12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

06-25-2023Pastor's CornerVery Rev. Robert J. Deehan, VF

As we approach the 4th of July long weekend, what plans do you have? Many will take this opportunity to get away on a vacation, enjoy a cookout with family and friends or just sit back and relax at home. Understandably, we, here at Holy Family, see a decline in attendance at Mass on holiday weekends and in the summertime. A good number of parishioners who travel outside the parish find a Catholic church wherever they might be to worship God on Saturday eve/Sunday.

On my vacation recently, I learned that the priest who offered Mass for us in an A-frame chapel just outside Bryce Canyon National Park had traveled 75 miles to serve the Catholics on vacation in the area. It’s such an important obligation and a desire of many Catholics to participate in the Eucharist while on vacation, that Church leaders go out of their way to provide for the spiritual needs of people away from home. Our weekly acknowledgement of God in praise and thanksgiving for His blessings, and the spiritual nourishment we receive through Word and Sacrament, are vital elements of our Catholic faith. In the extra effort we make, we’re able to fulfill the Third Commandment to “remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day” and the Church’s precept to participate at Mass on Sunday. If you happen to be away from home next weekend or at any time in the future, I hope you’ll make a special effort to “do your duty” to God, to yourself and to fellow Catholics by attending Mass. It’s a wonderful opportunity to experience being “Church” by our prayer and presence with a faith community we are visiting, to enjoy the beauty of other Catholic churches in our country and throughout the world, and to experience the “universal” nature of our Church. When you think of it, you and I can find a Catholic Mass just about anywhere in the world. If you need help in finding a church and its Mass schedule in the area you are visiting, check out www.masstimes.org. I hope that whatever you do to enjoy yourself this summer, that you will have a wonderful time, and find yourself grateful to God for the many blessings He has given you.

God Bless You!

Fr. Bob