In our liturgical year, we have celebrated the great feast of the Eucharist, Corpus Christi, the heart of our faith. In our calendar year, June is the time of graduation, the school year coming to an end, a time for barbecues, family get-togethers, planning vacations and for some of our students, moving away from home and entering the new frontier of college and college life.
We have come a long way since March 2020, where life, which we took for granted, came to a stand-still. We were frozen in fear, alone with our thoughts, cut off from family and community. At Good Shepherd, through the great efforts of Fr. Michal’s gifts with technology, we were one of the first parishes to livestream our Masses. We did not allow fear to cripple us, because our anchor was always the Trinity, in the inner life of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
As Pastor, the year has been very challenging, with complying to the guidelines from the Governor and our Bishops. My first and only concern is the safety of the flock that God called me to protect. I will always err on the side of safety, even when it is not popular with some people.
During our desert experience of the pandemic, I know it has been very difficult to find hope, and the will to hang in there. Many challenges were presented to us in 2020/2021. We were inspired by medical personnel who put their lives on the line every day and will always be thankful to our parish staff, and the generosity of our parish families, who made it possible that all our staff and bills were paid. I thank God we had our faith to carry us through and am grateful, as well, for all those who were Footprints in the sand for me.
Everyday is a day closer to a new beginning for us, as we shed the masks, begin to trust more, overcome our fears, and enter the beauty of nature this time of year. We have overcome our Good Friday experience, and experienced Resurrection by the power of the Eucharist of Holy Thursday.
While I believe that we have reached the fourth quarter of the pandemic, there is still a way to go, and we have not reached the 75% of vaccinations yet. The pandemic will leave a scar in people’s lives especially for those who have lost loved ones during this time, those who lost their jobs, those who lost hope for a better future, and particularly our children, who missed out on school and lifetime initiation celebrations. Please be aware of the most vulnerable and all those who have lost hope and focus. There will be mental health challenges for some post-covid.
Since I came to Good Shepherd five years ago, my motto has always been to move a parish from “maintenance to mission”. With Fr. Michal’s great cooperation and our excellent support staff, we achieved many wonderful goals. I believe we have been good stewards of God’s gifts and been faithful to Gospel values.
Because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, we are beginning a process for our Faith Formation program that will be Mass-centered. We will use the next nine months to look at other parish programs and see which would be suitable for Good Shepherd. Upon conclusion of our evaluation, it is anticipated we will change the Sunday Mass schedule to reflect a Mass- centered Faith Formation program.
Beginning on Thursday, July 1st, our daily Mass time for Ordinary Time through Lent will be changed to 8:30am. We will continue with Sunday, 7:30am Mass until Labor Day weekend. The weekend Mass times for Labor Day through Memorial Day 2022 will be Saturday, 5:00pm and Sunday, 9:00am, 10:30am and noon.
Regarding livestreaming the Mass, why did we begin this practice? Because our churches were closed, and it kept us connected. But now the churches are open, and most people have returned to Church. I have always struggled theologically with the words “spiritual communion”. Livestreaming Mass lacks two important insights into the Mass; the presence of family gathering and the physical reception of Jesus Christ into our souls. Please do not convey to your children that watching Mass is the same as being physically present for the Mass. From our data, we have observed that the number of individuals watching the Mass has declined a great deal, and the most alarming statistic is that people leave the site after the homily. Based on the information, we will continue to livestream one weekend Mass, discontinuing at the end of July, when according to the administration over 75% of the population will be vaccinated.
As you already know, Fr. Michal will not be replaced as Parochial Vicar. However, his role as Confirmation Coordinator will be filled by Allison Holdt for the upcoming school year, for which I am grateful. Additionally, there may be a need to make some other changes and I thank all of you for your input to our survey. It was an especially useful tool for me and our staff. We will be reaching out to those who have made positive suggestions in the next month.
Our community of Good Shepherd will bid farewell to Fr. Michal at the end of June. It has been a pleasure to work with him, he gives so much of himself, always willing to help. The best compliment I can give is, in all Fr. Michal says, in all he does, God is Praised. That is all that is required.
Lastly, I would appreciate very much if everyone would make a special effort to join us for Fr. Michal’s last weekend on June 26th and 27th. A small reception will be held after each Mass.
Stay well, safe and always look for the light in every situation.