Sixteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
July 18, 2015 Column Father De Celles
Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus are a great group of men who serve God and His Church in so many ways. At St. Raymond’s they are the main men’s group, providing many coordinated opportunities to serve the parish, the surrounding community, and the Church. From sponsoring clothing and food drives, to running various parish dinners and events throughout the year, our Knights form the true backbone of the parish. When men ask me what they can do to get more involved in the parish my first question is: “are you a Knight of Columbus?” If there answer is “no,” I say, “then join.” If there answer is “yes,” I tell them “join in their activities.” If you are an adult male Catholic at St. Raymond’s, you should be a member of the Knights. Fr. Kenna and I are both 4th degree Knights.
Thank you brother Knights for all the good work you do for us at St. Raymond’s. Special thanks to John Crennan for his hard work as Grand Knight over the last year as Grand Knight at St. Raymond’s (St. John Bosco Council). And congratulations to Phil Bettwy as he is promoted to serve as Grand Knight for the coming year.
Respect Life Committee. Contrary what we read in the main stream media, the most important civil rights and social justice issue of our time is the “right to life.” Which is why our Respect Life Committee is one of the most important committees in our parish. For the last 4 years Liz Hildebrand has been chair of this committee, and done an excellent job increasing awareness and involvement in pro-life activities such as 40 Days for Life, the March for Life, support for crisis pregnancy clinics, and on and on. Sadly, Liz has decided that it’s time for her to step down as chair. I want to thank her for her dedication, dynamism, creativity and spiritual devotion she brought to her work.
Going forward I’ve asked Dave and Maria Westburg to take over as co-leaders of the committee. I’m confident that they will do an excellent job at continuing and developing the work of the committee in the parish. Please pray for them, and join them in this work.
Scholarships. Several weeks ago I wrote and preached about the increased dangers posed to our children attending government “public” schools and encouraged Catholic parents to reconsider the possibilities of sending their children to Catholic schools or homeschooling. This warning takes on new urgency in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to establish a “right to same sex marriage.”
So I want to remind you of all this, as well as my offer to help with parish scholarships for Catholic school and homeschooling tuition. I also reiterate my request for special donations to help raise money for these scholarships. If you are in a financial position to help parents protect the innocence and morals of their children, I ask you to consider making a donation. Several parishioners have responded very generously already. I thank them, and encourage you to join them.
Marriage in the Church, and Annulments. With all the talk about the meaning of marriage, it seems appropriate to do whatever we can to foster the understanding of the genuine meaning of marriage. So it seems timely to remind you that for a marriage involving a Catholic to be recognized by God and His Church that marriage must almost always be entered into before a Catholic priest or deacon: Catholics must be “married in the Church.”
I know that there are many reasons that folks get married “outside the Church,” and that these reasons seem just and important at the time. I understand. But I remind you that if a Catholic is not “married in the church” he or she, objectively speaking, is not “really married” and has separated themselves from the grace of Christ, including the reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
But this sad situation is often very easy to fix. Most of the time it just involves meeting with the priest a few times, gathering certain documents, and then celebrating the Rite of Catholic Marriage in a very simple ceremony.
Sometimes, though, it is more complicated, for example, where one of the spouses has been married previously. In these cases we can try to determine if annulment is possible, i.e., proving that the “first marriage” was invalid or “null” from its apparent beginning. This process can sometimes be very simple and quick, but it can also sometimes take a year or more. And in truth, sometimes, it is not possible to obtain an annulment.
Let me invite any of you who are Catholic and in a merely “civil marriage” to approach me or Fr. Kenna—either calling the office or sending an email—to discuss your situation. We promise we will do whatever we can to help you.
Parishioners Moving. It has been a sad summer in many ways, not the least of which is what seems like a steady stream of news of parishioners moving away due to retirement or transfer. I don’t want to name names, lest I leave someone out, but let me publicly thank all who are moving in the next few weeks and months for all you’ve done for the parish in all the ways you’ve done it, especially by just being here in spiritual communion with us. And let me encourage the rest of you to join me in actively thanking them, personally, and keeping them in your prayers. May we all happily meet again, if not in this world, then in Heaven.
Choir Membership. A number of those moving this summer are members of our choir. This only exacerbates an existing problem: we need more people in the choir. I think we have the best choir in the area, but it can’t remain that without members. So I encourage you to please consider joining. Elisabeth Turco, our parish Music Director, tells me that you don’t have to have the most beautiful or trained voice to join, and the other choir members tell me Elisabeth can do wonders to help you fit in and join in making beautiful music. Please contact Elisabeth for more information, calling the parish office or emailing turcoe@aol.com.
Planned Parenthood. As I write this (on Wednesday) news is breaking of a covert video showing Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, discussing PP’s concerted efforts to harvest the hearts, lungs and livers of aborted babies, apparently/allegedly to sell them. It’s a grizzly and sickening story that seems to confirm what pro-life activists have said for decades: Planned Parenthood (the no. 1 provider of abortions in America) and other abortion providers are not dedicated to the good of women, but to killing unborn babies and profiting from it.
Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus are a great group of men who serve God and His Church in so many ways. At St. Raymond’s they are the main men’s group, providing many coordinated opportunities to serve the parish, the surrounding community, and the Church. From sponsoring clothing and food drives, to running various parish dinners and events throughout the year, our Knights form the true backbone of the parish. When men ask me what they can do to get more involved in the parish my first question is: “are you a Knight of Columbus?” If their answer is “no,” I say, “then join.” If there answer is “yes,” I tell them “join in their activities.” If you are an adult male Catholic at St. Raymond’s, you should be a member of the Knights. Fr. Kenna and I are both 4th degree Knights.
Thank you brother Knights for all the good work you do for us at St. Raymond’s. Special thanks to John Crennan for his hard work as Grand Knight over the last year as Grand Knight at St. Raymond’s (St. John Bosco Council). And congratulations to Phil Bettwy as he is promoted to serve as Grand Knight for the coming year.
Respect Life Committee. Contrary to what we read in the main stream media, the most important civil rights and social justice issue of our time is the “right to life.” Which is why our Respect Life Committee is one of the most important committees in our parish. For the last 4 years Liz Hildebrand has been chair of this committee, and done an excellent job increasing awareness and involvement in pro-life activities such as 40 Days for Life, the March for Life, support for crisis pregnancy clinics, and on and on. Sadly, Liz has decided that it’s time for her to step down as chair. I want to thank her for the dedication, dynamism, creativity and spiritual devotion she brought to her work.
Going forward I’ve asked Dave and Maria Westberg to take over as co-leaders of the committee. I’m confident that they will do an excellent job at continuing and developing the work of the committee in the parish. Please pray for them, and join them in this work.
Scholarships. Several weeks ago I wrote and preached about the increased dangers posed to our children attending government “public” schools and encouraged Catholic parents to reconsider the possibilities of sending their children to Catholic schools or homeschooling. This warning takes on new urgency in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to establish a “right to same sex marriage.”
So I want to remind you of all this, as well as my offer to help with parish scholarships for Catholic school and homeschooling tuition. I also reiterate my request for special donations to help raise money for these scholarships. If you are in a financial position to help parents protect the innocence and morals of their children, I ask you to consider making a donation. Several parishioners have responded very generously already. I thank them, and encourage you to join them.
Marriage in the Church, and Annulments. With all the talk about the meaning of marriage, it seems appropriate to do whatever we can to foster the understanding of the genuine meaning of marriage. So it seems timely to remind you that for a marriage involving a Catholic to be recognized by God and His Church that marriage must almost always be entered into before a Catholic priest or deacon: Catholics must be “married in the Church.”
I know that there are many reasons that folks get married “outside the Church,” and that these reasons seem just and important at the time. I understand. But I remind you that if a Catholic is not “married in the church” he or she, objectively speaking, is not “really married” and has separated themselves from the grace of Christ, including the reception of the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
But this sad situation is often very easy to fix. Most of the time it just involves meeting with the priest a few times, gathering certain documents, and then celebrating the Rite of Catholic Marriage in a very simple ceremony.
Sometimes, though, it is more complicated, for example, where one of the spouses has been married previously. In these cases we can try to determine if annulment is possible, i.e., proving that the “first marriage” was invalid or “null” from its apparent beginning. This process can sometimes be very simple and quick, but it can also sometimes take a year or more. And in truth, sometimes, it is not possible to obtain an annulment.
Let me invite any of you who are Catholic and in a merely “civil marriage” to approach me or Fr. Kenna—either calling the office or sending an email—to discuss your situation. We promise we will do whatever we can to help you.
Parishioners Moving. It has been a sad summer in many ways, not the least of which is what seems like a steady stream of news of parishioners moving away due to retirement or transfer. I don’t want to name names, lest I leave someone out, but let me publicly thank all who are moving in the next few weeks and months for all you’ve done for the parish in all the ways you’ve done it, especially by just being here in spiritual communion with us. And let me encourage the rest of you to join me in actively thanking them, personally, and keeping them in your prayers. May we all happily meet again, if not in this world, then in Heaven.
Choir Membership. A number of those moving this summer are members of our choir. This only exacerbates an existing problem: we need more people in the choir. I think we have the best choir in the area, but it can’t remain that without members. So I encourage you to please consider joining. Elisabeth Turco, our parish Music Director, tells me that you don’t have to have the most beautiful or trained voice to join, and the other choir members tell me Elisabeth can do wonders to help you fit in and join in making beautiful music. Please contact Elisabeth for more information, calling the parish office or emailing turcoe@aol.com.
Planned Parenthood. As I write this (on Wednesday) news is breaking of a covert video showing Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director of medical services, discussing PP’s concerted efforts to harvest the hearts, lungs and livers of aborted babies, apparently/allegedly to sell them. It’s a grizzly and sickening story that seems to confirm what pro-life activists have said for decades: Planned Parenthood (the no. 1 provider of abortions in America) and other abortion providers are not dedicated to the good of women, but to killing unborn babies and profiting from it.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles