Pentecost V

THE SUMMER NOVENA
TO OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
WITH THE THIRTEEN TUESDAYS OF ST. ANTHONY
JUNE 14 – SEPTEMBER 6, 2016
Download Prayers
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Daily Sermons
May 31 – Fr. Lehtoranta – St. Petronilla
June 1 – Fr. Lehtoranta – St. Angela Merici
June 2 – Fr. Lehtoranta – Holy Eucharist is a Sign of God’s Love
June 3 – Bp. Dolan – What IS a Sister of Reparation?
June 13 – Bp. Dolan – The Lost Saint
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zelusdomustuae
✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Happy Father’s Day. This is one of the great feasts of the American summer, preferably celebrated by a cookout, and a few modest gifts for dad. But it is a wonderful occasion to think and thank and pray, as we did this morning at Mass, for all of our fathers.

Monday last was a busy day indeed. We celebrated St. Anthony with Masses and the blessing of lilies. In the afternoon Fr. Oswalt stopped by for a visit. Seven years ago he visited us as he took the first steps to leave the Novus Ordo. Since then he did and was re-ordained, and now pastors St. Benedict’s chapel in Huntsville, AL, established to serve the souls salvaged from the shipwreck of Abbot Leonard Giardina’s Christ the King Abbey. Fr. Oswalt has a little Mass circuit through the deep south and up to Frankfort, KY and is careful to give his faithful a good doctrinal formation. He travels with a Lab, whose dogma is excellent. It was good to see this zealous priest again.

Monday evening was mild and breezy, heaven sent weather for “the 51 beautiful souls” who turned out to pray the Rosary for peace, one more than the number of those who died at that satanic event staged early Sunday morning. The Rosary is our rampart and defense, our sanity and security. Cling to it.

Many came back on Tuesday for Mass and the first of our Summer Novena services, praying especially for Fr. Cekada. In fact, our weekday Mass attendance has been excellent this Sacred Heart Month. A good group is taking advantage of the cool morning Masses, but the Tuesday afternoon “crowd” was great, too. Oremus. We even had a good turnout for the Friday evening before last.

Fr. Cekada seems fit as a fiddle to me, as he was given an extra recovery week to build up his white blood cells before the next chemo session. He does, however, need to be especially wary of crowds and infection, which is why you probably won’t see him today.

All systems are go for Girls’ Camp ’16! Wednesday we have our first, and very full day. Thursday we get started later, because we will have an “evening session” for all the parish, with Mass, cookout, St. John’s Eve bonfire and entertainment. The camp concludes Friday, which is the great feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.

Thanks very much to our volunteer grounds workers who assembled after Mass on Friday morning—very much appreciated indeed! Our Lord has blessed us with a beautiful park in which He placed our church, whose green grounds invite to prayer and peaceful recollection. But, of course, it is work… Take a walk, why don’t you sometime, visit the grotto or make the Stations. Enjoy!

Speaking of work, I originally got cats when we moved out to West Chester, due to the inundation of field mice we faced the first years. Everybody knows cats go after mice, right? Wrong! My two bring them in instead of chase the out. The other day Puccini pranced in with a live one, played with it for a bit, and then wandered away. The mouse is now living in the kitchen, growing fat on the cats’ dinner leavings. That’s probably kitty karma or poetic justice. Maybe one of these days they’ll resume the hunt. Somebody told me that males aren’t good mousers. In that case, these two cats are all boy.

Be sure to circle Thursday evening on your calendar, and come to the feast, as we sanctify together and celebrate “the longest night of the year.” Be sure to welcome the Sisters of St. Thomas Aquinas as well. We are grateful for their help again this year for Girls’ Camp.

A blessing to all of our fathers, who are a blessing to us.

—Bishop Dolan

P.S. Friday morning I had the kitchen door open as I made breakfast. The mouse, considerably fattened after a week of feline hospitality, emerged from under the stove and made a beeline for the door. Fr. Cekada says he was on his way to the fat farm.