This Week: Pentecost VIII

“Solomon's Ascent in Humility and Fall in Pride”  –Fr. Stephen McKenna

Note From Father

It seems like just about every day I watch as another priest here leaves for a trip…until I look around and find I am the only one left at St. Gertrude’s for the Sunday! Bishop McGuire left for Mexico on Tuesday and arrived eventually. He laid over in Atlanta and boarded his flight to Mexico, only to have to later de-plane because the brakes were not working. I suppose it’s probably better to learn that there is something wrong with the brakes when sitting at the gate rather than when you are touching down at landing!! They found him a new plane, and he traveled on to Mexico City, a couple of hours late. While he is there, he is doing Confirmations for the chapels of Frs. Martin Gomez, Jamie Siordia, and Roberto Mardones. Fr. Arnoldo Villegas is also coming out from Tijuana to lend a helping hand. Quite the busy trip!

Meanwhile, back here, Fr. Lehtoranta left Thursday for a well-deserved vacation, Fr. Brueggemann left Friday with a couple of seminarians in tow for Milwaukee, and Fr. Simpson departed Saturday for Dallas. So, it’s just me and the cats here with you all this weekend! Unfortunately, they aren’t particularly helpful for things like Masses and Confessions…or really anything in life. It’s pretty much all take and no give with those little guys.

We will quickly shift from me being alone to having a plethora of people with collars at St. Gertrude’s. Frs. Simpson and Brueggemann return Sunday night. They will be joined by the three seminarians, who will stay with us for a couple weeks in order to do their summer apostolic work and also help with the boys’ camp. Bishop McGuire arrives back Monday night and Fr. Julian Larrabee comes in the same day for a few days of vacation. On Thursday we will even add Fr. Daniel Ahern for a night… There will be no vacancy in the inn.

Last weekend’s Young Adult Get-Together was a great success. It seemed to all go very smoothly, we had a decent crowd, and everyone seemed to have a good time. In addition to sermons and talks, I joined the kids for trivia. I joked with the people on my team that we should win, because a lot of what they will look at as history questions was at one point just “the news” for me, haha! The YAG followed into Monday’s Fatima Rosary Procession. In the July apparition, Our Lady stressed to the children the importance of praying the Rosary for the end of the war going on, which was World War One. She told them that only Our Lady could obtain the sufficient graces necessary to end the war, which was more terrible than any war the world had ever seen to that point. It is a great reminder for us to pray with confidence for the various problems which plague society around us and to which we often are tempted to feel helpless to be able to effect…the waging of new wars, the corruption of society, the crisis in the Church, etc. Happily, many of you did just that, by joining us for the Rosary Procession, which had 118 attendees! Let’s try to make it even more next month!!

In Christ,
Fr. McKenna

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