebrated at St. Vitus, and a there will be a Confirmation service on Tuesday, May 25th at 7:00 pm at St. Vitus. A total of 73 young people will be confirmed. Please keep them in your prayers.
May the Holy Spirit truly enlighten our minds and hearts with an
understanding of God’s will for us as individuals and as a parish. May the spirit of the Lord enliven us with His spirit that we may make His will our own and fulfill what He desires for us with great joy. We know that these are challenging times, but we know that the grace of God is up to the challenge. I pray that we are also up to the challenge by depending not on ourselves but on Him. Following the example of the Apostles and the early Christians, if we pray and work to share the faith with others, we too will grow into the “Body of Christ” that is beautiful, healthy, and joyful!
We are all looking forward as a parish to the great Feast of St. Anthony to be celebrated at St. Anthony Church in Bessemer. This will take place on Saturday, June 12th at 4:00 pm. There will also be a light reception to follow. As you know St. Anthony’s is currently leased out to the Bethel Evangelical Presbyterian Church as they are having construction done on their present building. May God continue to bless our efforts to work with our brothers and sister Christians in supporting one another.
God love you,
