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Dear Brothers
and Sisters in Christ,
Hello! Welcome to St. Maria Goretti as we celebrate the 33rd
Sunday in Ordinary time! This is our last weekend in Ordinary Time and in green
vestments for a while. Next weekend, as we come to the very end of our
liturgical year, we celebrate the great Feast of Christ the King. In just two
weeks, we will be celebrating the First Sunday of Advent, on November 30th,
and the beginning of our new liturgical year. Yes, guys, it really is that time
of the year again.
We get
a second opportunity today to fill out our Fruitful Harvest 2009-2010 / “Angels
in Action” Campaign pledge card. PLEASE! If you haven’t filled out a card yet
for your family, please stop by the tables after Mass today and fill your card
out. I want to remind you that it is a two-year pledge, and that we are asking
every family, every individual, to do something. We can all help out with this
campaign in some way. Remember that it is NOT about equal gifts, but it is
about equal sacrifices. Please remember to fill out your card today.
These
past two weekends, with the Ministry Fair and the first weekend of our Fruitful
Harvest pledges/ commitments, has allowed me more time than usual, to be in the
back of church and in the church narthex at the end of our Masses. Normally, I
would tell you how happy it makes me to be able to greet the members of our
Parish family after Mass, and get to visit with folks. I’ve got to tell you,
though, these past two weeks have so saddened me. After years of letters in the
bulletin, and announcements at Mass, after mentioning it in the homilies at
least two or three times a year, after both Fr. Larry Richards and Fr. Stan
Fortuna both also mentioned it at our Parish Lenten missions these past two
years, I am so deeply saddened that so many of our brothers and sisters still
choose to leave Mass early. Two weeks ago, at the Ministry Fair, I was
embarrassed that our Parish Council had to see how many people couldn’t wait the
extra five or ten minutes, until the end of Mass, before they left. This past
weekend, I was embarrassed in front of the extraordinary individuals who have
volunteered their time and efforts to assist us with this capital campaign,
which so many have worked so hard for and made such great sacrifices for, only
to have to see all of our brothers and sisters, who can’t even stay at Mass
until Mass is over. It is heart-breaking to see people walking straight out of
Mass, with the Eucharist still in their mouths, heading off to whatever they
mistakenly feel is more important than God. I am completely devastated by
individuals who would not only choose to commit this sin themselves, but who do
so with their children in tow, causing their children to sin and also teaching
them, by their actions, that leaving Mass is an acceptable thing to do, which it
most certainly is NOT. Two years ago, Fr. Larry compared it to “spitting” on
Jesus. It is that disrespectful!
This
is happening too much at all of our Masses, but it is worse at our 4:30 PM
Saturday evening Mass, where between 150 and 200 people leave Mass early! It’s
unbelievable! I pray daily for this to stop. Most of all, I pray for the
conversion of heart for our brothers and sisters who leave early, that is so
obviously necessary. I really do pray for you! And I guess, that where I’m at
this week, I’m asking all of you who are reading this, to do the same with me.
I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I know that prayer can change
hearts. And that’s what most needs to happen with these brothers and sisters.
You don’t know and love the same Jesus Christ that I do, if you can walk out on
Him, at the high point of the Mass! Of course, most of these folks don’t read
the bulletin, so I’m writing here to the “choir”, so to speak. Most of these
same folks don’t put an envelope in the collection, or volunteer to help out in
any way, and I’m sure that they are not going to be filling out a pledge card
for the campaign, like all of us have been asked to do. In fact, many of these
folks who are leaving early are the same people who are coming to Mass late, so
they’re here for what? Forty or forty-five minutes, all together? My question
to those who do happen to be reading this and who are doing leaving Mass early,
is why do you come at all? Why go through the “motions”? What’s the point?
Are you merely trying to “hedge” your bet with God? You can’t be a “cultural”
Catholic. Either you are a Catholic Christian or your not. It is as simple as
that. Our actions speak louder than our words. And leaving Mass early just
about says it all.
I’m
not giving up, or shutting up about this, until it stops. I do not care that
this happens at all “other” Catholic churches, or that it’s much worse else
where. My responsibility is right here at St. Maria Goretti. It is morally
wrong and a mortal sin to deliberately leave Mass early. It is an insult to God
and to your brothers and sisters in the Church to do so. If you are doing this,
STOP IT! And again, may the rest of us pray for a change of heart for those
among us who are committing this sin.
May we all be better! Have a great week. We’ll see you back here next week for
the Feast of Christ the King!
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin
Christianity
is like electricity. It cannot enter a person unless it can pass through.
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