Nativity of Our Lady / Pentecost XIII

zelusdomustuae
✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
Blessed birthday of the Blessed Virgin! It is a blessing to have her birthday fall on a Sunday so that all may honor the happy dawn of our salvation. Draw near to her cradle in a childlike spirit. It is pleasing to her that we honor thus her infancy and quick passing childhood. Ask her to make you a child for the sake of the Kingdom. Pray for all of our children, who need to be studying their faith for at least a few minutes a week, on the Lord’s Day. Enroll your children in catechism classes, if you have not yet done so. Classes start today for both adults and children. Parents, please don’t starve your children of the food they need to reach Heaven.

Things are quietly humming around here this early Autumn, now that school has resumed. I am happy to have again the rhythm of the school day and year, with its high point the daily 11:25 High Mass, which gives such glory to God, and spiritual formation of our little ones. There are as well virtual Mass-goers from around the world with us daily on the web. The pleasant weather as we resumed things last week was a grand grace from the good God and His saints. The seminarians and some of you helped bring the grounds up to snuff this Summer, and the rains will do the rest. Thank you.

A beautiful week unfolds today. We continue the Novena to the Child Mary, for her Nativity. We close our Summer Novena on Tuesday, as Fall is here. Thursday is the Holy Name of Mary, Friday her September Fatima appearance. Won’t you appear at her Rosary Procession? There’s Mass and Benediction before, if you’d like to make an evening of it? Saturday’s great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross might be overlooked this year, but it should not be. The cross is our battle sign, and “Christ Crucified” our cry which leads us to victory, and defends us daily from the foe.

Next Sunday we keep as always the feast of Mary’s Martyrdom, her Seven Sorrows. The Blessing of the Sick follows the Masses. That afternoon is our annual parish picnic, a priceless time for having a good time with your fellow Catholics, perhaps getting to know some from one of the other Masses. We provide the burgers, dogs, and drinks; the rest is potluck. Bring something to share, but most of all bring yourself. I’ll be there, as will Fr. Cekada and Fr. Lehtoranta.

On my recent trip, I remarked to Fr. Cekada how typically “Fake News” is the propaganda that America is a racist land. Just in one day of travel in our great land you can experience the opposite of any racial hatred.

In the Cincinnati airport we stopped to visit a black gentleman, “Bishop Bob” (professional courtesy?), the shoeshine man, for a little chat, and a fine shoeshine. Fr. Cekada says that he is a bishop in his church, but in any case he couldn’t be friendlier. He has a Somalian in his employ who likes to recall how as a lad in Africa he snuck unto a Catholic school, Protestant that he was, but that the priest found him out. No hard feelings.

It was a Somalian who offered us a ride to a far distant gate for our connection in Minneapolis. We must have looked a little befuddled, and he came to our rescue. It never occurred to me to ride on one of those carts I have spent a lifetime dodging in crowded airports. It was fun. We had a nice chat as well.

We ended up almost missing our connection due to a mix up, but the Hispanic young lady at the gate was most solicitous and sincerely expressed her relief that we made it. America today has many problems, but racism is not one of them. The Liberals have tried to play the Race Card for a long time. But come to think of it, they are the problem, aren’t they?

But thanks for being part of the solution. Prayers, your presence at Mass and at class, your kindly Christian example, these things make a difference.

May Mary bless you on her birthday.

–Bp. Dolan