St. Thérèse & Some Updates
Dear Parishioners,
I hope your summer travels and cookouts are going well! This week, I’ll share a little more about my trip and give some updates about our parishes. My time in the monastery was especially restorative. I was amazed by the weight of the burden I was carrying on my shoulders… I didn’t realize how heavy it was until I started to let it down. While it was good to be away for a bit, for sure, it’s good to be back, feel refreshed, and ready to start chugging along again! There was a lot of work waiting for me when I returned, but I’m easing back into things and back up and at ‘em!
During my retreat, I was struck by how much St. Thérèse has to teach me, and how relevant her message of confidence and love is for us today. One Pope called her “the greatest saint of modern times,” and I think she has something for everyone to relate to. She was dedicated and driven, yet witty and playful. She overcame many trials by relying on God’s grace rather than her own strength. She suffered family tragedy, mental health challenges, social anxiety, scrupulosity, and deathly illness, and became stronger in spirit because of them. She recognized her own weakness and put her total reliance on God’s strength. Easier said than done, for sure, but there’s a lot to learn from her life!
Now I’ll provide a few practical updates. Please note that real emails from me will come from frhenry@olodp.org, with an official signature. Otherwise, beware of spam! Ironically, it seems like a lot of my real emails are ending up in people’s spam folders, so if you think you might be expecting an email from me, please check your spam. And be sure to add my real email address to your safe senders list!
We’re embarking on the Year of Unity, and I’d like to suggest that unity comes from putting others first. I invite us all to think about a practical way to put someone else before yourself. The Holy Spirit can prompt and guide that.
There are plenty of opportunities to serve at the Summer Festival at St. Bart’s next weekend (call Ken Radziwon). It would be especially nice for lots of folks to volunteer to give an hour at the Prayer Booth. Or, stop by the booth and ask one of the volunteers to say a prayer with you, and bring your friends! Many thanks to Ken Radziwon, Jerry Yox, Bill Mauntel, and the whole festival team for all their hard work!
Please remember that the usual 5:00 PM Mass at St. Bart’s will get bumped up to 4:00 PM on Saturday, July 25 to accommodate the festival traffic. Speaking of traffic, the new parking lot at St. Bart’s looks fabulous. Cheers to the Building and Grounds Committee there, and to Mike Suer for all the great work. There’s a lot more to do, but we are off to a good start.
Yours in Christ, with Mary,
Fr. Henry Hoffmann
