Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 20, 2018 Column Father De Celles
Summer. The Summer is quickly slipping away from us, and, as much as I hate to admit it, school is about to start up again. I hope you all have had as a good a summer as I have. I have been busy all summer, but it has been largely, a low-stress few weeks, for some reason. I thought it would be a little more difficult, with the lighting project, but that’s been running very well (thanks be to God!).
One of the great things about summer is having so many of our college “kids” home. After being here for 8 years it’s really good to see so many of our young men and women growing up in so many ways, but it’s also good to have them back with us for a while. But as the summer wanes, I am aware that many of them are heading back to their colleges. I hope they know that we do pray for them, and we will miss them. And again, I encourage them to stay close to Jesus, His Mother and His Church. Remember: Sunday Mass, daily prayers, monthly confession. Keep your Rosary with you, and pray it often. Take part in the campus ministry events and get to know the Catholic Chaplain. Make good friends, and by that I mean friends that are truly good in the eyes of God, and can help you to be good in His eyes. Have fun, but remember you or your parents are spending all that money not for you to party, but to learn and grow in knowledge and wisdom before God and man. Enjoy yourself, but keep focused. Take time to relax, but stay away from stupid things, which include sinful things.
Listen to what your profs have to say, but always keep a critical ear open for the difference between fact and opinion, between ideology and truth, between bright ideas and nonsensical c–p.
Above all know that Jesus is your Savior, and loves you and is always with you. Cling to Him, and love Him in return, every day, at every moment. And know that we are praying for you, and look forward to seeing you at Christmas.
Religious Education, CCD. Every August, I panic a bit as the Religious Education Office tells me that registrations for the coming year are a little low… And every September they shoot up to more or less “normal” levels. But please, don’t wait to sign up for CCD—do it today, online—so you don’t forget and so you can get the times you want. Mary Salmon and Vince Drouillard in our RE/CCD Office have been working all summer to make our program even better than it was last year, and they’ve lined up some excellent folks to teach. But all that is useless, even the best teachers are powerless, if parents don’t sign their children up for classes. What can be more important than educating our children in the faith? Especially as FCPS continues its mad dash to brainwash our kids with their foolish notions of morality and even common sense.
So, enjoy the rest of your summer. But don’t forget to enroll in CCD. Contact our RE Office for more information—and do so this week, please.
And also—we are in urgent need of several catechists and aides. With all the problems in the world, I hear people ask, “What can we do?” Simple answer: “Teach CCD.”
Humanae Vitae & Fifty Years. Save the date for our conference on this historic encyclical of Pope Paul VI. Featured Speakers include: Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, Dr. Robert Royal, and Bob & Gerri Laird. Babysitting will be available. Contact the parish office for more information.
Parish Celebration Picnic. Make sure you’re saving the date for Sunday, September 16, when we will combine our annual picnic with a celebration of paying off the parish debt. Both Bishop Burbidge and Fr. James Gould (my predecessor, and the builder of our church) have confirmed that they will be here for the 12:15 Mass, and then for the picnic afterwards. We’ve also invited “pioneering” parishioners who helped build the church but have since moved away, and I’m hoping many of them will join us. We’ve been pulling out all stops to make this especially fun for all, with more games, more food and… live entertainment. So plan on being there.
Sign of Peace. Thank you all for your cooperation with my request for a new way of exchanging the sign of peace. Remember, when you turn to the person next to you, wait for them to turn to you, and then bow to each other. It will take a little getting used to, but I think we’ll get the hang of it.
St. John Eudes. Today is the feast day of my “name saint,” or patron saint, St. John Eudes (pronounced, “ūd,” rhyming with “rood”—the French “es” is silent at the end of words, as it is in “De Celles”). Born in Normandy in 1601, St. John grew up in a pious Catholic home, and at the age of fourteen he took a vow of chastity. After a stellar scholastic career he entered the Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus and Mary Immaculate (“The French Oratorians”), in 1623, and was ordained a priest in 1625. He became a missionary of sort, and soon became famous for preaching parish missions. In 1641 he founded the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, for “fallen women” who wished to do penance. In 1643 he established the Society of Jesus and Mary (“The Eudists”), an order of priests, founded for the formation of priests (in seminaries) and for missionary work.
St. John is also famous as one of the primary promoters of the formal devotions to the Sacred Heart (before the apparitions to St. Margaret Mary) and the Immaculate (Admirable) Heart of Mary. He is credited with the establishment of the first feast days for the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart, and composing the prayers for those Masses (all with papal approval).
Known for his personal holiness and learning, St. John wrote several books that are considered Catholic classics, rich in doctrine and but simple in style. Many consider him a possible future Doctor of the Church. His principal works are: The Sacred Heart of Jesus, The Admirable Heart of Mary, The Life and Kingdom of Jesus, and The Priest: His Dignity and Obligations. St. John died on this date in 1680, at the age of 78. He was canonized in 1925.
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles