Assumption

On Monday, August 15, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because it falls on a Monday this year, the solemnity is not a holy day of obligation; but it remains an important celebration. We celebrate the fact that, at the end of her earthly life, the Blessed Virgin Mary was taken, body and soul, into heaven. As the Preface for this day states, “Rightly you would not allow her to see the corruption of the tomb, since from her own body she marvelously brought forth your incarnate Son, the Author of all life.”

The Preface also calls the Assumption of Mary “a sign of sure hope and comfort to your pilgrim people.” The Assumption is a sign of hope because it foreshadows the destiny towards which we are striving: to share in the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection.The Assumption is a call for us to renew in our hearts the virtue of hope. The secret of being hopeful is found in the Collect of the Mass for this day: “Grant, we pray, that, always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory.”

Let’s always be “attentive to the things that are above,” so that we never lose our focus on what is most important in this life. It’s so easy to be distracted by lesser things, but we were created for something much greater than the things around us.With eternal glory as our goal, why should we settle for anything less?

Gratefully yours,

Saints Alive

This week we come to another stage of preparation to use our new Pastoral Center and Knight Hall. The building will contain (among other things) thirteen rooms that will be available for ministry meetings and activities. The rooms will all be numbered for easy reference and location, but we want to identify the rooms in another, more meaningful way as well. We want to name each room after a saint!

This is where you come in. You, the parishioners of St. Edward the Confessor and San Felipe de Jesús, are invited to submit the names of five saints you would like to have represented in our naming of the rooms. Each household may submit up to five saints’ names, and on August 21st we will tally up how many “votes” each saint gets. In this way we will determine the thirteen most popular saints; their names will go on the thirteen rooms we have available.

This is a good time for you to discuss with your family the possible saints whose names you will submit. I can imagine great conversations in which people discuss their favorite saints and the reasons why they are favorites. The internet is filled with good sites that give the lives of the saints, so there is no lack of reference material. Please submit your list of saints to Rosy Stock, our Parish Services Manager, at rstock@stedward.com. Rosy will keep track of all submissions, and I am really looking forward to August 21st, when we will be able to give meaningful names to the rooms you will be using for many years to come.

Gratefully yours,

The Journey of a Lifetime

This weekend we are blessing three containers of religious medals contributed by you for burial under the three main entrances to our new Pastoral Center and Knight Hall. These medals are being planted at those spots to sanctify all of our comings and goings at this fabulous new home for our parish activities.

Along with the medals are a number of rosaries; think of the countless prayers that have been said on those beads! We ask Christ Crucified, whose image is part of each rosary, to direct all of our steps toward him. There are medals of Saint Michael and Saint Benedict; we ask them to keep away anything that could impede our journey toward Christ. There are numerous medals of the Blessed Virgin Mary; we ask her to watch over us with a mother’s love and care. There are medals of other saints, each of whom has special meaning in the Christian life; we ask their intercession, that we may one day join their company as saints in heaven.

When we enter our new Pastoral Center and Knight Hall—whether we are coming to arrange a Mass, a Funeral, a Marriage, or some other event; whether we are coming to a Bible Study, a ministry meeting, or a support group; whether we are coming to speak to one of the priests or deacons, or another member of the Parish staff, or a volunteer who is there to help us—in all these cases, our hope is that our step across the threshold of the Pastoral Center and Knight Hall will be a step towards heaven. And when we exit after any of the activities I’ve mentioned, we pray that this step will also lead us towards our heavenly goal. It’s all part of that great Journey we call life. How wonderful it will be when the new building is finished and is part of our daily journey towards God!

Gratefully yours,