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We are fortunate to welcome two dedicated interns. This summer will give them an opportunity to learn some new skills and they will help me as I continue to consider the best approach for spreading the Faith in this post-Christian era. Additionally, I have created a Parish Advisory Committee to to help ensure that the financial and personnel resources of the two parishes are utilized most efficiently in order to carry out the mission of Christ.

The “community of the Christian faithful” is what is at the heart of Holy Family Parish. Our parish is more than just a place we go to Mass. It is our community. This is why we are currently hosting a prayer study group, grief support meetings, a 30-Day Eucharistic Revival Retreat, and planning events such as the parish festival, a chicken BBQ, and a pie sale, among others. Sure, fundraising is part of the goal of any parish, but these events are also meant to help parishioners grow in a sense of community, gather outside of Mass, and get to know one another.

Vespers - Sundays at 3:30 p.m. in the church. Vespers is part of the Divine Office. In praying the Divine Office, the Church fulfills Jesus' command to "pray always" (Luke 18:1; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Through this prayer, the people of God sanctify the day by continual praise of God and prayers of intercession for the needs of the world. The Divine Office includes several specified times of prayer. The most important times, called the "hinge hours," are Lauds (which takes place upon rising) and Vespers (which takes place as dusk begins to fall). The other hours are the Matins (a service with a biblical reading and a reading from the Fathers or Church writers or a reading related to a saint which may take place at any time of day), the "little hours" (which may take place at Midmorning, Midday, or Midafternoon), and Compline (said before going to sleep). Bishops, priests, deacons, and many men and women in consecrated life pray the Divine Office each day. Their work is organized around this prayer, keeping God always at the center of their days. Lay people are encouraged to pray the Divine Office as well, especially Lauds and Vespers. Many parishes in the United States schedule communal Lauds and Vespers on a regular basis. Holy Family will now offer Vespers every Sunday at 3:30 p.m. I hope you can come to praise God!

Ad orientem means “towards the East.” Celebrating Mass towards or facing East has been a part of the Catholic tradition since the very beginning. Why? Because Christ revealed to His disciples on the day of His Ascension that when He returns at the end of the age, He will come from the East. After He ascended, the angels asked the disciples, “Men why are you standing there, He will come back in the same way you saw Him go.”

Centuries ago, men and women like Sts. John Bosco, John Baptiste De LaSalle, Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Catherine Drexel started schools for children who were too poor to receive an education. Now, the poverty is different. The poverty is poverty of truth, poverty of God, and poverty of joy.

Last week I shared with you the new strategy for making disciples, particularly amongst younger men and women. This week, I want to continue offering some background on why I came to this conclusion of changing to Parish Family Catechesis.