Dear Parishioners,

I celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial on September 8th for Patrick Lynch. It was an appropriate day to celebrate his life of faith as it was the feast of the Nativity or Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Pat had a devotion to her and so prayed the rosary daily and carried it with him. Last weekend some people from Blessed Sacrament Parish (which closed a number of years ago) came to the 11am Mass and admired the stained glass windows in our church, which they once viewed in Blessed Sacrament Church. I pointed out to them that 4 of those windows are devoted to the earthly and heavenly life of Mary, and again I often point that out to people when their loved one’s casket is placed in the center aisle, between those 4 windows. Pat was married for 27 years to Bonnie (also deceased) and had 2 children and 2 grandchildren. May they imitate his faith and so be able to join him some day in the life of heaven.

I enjoyed spending some time in our parish school during the first week it was opened for the new school year. My goal is to be more present there as much as possible. It is good to see the building filled with teachers and students and I pray that we may develop there a community of people who learn, love and grow in faith.

This past weekend was our first Faith Formation Session in the Parish Community Center. This is how the children of our parish receive their religious education if they attend a public school, and is also sacramental preparation for all 2nd graders who wish to receive their First Holy Communion and for the 8th graders who wish to be Confirmed in 2024. We are grateful to their parents for their willingness to grow in their own Catholic faith by attending these Sunday Sessions with their children. They will then attend the 11am Mass together. This new process of offering religious education and sacramental preparation worked very well last year and we are glad to continue it this year. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about our religious education (formerly called “PSR” for “Parish School of Religion”), and about our new approach to sacramental preparation.

I am finishing a week’s vacation this weekend so I won’t be with you for Mass today but as always I’m grateful to the priests who are willing to cover for me on the weekend when I am away. Sadly, routine blood work taken for Michaela last summer indicated that she had high liver enzymes, something common in many dogs. We tried to treat it with a new diet which did not contain copper sulfate, an ingredient that is included in many dog foods and treats. Unfortunately this did not help and a couple weeks ago I noticed that her stomach was distended so I took her to her vet who said that she is in liver failure. She had gained 2 pounds and 1 liter of fluid which the vet removed. However, besides taking some prednisone (steroids) to reduce inflammation, there is nothing that can really be done for her. She will be turning 11 years old on the 26th of this month. Right now she is comfortable and pretty much her same self though I’ve noticed she is not as interested in going for walks, likely due to the retention of fluid in her abdomen. I am so grateful for the joy that she brought me over the years and for the protection of all enemies, foreign & domestic, that may be on our property or enter our rectory office. I will continue to enjoy her as long as she is still with us (weeks or months?). Some of you remember her surprise appearance during Mass a few weeks ago during a storm. She always brings a smile.