Notes from Our Pastor

June 17, 2018(

Happy Father’s Day!
Dear parishioners:
We will, of course, be blessing all the fathers who gather with us for Eucharist this Sunday. I also want to offer you blessing prayers you may use if you are fortunate enough to gather with family this weekend. These prayers are from Catholic Household Blessings and Prayers, published by our National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Father’s Day Blessing

(The following prayer may be used with the table blessing. All may stretch out their hands over the father in a gesture of blessing.)

May God, who gives life on earth and in heaven, lead you to walk by the light of faith and so help your children attain the good things Christ has promised us. Amen.

Or

God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things. Bless our father. Let the example of his faith and love shine forth. Grant that we, his family, may honor him always, with a spirit of profound respect. Grant this through Christ our Lord. And for our deceased fathers. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace! Amen.

In Christ,
Fr. John

PS … I will be out of town after the 11am Mass this Sunday, and return Thursday morning.

June 10, 2018

Dear parishioners:
Two wonderful retreat opportunities are quickly approaching!
For the men of the parish the annual White House Retreat begins Thursday,
June 21st and concludes with lunch on Sunday June 24th. The white house retreat is a silent,
preached retreat. It offers free time to rest, reflect and listen to the Lord speaking to you!

The annual Women's ACTS Retreat begins on Thursday, July 26th and ends with a luncheon after the
11:00am parish Mass here at Seven Holy Founders! It offers an opportunity to hear the witness of other
faithful women in the parish, to share faith or just to be nourished by the company of others who are
trying to draw closer to the Lord, and in so doing, listen to the Lord speaking to you!

If you are new to the parish, what a wonderful opportunity to meet others who call Seven Holy Founders
home and Jesus, Lord! I often assure people that if you give Jesus your time, whether on a silent retreat or a more active retreat like ACTS, he will certainly Honor the gift of your time and be present to you in a
special way!

If this summer is not a good time to make a retreat, may I make the suggestion that when you are out
running errands someday you stop by Pauline Books and Media and find a bit of spiritual reading.
The sisters would love to direct you to a book that helps you grow in knowing God's love for you!

Good summer to you all!

In Christ,
Father John

June 3, 2018

Dear parishioners:
“Epiclesis”: it’s a word I learned so long ago in courses on liturgy and the theology of the Eucharist.
We might translate the word as “invocation” in English. At Mass, shortly after we’ve sung the hymn
of praise, the “Holy Holy”, the priest extends his hands over the gifts of bread and wine. He implores
the Holy Spirit to change these gifts offered by human hands, into Christ’s Body and Blood. Our
faith assures us that what we ask is granted.

On this feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Jesus, it is a worthy thing to reflect on God
whose generosity will not be matched! At Mass we present simple gifts of bread and wine. Through
the power of the Holy Spirit, he transforms them into his own Body and Blood. Then he shares
himself with us. As often as we eat his body and drink his blood, we not only remember God’s
generous gift, but we are transformed by it. We become Christ’s Body for the world that is so in need
of his presence, love and compassion. Pope Benedict the XVI says it this way: “The Body and Blood
of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the
Body of Christ, his own Flesh and Blood.” (Homily at Twentieth World Youth Day, 2005)

Praise God for the gift of faith. Faith informs us that we not only gather each Sunday to remember
Christ’s sacrificial love. We are also transformed by it as we receive his very Body and Blood!
Then in Christ we become bread for the world’s bodily and spiritual hungers!

In Christ,
Fr. John

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