From the Pastor: The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Traditionally, on the day children received their First Holy Communion they also received a blessed scapular and were enrolled in the Confraternity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Do you remember receiving the scapular at your First Holy Communion? Do you still wear yours? If not, why not? The following is from the old Catholic Encyclopedia regarding this scapular. Also known as the Brown Scapular, this is the best known, most celebrated, and most widespread of the small scapulars... It is probably the oldest scapular and served as the prototype of the others. According to a pious tradition the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Simon Stock at Cambridge, England, on Sunday, 16 July, 1251. In answer to his appeal for help for his oppressed order, she appeared to him with a scapular in her hand and said: "Take, beloved son this scapular of thy order as a badge of my confraternity and for thee and all Carmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment, will not suffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in dangers, a pledge of peace and of the covenant". This tradition, however, appears in such a precise form for the first time in 1642, when the words of the Blessed Virgin were given in a circular of St. Simon Stock which he is said to have dictated to his companion secretary, and confessor, Peter Swanyngton. Although it has now been sufficiently shown that this testimony cannot be supported by historical documents, still its general content remains a reliable pious tradition; in other words, it is credible that St. Simon Stock was assured in a supernatural manner of the special protection of the Blessed Virgin for his whole order and for all who should wear the Carmelite habit, that the Blessed Virgin also promised him to grant special aid, especially in the hour of death, to those who in holy fidelity wore this habit in her honour throughout life, so that they should be preserved from hell. And, even though there is here no direct reference to the members of the scapular confraternity, indirectly the promise is extended to all who from devotion to the Mother of God should wear her habit or badge, like true Christians, until death, and be thus as it were affiliated to the Carmelite Order. ...For this privilege declares nothing else than that all those who out of true veneration and love for the Blessed Virgin constantly wear the scapular in a spirit of fidelity and confiding faith, after they have been placed by the Church itself with this habit or badge under the special protection of the Mother of God, shall enjoy this special protection in the matter and crisis which most concerns them for time and eternity. Whoever, therefore, even though he be now a sinner, wears the badge of the Mother of God throughout life as her faithful servant, not presumptuously relying on the scapular as on a miraculous amulet, but trustfully confiding in the power and goodness of Mary, may securely hope that Mary will through her powerful and motherly intercession procure for him all the necessary graces for true conversion and for perseverance in good. Such is the meaning and importance of the first privilege of the Carmelite Scapular, which is wont to be expressed in the words: "whoever wears the scapular until death, will be preserved from hell". The second privilege of the scapular otherwise known as the Sabbatine privilege, may be briefly defined as meaning that Mary's motherly assistance for her servants in the Scapular Confraternity will continue after death, and will find effect especially on Saturday (the day consecrated to her honour), provided that the members fulfill faithfully the not easy conditions necessary for obtaining this privilege. As regards the external form of the scapular, it should consist of two segments of brown woollen cloth; black, however, is also admissible. This scapular usually bears on one side the image of our Lady of Mount Carmel, but neither this nor any other image is prescribed... Concerning the often miraculous protection which Mary on account of this her badge has granted to pious members of the Scapular Confraternity in great perils of soul and body, there exist many records and reliable reports (some of recent times), to which it is impossible to refuse credence. Like the rosary, this scapular has become the badge of the devout Catholic and the true servant of Mary. If you have read this far and are now wishing that you had had the privilege of being enrolled in the Brown Scapular when you were a child, you are very fortunate. This Tuesday, July 16, is the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. After the two morning Masses I will have an enrollment ceremony for anyone who was not previously enrolled. I will invest you with the blessed habit of Carmel and you will be able to receive all of the graces promised. The information above is, obviously, shortened for the sake of fitting this space in the bulletin, and I highly recommend that before the enrollment ceremony you take upon yourself the simple task of further research into the benefits of wearing this powerful sacramental. That way you will desire it all the more and wear it with great devotion to Our Lady. You may bring your own scapular if you wish or accept the one provided by the parish. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Strange Things In The World And Church
This week I will start by acknowledging some of the strange things passing as “normal” in the world right now. For starters, Miss Maryland is a male. Yes, he calls himself a “she” (or some other non-male pronouns), and everyone goes along with it, but he is still a he and he stole the crown from a she. The judges, by proclaiming him the winner, devastatingly degraded women and yet everybody acted as if this was some sort of milestone for women. Hogwash. The other contestants were too fearful to openly speak out against his win, though several later did so anonymously, such as this one quoted in The Daily Signal. “A transgender woman gets crowned during the first day of transgender Pride Month?” she asked. “It did not seem like a coincidence. Especially when the owner of the pageant is a transgender woman herself. I was feeling like neither myself nor my fellow contestants had a fair opportunity from the beginning.” Yes, the fix was in and everyone knows it. But it is only “haters” who think that a woman should win a woman’s beauty contest. “Normal” people see nothing wrong with telling some of the most beautiful women in Maryland that they are uglier than a feminized man. At least when men pretending to be women dominate women’s sports it simply shows that males are, by and large, stronger and faster than women. But when males are now called more beautiful than women, we cross a whole new line of nastiness toward females. Along those same lines of people pretending that everything is normal when someone unfit wins a title, we just saw something similar happen in politics. Our “staunchly Catholic” President has been openly displaying mental incompetence for quite some time now. The mainstream journalists have done everything possible to portray him as the opposite of what he is and have branded reality as “right-wing” and “conspiracy theory” and other such nonsense. World leaders have had to help him as he wandered off at meetings, he has shaken hands with numerous invisible people, and babbled incoherently on a regular basis, yet even video proof has been labeled, “cheap fake.” Until the recent Presidential debate, that is. Somehow the word got out to all of the immoral (I believe their collective actions, words, and lies go far beyond incompetence) so-called journalists and reporters that they were finally free to say what, until then, only the “haters” said about him, namely, that he is not fit to run for re-election. They still haven’t admitted that he is not fit to remain in office at this time, either, but that is a hurdle still too high for them to leap. But far be it for me to be bringing this up just to point out that Kamala Harris should actually be the current President of the United States and Democrat nominee. I bring it up because as bad as the reporting has been on this topic and as much as everyone around him—including and especially his wife and other family members—are, in my opinion, guilty of elderly abuse for what they are putting him through (and what they are probably putting him on) I am more concerned with what our Bishops have been doing and saying about him, for his mental capacity is robust compared to his grasp of morality. People may, in good conscience, argue all day long about just how addle-brained a man can be before he should resign or be removed from his post, but to excuse the grossly immoral positions our President has so often publicly taken and to allow, nay, demand, that he be given Holy Communion, goes beyond the pale. There has been no attempt to hide, whitewash, or deny in any way his public statements promoting abortion at any time and without restrictions of any sort. They are, rather, held up as trophies. The rest of his immoral stances need not even be mentioned, for that one foundational topic—life—should be enough to bring canonical action upon him from his own Bishops, prioritizing his salvation over his re-election. Yet they cover for him at least as much as the so-called journalists did until last week. What will be the “debate moment” that will finally shake them out of their spiritual apathy and allow them to proclaim that The Emperor Has No Clothes (Sanctifying Grace)? And that brings us from something strange but purely secular (a fixed beauty pageant) to something strange that is both secular and religious (a “Catholic” President), to something strange that is purely religious, but, since the Catholic Faith should be the underpinning of everything, its strangeness also embraces the secular world even if the world doesn’t know it. I simply name here Pope Francis, Cardinal Zen, Archbishop Vigano, Bishop Schneider, Fr. James Martin, and Fr. Marko Rupnik. People’s reaction to this short list of Catholic clergy will correlate exactly with how they view the above-mentioned “strangenesses.” I need not write a thing about any of them, for their interactions (or lack thereof) are so well-known that everyone can easily label each of them as either one of the “good guys” or the “bad guys” depending on their point of view of “normal.” My point to all of this is to remind you that “normal’ is no longer a marker of morality. Unless and until the Church leaders and members return to the true Faith, the world will not be healed. Do your part: stay fully, faithfully, and joyfully Catholic, for today’s “normal” Catholics will not reach Heaven. With prayers for your holiness, Ref. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: July, Dedicated To The Precious Blood Of Jesus
Every once in a while it is nice to pray a “new” old devotion. Below I have copied the Short Rosary of the Precious Blood found in the prayerbook Treasury of the Sacred Heart, originally published in 1867 and reprinted in 2022 by Angelus Press. A longer version with short explanations/meditations on each mystery can also be found in the book Blessed be God, first printed in 1925. V. Incline unto my aid, O God. R. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father, etc. First Mystery Jesus shed blood in His circumcision. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and: We beseech Thee, therefore, help Thy servants, whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood. Second Mystery Jesus Shed blood in the agony in the garden. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Third Mystery Jesus shed blood in His scourging. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Fourth Mystery Jesus shed blood in His crowning with thorns. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Fifth Mystery Jesus shed blood in carrying His cross. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Sixth Mystery Jesus shed blood in His crucifixion. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Seventh Mystery Jesus shed blood and water from His wounded side. Five Our Fathers, one Glory be to the Father, and We beseech Thee, etc. Then recite the following prayer: O Most Precious Blood, source of eternal life, the price and ransom of the entire world, refreshment and laver of our souls, which dost continually advocate the cause of man before the throne of the sovereign mercy, I adore Thee profoundly, and wish, as far as in me lies, to compensate the injuries and the barbarous treatment which Thou continually receivest from those, and especially those, who rashly dare to blaspheme Thee. Oh! who will not bless this blood of infinite value? Who will not feel his heart inflamed with love for Jesus, that shed it? What would have become of me if I were not redeemed by this divine Blood? But what has drained the sacred veins of my Lord of His Blood, even to the last drop? Ah! it was surely His love. O infinite love, which has bestowed on us this all-healing balsam! O inestimable balsam, springing from the fountain of an immense love! Oh! make all hearts and all tongues praise, glorify, and thank Thee, now and for all eternity. Amen. V. Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord, with Thy Blood. R. And hast made us a king to our God. Let us pray. O almighty and eternal God, Who hast appointed Thy only begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and wouldst be appeased by His Blood; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so venerate, with solemn worship, this price of our redemption, as to be protected by its virtue from the evils of this present life, and enjoy eternal rewards in Heaven: Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Confirming Rumors!
