The Bishop’s Note
Happy Mother’s Day to each and every one of our mothers! It is only right that a day be dedicated to our mothers. Whether your mother is still living or whether she has already entered into eternity, honor her! It is she who gave you your natural life, nurtured you, gave up her time for you, and sacrificed so much for you. If you have a good Catholic mother who helps to protect the supernatural life of grace in your soul, then you are doubly blessed and owe her so much more. Pray for your mother each and every day, respect her, love her!
Today we honor in a special way God’s Mother. The May Crowning is such a charming event, and one which is intended to truly honor Our Lady. Our heavenly Mother is both mother and queen. Ponder that! A mother always wants what is best for her child; a queen has the power to obtain it. She can do both. Pray to her today and always with the greatest confidence. The Curè d’Ars once said of her: “The Blessed Virgin is like a good mother who, not content with looking after all her children in general, watches over each one separately.” That goes for you, too!
Sister Regina’s Kindergarten class put on their own little May procession, with Marian hymns and all! It is impressive to hear them singing them from memory. Speaking of May processions! Tuesday is the 13th and marks the first of this year’s Fatima Rosary Processions. We need Fatima now more than ever; we need the Rosary now more than ever! Just look at the history of the Church if you wish to know the power of processions and prayer to Our Lady. They are so powerful and so efficacious! Hope to see you at all of this year’s processions in honor of Our Lady.
St. Gertrude’s has been blessed with two Catholic marriages since last Saturday. The first, William and Kayla Long, took place the Saturday before last; the second (that of Edward and Renee [Arlinghaus] Fernandez) took place this past Thursday, the feast of the Apparition of St. Michael the Archangel. Congratulations to both couples! And may their married life be filled with many special graces.
Fr. Brueggemann goes to visit our seminary in Seattle this week. The seminarians are all doing fine, according to Fr. Ercoli. Two of them are about to finish their philosophy and are due to be tonsured. Tonsure, while not one of the minor orders, is the beginning of the clerical life for a man pursuing the priesthood. Tonsure is not given until after the seminarian has completed his philosophy courses and is about to begin theology. Remember our seminarians and their professors in your prayers.
May Our Lady keep watch over you!
– Bishop McGuire
P.S. On the animal and critter front, the cats are fine. The story of the week goes to the snails. Somehow (I’m still not sure how), Fr. Brueggemann found a big snail with a very large shell out in Seattle sometime back in the winter and brought it back with him to add to our sacristy snail collection. At some point, Sister put the snail outside and it wasn’t seen or heard from for months…until earlier this week when Black Cat and I were walking down to church in the morning and spotted him on the sidewalk. I don’t remember the snail, but what a funny moment it was when I brought him back to the sacristy to show him and everyone else remembered him!