This Week: Solemnity of the Most Precious Blood

“Life, Liberty and Happiness”  –Fr. Vili Lehtoranta

The Bishop’s Note
It has been a nice week here in West Chester despite the rainy weather and cloudy skies. Fr. Lehtoranta returned from his recent visit to our Faithful at St. Hugh of Lincoln. I was happy to hear that Mr. and Mrs. Poggel, two long time Trads who remember the days of Fr. Hugh Wish and who were with Fr. Cekada in the early days, are still doing well. Mr. Poggel used to drive the clergy everywhere and always had interesting tales to tell—many of them quite entertaining! Fr. Brueggemann got a little time with his family this past week, but came back to us on Thursday.

Fr. Julian Larrabee’s priestly anniversary was on the feast of the Precious Blood. I cannot remember how many years it has been since his ordination, since the years just sort of run together anymore. Father is stationed out in California and works with Fr. Thomas Zapp, though many of you remember him from his days right here at St. Gertrude’s when he taught in the school.

Fr. Nicolas Benegas recently sent two altar stones to be consecrated. They were consecrated on Wednesday in a ceremony that took quite a while. Thank you, Fr. Simpson, for organizing and serving for it again! Thanks also to Nathan and Austin McClorey for serving. Fr. Benegas wanted to watch the ceremony on livestream, so we recorded it. If you’re interested in watching it you can find it on our YouTube channel. It would be nice to do this consecration with all the chant one day, but we just did not have the personnel nor the time to do it this time.

Fr. Lehtoranta and Fr. Brueggemann will hold down the fort this week while Fr. McKenna and Fr. Simpson head out to Seattle for a spiritual retreat. This year’s theme is the Sacred Heart and the Priesthood. I am in Seattle already, administering Confirmations today. Mr. Poncho Capetillo and Mr. Joshua Balancio will receive Clerical Tonsure this Friday at the end of the retreat. Bishop Nkamuke tells me that he is giving his priests a retreat at the same time. This is really great news! Our priests travel so much and do so much work that it is necessary for them to recharge their spiritual batteries. One day, though, someone needs to do a Bishop’s Retreat!

The YAG begins this Friday, which is always a great time! But the big event is Sr. Regina’s First Oblation as an Oblate of the Holy Face, which takes place after the High Mass this Saturday. Although I will not be present for this event (I’ll be in Seattle), I will be there in spirit and assure Sister of my prayers. Sister teaches in our school and does the flower arrangements for the altar each week. Besides this, she helps in the choir and sacristy. All the work that the oblates do really takes a burden off the clergy’s shoulders and allows us to focus on more pastoral issues. It takes a lot of humility to be a good oblate. People sometimes scoff at them because they are not real nuns. EXACTLY! They are not nuns, they are oblates—souls who offer themselves to the service of the Church without taking vows and without entering a convent; souls who choose not to marry, but to pursue a higher degree of spiritual perfection by dedicating their lives to the needs of the Church. They are extremely useful in the Church and parish because they are not tied down by a strict Rule or schedule. Oblates go wherever they need to go, do whatever needs to be done, whenever it needs to be done, doing even the most menial tasks for the glory of God. They are truly missionary in spirit. It is a beautiful vocation.

– Bishop McGuire

Mass Livestream