The rumors are flying. On July 16, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, something either very wonderful or very terrible, depending on one’s point of view, is supposed to happen. What is that? You don’t pay attention to rumors? Good for you! Far be it from me to chastise you for keeping your nose to the grindstone instead of sticking it into other people’s business. But there comes a time when the rumors are so large and so widespread that even those who are trying to just keep their head down and pray get at least a whiff of whatever is coming off of the rumor mill. This is the latest case of which I now write. The rumors are growing. The rumors are spreading. The lips are flapping and the ears are itching. “More, give us more,” the people are crying. And so, with that as the introduction, I will put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and confirm the rumor. Yes, it is true. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, it can be told that it will indeed happen. The Jesuit who is at the heart of all of these rumors has made it official, at least to some, that he will indeed continue what he started a while back. And, due to his plans, which I have seen in writing with my very own eyes and so can confirm without hesitation, I will be relieved of my duties as pastor after that feast day of Our Lady. Now, now, wipe your eyes. I can’t tell if you are crying tears of joy or of sorrow. As for me, I can honestly admit that I am happy that it is happening. As a matter of fact, it would have pleased me if it could have happened a bit earlier. I don’t know how I will fill my time. I suppose I will just go into exile somewhere. Maybe I can find a place in the mountains and find a bit of respite from the heat. Or maybe go visit friends and family for a while. I really don’t know yet. But I am open to suggestions if you have any for me. I won’t have to sign checks, worry about the A/C not functioning properly, attend meetings, lock up the church at night, or even answer the doorbell at the rectory. I won’t have a care in the world, or at least not quite so many. Yes, the rumors are true and I will enjoy myself because of that fact. What’s that? You still don’t know the rumors of which I write? Why, the rumors that the most notable Jesuit priest, the one and only Father Vincent Capuano, is returning to Tampa on July 16 to take my place for a short stint. Yes, the rumors are true. He will be here, relieving me of most of my pastoral duties, for nearly two weeks. Just as he did last year, he will come for a few days of vacation and for a week of retreat, during which time I will be able to get away for a break. He will take the Masses and perform any necessary tasks while I am gone. I can rest assured that the parish is in good hands while I read a book, go fishing, or just sleep for a few days. So, weep for joy that Fr. Vincent is returning and that I get a break. Weep in mourning that he will only be here for a short visit and that I must return so soon. But...but...but... some of you are spluttering right about now, that’s not the rumor I thought you were writing about! Ahh, yes, the other rumor. The one that just happens to be associated with the same date, the same feast day, and may, perhaps, even have the effect of me being sent wandering off with nothing much to do. I really don’t have much to say about that one. I don’t have any inside information so I will learn of the veracity (or lack thereof) of that rumor as it plays out in real time. I write about this today because of that strange coincidence of the date, for what comes out in writing from a particular Jesuit on that date could very well lead to all sorts of other rumors if people assume that my “disappearance” was somehow related to that rumored document when it, in fact, has absolutely nothing to do with it. Those rumors (of the document) may prove to be either better or worse than expected or may prove to have no basis of fact whatsoever. I may not know until then what is fact and what is fiction. But, either way, I still hope to take a few days off and enjoy myself to the extent that I can. For those of you who have been scratching your heads and wondering “What the heck is he writing about?” and still don’t have a clue even though the article is nearly done, count yourself blessed, for you have truly been spared the rumor mill anguish that is keeping so many people awake at night and will continue to do so for at least a few more weeks. And to all of you still reading this, I simply remind you of St. Padre Pio’s famous and very helpful advice: Pray, hope, and don’t worry. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Cancer Update
When I last wrote about my little bits of cancer, (basal cell carcinoma), I had just had my first Mohs surgery done just below my nose. After writing that they had gotten all of the cancer in that spot and that a biopsy later revealed another spot that tested positive, I got a lot of feedback from you. By far the most common was the question, “Are you growing a beard?” Those of you who read the bulletin probably think that everyone else does, too, but I can assure you that many don’t! “Father Scruffy” was completely lost on them. The next most common response consisted of stories of your own basal cell cancer and/or Mohs surgery. There are a lot of you who have had this cancer and this procedure. Here’s the good news they related: Every single parishioner who told me of their own bout with basal cell carcinoma was still alive! (No duh, Father, the ones who died from it didn’t speak with you!) Although one man lost half of his cheek and had to endure both radiation and chemotherapy even after the surgery and a couple of others needed a little bit of extra treatment, most people needed just a simple surgery like the one I had and the cancer was gone. A slightly less common response was the one I was hoping to ward off by explaining what I had and how the doctor was going to take care of it. This was the panicked response of those who just heard (or read) the word “cancer” and worried that I was going to die. Oh, how I wish that were true! Death, glorious death, awaits us all and, as long as we die in a state of grace, it is something we should long for, not fear. Take me now, Lord, if You deem me worthy of Heaven! This world is certainly not worth pining for and it is only getting worse. But, alas, it seems as if I will have to wait for either martyrdom or getting hit by a bus, for the cancer is gone. Had my cancer been in a place where nobody would have noticed, I would have kept silent about having it just to ward off such worry. But with it on my lip, there was not much of a chance that I could sneak it by any but the least observant among you. This was especially true when I had to wear the big white bandage for the first day after the surgery, making it look like I was shooting a “Got Milk?” commercial. The same is true now that I have had the second spot taken care of. I went back to the dermatologist on Wednesday and had Mohs surgery above my eye. After the first cutting, the doctor told me that it looked like he got all of it and he stitched me up, had an assistant put several rather large pressure bandages on it, and sent me out to the waiting room. “Even though I think I got it all, you still have to wait until I check it under the microscope to be sure,” he told me. I had to play the waiting game the last time, too, so I knew the drill. Being able to sit in the waiting room and read a book was actually something I was looking forward to rather than dreading, for I don’t find enough time anymore to do that. So out I went with a Kindle copy of Credo, Bishop Schneider’s recently published catechism. I had gotten a copy as soon as I could but still, months later, haven’t managed to make it all the way through. Maybe this time... But all too soon they called me back in. “I’m sorry but I have to cut out some more. I don’t have to make the incision any longer so the scar won’t be any more noticeable, but I have to go deeper,” said the doc. So on to round two. Another shot of whatever painful thing they inject to keep the scalpel from being felt and, after removing all of his nicely tied stitches, the doctor dug in. I think he hacked about halfway through my brain before handing a chunk of meat to his assistant and telling her to take it for testing. (For some reason the name “Abby Normal” popped into what was left of my brain when he said that. Some of you will understand why.) Then he stitched me up once again and gave me the waiting room speech, although he wrongly assumed that I would be disappointed to have to spend more time there. I told him that I hoped he got it all this time, for if he had to cut out the stitches and restitch again, I might start having Young Frankenstein-type scars (get the “Abby” reference now?) from all of the needle holes. He assured me that the scar would be barely noticeable since it was right at my eyebrow line. So off I went to read a few more catechism sections and soon enough heard my name being called once again. This time the girl was smiling. “You’re all clear!” she said, “You just need to keep the bandage on for a day and come back in a week to get the stitches taken out.” And that, I hope, is the end of my cancer story. Except the beard... With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Letters and Numbers: APA, CMA, 12K, 129K
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the newest numbers available across the diocese showing how many people attend Sunday Mass. It was based on counts taken at all parishes during this past February (we send in official counts every February and October). If you missed it, you can see the results hanging in the social hall. The short of it is that Epiphany continues to grow. This week I want to point out something that goes hand in hand with the increase in the number of parishioners, namely, an increase in the amount of money we are asked to send to the diocese to run programs, pay salaries, train seminarians, and all of the other things that are done on a diocesan-wide level. Earlier this week I was rummaging through a file in my desk and came across a letter showing some old Annual Pastoral Appeal goals for years gone by. As you know, APA has now changed names and is called CMA (Catholic Ministry Appeal) and has changed in several ways that take way too much space to explain, but the changes are mostly for the good. One big thing is that the CMA goal is not mandatory to hit as the APA goal was. Rather, the Bishop is relying on the pastors to give their best shot to encourage people to give willingly to pay for the expenses of the diocese. Only if he thinks the pastor is not doing his best will he make that individual parish’s goal a mandatory one. So far it has worked and most parishes have exceeded their goals. People like being able to specify where their money is going and they have responded well. The oldest APA goal I found was for Epiphany based on pre-”resurgence” income, the resurgence of the parish beginning in August 2015 when the first TLM since 1969 was celebrated here. To reach that year’s goal we needed to raise $12,192! Of course, there were only 87 people attending Sunday Mass in February of 2015, which means that Epiphany didn’t have a whole lot of income when that APA goal was calculated. The following year, since we grew exponentially in our first year of becoming Tampa’s Center for the Traditional Latin Mass (we grew to 335 people in February of 2016), our income shot up as well (thanks be to God, for we sorely needed the income to stay open). The next year’s goal was $42,058. Talk about a huge jump! 64 families responded to the Appeal and we raised the entire amount. The next few years our APA goal outpaced our parishioner numbers, for the goal kept growing faster than our parish did, but then in 2020 our attendance numbers took off again. The current CMA goal of $128,653 is based on last year’s income, and our attendance was 875. This year our attendance rose to 912, so I expect an increase in the CMA goal for next year as well. It is good to remember that if the overall income of the parishes in the diocese stays the same or falls but ours rises, our goal will rise even if the diocese doesn’t ask for more money as a total goal. Many parishes these days seem to be losing people and income, though, and at the same time the cost of everything from property insurance to health insurance to electricity is skyrocketing, so the diocese will probably need to raise even more money just to make ends meet. So I fully expect another increased goal next year. If you remember, for the last two years Bishop Parkes has called me into his office to say that we were so far behind most parishes in donations toward the CMA goal that he had to assume that I wasn’t putting in my best effort to reach the goal. He was wrong, of course, for we were right on par with our fundraising as it had always been for the old APA. For whatever reason, probably largely because I don’t preach about money every week, most people here have put off giving to the diocesan collection until the last half of the year. And having the guillotine blade hanging over our heads didn’t help instill much good will, either. But, having explained that to him and to you, you all came through. We reached our goal last year and I expect to do so again this year. And this time the Bishop hasn’t called me in, so he must trust you, too! After all, we certainly want to support our Bishop at all times, but especially as he figures out how to keep the TLM going in the future no matter what comes out of Rome. So please remember to write your checks or give online and support our much-needed diocesan programs. You can specify where you want your money to go if you wish, or simply donate and let it be spent wherever it is needed most. Just be sure when you give that you state clearly that you are giving on behalf of Epiphany of Our Lord in Tampa. If you don’t specify, we don’t get credit. An online CMA information and donation link can be found on the homepage of EpiphanyTampa.com. Thank you for your continued generosity to Epiphany and to the Diocese of St. Petersburg. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Corpus Christi
This weekend, although the traditional feast day was this past Thursday, we celebrate Corpus Christi. In the Novus Ordo Mass, the liturgical calendar doesn’t mention it on Thursday, whereas the Traditional calendar shows it being celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday and then again on Sunday as an external solemnity. Does any of that matter to most Catholics? Probably not. But it is interesting to some people, at least. The old (previous translation) Novus Ordo Missal says, “Where Corpus Christi is not celebrated as a Solemnity it is transferred to the Sunday following Trinity Sunday.” This sometimes throws the foreign priests for a loop, for they expect that, as important as Corpus Christi is “back home” it should be a big feast day here, too! While in many (most?) countries Corpus Christi is a Holy Day of Obligation, in the US we don’t celebrate it as a Solemnity, therefore, is it transferred rather than repeated in the New Mass. Corpus means body and Christi means Christ, so the feast day is celebrating the Eucharist, wherein is the fullness of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It was just a couple of weeks ago that we celebrated First Holy Communion at the parish and the children (and some adults!) were all filled with excited wonder at receiving Him for the first time in this Adorable Sacrament. They had all passed my test and knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is fully present in His humanity (Body, Blood, and Soul) as well as in His Godhead (Divinity) in either of the Species (the Consecrated Bread and the Consecrated Wine). Further, they knew that He is fully present even in the smallest particle of the Host or the smallest droplet of the Blood. But, while they were all thrilled to profess their faith when they were showing me that they really believe what the Church teaches regarding the Eucharist, I was later told a story that warmed my heart even more, as it showed that at least one little girl really got it. At the Traditional Latin Mass, the Eucharist is only distributed under the Species of the Host. She received Our Lord with great love and devotion two weeks in a row here but the following week the family was going to be attending a Novus Ordo Mass where Holy Communion is distributed under both Species. She was told excitedly, “This time you are going to be able to receive Jesus’ Blood, too!” Her simple reply showed faith greater than that of today’s average (non-Epiphany!) Catholic. “But I’ve already received His Blood!” She knew that every time she received the Host she received, repeat this after me, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Not just His Body, as if one part of His humanity can be separated from the other two parts and from His Godhead. No, she knew and professed with simple confidence that in receiving under both Species she would not be receiving “more” of Jesus. Oh, if only the rest of the Catholic world would learn from her! Many a well-meaning Catholic has come to the Traditional Latin Mass at Epiphany for the first time and asked the question, “Why don’t we get the wine at this Mass?” They never understand my answer, “Nobody ever receives wine at any Catholic Mass anywhere in the world.” They invariably argue, “We do at my parish!” Our little First Communicant would easily correct them with a statement of fact, “At your parish, you may receive the Precious Blood, which is no longer wine, along with the Sacred Host, but even here we receive—repeat this after me—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus!” She would, I am sure, further be able to explain how those with severe Celiac disease, who cannot receive even a low-gluten Host, can receive the Precious Blood from a separate chalice that has not had the particle of the Host added to it and they, too, would receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus! (I forgot to write, “Repeat this after me,” but I trust that you get it by now.) I wonder if those who (especially amongst the older clergy) call the two Species “bread” and “wine” and think you are somehow getting gypped if you don’t receive both would eagerly distribute/receive from two more “Communion Stations” things like a piece of fruit and a whiff of oxygen if they were told that that is how they can receive even more of Jesus by receiving His Soul and Divinity under those two extra signs. Just think of how many more Extraordinary Ministers of Something or Other we could have gathered around the altar and spread around the church! [“Are you the minister of the bread today?” “No, I have the scuba tank this morning!”] I jest, of course, but if a Jesuit ever gets such an idea in his befuddled brain it might take off like wildfire. Maybe this idea could be taken up in the next Synod meeting. What do you think? Would California or Germany be the first to implement this New and Improved Whatchamacallit? So here we are, at Mass on the Feast of Corpus Christi (I suspect that you are reading this during my homily!). The Eucharist, reserved in the tabernacle and confected upon the altar, is—because It is truly Jesus—the source and summit of our Faith. We will have a Eucharistic Procession following the 10:30 Mass glorifying and honoring the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May we all be blessed with and pass on to others the simple and profound Faith shown by the little girl who knows exactly Who she recieves in Holy Communion! With prayer for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Do Our Stats Tell The Truth?
