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From the Pastor: February Mass Counts
As you know, each February and October the Diocese of St. Petersburg asks all parishes to count how many people attend Sunday Mass each week that month. For years, we have posted the results in the social hall. Comparing the year-to-year attendance is heartwarming for the pastor of a growing parish, heartbreaking if the parish is dying. We, of course, are growing. The diocese never released the results for last October, probably due to the strange results coming from hurricane interruptions. But this spring’s results just came in and they are certainly worth a look. Our lowest attendance was the first week of February with only 864 people in the pews. The next three weeks found us at 917, 984, and 981. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to figure out why there is such a jump or drop in attendance from one week to another. Other times we know that a group of parish families was away at a campout or something like that. Even if I go to their camp to celebrate Mass for them on Saturday evening, I have never included them in the Mass count, for I never want any perception of “cooking the books” by including people who technically weren’t at the parish for Mass. So, how do we compare to the rest of the diocese? Well, the good news for the diocese is that the total number of Catholics has increased from 97,512 in February of 2024 to 99,052 this year. That is an increase of 1,540 people. But when you divide that by the total number of parishes (81) that’s a growth of only 19 people per parish even though the number of new housing complexes in our diocese seems to be beyond counting. I don’t know what the population growth of the 5 counties in our diocese (Pinellas, Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Citrus) is, but it has no doubt brought far more Catholics to the area than the increased Mass attendance shows. Our own parish increased from 912 to 937 during the past year. That’s only 25 more people. Better than average, but not by much. Of course, if you look at the numbers over a longer period of time, we look much more impressive. The diocesan report shows that in the year 2012 Epiphany had 100 people attending Mass (all numbers are averaged February numbers), in 2014 (2013 is not reported for some reason) we had 99, and in 2015 we had 87. The Traditional Latin Mass came to Epiphany in August of 2015, so the 2016 Mass count of 335 shows what an impact it made on the parish. We are currently nearly three times that number in just ten years. In those same years, though, the diocese's overall totals were dropping. From 135,377 in 2012 to 131,592 in 2014 to 128,410 in 2015, the downward trend crept along until reaching only 111,035 in 2020. And then Covid hit. In 2021 the total diocesan Mass attendance had plummeted to 54,168, not quite half of the people of the previous year’s already low total. That same Covid year Epiphany grew from from 494 to 717. This year the diocese also chose to bring attention to the 2019 pre-Covid-year statistics to highlight the attendance change compared to the current year’s statistics. They used 2019 numbers rather than 2020 numbers seemingly because the Covid panic could have already been affecting the February 2020 numbers even though we were not yet locked down. As a whole, the diocese’s attendance numbers still haven’t returned to those pre-Covid numbers. From 2019’s 117,072 to 2025’s 99,052 there is a 16.2% drop. Epiphany’s numbers for those years show a much better pattern. We moved from 349 in 2019 to our current 937, for an increase of 168.5%, by far the best showing in the diocese! At least for me, all these attendance numbers and years, when written in paragraph form like I just wrote, don’t have the same easy to digest impact as seeing the chart that is hanging up in the social hall. I hope you take the time to look it over. One really nice part about looking at the whole list of parishes in the diocese is that you can check out the stats for other parishes you are interested in as well as ours. You can see that only 18 parishes have yet to reach their pre-Covid attendance numbers. Out of those 18 parishes, only Epiphany parishioners never stopped attending Mass (the count never decreased) on account of the pandemic. It seems like there is some underlying cause of our growth that eludes many members of the Church (fortunately, not our Bishop!). I wonder what it might be? Is it possible that somehow we understand and believe the Traditional Catholic Church teachings on the necessity of the Sacraments for our salvation while many others don’t? Or that we know and believe that spiritual death is worse than physical death, and that living and dying with the Sacraments is preferable to living and dying without them, while huge numbers in other parishes (including—and especially influential—priests and deacons) deny that reality? If so, where did we get the firm commitment to God and His Church found lacking in other parishes? As I’ve told you before, learning the Traditional Mass and studying the necessary Traditional books and Church documents changes both the priest and the people in the pews—for the better, I might add! The Mass attendance statistics for the entire world might look similar to Epiphany’s if only the clergy would finally accept the truth that the Traditional Latin Mass and the accompanying older Sacramental Rites and older ritual blessings more fully express and teach the fullness of the Catholic Faith than the revised versions! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Too Busy
A week or two ago the office staff told me that my calendar was booked up through April and people needing to schedule something with me were being given dates in May. I’m passing this information on to you so that you understand that when you want a home blessing, a pre-baptism meeting, a marriage preparation class, or anything else, you are not going to get it right away. The calendar is just full. It’s not something personal against you, you just get the next available slot that fits both your calendar and mine. And if an emergency pops up and I have to cancel, oh, what a mess that makes. Funerals, calls for the Last Rites, diocesan meetings that are scheduled with little to no advance notice, and other such things throw off everyone. If you have been the “victim” of such a rescheduling nightmare, you know firsthand what problems arise when something/someone else takes “your” slot! So the obvious question becomes, and I have heard this too many times to count, “When will the Bishop send you an associate?” In case you are one of the few people who haven’t already asked me this question and received the following answer, let me tell you how these things work. Just as “It isn’t personal” when I cannot squeeze you in for a meeting for two months, so “It isn’t personal” when the Bishop cannot send me an associate! Earlier this year each priest was sent the annual questionnaire from the priest personnel board. Here are the questions asked and my answers (not exact, since I didn’t keep a copy of it). Q. Do you wish to remain in your current assignment or would you like to move? A. I wish to remain here. Q. Do you wish to be relieved of an associate or deacon currently assigned to your parish? Explain. A. None are assigned here. Q. Would you like to have an associate or deacon assigned to your parish? Explain. A. Yes. I would like to have both an associate and a deacon! But they must be open to the Traditional Rites, either already knowledgeable of them or willing to learn, as well as knowing/learning Traditional Church Teachings. QQ. Etcetera, etcetera. AA. Blah, blah. I have written about this before. Every year I ask, and every year no associate or deacon is assigned here. It is possible that the Bishop has, on the sly, sent deacons to check us out, to see if they would like to be assigned here. I have had a number of deacons and their wives come here and get their first taste of the Traditional Latin Mass. Perhaps they were just curious about the TLM or perhaps they were scoping us out and decided against this as an assignment. I don’t know for certain. But I do know that having an associate or deacon who is not on board with Tradition would be worse than not having one in the first place, as they could/would undermine everything being done here. For instance, one deacon who came here for Mass with his wife approached the altar rail and both of them stuck out their hands to receive Holy Communion. The wife was the first I came to and the altar boy did as he is trained to do, for many first-timers don’t know that they can’t receive in the hand. He simply put the paten over her outstretched hands and under her chin, and as I moved the Host toward her face she opened her mouth and received. Her deacon husband, witnessing this, proclaimed as I moved to his spot, “I am a deacon of the Diocese of St. Petersburg and I will receive in the hand!” I had to whisper to him that we must follow the 1962 rubrics and therefore must give only on the tongue. “For the sake of the Eucharist, I will receive under protest!” he replied as he stuck out his tongue. He never came back to introduce himself and I never saw him again. Imagine if he was assigned and never wanted to adjust his understanding of what we do and why. The old saying, “Beggars can’t be choosers” certainly doesn’t apply here, for if this beggar isn’t choosy about which clergy to accept, the results could be disastrous. Anyway, I didn’t sit down to write about this but I had to answer emails before getting around to this article. One of the emails was from the diocese and included a list of all of the associates (also known as parochial vicars, assistant priests, etc.) currently active in the diocese, including those belonging to religious orders and those from foreign countries. There were only 51 in total. We have more than 80 parishes. It isn’t personal. There are not enough “extra” priests to go around. As for the deacons, I think there are probably many of them looking for a parish where they can be useful as they fulfill their diaconal duties. But realistically, most deacons are retired before they even begin their formation and are quite past the time of life when learning a whole new rite and a new language would look achievable let alone rewarding. The deacon must be able to chant (another thing to learn) the Gospel in Latin. If he is to baptize, he must be able to read the entire ritual in Latin. Even in a simple marriage ceremony without a Nuptial Mass, there are a few parts he must do in Latin. It is a formidable. Fortunately, it is Lent, and we can all offer up the inconvenience of a full schedule due to a packed church. It is certainly better than a clear calendar and empty pews! