As people move to the Village, it is almost always the case that the number of things they are "obliged" to do goes way down or even disappear. That, of course, is not the case when it comes to obligations to God that go on no matter where we are until we die. One of those obligations, which is given to us by the third Commandment and the Church, is that of participating in Mass at least on Sunday (or Saturday evening) EVERY week, "unless excused for a serious reason." That last quotation comes from the most recent catechism of the Catholic Church that was promulgated 25 years ago. It states clearly that, "Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin."
While we are truly blest to have a much higher percentage of our registered parishioners participate in Mass every weekend, that percentage goes down significantly when it comes to "Holy Days of Obligation" though the Catechism is clear that these special days carry the same weight of obligation as Sundays. We are about to experience within the next two months, four of our six holy days for the whole of the church year. If you are one of those who have not been as faithful and obedient when it comes to participating in Mass on these special days, I urge you to get back in the practice starting with All Saints Day, this coming Wednesday. We will have two Masses on that day at 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The other days on which we are obliged to participate in Mass are December 8 (the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary) with Masses here on Thursday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. and December 8 at 9:00 a.m. and the Solemnity of the Nativity, with Masses here on Sunday, December 24 at 4:00 p.m. and December 25 at Midnight and 10:00 a.m. (Please note that the morning Masses on Sunday, December 24 are for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and a person CANNOT satisfy the Sunday and Holy Day obligation by going to the 4:00 p.m. Mass that Day). You might also be interested to know that on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Monday, January 1, Catholics will be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED, but not obligated, to participate in Mass that day. We will offer two Masses on January 1 at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
I pray that encouragement and reminders will inspire participation in our upcoming Holy Day from most if not all of us who take seriously what God and his servant, the Church obliges us to do. Many blessings will certainly come to those who do!
While we are truly blest to have a much higher percentage of our registered parishioners participate in Mass every weekend, that percentage goes down significantly when it comes to "Holy Days of Obligation" though the Catechism is clear that these special days carry the same weight of obligation as Sundays. We are about to experience within the next two months, four of our six holy days for the whole of the church year. If you are one of those who have not been as faithful and obedient when it comes to participating in Mass on these special days, I urge you to get back in the practice starting with All Saints Day, this coming Wednesday. We will have two Masses on that day at 9:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The other days on which we are obliged to participate in Mass are December 8 (the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary) with Masses here on Thursday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. and December 8 at 9:00 a.m. and the Solemnity of the Nativity, with Masses here on Sunday, December 24 at 4:00 p.m. and December 25 at Midnight and 10:00 a.m. (Please note that the morning Masses on Sunday, December 24 are for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and a person CANNOT satisfy the Sunday and Holy Day obligation by going to the 4:00 p.m. Mass that Day). You might also be interested to know that on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Monday, January 1, Catholics will be STRONGLY ENCOURAGED, but not obligated, to participate in Mass that day. We will offer two Masses on January 1 at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m.
I pray that encouragement and reminders will inspire participation in our upcoming Holy Day from most if not all of us who take seriously what God and his servant, the Church obliges us to do. Many blessings will certainly come to those who do!
Those of you who are married and have been married a long time would, I think, agree that over time each spouse gets to know the characteristics of each other, and come to know how to respond to the other in situations that reoccur over and over again. My mother, for instance, was prepared when asking my dad something to hear him usually say "no" immediately, but realized that given time (and sometimes persistence by my mom), he would say, yes. I must admit that I can be like my dad in this regard when someone asks me something.
