Having celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ) we now enter into our regular liturgical season within the summer setting.During the summer months we are a little more relaxed and the prayers, homilies and hymns hopefully tend to be the shorter and simpler form.
A word of thanks to Jim Ryan who brought the beautiful flower clippings from his bushes to adorn the rear altar. I look forward to being able to clip the hydrangeas from our garden for the vases on the altar. It is nice to have vibrant colors gracing the church.
Welcome to our summer parishioners who are returning and filling our pews. We missed you! Please let the pastoral staff know if you need anything. You may notice that the missalettes are gone from the pews; this is because we have them projected on the front walls. We do order missalettes for the Drive-In Mass, with a few extra. The summer edition has been fully distributed. In August we will receive the new edition of this quarterly missalette. If you attend Mass inside and want a copy, please email the office at office@stanns.net and we will arrange to reserve a copy for you. Missalettes left behind in the church will be discarded.
It is my desire to continue to spray down the pews, kneelers and benches to maintain a level of safety. We will continue to stock the masks, gloves and hand sanitizer located at each entrance. Please be respectful of other’s desire to socially distance themselves. We can now exchange the ‘sign of peace’ if you so choose, and we should respect people’s choice to simply nod, should they want to refrain from a handshake. Also, let’s also pray for each other – we have been through a very trying time, and I realize some people are still working on adjusting back to old ways. Let us be patient with others when they seem impatient or distant…..let’s not take anything personally, let’s give one another the benefit of the doubt.
We have a lot of good news upcoming, and I am happy to report I am very busy performing BAPTISMS on Saturdays and Sundays. Also, over the next few weeks we unfortunately have a number of FUNERALS. Please keep the deceaseds’families in your prayers. Of special note is Don Davis, a faithful attendant of the Saturday Vigil Mass, who passed into eternal life last week. I, and many at that Mass, will miss him. “Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them.’”
We are ready to work on the entranceway to the Church. I and Tom Burke met with the door company and the drawing of the specs are stunning. I know you will be pleased. We are also going to replace the roof lights and install two new sconces on either side of the center doors. We’re meeting with the painter to discuss colors and accents. Be patient, it’ll be worth the wait. I do hope to fund the extra cosmetic and lighting work with the Grand Annual Drive which we will soon launch.
As I write this column I am preparing to leave after the Sunday 11:30 Mass. It will be nice to spend time with a packed retreat house of priests from NY, NJ, PA and DE. You are in my prayers.
See you this weekend!
Father Carmichael