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Works of Mercy for Lent and for the Bishop Now that Lent is underway and all Catholics of good will are striving for holiness even more than “normal” a small snippet from Pope St. Leo the Great comes to us through the Liturgy of the Hours. It is taken from a sermon he gave on the value of the Lenten practices of fasting and almsgiving. He spoke about almsgiving in a manner not quite like is normally heard nowadays, for he did not even mention giving money as the means of giving alms. I will explain shortly, after this brief quote with my bolded emphasis. Dear friends, what the Christian should be doing at all times should be done now with greater care and devotion, so that the Lenten fast enjoined by the apostles may be fulfilled, not simply by abstinence from food but above all by the renunciation of sin. There is no more profitable practice as a companion to holy and spiritual fasting than that of almsgiving. This embraces under the single name of mercy many excellent works of devotion, so that the good intentions of all the faithful may be of equal value, even where their means are not. The love that we owe both God and man is always free from any obstacle that would prevent us from having a good intention. The angels sang: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. The person who shows love and compassion to those in any kind of affliction is blessed, not only with the virtue of good will but also with the gift of peace. The works of mercy are innumerable. Their very variety brings this advantage to those who are true Christians, that in the matter of almsgiving not only the rich and affluent but also those of average means and the poor are able to play their part. Those who are unequal in their capacity to give can be equal in the love within their hearts. Did you notice how St. Leo says that giving alms, rather than the standard giving of money to the poor, is rather doing “excellent works of devotion” which he also calls “works of mercy”? He points out how doing these works (almsgiving) with good intentions and love levels the field, so to speak, between rich and poor. Those who are rich can give monetary alms but those who are poor obviously cannot give an equal amount. Yet both rich and poor can perform loving acts of mercy and devotion equally, for both can love with the love of Jesus Christ, which itself is infinite. In other words, giving $10,000,000 to a charity may be seen as an extraordinarily generous act of almsgiving but few are able to give that amount. Plus, the money may not have been given out of love but out of pride, a desire for attention or adulation, or a tax write-off, for instance, and may not merit any heavenly reward for the gift giver. But a simple act of mercy can be made by anyone at any income level, and, if done with the love of God and love of neighbor on account of the love of God, it bears fruit a hundredfold and is as beautiful in God’s eyes as the widow’s mite of the Scriptures. With that in mind, I want to remind you of (or introduce you to) Bishop Gregory Parkes’ Works of Mercy Challenge. Although it is for the whole year and not just for Lent, this is a perfect time to participate in this challenge and hone your virtue through “excellent works of devotion” and innumerable “works of mercy.” Here is an introduction to the Bishop’s Challenge. We are excited to announce the long-awaited roll out of the 1,000,000 Works of Mercy Challenge (part of the Pastoral Plan, Called to Conversion, and a 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope initiative). Bishop Parkes is challenging everyone in the five counties of the Diocese to renew their understanding of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy and then together complete one million works of mercy by Advent 2025. More information, including a parish/school toolkit and other resources, is located at our diocesan website www.dosp.org/Jubilee2025/MercyChallenge/toolkit/. Each parish and school is encouraged to have their parishioners record their works of mercy at the official diocesan website: www.mercy2025.org. Parishes, schools and youth groups who complete and record their acts of mercy by December 15, 2025 will be eligible for a grant for their pastoral care, outreach, and mission-trip ministries. Follow the links above or the QR code (below this post) for more information on how to count and report the number of works of mercy you complete toward his stated “One Million Works” goal. If you sign in as an Epiphany member, it also shows the support the parish gives to the Bishop in this spiritual initiative. There are 7 traditional Corporal Works of Mercy (oriented toward the body) and 7 traditional Spiritual Works of Mercy (oriented toward the soul), although the lists vary slightly in numbering and wording from one source to another. The Corporal Works of Mercy are: feed the hungry; give drink to the thirsty; clothe the naked; harbor the harborless (or shelter the homeless); visit the sick; ransom the captive (or visit the imprisoned); bury the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: instruct the ignorant; counsel the doubtful; admonish sinners; bear wrongs patiently; forgive offenses willingly; comfort the afflicted; pray for the living and the dead. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka  From the Pastor: Lenten Alms For Vocations
Every year just as Lent is beginning I write a bulletin article explaining several things about Lent. Some are unique to our parish, such as our annual Twenty Dollar Bills for Sisters and Semmies Fundraiser (I have adjusted the title of this fundraiser to keep up with inflation!). Sometimes the Lent information applies to all Catholics throughout the world. Still other information deals with quirky practices canonically “legal” only in certain areas. All three types of information are important and at least somewhat helpful and/or entertaining, and it is hard to determine which is most needed every year. Because we have so many more people attending Sunday Masses this year than last, I certainly need to explain the fundraiser we do for those from our parish who are in the “formation process” to become Priests, Religious Brothers, or Religious Sisters. Fortunately, we had room on another page of the bulletin to (re)introduce you to the four women and 6 men from our families who will be the recipients of your spiritual and monetary generosity. Just look for the page with the headline “Hundred Dollar Bills for Sisters and Semmies” to see what this is all about (talk about inflation soaring quickly!). Two of our seminarians, each taking a much different vocational path than the other, have recently sent letters thanking benefactors and promising prayers for all who have and will support them in whatever way possible. One wrote in part, “The Seminary is a seven-year process, and the cost yearly is $10,000. [Note: that is much, much lower than our own diocesan seminary costs!] Therefore, I am asking in your generosity if you would consider becoming a benefactor for me and assist in paying my tuition cost...” It is very humbling to have to ask others to pay for one’s schooling, yet seminarians are unable to work their way through seminary as they would be doing at a “regular” university. [Second note: Diocesan seminarians in the major seminary have tuition paid through CMA contributions although personal expenses aren’t covered.] I will quote the second seminarian’s letter more extensively here because it shows that our donations don’t always do exactly what we thought they would be doing but rather may be used for an even greater good. I want to thank all of you who were so concerned for us during and after the hurricane. By the grace of God, we were not affected as much as others, which by God’s providence allowed us to be at the service of our neighbors... Our power was out for a month, though we found it a nice change of pace. The first few days after the hurricane were spent working to open the roads and private drives for emergency response personnel, since the road was completely blocked by many feet of silt, down trees, power lines, and even a house. Because of the equipment that many of you have helped us to acquire with your donations for our building project, we were able to open the road up in a matter of hours, even demolishing the house that was in the road with our excavator (though we will be building that family, who were present as we destroyed their home, a small timber frame for their next home). The most beautiful thing about it was that Our Lord used this disaster to be our first real introduction to our neighbors, none of whom are Catholic, except the occasional “recovering Catholic”, as they call themselves. In the mountain they say, “A little goes a long way” and ever since the hurricane seemingly everywhere we go the locals will take us aside and thank us for “all you did for those people.” When we first arrived here the people were suspicious of us, not knowing what to think of these “Catholics”, but since the hurricane, they now know that we love them. Though they don’t see us much, since our life is a life of prayer and more hidden, they now know that when they need us we are here for them Of course much of this thanks has to be given to the many people, hidden as you may be, that made our response possible. If not for that equipment we would have been standing there wringing our hands like everyone else not knowing what to do... If you would like to see the entirety of the two letters quoted, I will either have them posted in the social hall or available in the sacristy, based on display space. This doesn’t leave much room for the other information that I also want to put here, but have no fear, I believe that can condense the rest. As for the universal Lent requirements, there are major differences between the 1962 rules and the current requirements. Although we are only bound to those currently in force, many people wish to keep to the older traditions. I can’t write them both out for you here but doing a web search for “Catholic Lent requirements” yields many sources for the current obligations. Adding the word “Traditional” to the search bar leads to a mixture of both the current and the traditional (1962) practices. If you want even older practices, you will have to dig a bit further into the results. Finally, regarding the quirky things only found in several dioceses, I have written before that, although all Catholics are allowed to eat all of what is commonly thought of as seafood, reptiles, and amphibians during the days of abstinence, some places also allow the eating of muskrats, beavers, capybara, puffins, whales, porpoises, and/or seals. There are probably more exceptions to the “no meat” restrictions but these are the ones I have found in the past. Strangely enough, I have yet to have a parishioner offer to bring in any of these delicacies for our Friday Stations and Soup potlucks. Maybe this year will be different... With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka |
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