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This is a historic week for the parish of Holy Spirit. Every evening at 6:30PM on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we will be celebrating Masses of Thanksgiving in the four churches relegated for profane but not sordid use by Bishop Zubik. As we celebrate these Holy Masses, we will be offering tremendous thanks to God for His many blessings over these many years. The spiritual lives, sustained in these places made sacred by the Faith and Divine Presence, live on in the lives of many people for many generations. The Baptisms, First Holy Communions, Confirmations, First Confessions, Weddings, Anointings of the Sick, Funerals, and Ordination Anniversary Celebrations continue to live on for all eternity. The financial sacrifices made by so many over the years continue to be appreciated and celebrated by us this day!

Enormous thanks to everyone who volunteered to assist with the fabulous 3rd Annual Parish Picnic in Cascade Park! I’m extremely grateful, as I am sure you all are, to the picnic committee for their hard work and excellent planning. I am particularly grateful to the parishioners who donated beverages.

I hope to see you all at our Parish Picnic this Sunday! Let us celebrate all the blessings God has bestowed on us and this parish! Speaking of blessings, Dan Roberts is checking in this week.

On this Labor Day weekend, let us as a nation pray to St. Joseph for the dignity of human work. Our world and our country are facing many challenges, many of which are fueled by extremist and aggressive abandonment of Judeo-Christian values. May we all take a moment on this holiday weekend to celebrate that which is good and wholesome and virtuous: the dignity of human life, the human family, marriage, fatherhood, motherhood, and the mercy of God that never abandons His people!

It is with great joy and deep appreciation that I can announce to you the reopening of St. Mary’s Church on the weekend of September 3rd. Thanks to Renaissance Glass Works for restoration of the stained glass windows, Alex Restoration for repairs to the mortar of the stained glass windows and Trinity Restoration for ceiling plaster and paint repairs. Special thanks to: Doran Construction, Inc. and Stevens Masonry who donated generously toward the refurbishing of the stained glass windows on the east side of the church.

As we quickly come to the end of August, the excitement builds as we all gear up for the fall and winter months, including the beginning of school year, Faith Formation, RCIA, and many sporting activities for our young people. One of the most rewarding things anyone can do as a lay person in the Catholic Faith is to be a Catechist or a Mentor. We are all very grateful to Sr. Annie Bremmer, Kathy Gabriel and the whole Faith Formation team for all of the work they do year in and year out to provide opportunities for parents as well as the children to learn about Jesus Christ and the truth of his Gospel!

Congratulations to our parish awardees of the Manifesting the Kingdom Award. Recipients of the Manifesting the Kingdom Award from the Diocese of Pittsburgh. From Holy Spirit Parish, they are: Karen Baum, Jerry Benedict, Terry Blesch, Karen Ionta, Susan Kearns, Mike Marshall, John Provencher & Randy Wise. Please see the special insert at the center of this bulletin for their stories & quotes.

After much study and consultation, and with the support of our Finance and Pastoral Councils, I will be officially requesting Bishop Zubik to relegate the church buildings of St. Anthony, St. James the Apostle, St. Joseph the Worker and St. Vincent de Paul.

Congratulations to Father Tom Sparacino, who is a son of Holy Spirit Parish, having grown up in West Pittsburg. I have invited Father Tom back to Holy Spirit to celebrate his 25th anniversary as a priest. Father Tom will be the celebrant for Mass on August 5th at St. Vitus at 4:00PM. Following the Mass, our Women of Faith are hosting a reception in Fabbri Hall. Please come and congratulate Father Tom and share a little cake with him. If you are unable to attend his celebration, you may wish to send him a card at: Saint Paul Seminary; 2900 Noblestown Rd.; Pittsburgh PA 15222.

In this week’s bulletin, please find a special insert with an accounting of the various Fundraisers that have taken place over the past year or so. Please join me in thanking and honoring those many volunteers who put in countless hours in these fabulous fundraising opportunities. We honor and thank each and every one of you. You may not realize this, but you are true evangelizers and community builders!

On June 28th, the clergy of the parish invited all of the area funeral directors from facilities that we primarily use to come together. The purpose of our meeting was to agree upon a more standardized funeral policy for Holy Spirit Parish. Given the fact that we celebrate on an average of 300 funerals a year and also an average of 300 anointings of the sick a year, clarity and understanding is important for all parties involved.

Thank you to everyone who made possible the “funnest" week of the year at Holy Spirit Parish—Vacation Bible School! It is always a joy to have our children and teens present. Their laughter and their enthusiasm for the Catholic faith is truly a joy and an inspiration.

The month of July is truly a month of anniversaries, celebrations and new beginnings. On July 1st we celebrate the anniversary of our parish being established as Holy Spirit Parish on July 1st of 2019. July 1st begins the new Fiscal Year. And this year it begins a new adventure for Deacon John Carran as director of the Office for Deacon Personnel and the Deacon Formation Program. Effective July 1st, Steven Empfield, our Parish Accountant, will become our new Parish Business Manager.

The most fun week in the life of Holy Spirit Parish for the year is finally upon us! SCUBA Vacation Bible School begins on Tuesday and ends on Friday this week! One Hundred Thousand Welcomes to our over 100 children and teens as well as the parent volunteers who will converge on our Parish this week! 

The call of the disciples in today's Gospel reminds us that the work of Christ continues. It is now our responsibility to pass on the Faith to the next generation! There are many ways in which we do this: through the reverent celebration of the Sacraments, through Faith Formation for children and adults, and through service opportunities of all kinds.

On this great Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ, we renew our Catholic Faith in the true presence of our Lord's body, blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. To commemorate this fundamental truth of our Catholic faith, there will be a Eucharistic Procession at the conclusion of the 9:00AM Mass at St. Vitus on Sunday, June 11th. After Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament in St. Vitus Church, the procession will proceed to St. Mary Church, where the Benediction will be offered. Our parish Adoration Chapel will be open and available for private prayer following the Benediction.

Congratulations to our graduating seniors. The Mass recognizing them and praying for them is at St. Camillus this Sunday, June 4th, at 11:00 am. We have reserved seating up front for our graduating seniors and a special gift to those graduates who served in liturgical ministries, such as Altar Server, Usher or Lector. The Anna M. and Joseph Pascale Scholarship will be awarded during this Mass also. See the photo/bio page at https://holyspiritparishoflawrencecounty.org/seniors-special-recognition.

Happy Feast Day of Holy Spirit Parish! This is the birthday of the Church and the birthday of our parish, named in honor of the Holy Spirit!! LOOKING TO OUR FUTURE The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early church and their reliance on the gift of the Spirit. Our Lord did not tell his disciples everything that they were going to need to know after his ascension into heaven, but he promised to give them the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that would guide them to the Truth. ..

Please join me in honoring all Law Enforcement personnel, especially those who gave their lives protecting our freedom. In this country, the month of May is dedicated to the men and women of Law-Enforcement, both living and deceased.

One of the great joys, as a priest, is to celebrate First Holy Communion with the young people of our parish. Last year Holy Spirit Parish welcomed 90 children to this marvelous sacrament. This year we welcomed 79 little ones to the Lord, and today 80 teens are receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Zubik. These are very sacred and memorable experiences!