Several weeks ago I had a few moments of “free” time so I finally pulled out the most recent diocesan statistics on Mass counts and posted them in the church social hall. In case you have not yet seen them, below are a few numbers of interest. Before I get to them, though, let me first explain, for the sake of anyone new to the diocese, where we get these stats from. The Bishop asks each parish and mission to count the number of people attending Sunday Masses (this includes the Saturday evening Vigil Masses) every weekend in both February and October, averages the totals, and reports the numbers in a spreadsheet. This gives the diocese an overview of how the populations change in various parts of the diocese as well as in individual parishes. Such information is useful in many different ways, such as deciding when and where new parishes might have to be built, where others may have to be closed (shudder at the thought), or even which pastors seem to grow or wilt parishes at which they are assigned. There are probably dozens of other ways these numbers are used as well. I hope they are used to debunk the foolish notion that “nobody wants the Tridentine Mass”! I know that I have successfully used them in such a way when fellow priests complain that they have nothing but blue haired-ladies at their (Novus Ordo) parishes! Of course, I use the word “successfully” quite loosely, for, although I can present the truth to them, that doesn’t mean they have any belief that my parish is anything but an anomaly. After all, the stats showing that all Traditional Latin Masses have grown over the last 17 years, even during covid, is still seen as nothing but “disinformation” by a sizable portion of the clergy. They just can’t wait for the “bubble” to burst, for the “novelty” of Traditional prayer to wear off, and for people to once again realize that folk and rock music (along with feel-good sermons) is the cornerstone of a good, solid, Catholic “faith experience.” Just look at the kickoff ceremonies for the last round of the USCCB’s Eucharistic Revival, the Eucharistic Processions, that just tanked in Minnesota even with two big-name “celebrities” heading the marquee, namely, Bishop Robert Barron and Father Mike Schmitz. Thousands showed up, but they had expected thousands more. Did, perhaps, the thought of enduring the tortuous “praise and worship” guitar music ceremony that went along with the talks keep the other people away? That couldn’t possibly be the case, since that type of “music” and “entertainment” is what “everyone” keeps insisting is what attracts people to the Catholic Church! I am willing to bet that had they promoted the Eucharistic talks by this bishop/priest duo, along with a solemn Latin-schola-led Exposition/Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament before the Eucharistic Procession, the crowds would have exceeded expectations. It’s just a guess, mind you, but we will never find out, for “everybody” is certain that “nobody” wants solemnity, dignity, and reverence in front of Our Lord. Yet the reality is dawning even if they refuse to see it, for those promoting this big Revival’s closing Mass, which will certainly not be Traditional, have already lowered the expected number of attendees by 30,000! And that is with every bishop in the country giving away hundreds or even thousands of tickets! I have no doubt that if they announced today that the closing Mass was going to be a Traditional Latin Mass the numbers would skyrocket overnight. See the annual Chartres Eucharistic pilgrimage for an example of what could be expected. Of course, “those crazy people” making that journey actually believe what the Church teaches about the Eucharist. Sheez! But back to the statistics of the parish and the diocese. In February of 2024 Epiphany averaged 912 people attending Mass. That is a substantial increase from the 87 people who were counted in February 2015, six months before the TLM arrived here. It is also a slight increase from last year’s February count of 875. It is a very nice change from the 494 people we had during February of 2020, just before the terrible covid lockouts. As for that last number, this year shows that we are one of only 12 parishes that have finally reached once again the number of parishioners that they had before we told the whole world that dying without the sacraments was perfectly acceptable. Think about that. 68 out of 80 parishes have not yet managed to return to pre-covid numbers. The message was powerful: "You don’t need the Church." Will we learn from this fiasco (and we are counting souls perhaps lost for eternity, here, remember that always) when the next so-called pandemic is unleashed on the world? There was something different at Epiphany during that time, though, as we never lost parishioners but rather kept gaining. I wonder if any statisticians out there can figure out what the reason might be? Brainwashing by the cult-leader pastor? Forced attendance? Hmmm... This chart also shows that there are currently 37 parishes or missions with a smaller congregation than we have. In February 2015, again, six months before the TLM arrived, Epiphany was the smallest parish, smaller than even the missions. Our future looks pretty good, too, as you will also see from several charts posted next to the Mass Count chart. For the future of a parish to be bright, there must be a good increase in youth. These charted stats show that Epiphany is “outperforming” the diocesan average, per one hundred parishioners, in both baptisms and First Holy Communions. But “nobody” wants the TLM! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Father Scruffy
Last week some of you were wondering why I looked a bit scruffy. It’s the second time since late March that I didn’t shave for a week and it isn’t usual for a priest (or at least this priest) to go around with a few days' stubble on his face even if it is sort of fashionable in some professions to do so. When I stopped shaving during Holy Week late in March it was because I had something growing quite quickly on my upper lip and the doctor sliced it off and sent it for a biopsy. I couldn’t shave until the wound healed enough that the razor wouldn’t damage the new skin that had to form. A week or two after Easter all was well. The biopsy, though, came back positive for cancer (basal cell carcinoma) so I was put on the schedule for a visit to a dermatologist to make sure there were no cancer cells left behind. It took a while to get an appointment but last week I went in for an exam and ended up getting Mohs surgery, something I had never heard of before. This is how it is described on the American Academy of Dermatology website: If you have Mohs surgery, you’ll see a doctor who is a trained Mohs surgeon. Most Mohs surgeons are dermatologists who have completed extensive training in Mohs surgery. During Mohs surgery, most patients remain awake and alert. This means Mohs can safely be performed in a medical office or surgical suite. Only if extensive surgery is necessary would you be admitted to a hospital. On the day of the surgery, your surgeon will first examine the area to be treated. You’ll then be prepped for surgery. This includes giving you an injection of anesthetic. This injection only numbs the area that will be operated on, so you’ll be awake during the surgery. Once the anesthetic takes effect, the surgery can begin. The surgeon starts by first cutting out the visible skin cancer. Next, the surgeon removes a thin layer of surrounding skin. You’re then bandaged so that you can wait comfortably. While you wait, the Mohs surgeon looks at the removed skin under a microscope. The surgeon is looking for cancer cells. If cancer cells are found, you’ll need another layer of skin removed. This process of removing a thin layer of skin and looking at it under a microscope continues until the surgeon no longer sees cancer cells. Once cancer cells are no longer seen, your surgeon will decide whether to treat your wound. Some wounds heal nicely without stitches. Others need stitches. To minimize the scar and help the area heal, some patients require a skin graft or other type of surgery. Fortunately, the dermatologist only had to cut one big glob of lip meat from my face and, after a microscopic examination, declared that the cancer had been completely removed. The growth had been very close to my nostril but the doctor was able to cut it out and stitch me up without cutting into my nose, something that had been mentioned as a possibility. Then he sent me home with wound care instructions that included not shaving near the stitches. So I could have shaved everything except for about a third of a mustache, but that would have been a bit silly-looking. I chose the unkempt look instead. Along with the Mohs procedure, the doctor also took another chunk of flesh from over my left eyebrow. He said pretty confidently, “That’s cancer, too.” But it had to go out for a biopsy to be sure. The biopsy results have now come back. Positive. So I have yet another appointment set to get that spot cut further, as well. It may be another Mohs procedure or something else. I won’t know until the doctor examines it more closely. The stitches from the Mohs procedure came out this week. When I got to the clinic where they were going to remove the stitches, the poor medical aid was all flustered that he was working on a priest. I guess I am pretty intimidating to some people! He had a hard time determining whether the thing he was trying to remove was one of the stitches or one of my whiskers and he finally asked one of the dermatologists to come and assist. (My doctor was at a different clinic that day.) She removed the last three stitches and sent me on my way. Of course, I got more instructions as to how to treat the wound as it heals, including “don’t shave for a while, maybe two weeks or so.” So I will still be unshaven when you see me next. It’s been a couple of decades since I last had a beard and mustache but for some strange reason I don’t remember it being so gray back then. A problem with not shaving is that, just as the whiskers disguised the stitches, so they keep the doctor’s handiwork hidden. If I don’t shave, I won’t be able to see if he did a good job fixing his incision. If I do shave and the scar is nasty-looking, then I’ll have to start all over with the scruffiness if I want to cover it up with facial hair again. Decisions, decisions. At least I have a couple of weeks to think this through. In the meantime, you’ll have to get used to Fr. Scruffy! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: American Heritage Girls: Leaders Wanted!
When I was young my mother and older sister were involved in Girl Scouts. That was back in the days when my age was in the single digits and the idea of being in a house filled with Girl Scouts was about the worst thing that I could imagine. So whenever the Scout meetings were held at our house I managed to escape and go somewhere—anywhere—just to avoid catching cooties. I remember fondly escaping with my dad, who wanted about as much to do with the Girl Scouts as I did, and going to get a milkshake or rootbeer float at Lum’s and passing time until it was safe to return home. Oh, those were the good ol’ days! As far as I remember, the Girl Scouts were not yet the off-the-rails crazy group supporting every type of sexual immorality imaginable as they do today. How the mighty have fallen. Once the Girl Scouts leadership decided to pervert their once moral program to such a degree that it was impossible for any God-fearing mother to enroll her girls in it, a non-Catholic Christian group was born: the American Heritage Girls. Mothers still longing for the fantastic experiences they once had in scouting to be available to their own girls without having an immoral agenda pushed on them flocked to the new organization. Soon enough, inquiries from Catholic mothers became so numerous that a Catholic branch of the AHG was born. We are blessed to have one such group here at Epiphany. Liesa Gonzalez was the mother who spearheaded the founding of our AHG Troop and has worked tirelessly (note: that does not mean that she doesn’t get tired!), with the invaluable assistance of other female adult leaders, to give the girls a very good Catholic Scouting formation. In the earlier years of Epiphany, we were a small enough parish that when a family first joined us, Liesa was able to quickly meet the mother of any little girls and invite them to join. The personal invitation, as you all know so well, is the best way of getting not only new girls to join but also their mothers to volunteer as adult leaders. But now we have gotten large enough that it is hard to tell who is new, let alone find a time and place to get to know them. So I am putting this impersonal invitation out, not because it works as well as a personal invitation, but rather because I HOPE it works at least well enough to spark some interest in joining AHG. Women: do you have any previous Scouting experience, whether as a girl scout, a troop leader, or in AHG? Would you be willing to assist even if (maybe even especially if) your girls are “all growed up” and too old to be scouts themselves? It seems that the mothers of the girls already involved in AHG are busy making new future-AHG girls and find it difficult to be too active when nursing a newborn and caring for a dozen (it seems) others! In case you are not sure what the difference is between Girl Scouts and AHG, let me give you a taste. Here’s an article’s headline found on girlscouts.org “Joy’s Gold Award Project: Supporting Transgender Youth.” On the other hand, here are some quotes from the AHG Statement of Faith and membership policy: AHG Statement of Faith. American Heritage Girls is a Christ-centered leadership and character development ministry. Within the local AHG Troop, the primary statement/profession of Christian beliefs, faith, and/or doctrine is that belonging to the Church/Organization [this means that our troop adheres fully to the Catholic Faith]. As with any of its ministries, the Church/Organization will endeavor to ensure the Troop appropriately reflects these beliefs. Furthermore, all Charter Organizations and Adult Members must concurrently adhere to the Christian principles stated in AHG's Statement of Faith: We believe that there is one Triune God – Father; Jesus Christ, His one and only Son; and the Holy Spirit – Creator of the universe and eternally existent. We believe the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) to be the inspired and authoritative Word of God. We believe each person is created in His image for the purpose of communing with and worshipping God. We believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Who enables us to live Godly lives. We believe that each individual is called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength; and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We believe God calls us to lives of purity, service, stewardship, and integrity. AHG Membership Policy. Girls: Biological girls identifying with their biological sex at birth, 5–18 years of age, of any color, race, national origin, and socioeconomic status who agree to live according to the standards of the AHG Oath and the AHG Creed and whose legal guardian submits a membership application and payment of fees. Adults*: Biological women and men identifying with their biological sex at birth, 21 years or older, of any color, race, national origin and socioeconomic status who agree to live according to AHG’s Statement of Faith, Oath and Creed and receives the approval of a Charter Organization’s appointed Charter Representative after the submission of a membership application, successful background check, payment of fees and completion of AHG’s KEYS to Child Safety Training. Young Adult Members*: Biological women identifying with their biological sex at birth, 18–21 years of age, who aged out of the AHG program and follow the same membership process as an Adult Member. If you wish to enroll your girls or become an adult leader, please contact Liesa. And forgive the impersonal invitation! [email protected] With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: First Holy Communion!
