Dispensation from Precept Mass has ended
Beginning June 6 (the Feast of Corpus Christi) the Archbishop has reinstating the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. The law of the Church has always been that those with special medical challenges or obstacles are exempt from the obligation; but during the pandemic the Bishops of Ohio extended this exemption to all fearful of the Corona Virus. The dispensation for the general public has now been revoked.
Beacons of Light
The future planning process to determine the changes in parish organization structure of the entire Archdiocese of Cincinnati (to be implemented on or before 2025) is well underway. Please be aware that this planning process will result in dramatic changes in the organizational and identity structure of every parish and parochial school within the Archdiocese. I have met (or will be meeting with) the parish councils and paid parish staff at both parishes in our Pastoral Region to engage in a discernment process to refine and determine the “parameters” of discussion regarding the six “Guiding Principles” as articulated on the Beacons of Light web page: https://catholicaoc.org/beacons-of-light. Another option is to type “Beacons of Light” into your favorite search engine. It is expected that the beginnings of the discussions with the general parishioner population of the Archdiocese will begin this Fall. This is why we must all participate as parishioners of our pastoral region in the Beacons of Light initiative, so we can look to the future with hope and trust in the Holy Spirit. We have been assured by the Archdiocese that the future organizational structure of every existing parish, with or without a parochial school, in the Archdiocese will be impacted.
How will Beacons of Light work? By gathering and analyzing demographic, sacramental, financial, and school data; while also considering the pastoral situations that affect life in our communities, the Archdiocese will be assimilating all existing parishes into new Families of Parishes in the cities, towns, rural communities and suburbs throughout our 19 counties in Southwest Ohio. Eventually, there will be one priest pastor for every “Family;” and eventually one Canonical Parish (juridic person).
I encourage everyone to check this website out now and frequently as the process moves forward; and pray for this important initiative.
Please Note
There is an all day “on site” meeting of all Archdiocesan priests on Friday, June 4. It will be impossible to have a funeral that day, and it should be noted that Eucharistic adoration and Benediction at Sacred Heart will NOT take place.
Live Streaming a precept Mass from St. Ann and Sacred Heart each week
Even though the dispensation for the precept of Sunday Mass attendance has now been revoked, live streaming will continue for the sick, shut-ins, and others unable to come to Mass. Please remember to access the Sacred Heart / St. Ann Pastoral Region You Tube site by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLLqbEY5hKWinwz069MVcg
Reflection on Scripture:
The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity is somewhat atypical in that it does not celebrate an event in sacred history like Christmas or Easter, but celebrates a doctrine of the Church. Both the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed make the doctrine clear; that we believe in One God in Three Divine Persons. The term “person” references our ability to know experientially. We read and acknowledge God the Father as Creator in the Sacred Scripture. We come to know Jesus as the Son of God, the savior of the world. We come to know the Holy Spirit the Paraclete in the words of Jesus and the descent at Pentecost described in Acts. God also gives us the ability to reason. Jesus commissions the Apostles at the end of Matthew’s Gospel to baptize all the nations in the name of the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Thus when we use our God-given senses to extrapolate and our God-given minds to reason about that which is intangible; God has revealed Himself to us in the mystery of One God in Three Divine Persons. We are able to comprehend (in limited human terms) what we cannot know or reason, a mystery that is wholly beyond us and inexplicable. Yet we can know, love, and worship that which can only be known in inexplicable mystery. As the old Baltimore Catechism used to read, “Why did God make me? “God made me to know, love , and serve him; and be happy with him in Heaven.” My limited ability to know, love, and serve as a human, does not limit God from revealing Himself to me in Jesus Christ.
TV news usually has a “tease,” which is designed to keep us waiting for what is coming after the commercial. By revealing Himself to us in the Trinity, God has revealed a mystery designed to keep us watching while constrained by time and to keep us longing for the magnificence and all-encompassing love of the Beatific Vision for all eternity.
Next Week: Corpus Christi
Ex 24:3-8
Heb 9:11-15
Mt 14:12-16, 22-26
Theme: Transubstantiation, celebrating the reality