Last Sunday afternoon, as I was leaving our first combined “Seasons of Saints” parish picnic, a number of you came up and shared how much you enjoyed the afternoon. We all appreciated the time and energy that so many people put into planning and preparing the event. I heard many of you make remarks like: “It’s good to see people from all three parishes” and “We should do more things together.” To me it sounded like an echo from the Psalms: “How good and pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters!) dwell in unity!” Yes,...

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If you’re at Mass in any of our churches this weekend, you know we’ve begun the annual novena to St. Ann. A relatively short prayer near the end of Mass. A hymn— with a familiar melody—addressed to Mary’s mother, Christ’s grandmother. I’m sure this small addition to our prayer raises a few questions. First, why St. Ann? Her name and her story aren’t contained in the New Testament. However, quite early in Christian history—mid-100s AD—she and St. Joachim are named as the parents of the Blessed Virgin. They’...

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Let me talk about money today. But before you stop reading, it’s not going to be an ask for more money. Instead, I want to share about money we’ve received. Recently, we learned that the Diocese has responded positively to St Ann and St Boniface Parishes’ requests for grants from the diocesan Social Justice and Faith Formation programs. This isn’t our first time around. We’ve received these monies in the past. But sometimes we take the grants for granted! We should be aware of the commitment that our Diocese makes to our programming in ou...

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250 years. Sometimes that seems like a long time. Much the way our significant birthdays or anniversaries—the ones ending in a zero or a five—seem hard to believe. We ask ourselves: Has it really been that long? Where have the years gone? Weren’t we just celebrating a Bicentennial? But let’s take another perspective. 250 years isn’t even 10% of Christian history, of Anno Domini. Other cultures, other governance structures (including the papacy) have already outlived us. As Catholics, who have just consecrated our nation to the Sacred H...

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I noticed that we’re using the phrase “Season of Saints” to describe our parishes’ summer picnic. I can’t take credit for that phrase, but I like it a lot! We do seem to be in a “season of saints.” Earlier this month, we remembered St. Boniface, that great evangelist who left the comfort of his English monastery to bring the gospel to the Germanic peoples. In a few weeks, we’ll gear up for the traditional novena to St Ann, “mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope.” And in August, we celebrate t...

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How are we doing with our linkage and consolidation? That’s a question I hear often. People want to know: Is it working? These relationships between St. Lawrence, St. Boniface, and St. Ann Churches? What’s it like living through these significant transitions? My answer: People are coming to Mass. People are coming to Mass on Sundays. They’re coming to Mass on weekdays. Masses that used to be half-empty are filling up. And we’re running into people from parishes beyond our three churches. We’ve had transitions all around us. People are mak...

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Each year, around my ordination anniversary, I share some thoughts about the priesthood, about vocation. Now, that anniversary falls when the Church celebrates the birth of St. John the Baptist, June 24th. That’s still a little way off. But today’s readings prompt me to talk about vocations a bit early. In the gospel, Jesus calls disciples and sends apostles. He tells his followers to pray for workers to bring in the harvest, the harvest of souls. It seems an apt moment for us all to reflect on God’s call. Some men knew all their lives they were called ...

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This year, Catholics across our nation are being invited to participate in a historic act of faith: the Consecration of the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The bishops of the United States have called upon all Catholics to entrust our nation, our communities, our families, and ourselves to the loving Heart of Christ. This consecration takes on special significance as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As Americans reflect with gratitude on the blessings of liberty and the sacrifices of those who he...

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I’m of the school of thought that it’s still spring. Memorial Day or not, summer really begins with the solstice in late June. And summer keeps going until late September! Nonetheless, it’s worth taking a look into summer. We have several things going on over the next few months. This weekend, we welcome to our parish Jeremy Barket, a seminarian for our Diocese. He’ll be with us for the next two months. He’s here to experience parish life here at St Ann’s and St Boniface Parishes. At the same time, St Joseph the Worker’s summer s...

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A few years ago, the Church in the United States called for a Eucharistic revival. We organized processions— some of them huge events that travelled across states. We urged priests and deacons to preach more intently about Christ’s great gift of himself in the Sacrament. We taught classes, held retreats, and days of reflection. We revived old traditions like the Forty Hours Devotion. Now, the official Eucharistic Revival seems to be technically over, but the Church—lay faithful just as much as ordained leadership—continues to see a need to call peopl...

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