Awhile back, Reverend Neil Kaminski, of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Hot Springs Village, asked if I would consider participating in an ecumenmical liturgy that will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. He indicated that a few bishops from the Episcopal and Lutheran churches were participating, and that he had asked our bishop to come and participate as well. Since Bishop Taylor was unavailable, he wanted me to participate in the service. Although, my first response was NOT "no" I must admit that I wanted to touch base with Bishop Taylor before saying yes. I came later to find out that Bishop Taylor is participating in a similar service with Protestant clergy at the Cathedral of St. Andrew sometime this month. I ended up saying "yes" and look forward to this service which will take place on Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Coronado Center. I will also tell you that some of our choir members will be part of an ecumenical choir that will sing at this service. I now ask you to consider joining fellow Christians in this service as we "commemorate" the Reformation and "celebrate" the ways that Christians work together in the name of Jesus Christ, and the efforts that have been made and continue to bring us more and more together in belief and in practice while praying that we will one day be "One" as Jesus desires. I look forward to being there and I hope you will say "yes" to being there as well.
Awhile back, Reverend Neil Kaminski, of the Trinity Episcopal Church in Hot Springs Village, asked if I would consider participating in an ecumenmical liturgy that will commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. He indicated that a few bishops from the Episcopal and Lutheran churches were participating, and that he had asked our bishop to come and participate as well. Since Bishop Taylor was unavailable, he wanted me to participate in the service. Although, my first response was NOT "no" I must admit that I wanted to touch base with Bishop Taylor before saying yes. I came later to find out that Bishop Taylor is participating in a similar service with Protestant clergy at the Cathedral of St. Andrew sometime this month. I ended up saying "yes" and look forward to this service which will take place on Sunday, October 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Coronado Center. I will also tell you that some of our choir members will be part of an ecumenical choir that will sing at this service. I now ask you to consider joining fellow Christians in this service as we "commemorate" the Reformation and "celebrate" the ways that Christians work together in the name of Jesus Christ, and the efforts that have been made and continue to bring us more and more together in belief and in practice while praying that we will one day be "One" as Jesus desires. I look forward to being there and I hope you will say "yes" to being there as well.
Each and every day our "Give Us This Day" booklet that many of our parishioners subscribe to and read, contains a short biography of a person who has been a great "Ambassador" for Christ in their life. It is sometimes a declared saint or it may be a lay person, priest, or religious who led an exemplary life and has departed this world. Some of these people are "far out there" in terms of where they lived and/or when they lived which can make it, in some ways, challenging for us to connect with them. Not so, however, when it comes to Blessed Stanley Rother, who was recently beatified. He was a priest of the Oklahoma Archdiocese and he lived in a time that parallels more than a few of our parishioners, being born in 1935.
We have the opportunity to connect even more closely with this contemporary witness to Christ (who died as a martyr) by coming to a presentation by our own bishop, Anthony Taylor, who knew Father Rother and who, as a priest of Oklahoma City, was given the charge to investigate Father Rother's life and ministry by interviewing people in Guatemala who knew Father Rother before he was martyred there in 1981.
Bishop Taylor's presentation will be on Friday, October 27 starting with a meal provided by our Knights of Columbus at 5:00 p.m. The presentation will be both video and through a talk about Father Rother from our bishop. Please plan to join us and sign up to do so on the table in the narthex by Monday, October 23 or call the Church at 922-2062, extension 10, and let Linda Daniels know you are coming.
I appreciate the bishop's willingness to give us some of his valuable time to help us connect with Blessed Stanley with information about his remarkable life and hopefully in the future by asking for his intercession for our various needs.
We have the opportunity to connect even more closely with this contemporary witness to Christ (who died as a martyr) by coming to a presentation by our own bishop, Anthony Taylor, who knew Father Rother and who, as a priest of Oklahoma City, was given the charge to investigate Father Rother's life and ministry by interviewing people in Guatemala who knew Father Rother before he was martyred there in 1981.
Bishop Taylor's presentation will be on Friday, October 27 starting with a meal provided by our Knights of Columbus at 5:00 p.m. The presentation will be both video and through a talk about Father Rother from our bishop. Please plan to join us and sign up to do so on the table in the narthex by Monday, October 23 or call the Church at 922-2062, extension 10, and let Linda Daniels know you are coming.
I appreciate the bishop's willingness to give us some of his valuable time to help us connect with Blessed Stanley with information about his remarkable life and hopefully in the future by asking for his intercession for our various needs.