This weekend we have 30 children receiving their First Holy Communion. Before they were admitted to the altar rail, they had to study quite a lot. They needed to memorize (I know, that is a four-letter word today in most religious education programs!) the basic Catholic prayers and be able to explain Who they receive in Holy Communion and how they know it to be truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ rather than just a symbol of Him. There is just one part of the test that I forgot to quiz them on. They were supposed to recite the 11 Canons of the Council of Trent regarding the Eucharist. I have to assume that they would have been able to do so since they aced the rest of the test. When is the last time you looked over these important teachings on what CANNOT be believed, stated, or denied without being in grave error? CANONS CANON I.-If any one denieth, that, in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, are contained truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but saith that He is only therein as in a sign, or in figure, or virtue; let him be anathema. CANON II.-If any one saith, that, in the sacred and holy sacrament of the Eucharist, the substance of the bread and wine remains conjointly with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and denieth that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood-the species Only of the bread and wine remaining-which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most aptly calls Transubstantiation; let him be anathema. CANON III.-If any one denieth, that, in the venerable sacrament of the Eucharist, the whole Christ is contained under each species, and under every part of each species, when separated; let him be anathema. CANON IV.-If any one saith, that, after the consecration is completed, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are not in the admirable sacrament of the Eucharist, but (are there) only during the use, whilst it is being taken, and not either before or after; and that, in the hosts, or consecrated particles, which are reserved or which remain after communion, the true Body of the Lord remaineth not; let him be anathema. CANON V.-If any one saith, either that the principal fruit of the most holy Eucharist is the remission of sins, or, that other effects do not result therefrom; let him be anathema. CANON VI.-If any one saith, that, in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, is not to be adored with the worship, even external of latria; and is, consequently, neither to be venerated with a special festive solemnity, nor to be solemnly borne about in processions, according to the laudable and universal rite and custom of holy church; or, is not to be proposed publicly to the people to be adored, and that the adorers thereof are idolators; let him be anathema. CANON VII.-If any one saith, that it is not lawful for the sacred Eucharist to be reserved in the sacrarium [tabernacle], but that, immediately after consecration, it must necessarily be distributed amongst those present; or, that it is not lawful that it be carried with honour to the sick; let him be anathema. CANON VIII.-lf any one saith, that Christ, given in the Eucharist, is eaten spiritually only, and not also sacramentally and really; let him be anathema. CANON IX.-If any one denieth, that all and each of Christ's faithful of both sexes are bound, when they have attained to years of discretion, to communicate every year, at least at Easter, in accordance with the precept of holy Mother Church; let him be anathema. CANON X.-If any one saith, that it is not lawful for the celebrating priest to communicate himself; let him be anathema. CANON XI.-lf any one saith, that faith alone is a sufficient preparation for receiving the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist; let him be anathema. And for fear lest so great a sacrament may be received unworthily, and so unto death and condemnation, this holy Synod ordains and declares, that sacramental confession, when a confessor may be had, is of necessity to be made beforehand, by those whose conscience is burthened with mortal sin, how contrite even soever they may think themselves. But if any one shall presume to teach, preach, or obstinately to assert, or even in public disputation to defend the contrary, he shall be thereupon excommunicated. In reality, the children did indeed have to know most of these canons even though they were not learned or recited so formally. It is sad that most adults, both Catholic and Protestant, do not believe what our youngsters already know to be True. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: How to Confess
This is the follow-up article about the mechanics of going to confession which I promised a couple of weeks ago. In the previous article, I was simply reminding people about being properly prepared and ready to enter the confessional as soon as the person in front of them exited, rather than waiting for Father to leave the confessional, who, seeing fifteen more people waiting (but not moving) then proceeds to give them engraved invitations to enter. But I didn’t go into the details of what you do once in. One would think that Catholics would know the basics of confession, but, as is made apparent in multiple ways nearly every week, this is one more place where we priests failed to educate properly for the past 55 or so years. Worse, ever since “confessionals” turned into “reconciliation rooms” people and priests have mistaken them for small bistros and simply sit down to shoot the breeze for a while, tell jokes and vacation stories, and, eventually, get around to confessing and, maybe, giving proper words of absolution. So now people coming to Epiphany oftentimes don’t know what to do as they enter the dark room of the confessional, something they have only seen in old movies. The first thing they want is a light. “I can’t find the lightswitch, Father,” they complain. Yes, it is dark on your side and light on mine, so that you can see me through the screen and I cannot see you. Anonymity is a good thing, is it not, as you pour out your soul and reveal your sins? But we put a light switch in there just for those who are afraid of the dark, anyway. It used to be on the door frame, but people would enter, turn on the light, and leave it on when they exited, forcing the next person to give up their anonymity even if they didn’t wish to do so. So I moved it to the spot directly under the screen. We still get people turning it on for no reason at all and leaving it on, but now I can see that it is on and call them back to turn it off! Outside, there is a light indicating when it is ok to enter and when the room is occupied. Each church does this in a different way, so people do get confused if they don’t stop and think it through. We have a white light over my door whenever I am in there. That tells you that you can come to confession through your own door, the other one with a light over it, as long as that light is not also lit. But if it is lit, it is occupied. That doesn’t stop people from entering when someone is already in there, though. My light doesn’t keep people from opening my door, either, even though it has my name written in large letters on it. It also doesn’t stop people from coming into the door without a light (it used to have one that I kept lit as long as I was hearing confessions but even with it lit people kept coming in so I removed the light socket. That didn’t stop people, either. That side opens into my side and is barely large enough for a wheelchair to fit and it gets used for that purpose every once in a while). So I will soon enough be trying out a red light/green light system to see if that helps. I doubt it, though, based on the way I see people driving nowadays! I probably need a yellow light so that they will come zooming in! Once you enter the confessional, please close the door and kneel in front of the screen. That, at least with the current lighting system, triggers the light outside. Don’t wait for me to offer you a drink or make other small talk. Immediately make the sign of the cross (this is a prayer, after all, and we begin and end our prayers with the sign of the cross) and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been “this long” since my last confession.” (Don’t say, “this long” but rather say the time period it has been. People really do say “this long,” in case you are wondering, since they read those words in pamphlets on confession and parrot it unthinkingly!) Then, again without waiting for me to ask how your day is going, confess your sins. Two things many, many people have never been taught but are essential to making a good confession, are: 1) that the examination of conscience should have been made before entering the confessional, not once you are in there, and 2) it should include (and, therefore, your confession should include) recalling how many time you have committed any mortal sins of which you are repenting. Yes, mortal sins MUST be confessed both in kind (what the sin actually was) and in number (how many times you committed it). If you don’t know the exact number, a good ballpark estimate is sufficient. Purposely withholding even one mortal sin makes it a sacrilegious confession and none of your sins are absolved, for even if you fool the priest you cannot fool God. All sins are to be confessed briefly, with no extra details than are necessary. Lurid details, especially regarding sins of the flesh, are not necessary and can even be harmful. Do not, do not, do not, name other people involved in your sin! They, not you, are responsible for confessing their own sins. Also, do not tell stories in the confessional. Unfortunately, I have run out of space and haven’t yet finished this article. I hope to come back to it another week. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: We Have The Best Coffee and Donuts!
