Pentecost
Congratulations to those who received their First Holy Communion on Pentecost Sunday!
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Daily Sermons
May 30 – Bp. Dolan – St. Joan of Arc
June 2 – Fr. McKenna – St. Kevin
June 3 – Fr. Lehtoranta – St. Clotilde
June 4 – Bp. Dolan – St. Francis Caracciolo
June 5 – Bp. Dolan – St. Boniface
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✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Pentecost! Easter’s fiftieth day, the feast of fire and wind and love, of God’s own Spirit sent to us to perfect us, and transform us, “teaching us all things.” May yours be a blessed one. Our joy is doubled today to “share the rail” for the first time with our First Communicants. Easter fell too late this year to make the little ones wait any longer for this our “daily and supersubstantial Bread” and so today they are for the first time fed with the Body and Blood of Our Lord, set up in soul with all of the Sacraments they need to set out on their journey to Heaven. May the Holy Ghost, who makes of a wafer and a bit of wine mixed with water, “Infinity,” Our Lord Himself, the Bread of Angels, always inspire them with a holy hunger for Heaven’s Bread.
How quickly Summer declares itself after Memorial Day. The cruel and long Winter – which took so many rose bushes, plants and trees – along with the late Easter, conspire together to hurry everyone on his way towards vacations and recess and Summer living. “But wait,” I want to cry out, “It’s not over yet, we still must honor the Trinity and the Blessed Sacrament for its eight days, and St. John the Baptist and Ss. Peter and Paul and….” Well, another way to look at it could be that you all would be freer these long warm days, and perhaps would want to start your Summer by doing some of the praying and Masses you missed out on in the Winter, due to weather. Right?
This Winter even knocked out our Knock Out Roses, though not all. Those that survived are in bloom, and the grass last week was at the beautiful stage of benign neglect up by my house, all gone to clover and yielding its sweet scent in the Summer sun. The delights of this season are many, and we pray to use them well by our Ember Days’ fast and partial abstinence, with prayers, too, for priests and future priests. Bishop Sanborn says the vocations are looking good for next year.
A Persian cat with odd, disturbing cries has been stalking through the grounds lately. Puccini prudently gives him wide berth, this Iranian terrorist, as does the erstwhile courageous Caravaggio. One time Puccini started to chase the little Hezbollah off, only to lose interest halfway across the fields, flopping down for a stretch as he will. Perseverance, Puccini! But cats don’t have Confirmation, nor immortal souls. Perhaps that is why they stick to bunnies for their battles.
It’s a joy to have all of the Fathers here for a glorious Pentecost celebration. Tomorrow Fr. McKenna heads off to Rochester, Minnesota for Mass on a Summer car trip which will keep him on the road for a good week. Like Cincinnati and Opelousas, Louisiana; Rochester is the site of an original ORCM (Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement) chapel. This organization was founded by †Fr. Francis Fenton and then-Fr. Robert McKenna, O.P. in the early 70s, and brought the light of the true faith and true Mass all around the country at a dark hour. God reward the clergy, religious (Sr. Gerard Vincent especially), and laity who so generously gave of themselves in the hour of need for what needed to be done in those early days of the Catholic restoration.
Mrs. Margaret O’Brien was a local leader of this movement in Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky. I remember working with this doughty lady as a newly ordained priest. God reward her, and so many others, many of whom have already gone on to eternity followed by our grateful prayers.
Our intrepid and worthy of reward arts and crafts crew convened this past First Friday to prepare the Fathers Day sale. Do pray for better weather for this wonderful endeavor, won’t you? It was wonderful again to see so many at Mass for First Friday, and that for the Sacred Heart’s own month of June.
Thanks to our servers and choir for two beautiful Pontifical Pentecost Masses this weekend, very well sung and served as always. Fr. Hecquard of France caught me up on his news the other day. This Holy Week was his first “solo,” with only the assistance of two servers. He mentioned that all went well, but that on Holy Saturday things got interesting. He left the purple cope on the cope stand outdoors when he changed into the white dalmatic, and then forgot about the cope still outdoors, next to the fire. A gust of wind blew up, and knocked the vestment into the flames! At least, I told him, it was a blessed fire which consumed his cope. All else is well for Father, who is offering several “Exercises of St. Gertrude the Great” retreats this Summer. Pray for God’s blessings on this apostolate.
May the Holy Ghost enkindle your love to see the lovely innocent children sealed with the Sacrament of Soldiers, and fed with the real Rations of a Soldier of Christ, the Blessed Sacrament. God bless you for Pentecost. Remember Monday and Tuesday’s feasts of devotion, and the Friday’s feast of our devotion to great St. Anthony, and the evening Fatima Rosary for peace.
God the Holy Ghost fill your heart and home this day with the very spirit of Jesus Christ!
– Bishop Dolan