Dear Family of God,

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  On that day the Holy Spirit changed the face of the earth.  The malaise, the fear, the confusion, the uncertainty of the Apostles ended.  Everything changed through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Is it time in the United States for another Pentecost?  Two weeks have passed since the horrific murders of 19 children and 2 teachers in Texas.  Many voices are calling for something be done, now.  Well, sadly, I've heard those same words over and over again, and we still wake up to yet one more unimaginable and unspeakable tragedy.  We have become a more violent country it seems. I don't like it any more than you do.  

I pray, oh how I pray that something concrete will be done after this latest tragedy, but I'm afraid the horror of this incident will fade and we will move on to the next news event as seems to happen time after time. In the past 10 years there have been almost 200 school shootings with nearly 500 deaths.  That must be unacceptable to every human being.  It must stop. What can you and I do?  Well, for starters, we can pray.  Now, I know the word "pray" is used so frequently that it sometimes seems to have as much meaning as "In God We Trust" on our coins.  It can seem trite to some.  But in all truth... Prayer is powerful, not because it changes God or God's plans, but because, if done meaningfully, it changes us and our communities and our nation, one heart at a time, in the way we think, interact with others and work for social change. Secondly, we can do just that, actively work for change.  What kind of change?  That’s the complicated part.  Once again, voices seem to be separated only along party lines.  Are there not other ways to “see?”  Why can we not think according to the Common Good, as Catholic Teaching calls us to do?  Why do we seem to think only in the manner of “either/or” instead of “both/and?”  Come, Holy Spirit, enlighten our hearts!  We desperately need You!!

Many of you visited our Cemetery during the Memorial Day weekend.  I saw many cleaning around the graves, washing and polishing the tombstones, and placing flags and flowers on the graves of family and friends. I'm not sure of the number of souls buried in our serene cemetery but I believe the first person to be interred was Mr. Philip Sullivan in 1892.  Mr. Sullivan donated the land for the first church and also the land for our present day cemetery.  If you wish to purchase a grave or simply would like information regarding costs and so forth, please call the Office.  May the souls of the faithful departed buried  in St. Philip Neri Cemetery, rest in peace.  Amen.

A big thank you for helping our new Diocesan Chapel, Our Lady of Guadalupe, by purchasing authentic Mexican food last week.  This is a big help to our newest Chapel and in the future we will be helping in various ways.   Did you know that in 1970 our diocese had a Catholic population of 47,000 and 80 active priests?  Today the total number of Catholics remains about the same, but the number of priests to serve them has dwindled from a high of 80 to only 39. Nonetheless, our Bishop sees the need to care for our ever growing Hispanic Community and recently purchased a former Protestant Church that was for sale, remodeled it and now it is consecrated for Catholic worship. I'm sure the daily prayer of Bishop Walsh is that more young men will listen to the voice of God calling them to serve as a priest.  May I invite you on this Pentecost Sunday to join him so that there will be enough clergy to care for the needs of our Catholic people.  God bless you and remember you are loved.