You all know that the title above is true. We have the best coffee and donuts you have ever had at church! Just as I believe that God deserves to have the best that we can offer at any given time (note that that varies from person to person, time to time, parish to parish, etc.), I also believe that we should treat ourselves pretty well while gathered at church, too. Years ago, when we had very few people, almost no money, and I was picking up donuts either Saturday night or between the Sunday Masses, we sometimes had WalMart donuts and sometimes had Dunkin'. Coffee was either Folgers or Costco. People even personally baked breakfast casseroles and other goodies to bring in, enough to cover everyone attending Mass (at their own expense, I might add, although they never mentioned it). We did the best we could do and we not only survived but thrived. But as we grew, it became impossible to bake for everyone and to keep up the load with the same people doing all the work every week. When things got rough, more people stepped up and volunteered to help. “Here’s the best donuts shop,” and “Have you tried this coffee?” became common helpful hints. Soon enough we found some great suppliers and people started commenting on how delicious the donuts were and how much they appreciated the great coffee. What? They told me something good about even the coffee? Yes, indeed! We have also branched out a bit and now have (gluten-free) yogurt, bagels and cream cheese after the High Mass, and, every once in a while, leftovers from some event held Saturday night. Yes, we have turned the social hall into a high-class eatery. The 10:30 Mass has a rotating group of volunteers who put in all of the manpower (and womanpower and even childpower) and I have told each group that if the donations exceed the cost of the food and drinks, they may keep it for their groups’ use, so they see it as a fundraising event as well as a service to the parish. It really should be no trouble to make money on these days, since we still have many people who donate various foods/drinks out of love of God and neighbor (and maybe to avoid the Bishop’s tax!) so the donations should certainly outdo the expenses. But, as it turns out, it is usually only if I mention it during the Mass announcements that we turn a “profit” for the groups. The donation jar seems to turn virtually invisible in subsequent weeks. “Perhaps,” I was thinking to myself, “the people are giving generously but don’t realize how many times their children return for a fourth glass of chocolate milk and yet another donut, without having taken a single sip or bite but rather have left the others out on a picnic table or bench and couldn’t remember where they left them.” That might be the case, as there are always nearly untouched leftovers sitting around once the place empties, mingled with the rest of the half-consumed food and drink that nobody bothers to pick up. (People rarely claim the pairs of shoes, pants, sweaters, books, phones, missals, mantillas, backpacks, and other non-edible things they leave behind, either, so it is not a surprise that they leave food behind without bothering to pick up after themselves!) “But it is also quite possible,” I reply to myself in argument, “that the people really don’t know what a donut costs, for they never have donuts anywhere but church. And they don’t pay attention to the cost of milk, juice, and other items, either, since it is all rolled up into a seemingly endless grocery bill instead of being itemized by the portion.” That, to me, also makes a lot of sense. After all, when I gripe, “Two-hundred and thirty-seven dollars for one person!” when I hit the Costco checkout line, I don’t break down what the cost of one individual hamburger is going to be once I get home to make dinner. It also may be that families don’t have enough money to spend on coffee and donuts (it is a rather frivolous expenditure, after all, rather than a necessity) but don’t want to deprive themselves and their family of the great friendships that come out of spending time with the group after Mass. That is one that I hope never discourages anyone from eating, drinking, and enjoying themselves after Mass. As I have said many times before, if you cannot afford it, please don’t hesitate to stay and eat and drink anyway. Even if you are experiencing rough financial times I think Sunday coffee and donuts (and all that goes along with it) is important enough that I have always offered to pay for anyone who cannot do so themselves, rather than see them turned away as if this were a money-making gig. Seriously. Where else can you surround yourself with so many people who really believe in God and His teachings and who want to share their lives with you both here and in Heaven? “Pray” and “play” go hand in hand. Regardless of why donations don’t always cover the expenditures, I thought it would help if you saw actual figures of what these items truly cost. I had the staff put together a list which will go up in the social hall for your reference. It does not include the price of plates, napkins, cups, electricity, or anything of that sort, just the cost of the food and drinks. It is not meant to be the “price” as if this were a diner, just a reference sheet. I hope you find it helpful. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Sharing Some Frustrations
Today I am going to share with you some of my frustrations about confessions. More precisely, parishioners’ lack of courtesy to the priests hearing confessions, shown by not being in line, not being ready to enter the confessional when the person in front of you exits, and expecting confessions at all times and all places at your convenience rather than following our parish’s rather generous confession schedule. I will leave my frustrations about people’s lack of knowledge about how to confess for another day. Please note that I understand when people are just visiting our parish they don’t know the “rules” but I have very little way of knowing who is a visitor and who is a regular from inside the confessional. We have confessions here every day. On Sundays, I hear confessions following Mass. On other days, I hear confessions as soon as I have exposed Our Lord for a period of Adoration following the Mass. Most days I am able to stay as long as there are people coming in to confess. On Saturdays when I have a 10:30 class, I have to leave the confessional even if there are still people waiting, yet I still have people who want to talk—not confess—for 20 minutes even if there are 30 people in line behind them and only 30 minutes before class begins. I have already pushed the start time of the class back from 10:00 to 10:30 to try to avoid turning penitents away, but that is the latest I can begin class. Sometimes we have a morning funeral or, even more rarely, a diocesan meeting, and I have to shorten or even cancel Adoration, confessions, and/or the class or other appointments I had on my schedule. People generally understand when that happens. After Mass on First Fridays and First Saturdays and some Sundays, Fr. Mangiafico also joins me, although it means long, early morning travel for him and, especially on Sundays, he is often tied up in meetings, God bless him. Note well, I have written several times already in this article that we hear confessions after Mass. As in not before Mass. Not during Mass. In the confessional. Not in the sacristy. Not in the rectory. Not in the social hall. Why all of these restrictions? Because priests, believe it or not, have things that they must attend to before, during, and after Mass. On Sundays especially people often seem to have no clue as to that fact. If I am hearing confessions after the 7:30 Mass and people coming in for the 10:30 Mass get in line, I will never be able to get out of the confessional. If I have the 10:30 Mass to prepare for but can’t take a bathroom break, can’t get a drink of water, can’t check to make sure the Missal is set properly, can’t see if I have any altar boys, or if everything has been set up for Mass, can’t get the music notation for my Mass parts, can’t pray the vesting prayers, can’t do all of the myriad of other little things nobody else realizes I must do before Mass begins, Mass will be a mess. So I ask that you wait until after Mass to go to confession. It is not too much to ask. “But Father!” people complain regularly, “I won’t be able to receive Holy Communion if I wait until after Mass to confess!” Should I be so blunt as to tell you to let that be a lesson the next time you are tempted to commit mortal sin on a Saturday night? Should I remind you that no other parish you ever attended had Sunday confessions and you still survived? Or should I make an exception for you and the next twenty people who all have similar “extenuating circumstances” that kept them from confessing at any parish at any posted time earlier in the week because it was inconvenient? But even when people follow those requests we still have problems. Many times we get out of the confessional multiple times because nobody has come in for the past 3 or 4 minutes, only to see 15 people still waiting but not paying any attention to the empty confessional! I ask that the next one or two people (depending on if there are one or two priests hearing confessions) get out of the pew, genuflect to Our Lord, and turn to face the confessionals so that they can immediately enter upon the person in front of them leaving. There are signs giving these instructions in the pew, behind the pew, and, occasionally, other places, all to little avail. We also get done with confessions and have people racing through the church or social hall yelling, “Just a minute, Father, I want to go to confession!” The reasons they weren’t in line usually have something to do with donuts or chitchat. Get in line and pay attention! It’s not that hard. For Divine Mercy Sunday we heard hours of confessions in the morning and early afternoon. During the midafternoon Vespers and Divine Mercy chaplet, we had two priests hearing confessions once again. Fr. Mangiafico left when there were no more penitents coming in and nobody was left in line. I also tried leaving but, lo and behold, someone raced from her pew to catch me and, once back in the confessional, I stayed busy for another half-hour or more because of all the people who also had been in the church the whole time but never bothered to get in line. If you’ve read this far, you are probably not part of the problem because you read, pay attention, and are concerned about my frustrations. Thank you! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: A Glorious Easter!
This year it seemed that no sooner had the Octave of Epiphany ended than the 40 days of Lent began. The season of fasting had no more started than Archbishop Cordileone stopped by. No sooner had he departed than the Easter Triduum was upon us. And that, of course, meant early morning prayers and late night Masses leading into Easter Sunday itself. All without a breather, or so it seemed. What an exhausting but spiritually amazing way to begin the new calendar year! This year at the Easter Vigil and Mass we had 7 people come into the Church through Baptism and/or Confirmation and Holy Communion. Another wanted to enter but could not make it so we have rescheduled his entrance and he will be baptized next month. I am also scheduled, if the Bishop allows it, to confirm a few adults who are already Catholic but have missed receiving Confirmation for one or another reason. If you fit that category, call the office right away and maybe you can also receive the sacrament at that time. We bring people into the Church throughout the year, for, instead of forcing them to wait until fall to begin RCIA classes so that they can enter during the Easter Vigil, they simply each get on their own schedule of individual convert studies and when they are ready to enter, they enter. This year none of those entering were even aware of the others’ studies or readiness but somehow they all decided that they were ready to become Catholic all together. Nice! I haven’t yet seen the diocesan statistics on parish Mass attendance for February. As you know, I hang up the new stat sheet in the social hall twice a year (each parish reports Sunday Mass attendance figures in October and February) and Epiphany has been steadily rising. We started out in July of 2015 with 87 total in attendance before the Traditional Latin Mass began being celebrated here and now regularly exceed 800 or 900 people each Sunday. I am not sure why we sometimes have a greater than 10% change in numbers for any given Sunday but we will often see 950 people one Sunday followed by 830 people the next. Once in a while some of it can be attributed to the American Heritage Girls or the Troops of St. George going on camping trips, but they have never had 100 people on their participation rosters. And, in case you are wondering, we do not count them in our official tally if they are gone during February or October, even if I go to the camp to celebrate Mass for them that weekend. We only count those physically present in the pews. All of that is just a lead-up to the new record attendance for Easter Sunday Masses. We broke the 1200 people mark for our three Easter Masses (one Vigil and two on Easter Sunday) for the first time. The Easter Vigil this year was 4 hours+ long. The Traditional Rite of Baptism includes a lot of questioning of each sacramental candidate, a lot of blessings and exorcisms, plus other amazing signs and symbols in the ritual. A good portion of it can be done earlier in the day in order to shorten the length of the Vigil, but since we already have Tenebrae, confessions, and the Blessing of the Easter Baskets on Holy Saturday morning, it would have been more work than possible to arrange such a thing. It also would have deprived all of the parishioners the joy of experiencing all of that wonderful ceremonial baptismal preparation and Profession of Faith. Cutting corners and making things shorter or easier does not necessarily (or even usually) lead to a fuller grasp of—or desire for more of—the Faith! Of course, it makes for a late night when the Mass ends after midnight and the people don’t just race for their cars to go home. There were 50 or more people still in the church and social hall when I finally went back to the rectory about 1:30 am. Several groups had brought picnic baskets with them and were breaking their Lenten Fasts with friends, new and old, something that has been a wonderful tradition in a parish where they can’t simply walk to one of the neighboring parishioner houses down the block. But as for me, I simply told them that the last one to leave had to lock the doors and turn off the lights, for I still had to finish my breviary and try to sleep for a few hours before getting up to prepare for the morning Mass. I am now 60 years old and the early mornings followed by the late nights are getting to me more than they ever did when I was a “young” priest of 40 or 50. Fr. Mangiafico has twenty years on me and I am amazed at his stamina. He doesn’t live at the rectory and doesn’t ever accept the offer to spend the night even for big feasts like this but rather drives nearly an hour across the bay to his house, where he then has to finish his prayers as well, and then, after very little sleep, prays his morning prayers and makes the return trip to celebrate the 10:30 Mass. What a priest! Thank you all for making the beginning of this year such a holy one! I am hopeful that we will be able to continue to celebrate these spiritual seasons and feast days in the traditional manner that we have been doing for the past nine years. None of this is possible without you, the Faithful, eagerly embracing it and growing in holiness through it. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Happy Easter especially to those who have fallen away!
Easter Sunday is one of the biggest days of the Church year in more ways than one. First of all, it is the day proof positive that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the One who fulfills all of the prophecies of the Old Testament, the Savior of the world. He was not simply resuscitated, coming back to the same life as He had before, but rather Resurrected, coming back, in His humanity, to a whole new manner of life. This new life is one that we all plan on participating in, one with a completely glorified human body and a perfect human soul, sharing in His divinity for all eternity in the splendor of Heaven. But Easter is also one of the biggest days of the Church year as far as bringing back fallen away Catholics. This column is specifically aimed at you if you fall into that category. Perhaps you don’t consider yourself a fallen away Catholic, though, unless you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for a period of years or even decades. I, however, am including you in this category if you have been away from the Church and Her sacraments for “only” a few weeks! You see, it is only by remaining in direct contact with God in this life that we can possibly hope to be in direct contact with Him in the next. He unites Himself with us totally in the seven Sacraments. These channels of grace are the primary paths of supernatural love, mercy, and strength that He has given us. Rejecting them by, say, purposefully missing Mass for even one Sunday or Holy Day of Obligation, not to mention years at a time, says without words, “God, I do not want Your grace; I reject Your supernatural love; I choose my will over Yours, even if it costs me my soul.” Faking a sacrament says the same thing. Instances of this would include faking the sacrament of Holy Matrimony through sex outside of marriage (with others or self) or faking the sacrament of Confession by pretending to “go directly to God” while rejecting the absolution He offers through His priests. Many more instances of rejecting or faking sacraments could be pointed out (failing to Baptize your children or receive Confirmation yourself, receiving Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin, rejecting God’s call to Holy Orders or the religious life, or delaying the Sacrament of the Sick to avoid scaring the dying loved one). But why point out these dangers to the soul on such a holy day? Because there is an incredible means of repairing any damage to your relationship with God coming up next week. I want to reach the “fallen aways” present today and invite all of you to next week’s Divine Mercy celebration. Next Sunday, Low Sunday, is also called Divine Mercy Sunday. Last century our Lord Jesus appeared to Sister (now Saint) Faustina and told her of an incredible outpouring of His Mercy that He would make available to anyone, even the most hardened of sinners or the most naively innocent “fallen away” Catholic, on the Sunday after Easter. He will offer complete remission of sin (and even its due punishment!) to all who will spend just a little bit of time meditating on—and praying for—His Mercy. He has made it so easy to get back into His grace (and thereby headed for Heaven once again) that it would seem too ridiculously easy to be true if it weren’t Jesus who made the promise, and His Church now offering a plenary indulgence. Hardened sinners, those who have knowingly committed grave sins for long periods of time, may have despaired of ever being able to become a Saint. Divine Mercy Sunday is God’s gift to them so that they can be forgiven, healed, and made holy. Other fallen away Catholics, those who don’t see much wrong with their immoral actions, even those the Church calls mortal sins, can also find the supernatural graces that they have been unwittingly missing out on. Come back to Mass next Sunday and stay for the afternoon prayers. Confess your sins. Pray for Divine Mercy. Then the next time you attend Mass (assuming that you don’t fall back into mortal sin before then!) you will be able to receive Holy Communion—that is, Jesus Christ Himself—in a State of Grace. Jesus promises, through His Church, that your soul will be pure once again. He loves you that much. Before ending, I want to make one very important item clear. Some people don’t believe that Saint Faustina’s Diary, regardless of what was proclaimed by the now-Sainted John Paull II, is a trustworthy source of Jesus’ Divine Mercy message and they not only avoid participating in Divine Mercy devotions but also do a good job convincing others to refrain from participating as well. The clarification that I wish to impress upon you is that the plenary indulgence attached to participating in Divine Mercy Sunday prayer services and confession is specifically promulgated by the Church, note this well, without any demand that you do anything more than accept that the Church can make such a proclamation! Just as you can receive a plenary indulgence by praying a family rosary (along with the other usual conditions) even if you don’t believe that St. Dominic received the rosary from the Blessed Mother, so, too, with the Divine Mercy indulgence and St. Faustina. Yes, Holy Mother Church has said so and that should be enough for any Catholic to accept it as true. With prayers for your holiness, Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Holy Week!
