Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Happy June! We congratulate our summer seminarian, Jack Weldon, on his ordination yesterday to the Diaconate. Deacon Weldon, we are all very proud of you and look forward to your getting to exercise your new ministry here with all of us at St. Maria Goretti. It is worth pointing out that Deacon Weldon is what-is-called a “transitional” deacon. Next summer, in June of 2005, Deacon Weldon will become, God willing, Fr. Weldon. As all of us know by now, we as a Church are very much in need of more priests, and more deacons, and more sisters and brothers. May all of us continue to pray for more vocations for priesthood and religious life, especially from here at our own Parish family. We look forward to our own first ordination and First Mass. It was great to see so many from here at the Cathedral in Lafayette yesterday for the ordination. Thanks for being there for Deacon Weldon and Deacon Jeff Martin from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

As we head into the warmer days of summer, it is a good time to remind everybody of how important it is to dress appropriately when we come to church, even in the summertime. We are very blessed to have an excellent air-conditioning system here at St. Maria Goretti. Most of the time, our church is kept quite comfortable for even the most warm-blooded among us, of which I am one. We should still be very comfortable wearing our good clothes. Strapless tops, tank tops, midriffs, swimwear, a lot of sportswear, and yes, even shorts, are not appropriate for Mass. We are losing a sense of how distracting our attire may be to others who are trying to pray and stay focused on God. Coming to Mass, even in the summertime, is not like anything else we do. We should dress differently. Our attire should express our love and appreciation of God in our lives. Most of us do a pretty good job at this. This time of year, it is just good to remind everybody of what we are doing and what the expectations are. Very rarely do people wear immodest clothes to Mass on purpose. My experience has been that the vast majority of times these brothers and sisters don’t know what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. I write this, then, this week to try to clarify for all of us what the expectations are. I would ask that all of us commit ourselves to keeping a prayerful, modest, and respectful atmosphere in church while we are at Mass. Everyone is always welcome to come and pray with us at Mass. We are always glad for each and every person at Mass, and so is God. It is, however, very important for all of us to show our respect for God by properly covering our bodies. Think and pray about this. Perhaps this could be something your family talks about together today.

I have also received several questions recently about going to Mass while you are traveling this summer. As Catholics, it is the Church’s expectation that we always, wherever we may be, do our best to attend Mass on Sunday. We don’t take a vacation from God. When travel arrangements are being made, going to Mass ought to be one of the major considerations. You’d be surprised that with a little checking you can find Mass in airports, in many resorts, and even on most cruise ships. It is getting harder and harder to say that I missed Mass because I was traveling, because Mass is offered so many different places these days and at different times. Mass is not always convenient, but it is much more of a possibility when we are traveling than a lot of folks like to find out. And so the answer to the question is that “YES” we are still supposed to be going to Mass even when we are traveling. Actually, I have found that one of the most fun parts of traveling is getting to experience Mass in different communities. I will admit that most times it makes me want to get home as soon as I can. If there’s no way to get to Mass, then there’s no way to get to Mass. God nor His Church asks us to do the impossible. We have a very practical faith. All I am saying is that every effort ought to be made, before we leave home, to see if we can’t find Mass somewhere. Do your best!

This next week, Fr. Dale and I will be joining all of the priests of our Diocese at the annual Priests’ Convocation in Brown County, Indiana. Please pray for us. We will have Communion services this week in place of our regular Masses. The new Deacon Weldon will be presiding. Communion Services will take place this Monday thru Thursday. I will be back for Mass on Friday morning. We will be keeping Mass at 8:00 AM on Fridays this summer. The Tuesday daily Mass will move to 5:30 PM during the summer break. Have a great week!

In Christ,
Fr. Kevin

A guilty conscience is a hidden enemy.