Dear Parishioners:
As I noted last week, we are entering “First Holy Communion” season. More than 200 young boys and girls will be receiving Jesus for the first time over the next three weeks. Please keep our First Holy candidates in your prayers during this time. Pray that these children will open their hearts to the grace of Eucharist and that their parents will be faithful in bringing their children to church for Mass on Sunday to receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion
As we pray for our children, the theme of Holy Communion is one that we should reflect upon ourselves. We call Sunday the “day of the Lord” because it was on Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead. In addition, Sunday is also called the “day of the Church” because in the Sunday Eucharistic celebration, the Christian community finds her reason for its existence; at the Sunday Eucharist, the Christian community grows and matures and helps us to become the saint that God created us to be.
For those of us who are of a certain age, we remember the “Blue Laws:” these laws still exist in many parts of the country. The “Blue Laws” enshrined that Sunday was a day of rest, so no stores were open. No organized sports were played either. Sunday was a day of prayer / worship and rest. Now, Sundays are busier than other days of the week! Thus, it is harder to get to Mass on Sunday. But it is not impossible!
Our faithfully going to Mass on Sunday is our way of saying “thank you” to God who sent his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to become one of us. Jesus loved us so much that He willingly died on the cross for us. When we come to Mass on Sunday, it is our way of saying “thank you” to God for all the wonderful things He has done for us. Let us never forget to thank the Lord for dying on the Cross for us.
I also want to highlight the persecution of the Catholic Church throughout the world. Catholics are imprisoned in communist China, North Korea, and Nicaragua. In many Islamist countries Christians are being killed. In Nigeria, this past Palm Sunday, 53 Catholics were killed by Islamic fundamentalists during a Palm Sunday procession. We rarely hear about these tragic events in the United States but that does not mean that these atrocities are not taking place.
What can we do? PRAY! We need to pray more. Offer up a decade of the Rosary for peace; offer up your Holy Communion at Mass for our persecuted Christians. Make a point to do this! We cannot underestimate the power of prayer. For decades, we prayed for the conversion of Russia and the end of atheistic communism. We now need to storm heaven with another righteous intention.
Remember: Together, we can something beautiful for God.
In Christ,
Msgr. Brian McNamara
Fr. Brian
PS: Don’t forget the Catholic Ministries Appeal. The Catholic Ministries Appeal is an opportunity for us to help the good work of the Diocese (Catholic Charities, Catholic hospitals, Catholic schools, seminary formation, etc.)