I hope you realize that this weekend, when we celebrate Palm Sunday, begins what we call Holy Week. The Mass readings are long since we focus on the Passion of Our Lord, and Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday either have a changed Mass schedule or no Masses at all (this is real Catholic liturgical stuff, not the pastor’s whim!). Tenebrae prayer services happen three times, extra confessions are scheduled, the Masses and services are complicated and the priests and staff are busy, busy, busy, trying to make sure they know what they are doing for these important once-a-year celebrations. On Tuesday there is a special 11:00 am Mass, the Chrism Mass, held at the Cathedral of St. Jude, to which all of you are invited, during which the Bishop blesses the three different oils that will be used for several sacraments during the rest of the year, the priests renew their promises, and our beloved Fr. Pierre Dorvil will be recognized for celebrating his 40th anniversary to the priesthood. Please find elsewhere in the bulletin the schedule for the week. Hopefully, we will have all of the times printed correctly. If you don’t pay attention to changes, you, along with a couple of other unfortunate people, will show up on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday morning expecting Mass when there isn’t one. Should you dare to ring the doorbell at the rectory or call/text a priest asking, “Where is everybody?” one or more of those mornings, you will not get a very nice reception! In past years I have put the schedule in this space along with my explanations of the meaning of—and reason for—each extra service; we have put the schedule on the front of the bulletin; we have put the schedule inside the bulletin; we have put the schedule on three pages of our website; and we have put the schedule out via farcebook and email, yet we always have dozens or more people calling the office or our cell phones asking for the schedule, complaining that they drove all the way in only to miss something, or worse, while holding in their hands the parish bulletin in which they found the office phone number and in which the times are clearly printed in several places, they ask what time something will be. Just to drive this point home, here are some of the highlights of the week: We have three Tenebrae prayer services, the first on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm, the second on Good Friday at 6:30 am, and the third on Holy Saturday, also at 6:30 am. The only Mass on Holy Thursday is the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at 7:00 pm, followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament until midnight. There is no Mass on Good Friday, but Adoration of the Cross and a Communion Service will begin at 3:00 pm. The traditional Blessing of the Easter Baskets will take place in the church at 10:30 am sharp on Holy Saturday. We have several people coming into the Church at the Easter Vigil and Mass, which begins at 8:00 pm that evening, and they will be receiving the Sacraments of Initiation, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. That Mass is the first Mass of Easter, and, yes, you do fulfill your Easter Sunday obligation if you attend it, although you are more than welcome to come back again the next morning when the normal Sunday Mass schedule will be in effect. 7:30 am low Mass and 10:30 am High Mass, in case you forgot! And now, looking back a week, I want to thank all of the many, many, people who did so much to make Archbishop Cordileone’s visit and Mass work so smoothly. We had a lighter crowd than on normal Sundays, similar to the last two Pontifical Solemn High Masses we held here, for many people decided once again to skip the crowds and attend Mass elsewhere. They don’t know what they missed! Of course, most of you don’t know all of what you missed, either, even if you were here, for much more happens than most people realize. Some of it is practice for the priests and altar boys, some of it is all the behind-the-scenes work making all of the arrangements for transportation, rooms, decorations, vestments, food, etc., and some of it is probably minor demonic activity. Let me give you two examples of that last type. During the time after the Mass when everyone was waiting to greet the Archbishop, one young boy, in the ladies' room with his mother, dutifully washing his hands after using the facilities, was suddenly doused with water as a pipe burst through the wall under the sink. When I was told of it, my first question/statement was, “Please, tell me that it was a water pipe and not a sewage pipe!” Fortunately for all involved, it was clean water. But it meant that we had to turn off all of the water to the school (where everyone was, of course) until we could get it fixed the next day. A couple of hours later, after all of the photographs were taken and everyone was clearing out, the priests finally got a chance to head back to the rectory for a quick sit-down before having to head out for the Archbishop’s next talk. The upstairs air conditioner was on the fritz and it was already 86 degrees in the bedrooms. The demons just can’t stand the extra holiness this special visit brought to us so they have to do something—anything—to try to mess things up! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone
The following information about our esteemed visitor follows, having been shamelessly lifted directly from his own archdiocesan website, paragraphication edited only to make it fit here. Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone Salvatore J. Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956 to Leon and Mary Cordileone, who raised their family in Blessed Sacrament Parish. Salvatore was the second son and the third of their four children. Family history and youth Archbishop Cordileone’s grandparents were from Sicily; his paternal grandfather was a fisherman and his maternal grandfather, Salvatore, a farmer. His paternal uncle, Joe, died in World War II. The Archbishop’s father, Leon Cordileone, was born in San Francisco. He moved with his family to San Diego when he was four. Later, he worked with his three brothers in the family commercial fishing business and later bought his own albacore fishing boat. Mary, the Archbishop’s mother, was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, the oldest of four sisters. In 1947 she and her family moved to San Diego where she met Leon. The two were married on November 13, 1949. Salvatore attended public grammar and high schools and was an active participant in after-school religion classes and high school music programs, including the concert band, marching band and stage band. He graduated from San Diego’s Crawford High School in June 1974. A call to priesthood The following December, during his first year of college at San Diego State University, he was encouraged by a young parish priest he respected to attend a seminary vocation retreat. It was during this first year that the Archbishop discerned his call to the priesthood, entering St. Francis Seminary and transferring as a sophomore to the University of San Diego. Salvatore Cordileone graduated in 1978 with a B.A. in Philosophy. He was accepted to study in Rome and continued in the seminary at the Pontifical North American College. He received an undergraduate degree in Sacred Theology in 1981 from the Pontifical Gregorian University and the following year returned to San Diego to be ordained and begin his first pastoral assignment. From pastor to monsignor to bishop On July 9, 1982, Bishop Leo T. Maher ordained the Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone. Soon thereafter, he became associate pastor at St. Martin of Tours Parish in La Mesa, where he remained for three years. In 1985 he was again sent to Rome, this time to study the new Code of Canon Law. He spent the next four years again at the Gregorian University completing his doctoral degree. Upon Father Cordileone’s return to San Diego in 1989, he became secretary to Coadjutor Bishop Robert Brom, and a year later became adjunct judicial vicar. Pastoral work called to him again in 1991 and he became pastor of Calexico’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, four blocks from the Mexican border. In 1995 he was called to Rome and for the next seven years served as assistant at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest canonical court. On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed then-Monsignor Cordileone as Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego. He was ordained a bishop on August 21, 2002 by Bishop Brom. In addition to serving on the various consultative bodies of the diocese during his years as auxiliary of San Diego, Bishop Cordileone also chaired the Corporate Board of Catholic Charities and was a member of the University of San Diego Board of Trustees, serving on its Academic Affairs and Mission and Vision Committees. The Archbishop of San Francisco On March 23, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Cordileone as the fourth Bishop of Oakland. His Mass of Installation was celebrated on May 5, 2009 at the Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland. Three years later, on July 27, 2012, he was appointed the Archbishop of San Francisco and was installed on October 4, 2012, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption. As the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Province of San Francisco, Archbishop Cordileone received the pallium from Pope Francis in Rome on June 29, 2013. Archbishop Cordileone is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and also of its Committee for Canonical Affairs and Church Governance. He currently serves as well on the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, Subcommittee on the Catechism, and Eucharistic Revival Bishops’ Advisory Group. In addition, the Archbishop serves on a number of boards to support Church efforts beyond the USCCB, including the Catholic Benefits Association/Catholic Insurance Company, Cross Catholic Outreach Board of Directors, the Courage Apostolate Episcopal Board, the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute in Trumau, Austria, and is a founding member of the Episcopal Advisory Board of the Catholic Healthcare Leaders Association. The Archbishop also serves as the Prior of the American Delegation of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. Archbishop Cordileone’s avocations include a life-long interest in jazz music. He also enjoys swimming, hiking and badminton, as well as spectator sports, especially professional baseball and football. From the Pastor: St. Patrick’s Day Approaches!
