The Bishop’s Note
Who knew it!? Cats can get colds, too, apparently! Fat Cat has been sneezing and coughing lately, but he still has a healthy appetite. Still he does look rather pathetic. If he isn’t better in a few days he will have to see his cat doctor. Black Cat is staying healthy but does not at all like his brother’s constant sneezing. If cats could laugh I’m sure Black Cat would be laughing at Fat Cat. I’ve heard no reports of recent skunk sightings.
The Fathers said there were about forty-one boys at camp this past week. The second day of camp was certainly a hot one, but it was very windy, too. Naturally, many of the tents got blown over and still others were quite wet, so the boys slept in the social hall or the camper that second night. I wonder if the boys know that there are rent fees for sleeping in the camper, and service fees for washing sheets and cleaning up after. It sure seems that everyone enjoyed their time at camp. And, of course, Our Lord held back the rain for all three days, and then the heavens let it pour down rain only an hour after camp ended. The same thing happened for the girls’ camp. Deo gratias et Mariae! I was quite sad that I was not able to be there with the boys. I had really been looking forward to it, but often it happens that things prevent that which we ourselves would prefer to do.
Sometime in mid-August, Dan Stanislowski and family will be moving to the area from Grand Forks, North Dakota. Dan has been a faithful member of our St. Teresa of Avila Mission since the beginning. He has a history in science and has a doctorate in biochemical engineering. For a short time, he went around explaining the true facts about “Covid” and the sinful Jab. He is very down to earth, well-spoken, and zealous for the Catholic education of youth.
As you might already know, Mark Lotarski has retired as school principal after many dedicated years. It is a well-deserved retirement. He has done many tasks behind the scenes to ensure the running of the school. He will continue helping around the church, but Mr. Stanislowski will replace him as school principal. We are looking forward to working with him.
Bishop da Silva came down with a case of pneumonia and is in a hospital in Mexico. He is improving, thanks be to God. Please continue to keep him in your prayers. I will try to keep you up to date on his condition.
Fr. McKenna has been out on the missions all week and says that there are plans to develop St. Teresa Mission in the near future.
Meanwhile, we are quickly outgrowing St. Anthony Mission in Dallas. Since the move to a better location during the last year, the numbers have grown and now we might have to think in terms of having a second Sunday Mass when one of our priests visits. However, before making any moves in that direction, we need to wait and see if this number remains the same. It is also necessary to weigh the need along with the extra strain this would put on the priests and the mission schedule as a whole.
Plans for an addition onto the rectory are still being worked out. The first set of plans, while really nice, were not at all practical for our needs and were much too pricey. We only need three or four rooms and an extension onto the kitchen. This will give the priests plenty of room in the rectory and will enable us to finally be able to house the Oblates in the Convento. I hope we can really get things moving in the near future.
Our seminary year starts in mid-September and will be done in Seattle. Fr. Ercoli will watch over their studies in person, while Frs. Lehtoranta, Romero, and Brueggemann will do online classes with the seminarians. Fr. Brueggemann will fly out to Seattle once a month to teach and to relieve Fr. Ercoli of some of the load. Fr. Cekada would visit the seminary once a month, and we seminarians always looked forward to it. He always said that when he visited, “the circus was coming to town.”
As you can see, there are many things going on right now, and this is only a portion of it. Please pray for us as we try our best in Our Lord’s vineyard.
We begin the beautiful month of the Immaculate Heart. I commend you all to her maternal heart and place you under her protecting mantle.
– Bishop McGuire