Dear Friends,
As we enter the First Weekend of May, the thing that immediately comes to mind is First Communion and the May Crowning. We were blessed to have 29 children receive their First Communion on Saturday, 4 May, 2024. What a blessing they are to our community! I take this occasion to congratulate the children who received the Lord of the Universe for the First Time in Holy Communion. I am also indebted to their parents, grandparents and godparents for supporting the children and instilling in them a love for Jesus. I am so very grateful to Kelli, our director of Faith Formation, and her team of dedicated catechists, who helped prepare our children for this big day.
Today, 5 May 2024, those children who received First Communion on Saturday will be at the 11:00 am Mass to honor our Mother Mary with the May Crowning. Thanks to our lovely CCW members, who will walk the children down the aisle for this event, expressing in a symbolic way the parish’s desire to pass on the tradition of our faith to our younger generation. It is a beautiful sight to behold.
Please join us to pray the rosary at 6.30 p.m. in the Grotto each day during the month of May in honor of our Mother. This is in addition to the rosary prayed in the church by our dedicated parishioners after daily Mass.
I am very proud to announce a new book authored by our own Deacon Steve Lumbert and his daughter Karina Lumbert Fabian titled, “There you are, God!” The father-daughter duo shares stories that illustrate a simple truth: you don’t have to look for God in extraordinary and amazing circumstances because He is present in the seemingly mundane and very ordinary moments of our day-to-day lives. Congratulations, dear Deacon Steve and Karina! They will offer a book signing this weekend after the 9 and 11 a.m. Masses. What a blessing you are for us!
The 6th Sunday of Easter invites us to delve deeper into the mystery of the unfathomable love that exits between the Father and the Son, a love in which Jesus passionately desires us to share. The 15th chapter of John continues to unfold for us Our Lord’s desire that we remain/abide in his love. We are united in and through Him. All we have to do is to keep his commandment, which is to love one another as He loves us. We cannot simply want only Jesus and reject a relationship with all the other branches of the vine.
This leads me to renew my request that you seriously consider becoming an active branch of the vine of Jesus at St. John’s! Please join one of our many ministries that need help. We are really in need of Greeters, Ushers, Media persons, and EMHCs (those who help with the distribution of Communion during the Mass). These ministries do not take that much effort. All of these can be performed at the same time that you attend Mass on the weekend – or during the week. We also really need help in the ministry that cleans the church (the Mopsters), Reception Ministry, Offertory Counters, musicians and choir members, etc.
Thank you for giving it a shot. I will be there with a form to sign you up for a time of joyful service to the Lord. Finally, please do not forget the two important presentations this week by Dr. Mary Soha. On Monday, 6 May at 6:30 pm, she will speak about the History of the Devotion to Our Lady of La Leche and Her Confraternity. On Tuesday, 7 May at 6:30, she will give a presentation entitled In Defense of the Eucharist – The Story of the Martyrs of La Florida. Dr. Soha is the Vice-Postulator for the Canonization of the Martyrs of La Florida, and as such she is well versed in who these martyrs were, what they did, and what is involved in the canonization process.
Have a Blessed Week!
With love,