Next Sunday, March 17, although technically “Passion Sunday” this year, is sure to be overshadowed by that great “Irish” Saint, Patrick. And, because most of us are about as Irish as St. Patrick, we will celebrate it to the max here by having a special guest celebrant, one whose family has deep Irish roots, at the 10:30 am Mass. Yes, Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, whose first, middle, and last names are all dead giveaways to his Celtic ancestry, is coming from that most Irish of all Archdioceses in the States, San Francisco, which everyone knows is Gaelic for “another once-holy city destroyed by leftists.” I have heard from respectable sources that he will be wearing his fancy green cassock, which color, believe it or not, was the proper color for all bishops until the 16th century, at which time the anti-Irish backlash from the neighboring country of Amaranthia, which abuts the western border of Ireland, forced the bishops to renounce their honorary, if not actual, Irish ancestry and change their garb from “Irish green” to “Amaranth red.” To not be accused of being “too traditional,” the good Archbishop’s green cassock will have amaranth red buttons and piping, which also serves to poke a good-natured finger in the eyes of all of the leftist Amaranthians, as it naturally brings to mind the colors of another holy day they truly despise, Christmas, which, if lest ye forget, is another very Irish liturgical holy day, for Saint Nicholas is as Irish as green beer. Unfortunately, since it is still Lent, the Archbishop insisted on leading Compline (Night Prayer) and giving a talk on Saturday evening rather than the big shamrock-themed bash I had been planning. I had to cancel the Irish dancers and send back (some of) the cases of Jameson I had ordered. I knew I should have checked the calendar ahead of time! Oh, well, I guess I can blame it on old age now. Before I forget even more things, I had better write that his prayer and talk will begin Saturday night, March 16, at 7:00 in the church. After that, there will be some light refreshments (kale chips, seaweed crackers, and “I can’t believe it’s not real meat-balls” are all probably on the Lenten snack menu) and a little time for informal chats with this holy man. As a reminder for those who have been here for the past couple of Pontifical Solemn High Masses and as new information for those who were not preset, there are a few “odd” things that must necessarily happen on that Sunday. First of all, remember that there will be no confessions that day. The priests will all be busy with getting ready for the Mass and the functions after the Mass. Secondly, after the 7:30 am Mass we will have to ask everyone to please leave the church after just the briefest of prayers of thanksgiving when Mass is concluded. We have to get everything set up for the Mass and we can’t have the people in our way while we work. It also keeps the first Mass from being packed with 800 people who have no intention of really praying that Mass but are simply camping out to get their choice seat at the next one. So bring an umbrella, for you may need one while standing outside whether you are protecting yourself from the driving rain or the beating sun. Third, the coffee and donuts will be served outside behind the church for all of you who didn’t give up either or both of those for Lent. Fifth, after the 10:30 Solemn Pontifical Mass is done, the Archbishop will have a most meager meal (he eats “vegan” for Lent, something you may wish to emulate next Lent, as that certainly is a penance! The hardest part of this type of fast, although I am assured that the Archbishop has managed, with many supernatural graces pouring forth from Heaven, to avoid such things, must certainly be finding yourself, much against your Catholic will, incessantly bragging about the benefits of the poor health and lack of friends that come as the result of the vegan lifestyle, and the inevitable disdain for all of those despicable people who eat “unnatural” things like steaks, that so smugly comes across what’s left of every vegan’s mind as he chows down on his made-in-the-test-tube “Implausible Burger.” But I digress...) After a quick bite of Lenten suffering, Archbishop Cordileone will move to the parish room where he will greet anyone who wishes to come and say a few words of welcome or get a photo with him. To close out this article, and not a bit too soon, I just want to point out to any gullible people reading this that, although the basic information, such as Archbishop Cordileone coming next weekend and the times he will be publicly praying, speaking, celebrating Mass, and greeting the people are correct in the above paragraphs, you had to wade through a whole lot of blarney to get to the essential truths contained therein. After all, this current Sunday is Laetare (Rejoice) Sunday, so don’t take it too seriously! One last thing I forgot to mention (did I tell you that I am old now?) is that we will be taking up a completely optional, or “free will” offering next week as a second collection in case anyone wishes to help defray some of the costs that the Fraternal Society of St. John the Apostle incurs in organizing such wonderfully holy Pontifical Masses. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Dom Guéranger on Lent
One of my most often used books, or, rather, series of books, is Dom Guéranger’s The Liturgical Year. He was the abbot of Solesmes from 1837-1875 and in 1841 he began to write what would become a 15-volume series about the treasures of the, needless to say, Church’s liturgical year. For the past few weeks, I have been fielding many questions about the changes to the Church’s discipline concerning fast and abstinence during Lent. Why did we use to abstain from meat throughout Lent? Were eggs and milk allowed? Why was the fast all day and the one meal only at night? Did we really fast every day except Sunday? Could we eat the “forbidden foods” on Sunday since it wasn’t a fast day? These and so many more are all great questions, and I myself never knew the answers to any of them until I started delving into the differences between current and traditional practices. I still don’t know all of the answers, and I certainly cannot tell you which rules were changed in which years, but Dom Guéranger certainly answers a whole lot of questions like this. I can’t print everything here, but here is a nice little part (he writes much, much more) of his explanation of the disciplines of Lent in his day and in ancient practice. The rest of this article is his. Enjoy! Lent, then, is a time consecrated, in an especial manner, to penance; and this penance is mainly practised by Fasting. Fasting is an abstinence, which man voluntarily imposes upon himself, as an expiation for sin, and which, during Lent, is practised in obedience to the general law of the Church. According to the actual discipline of the Western Church, the Fast of Lent is not more rigorous than that prescribed for the Vigils of certain Feasts, and for the Ember Days; but it is kept up for Forty successive Days, with the single interruption of the intervening Sundays. We deem it unnecessary to show the importance and advantages of Fasting. The Sacred Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, are filled with the praises of this holy practice. The traditions of every nation of the world testify the universal veneration, in which it has ever been held; for there is not a people, nor a religion, how much soever it may have lost the purity of primitive traditions, which is not impressed with this conviction, - that man may appease his God by subjecting his body to penance. St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great, make the remark, that the commandment put upon our First Parents, in the earthly paradise, was one of Abstinence; and that it was by their not exercising this virtue, that they brought every kind of evil upon themselves and us their children. The life of privation, which the king of creation had thenceforward to lead on the earth, - (for the earth was to yield him nothing of its own natural growth, save thorns and thistles,) - was the clearest possible exemplification of the law of penance, imposed by the anger of God on rebellious man. During the two thousand and more years, which preceded the Deluge, men had no other food than the fruits of the earth, and these were only got by the toil of hard labour. But when God, as we have already observed, mercifully shortened man’s life, (that so he might have less time and power for sin), - he permitted him to eat the flesh of animals, as an additional nourishment in that state of deteriorated strength. It was then, also, that Noah, guided by a divine inspiration, extracted the juice of the grape, which thus formed a second stay for human debility. Fasting, then, is the abstaining from such nourishments as these, which were permitted for the support of bodily strength. And firstly, it consisted in abstinence from flesh-meat, because it is a food that was given to man by God, out of condescension to his weakness, and not as one absolutely essential for the maintenance of life. Its privation, greater or less according to the regulations of the Church, is essential to the very notion of Fasting. Thus, whilst in many countries, the use of eggs, milk-meats, and even dripping and lard, is tolerated, - the abstaining from flesh-meat is everywhere maintained, as being essential to Fasting. For many centuries, eggs and milk-meats were not allowed, because they come under the class of animal food: even to this day, they are forbidden in the Eastern Churches, and are only allowed in the Latin Church by virtue of an annual dispensation. The precept of abstaining from flesh-meat is so essential to Lent, that even on Sundays, when the Fasting is interrupted, Abstinence is an obligation, binding even on those who are dispensed from the fasts of the week, unless there be a special dispensation granted for eating meat on the Sundays. In the early ages of Christianity, Fasting included also the abstaining from Wine, as we learn from St. Cyril of Jerusalem [Catech. iv], St. Basil [Homil. i. De Jejunio], St. John Chrysostom [Homil. iv. Ad populum Antioch.], Theophilus of Alexandria [Litt. Pasch, iii], and others. In the West, this custom soon fell into disuse. The Eastern Christians kept it up much longer, but even with them it has ceased to be considered as obligatory. Lastly, Fasting includes the depriving ourselves of some portion of our ordinary food, inasmuch as it only allows the taking of one meal during the day. Though the modifications introduced from age to age in the discipline of Lent, are very numerous, yet the points we have here mentioned belong to the very essence of Fasting, as is evident from the universal practice of the Church. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Oops! And Other Things
It is not a good idea to be one’s own proofreader, but that is a necessary thing most of the time. In my article about the 1962 rules of fast and abstinence, I somehow inserted part of the “partial abstinence” rules into the “complete abstinence” rules. The corrected version with the correction in bold, is this (although I am my own proofreader once again, so I may have to do yet another correction!): COMPLETE ABSTINENCE, which forbids the eating of meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, is required on: all Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, the Vigil of the Assumption, and the Vigil of Christmas. (Current: only Ash Wednesday, Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday.) People who read the “oops” version knew something was wrong when “complete abstinence” allowed meat eating! Nicely, they didn’t bring it up to me, probably because those who point out typos and other little mistakes in the bulletin usually hear my response, “Thank you! We need a volunteer with your talent to take on the task of putting the bulletin together each week. When can you start?” That is usually the end of the complaints! Of course, this one was more than a little typo, so I am glad to print a retraction. Don’t eat meat or meat products on days of complete abstinence! On a different topic, some of the newer parishioners didn’t understand the complete intent of the ECCW’s “Prayers and Pennies for Sisters and Semmies” cans which we encouraged them to take home. A few cans came back the first week. One man I spoke with thought that it was just a collection, like the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal, so he put some money in it and handed it right back. I pointed to the photos on the can showcasing the young men and women from Epiphany Parish who are currently in various stages of formation. Currently, we have four men and five women studying, praying, and discerning their Religious vocation in various Religious Orders. Both the number and the individuals vary year to year as some discern that Religious life is not their calling, others eagerly enter to begin the process, and some “graduate” through ordination or vows. We ask for prayers for them all year but during Lent, we put a special focus on them with these containers. We ask that you place the can in the middle of the dining room table, or your “prayer space” in your house, or wherever the family gathers on a daily basis where they can talk about vocations, pray for those in formation, donate money to their expenses as they continue their discernment, and, while doing so, perhaps even discuss personal vocations among family members. Seeing others joyfully in formation to be Brothers, Sisters, or Priests helps instill a sense of longing to listen to God’s call and answer in a way pleasing to Him. The vocation of most people will be married life. Seeing that as a vocation helps to ward off temptations to enter marriage for the lesser reasons to get married, such as “just doing what everyone else is doing,” or “I never heard of any other options,” or just plain ol’ lust. (It can also remind husbands and wives that their marriage is a chosen vocation, not to be treated lightly or discarded when married life seems too hard) Seeing people from our own parish (and most parishes don’t have anyone at all in formation, so we are very blessed in this regard) who have made the leap of faith to say “Here am I, Lord” and give up all worldly desires in order to love Him above all things, is quite a way of seeing a religious vocation as a blessing to be accepted joyfully! So, pray daily for these young men and women, talk about vocations, and pray that the donation you make for this appeal will help the Church and the world more than any of us can possibly imagine. As an aside, it seems that a good number of cans in previous years never came back. Please remember that we have to purchase these cans, so every lost one has a financial cost. A can returned empty is better than a can thrown away. Since I mentioned the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal above, now is a good time to once again thank all of you who donated to it last year. We met and exceeded our goal and the Bishop will use that money (for the projects you chose) for diocesan expenses that he explains in the literature he sends to all registered parishioners each year. This year’s CMA is underway already. It is a yearly collection so it never actually disappears. Kind of like an electric bill. And just about as important to pay, I might add, except this one pleases the Bishop more! Our assigned goal, pledges, and donations are listed each week elsewhere in the bulletin. This year’s goal has only modestly increased, to $128,653.00. Allow me to gush over how welcome this is compared to the past few years’ drastic increases, the same way government officials exuberantly tout the current decrease in the increasing rate of inflation. Our increase shows that we are a strong parish. The smallness of the increase shows that other parishes may finally be rebounding from their ghastly (and largely self-inflicted) covid numbers, which is a great relief for everyone who cares about the souls lost due to clerical mismanagement of the Church during those past years. Perhaps the lost sheep are finally returning to the fold. Anyway, your CMA donations can be made online or via the envelopes in the back of the church if you haven’t already used the one sent to you in the mail. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Must I Give Up Something For Lent?
I am constantly asked about rules and regulations for what to give up for Lent. Must I give up something every day? What about Birthdays and Holidays? How about Sundays? If I give up something and then eat it (a food I gave up) or do it (an activity I gave up) is it a mortal sin or a venial sin? Can I get a dispensation for eating/doing something I gave up but didn’t take into account “this” particular day or circumstance? Can I exclude those times/dates/circumstances in my own determination of what I am giving up or is that cheating? I am sure that not only do you get the picture (and these questions are by no means exhaustive) but that you have probably at least thought about asking something similar even if you never actually did ask! This shows one of the problems that arise when traditions are changed instead of being held onto dearly. I have a calendar in front of me from The Seraphim Company, Inc. that has, on the page labeled, “Calendar Guide and Information,” a subheading of, “Fast and Abstinence.’ In this section, they list the traditional rules (1962, I am guessing) and the current rules. Should you choose to read further, where I list them, you will see that the rules changed drastically. You can find the current rules in these three documents: Pope Paul's Constitution Poenitemini, Code of Canon Law (cc. 1249-1253), and the USCCB's Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence. Without space here to quote these documents in full, I will simply reproduce for you the traditional fast and abstinence as listed on the calendar, interspersed with the current one in red, and offer a few comments and suggestions.
