Fifth Sunday of Easter
Dear Family,
So what is the first thing you do when you come back to the office? You smile at the people you work with and then stare somewhat blankly at the stack of stuff that has accumulated despite the best efforts of your workmates to dis-accumulate. The first thing I had to do wasn’t even stacked anywhere: tell the IRS I am filing for an extension. You know what the worst part about that is? They are printing the information forms with much smaller print than they used to. I did find out if I send them bunches of money I don’t even have to file for an extension. It happens automatically.
Ain’t life grand?
On a much more peaceful note, getting back to celebrating Mass and having it the Chapel of the Divine Healer was the best way to start the day. Little did I realize how appropriate it was. Did you know that a Doctor Frank Whitesell suggested the name to Monsignor McDonnell when the chapel was built?
What I especially like about the chapel is that it gives the attendees permission to sit together as more of a community. I guess I’ll go to my grave asking people to sit a little closer together. It makes it easier to sing and pray together for one thing. Maybe you’re less likely to trip over a kneeler stretching to wish someone the peace of Christ. Don’t mind me. I’m still on a lot of meds…
Archbishop Wenski called to check up on me and he told me he is going to Poland for World Youth Day. He said there will be about 200 youth and young adults going from the Archdiocese. As many as a million young people may gather. What a demonstration of faith! The event will happen in Krakow in the last week of July. He said one of the things he will do is be part of a process where various bishops – and there will be many – meet with the youth in teaching and learning sessions.
We want to surround them all with our prayers.
I think it would be great if we could sponsor a couple of our young people to go. Believe it or not we actually have young people in St. Sebastian. They are not exactly an endangered species, but I do treasure them in a special way. I am prejudiced and I admit it, but we have some class acts for youth although I don’t want them to get swelled heads. Two of them are Marcus Mickey and Simon Rave, known to you as altar servers, great helpers at parish events, and one of them reads pretty well. (All our readers should be so good.)
The trip is pretty extraordinary from July 22 to August 3. They will share in not only the Youth conference itself but also see a number of historic places like Auschwitz where Sts. Edith Stein and Maximilian Kolbe gave their lives. Also they will pray at the famous shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
All I need to do is find a couple of bushels of money to send them. (Airfares are killers.) If you have a spare bushel or even a peck, maybe we can pull it off.
Marcus is getting ready for U of F and one of his deans told him a prep course he will be taking can be done online while his on the trip. God bless him.
I think my days of multi-tasking are becoming shorter and shorter.
Peace and blessings,
In Jesus,
