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 Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of our Easter
Season and we continue to rejoice over our 148 children who make their First
Holy Communion this weekend. This is a great weekend not only for them and for
their families, but for our entire Parish family, as our young brothers and
sisters take the next step in their initiation into the Catholic Church, by
receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity! We are
so proud of all of our First Communicants! We pray for you and with you on this
happy weekend!
We do welcome all of our guests who are joining us for
this happy occasion. I know that there are many grandparents, aunts and uncles,
cousins, godparents, and friends who are joining us this weekend. We are truly
glad that each one of you made the trip to join us, to help us support our
children.
First Communion is our annual reminder to each one of
us, of what a big deal it is to be able to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament.
For some of us, it has been many years since our “first” Communion. And when
you do something as often as we Catholics do when we go to Communion, we must be
very careful not to trivialize what we get to do each time that we come to
Mass. It is an honor and a privilege for us to be able to go to Communion. We
don’t want to ever just get up, jump in line, and come down the aisle and
receive Jesus, AND NOT be fully conscious and aware of just what we are doing.
The children’s preparation, devotion, excitement, and awe-inspiring love for
Jesus as they make their First Communion has got to inspire all of us to a
greater love for the Eucharist for ourselves. We’ve got to see how important
this is. We’ve got to re-commit ourselves and our lives and our time to coming
to Mass EVERY week. We’ve got to find time in our lives for Eucharistic
Adoration, and make the commit to get ourselves into that Blessed Sacrament
Chapel at least once a week. We’ve got to serve Jesus in serving our brothers
and sisters. This is a powerful weekend for all of us, if we let it be! Maybe
it’s time for all of us to think back to our own First Communions. Tell your
kids, and your grandkids about your own First Communions. We need to ask our
older kids what they remember from their First Communions, even if it’s only
been a few years. These are neat discussions to have as a family. By sharing
our Faith with one another, we are really BUILDING our Faith together.
I also wanted to mention a few words this week about
registering in the Parish. It is extremely important that we get everybody
registered, who considers themselves a member of our Parish family. The
Catholic Church desperately wants EVERYONE to belong somewhere. All Catholics
need to have a Parish home. We would dearly love for St. Maria Goretti to be
that home for you and for your family. Whether it is or isn’t, every person,
every family needs to find a parish to belong to. This is very important for
the reception of all or any of the Sacraments, as registration gives
jurisdiction to the parish to be able to perform the Sacraments. Here at St.
Maria Goretti, parish registration is also the basis for our school’s
registration and waiting lists. The longer you have been a member of the
Parish, the greater your chances of getting into our school. It is the fairest
way we know of to run the entrance procedure for our Parish school. Parish
registration connects the individual Catholic with the rest of the Church.
Catholics should be registered at only one parish. And while there are,
technically, still parish boundaries, in this area they are not enforced so that
everyone can find a place where they feel “at home”. If you are NOT currently
registered, please get registered some place, very soon. You can register here
at St. Maria Goretti by stopping by our Parish Offices during the week or by
stopping by the Welcome Table in the church narthex after Mass on Sunday.
Please also be aware that registering at any parish does not make you a
Catholic. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults or RCIA is for that
process. I know that in many other denominations you can simply stop in and
sign up, and all of a sudden you’re Lutheran, or Presbyterian, or Church of
Christ. There’s a little more to it for us as Catholics. We’d still love to
have you join us. It just takes more than filling out a card. Give us a call.
We’d love to talk to you about it.
This is going to be a great month. It’s already a little
warmer. The days are longer. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway opened
yesterday. Let’s enjoy it all!
In Christ,
Fr. Kevin
“It needs to be said, loud and clear, that in the Kingdom of God
there ain’t no comfort zone and there never will be.”
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