You don’t need 20/20 vision to see that the changes have drastically changed Lent by removing most of the former Lenten penance. Yet in the Bishops’ document cited above, they state that with these changes, “we hope that the observance of Lent as the principal season of penance in the Christian year will be intensified. This is the more desirable because of new insights...” Yes, their new insights are that Lent becomes more penitential if it becomes less penitential! While you may keep the traditional practices, you would be without sin if you kept the current practice of doing almost nothing penitential for Lent. But would you be benefitting to the same degree? I think not. And the majority of Catholics in this society instinctively know it. That is why they choose other penitential practices to voluntarily undergo during Lent. Giving up sweets, alcohol, TV, or Social Media, for instance, is not listed anywhere that I know of in the current regulations. So we are all left on our own to figure out how to make Lent (or any other time of the liturgical year, for that matter) more spiritual than the very basic and, dare I say, even pitiable, current penitential requirements of the Church. All of that leads back to the answer to the above questions. Choose something that will make you more holy and do your best. The Church seems to have abandoned you to your own devices, so choose wisely, challenge yourself, and take on whatever penance you think will help your soul conquer your bodily impulses. That is what will allow you to have a good and holy Lent and, ultimately, through the grace of God, to help others and yourself to become Saints. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Battling Demons
The diocese recently offered priests and deacons an opportunity to learn a little about the proper procedure for expelling demons from people and places. It was quite helpful to get clarity on some of the “whats” “whys” and “hows” of demonic obsession, oppression, and possession. Most of the time the priests, deacons, and, I would dare to guess, bishops, have had absolutely no training in any of this and so we just have to wing it when needed. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it can even make a bad situation worse because the demons know the limits of our authority to command them. If we even inadvertently overstep the boundaries of our authority, they cease obeying us. One memorable time when a couple of priests and lay people, in a massive crowd of others who were already deep in prayer, had to “wing it” on the spot took place during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France in the fall of 2010. The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes just happens to be next Sunday, so I thought that pulling out an old article I wrote about it at the time might be interesting to you today. Last week I told you of the gift of prayer time which our stop at Lourdes afforded us. The Torchlight Marian Procession showed us in a very vivid manner why this time of intense prayer was so essential. Nighttime at Lourdes brings about a very inspirational gathering of all the pilgrims down at the Grotto where the Blessed Mother appeared to Bernadette. Pilgrims carrying lit candles are invited to join the procession as a statue of Our Lady is carried along the path leading to the Basilica. The night we first went down to join in this prayer there were thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of pilgrims present. There were so many people, in fact, that joining the procession was completely out of the question. We could not even get halfway into the square in front of the Basilica, let alone get anywhere near the Grotto, before we became part of the pack of pilgrims forced to simply stand in one place, pray, and wait for the procession to come to us. Off to our right in the distance, a stage was set up with huge speakers that broadcast the Rosary prayers. Large screens showed videos of some sort every once in a while which I guessed were meditations on the particular mystery upon which we were meditating. Trees were blocking my view so I never got a good look at the stage or screen but I didn’t bother vying for a better spot since I was not there for “movie night.” And, as it turned out, the place I was standing was where I was most needed. Huge gatherings of people reverently praying often bring out evil along with the good. Mentally unbalanced people, looking for attention and knowing pilgrims will treat them with love and compassion, often act out in strange ways. Demons, who cannot tolerate this prayerful love of God and neighbor, also manifest themselves as they attempt to either escape this “torment” or at least disrupt it and discourage people to the extent of their wicked abilities. We were witness to one such case that night. A woman came running through the crowd, which parted much as the Red Sea at the touch of Moses’ staff, wailing, flailing, spitting, cursing, and retching. For no apparent reason, she stopped very near to where we were standing. It seemed that the strength we garnered in prayer was going to be put to the test. I asked the Blessed Mother and St. Bernadette to use the prayers of all of us gathered to help this poor woman. As I extended my right hand in prayer over her, I closed my eyes to try to block out all distractions and began exorcism prayers. It was next to impossible to determine if this woman was mentally unbalanced or truly possessed but either way, she needed our help. I prayed for her deliverance from this spiritual or mental evil that was afflicting her and I could hear several women in our group continually praying the St. Michael prayer. For a long time, she acted like a wild animal in a cage as the hand of God kept her planted in this one place so that we could pray over her. But eventually and quite suddenly she became calm, as if demons had been expelled and she was finally at peace. Less than a minute later the police arrived to find, not a wild, out-of-control troubled woman in danger of hurting herself and others, but rather a rational, peaceful woman at least seemingly joining the crowd in prayer. After determining that there was nothing they could or needed to do, the police quietly left and the woman remained with us and “with it” for the duration of the Rosary. Had she been possessed and was now free of demons? Had she been cured of mental illness? Or was she simply acting and knew when to stop the act so that she wouldn’t be arrested? Though we may never know for sure, without our prior time of prayer the first two of these possibilities may have been impossible to accomplish. With prayers for your holiness, Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Addressing the Pope
Last week I asked the people at the 7:30 Mass to write letters in a way similar to what was done when the parishioners wrote letters of support to Bishop Parkes. Similarly, mind you, not exactly the same way, for the letters to our Bishop were letters of support when he mistakenly thought that we didn’t support him. This week, through this bulletin article, I am asking the people at the other Masses to also take pen in hand and put it to paper. The Bishop to whom these new letters should be addressed resides in Rome. Unlike Bishop Parkes, Francis doesn’t see the value of allowing anyone, not just us at this parish, to celebrate or attend Mass in the Traditional Latin form. For this reason, I don’t ask you to send him letters of support, for he may think you support his desire to take that away from us. But I do ask you to send a letter explaining to him how the Traditional Latin Mass has changed your life for the better. Please don’t make up stories or even embellish your own personal experience with the Mass. Just write a nice letter telling him what it has done for your Catholic faith, for your understanding of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how it has brought your family more deeply into the family of the Church, or any other way that it has opened your eyes to the Glory of God as expressed in Traditional liturgy. Let me here repeat what I said last week about writing such letters. I don’t know if any of them will get through to him for I don’t know what system is in place to allow some things to pass through and some to be blocked. There must be a system, though, for he cannot possibly read every piece of mail that gets sent to him. But I do know that if any of the “mail sorters” are anti-TLM and they see a nasty, cruel, belligerent letter coming in among hundreds of heartwarming and thoughtfully loving letters, that one horrible letter will be the one that gets placed squarely in the front and center of the desk. Don’t write such a letter! Don’t complain about anything. Don’t whine about anything. Don’t berate anyone. Just say something about how the TLM has helped you to become more holy and loving, more Catholic, and more likely to become a Saint. If even one such a letter gets through it has the possibility of changing his heart. It should go without saying that I am asking you to pray as you write it, pray as you send it, and prayerfully ask your guardian angel to help ward off any demons who wish to misdirect your letter or have it misinterpreted. Maybe the person soring mail will be a friend of Tradition and two hundred or more letters written from this one parish, from mature ladies and teenage girls, from little boys and elderly men, from the pastor and from the newbie who just wandered in for the first time, could all wind up in Francis’ hands. It won’t happen if you don’t send in a letter and you cannot send one in if you don’t write it. By the time these letters get to the Vatican and get processed, we will be down to approximately one year of life left in the parish with a possibility of an extension of this “generous” two-year exemption granted us before we have to cease doing the very thing that brought life back to the parish in 2015. Why not put personal stories out there to be seen by the one man who wields the power? Of course, most people have no idea how to address the letter or the envelope, so here is the proper protocol: The salutation on the letter should be “Your Holiness” or “Most Holy Father”. The complimentary closing should be “Respectfully yours.” The envelope should be addressed to: His Holiness Pope Francis 00120 Vatican City Europe It seems that thousands of packages, letters, and messages get delivered there each day. The chances of our letters getting through seem astronomically slim. Yet I believe that this is a worthwhile endeavor. After all, it is worth it if each of us has to express in writing just how much we have been changed for the better since discovering the Traditional Latin Mass. If we can explain it to Francis, we will better be able to explain it to our skeptical neighbors and friends. It is worth it for those sorting the Vatican mail, too, for certainly they will see their fair share of complaints and gripes, so seeing good news will bring them welcome relief. Finally, to use an image that is well-known to all of us, both young and old, as the Grinch’s heart grew and he fully embraced Christmas, perhaps this prayerful venture will have the same effect on Francis’ heart and he will fully embrace Traditional Catholicism. After all, celebrating the sacraments in their Traditional form, especially the Mass, has given me insights into the priesthood which I never knew I lacked. I am just an insignificant parish priest. I hear stories all the time about how individuals and families have loved God and His Church more fully after embracing the TLM, sometimes after long battles of kicking against the goad! Wouldn’t it be lovely to see the same result in Rome? Get out your best paper, ink, crayons, or whatever writing instruments you own, and get those letters out! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Thank You, God, For Good Timing!
Last weekend was quite different than I had expected, all because of a little issue with (or, rather, without) water. It all started sometime Friday afternoon. We had water shortly after noon when I was washing my lunch dishes. But sometime later that afternoon Fr. Dorvil announced that there was no water coming out of the kitchen faucet. A quick check showed that the entire rectory was without water. I walked to the school. No water there. I checked the church. Again, no water. We don’t know when it went out but we had the JMJ homeschool group here until at least two o’clock and never heard any complaints from them so we assume it was sometime after they left. As I walked back out of the church I heard the sound of cars out front driving through water, which would have been a normal noise had it been raining, but such was not the case. I walked out there to see water gushing out from under the sidewalk outside of our fence. The water was coming from both sides of the slab of concrete with enough force that it was actually pushed up higher than the other adjoining sections and running out onto Hanna Avenue down toward the train tracks. I quickly went back to the rectory and called the water department to report a water main break. The woman on the other end of the phone line said that since it was gushing from under the city sidewalk next to the street, she would put it in as an emergency and a repair truck would be there shortly. A couple of hours later the city repairman got there and, after a long search, finally found the water shutoff valve and meter box under the water in the small strip between the sidewalk and the street. He siphoned the water out of the newly made holes and dug the mud out to reveal the water pipe. Then he gave me the bad news. Even though the broken pipe was obviously outside of our property boundaries, because it was on our side of the meter box, it was our problem to deal with, not the city’s. He was sympathetic to our predicament as he had been watching all of the cars coming in to drop off teens for our youth group meeting. When he heard that our weekend schedule included Saturday morning Mass, Adult Catechism Class, baptisms and another evening Mass, and then another 800 or more people coming in for Sunday Masses and activities, he called his supervisor and asked him to come and see if they could do anything for us. The supervisor did come by a while later but he answer was, “Sorry, but we can’t help you. You’ll have to call your own plumber” I put in a call and left a message with Dyser Plumbing, the best plumbing company I have had the pleasure of dealing with as a priest. Then I sent out a text message and email via Flocknote warning people that we had no water anywhere on campus. I canceled the class but not the Masses and left the baptisms up to the parents. Mr. Dyser called back and apologized that he had allowed his “extra” plumbers to take some vacation time after a long, hard holiday season and had nobody to send. (Mr. Dyser also called again Sunday morning apologizing for “letting us down” and offering to make it up to us. He really is a great man and certainly didn’t let us down by taking care of his employees.) By Saturday morning parishioners were in motion doing things that needed to be done. We had people calling plumbers everywhere from Dade City to Sun City Center, yet none could be found to come to our assistance. Several people managed to find porta-potty companies that could deliver a couple on short notice so that we would at least have minimal toilet facilities before the Vigil Mass began. A plumber (Emory of Emory M. Garland Plumbing, who turned out to be another delightful Christian plumber willing to go the extra mile to get our water running again before Sunday “services”) was finally found by one of our contractors, who also came out with one of his men to cut through the sidewalk to get to the pipe. It turns out that the sidewalk was a fresh slab of concrete put down by the city after they changed the connection of our water pipes to a new meter and a new connection to their water main when they were doing work on the system while putting in the new City Center across the street. It was their newly installed pipe that snapped. We will see if they can reimburse us for our expenses since it seems they installed that section of pipe improperly. Meanwhile, another parishioner brought about twenty five-gallon buckets filled with water so that we could flush toilets if needed on Sunday. The Knights of Columbus, without their knowledge, were going to refill the buckets from Epiphany Arms next door as needed. Other parishioners offered meals for the priests if needed. The coffee and donut people had to cancel our donut order because the deadline came before the plumber did. The website got updates on the progress, as did our farcebook page and flocknote. More people did more things than I could have ever imagined. Thank you all. Finally, about 5:45 am Sunday morning, I turned on the water, flushed out the pipes, and everything held together! But that is not why I titled this column “Thank You, God, For Good Timing!” Just imagine what would have happened if the pipe burst just one week earlier! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka |
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