The Church celebrates Pentecost this weekend. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God in our world, in our Church, and in each of our lives. We are poor, week, mortals who can’t follow God’s path perfectly, can’t earn our way to heaven, and can’t bring the faith to others on our own. We turn to the Holy Spirit. Be with us. Change us and change our world.
This weekend is the time for the annual diocesan Pentecost collection. This is the collection used to pay tuition costs for our seminarians. A gift to this collection is an investment in the future of the Church. If you aren’t prepared for the collection today, write a check in the next week or two and write “Pentecost Collection” in the memo line.
This is also the weekend on which our two newest priests, Fr. Andrew Barnes and Fr. Nick Monnin are ordained. I’m especially excited about this ordination. I married the parents of both of these two, and I baptized Nick when he was a baby. May God bless them and keep them holy priests, effectively bringing others to Christ.
Fr. Bobby’s Bibles and Burgers is up and running. Come at 6 p.m. on a Thursday evening during June or July (except for July 3), bring a lawn chair and a side dish to share. You will meet some good people, have a good meal, and learn something too.
You will see some fast progress taking place on the school window project. Now that the rooms are empty, we have workers here moving quickly. We should have the whole project done in time for the start of school in August.
Sadly, next weekend will be Fr. James’ last weekend here at St. Charles. After 18 years with us, he will be returning to his Benedictine monastery in India. Please join us for a reception in the Hession Center after the 11:00 Mass next Sunday, June 15. Fr. Jery, another priest from the same monastery, is due to arrive on Tuesday of this week. We offer him a warm welcome.
Next Sunday we will also have a visiting priest who will share information about Food for the Poor, an organization which provides aid for those in need in areas of great poverty. There will be envelopes in the pews and a chance to make a gift or a pledge.
