Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Pastor
~ This week, on July 1, I will begin my service as pastor of both St. Margaret of Scotland Parish and St. Pius V Parish. I will continue to live here at St. Margaret, but I will certainly be spending some time at St. Pius. So much of this I will learn and figure out as I go, so I am asking for your prayers, but also for your grace and understanding and patience with me as I figure out how to pastor two parishes. I would also like to ask you, the people of St. Margaret, to pray for the community of St. Pius. They are experiencing some significant changes receiving a new pastor, saying goodbye to some staff members, and reducing their weekend Mass schedule. We know what it is like to love a parish community, and the St. Pius folks are experiencing some loss and grief, certainly. I hope and pray that I can offer them some healing and stability.
St. Pius V will now have one Sunday Mass at 10:00am, which means that I will be there every other week or so. When I am not here at St. Margaret, I know that you will welcome Msgr. Mike Turek, Fr. Carl Scheble, Fr. Tim Cook, Fr. Tom Condon OP, Fr. Charlie Bouchard OP, and others who are preside and preach at Masses here. Since St. Pius will no longer have a Saturday evening Mass or an early Sunday morning Mass, some of the folks who attended those Masses may be coming to St. Margaret. If you notice an unfamiliar face at our Masses in the weeks to come, I hope that you will introduce yourself and welcome them!
This week is also significant as we celebrate Independence Day, the 250th birthday of our great nation! The parish offices will be closed this Friday, July 3 in honor of Independence Day. There will be no special morning Mass for Independence Day on Saturday morning, but the weekend Mass schedule will remain the same, including 4:30pm Mass on Saturday, July 4. Enjoy the holiday weekend with your family and friends, and let us pray for our nation, that we will remain true to the values and ideals of our founders.
Fr. James Martin SJ composed a prayer for America’s semiquincentennial. I share his prayer with you for your own prayer and reflection. Perhaps it may be the prayer before your family meal on Independence Day. Happy Fourth of July! God Bless America!
