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From the Pastor: Confirmations Are Coming Quickly!
This upcoming year brings uncertainty to Epiphany. You are all aware of the efforts of some in Rome to shut down the Traditional Latin Mass. You are also aware that Bishop Parkes continues to fight on our behalf to keep not only Epiphany parish going but also the other two parishes in the diocese that offer the TLM. In March of 2023, Bishop Parkes obediently wrote a letter to Cardinal Roach making a case to keep the status quo in the diocese and his plea was (relatively) well-received. In July or August of 2023, he was granted a 2-year “indult” to continue the celebration of the TLM in all three parish churches with the possibility of asking for an extension of that indult when the two years are up. In the meantime, the TLM at all three parishes has kept growing even as other parishes struggle to keep congregations from declining too sharply. Bishop Parkes has been striving to find a solution to this strange situation, for he sees a sizable minority of his flock finding solace and holiness in the form of the Mass loved and cherished by centuries of both Saints and (non-canonized) saints. He understands that we are not just “in it for the nostalgia” for he sees the overall youthfulness of our congregations, those who are not pining for something they grew up with (since they were born long after the change from one Mass to the other) but are rather those who have discovered the treasure-trove of riches comprising the ancient Mass after perhaps never having heard anything positive about it in their lives. “The priest had his back to the people, nobody understood what was going on, and the little old ladies fingered their rosaries,” is all that most people under 60 ever heard regarding the Tridentine Mass and, hence, never gave a second thought to it. That is, until they happened upon it for whatever reason, and fell in love; in love with God, for His love for them and their new-found ability, inflamed desire, and even the realization of the necessity to love Him in return is what the “old” Mass showed them so clearly. They knew as they had never known before Jesus’ perfect act of love for all men, the Holy Sacrifice of His Life upon the cross for our eternal salvation. And they loved right back, immersed as they were in the whole experience of the soul-moving liturgical ritual that had been honed for nearly two thousand years. These groups want to stay in that place at the foot of the cross, Adoring Him and offering their lives back to Him, a place they arrived at by spiritually entering into His Most Sacred Heart through the Traditional Latin Mass. And the bishop wants them/us to be able to do so. And he doesn’t want the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, always threatening to fall and wipe out the TLM at the whim of someone who has never even visited the diocese, let alone met the people. He is still diligently striving to come up with a way to give the TLM long-term (perpetual) stability. But, alas, so far all possibilities have shown dire and unintended (on his/our side, anyway) consequences, making them not worth pursuing unless/until forced into a corner. With that being said, it is apparent that we don’t know what the future holds for us and, although we all hope that things will continue as normal, I have made the decision to move Confirmations up a few months earlier than we have had them in the past, just in case the sword does fall this spring. I petitioned the Bishop to allow us to have our Confirmations in February this coming year. Mark your calendars. Wednesday, February 12, at 7:00 pm, Bishop Parkes is scheduled to come to Epiphany to confirm, using the 1962 ritual, however many children have been properly prepared to receive this important sacrament. His schedule is even more grueling than mine and, although it is on his calendar at the present moment, we have seen in the past that it may change and either we will change our date/time to accommodate him or else I will be given delegation to bestow the confirmations in his place on the above scheduled day and time. Either way, it is imperative that: 1) the children start their confirmation preparation immediately if not sooner; and 2) everyone who is planning on being confirmed that day fill out the information sheet we have on our website so that we know how many people to expect. I cannot stress this enough. In the past we have often had children signed up only at the last minute. This year, the bishop wants to know (already!) how many are being prepared. I must give him a number, so you must tell me ASAP if you want your children included. If the worst case scenario occurs, March of 2025 (two years after the letter asking permission to keep the TLM was written by Bishop Parkes) will bring news that the current TLM indult will not be renewed. If so, the February Confirmations may be the last time the old ritual is used for this sacrament. I pray that it will not be so, but I would rather not take the chance, hence the early Confirmation date. As always, if you need help preparing your child(ren) for this sacrament, let me know and we will arrange whatever assistance is necessary. For those already doing the preparation through Catholic homeschool programs, you may need to step it up a bit, since the curriculum may be expecting a full school year (an extra couple of months) to get through all of the material. As always, keep praying for Bishop Parkes. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: What Is So Special About Monday?
Monday, September 9, is a big feast day, one that long-time Epiphany members (and readers of Fr. Z’s blog) know quite well. But for any newcomers, you might be unaware of the special celebration that is upcoming. Sure, it is St. Peter Claver’s feast day. I certainly don’t want to downplay that. In fact, I will celebrate two morning Masses dedicated to him, so important is that Saint. It is also the feast day of St. Gorgonius, although he will only receive a commemoration at St. Peter Claver’s Masses. But the special day of which I make mention is not the feast day of a Saint at all. “Then what is it?” you may ask, and I will gladly tell you should you do so. So, go ahead and ask! Ah, that’s better. Yes, I will gladly answer your most earnest inquiry, but first, sit down for a minute, and let’s open a couple of cold bottles of Alaskan Smoked Porter. What’s that? You’ve never tasted that particular brew? Join the club, for neither have I. I have a description of it, which I will share with you in just a minute, but it is in the tasting that the truth will come out. Whether or not it lives up to its advertised wonderfulness, we will have a delightful time praising it or criticizing it, offering thoughts about it and comparing it to other beers, perhaps even to other food and drink, and spending a bit of time together just doing something we are not able to do very often, namely, a lot of nothing. Yes, there is much to be said for doing nothing of any discernable import. To be able to set aside the “necessities” of the day, to be able to trust that we are not indispensable, that the world will survive without our input for an hour or so, that God, not man, is in control of everything, and that He gave us the very inspiration to produce such a delightful beverage to be shared among friends and family. But I said that I was going to give the official description of the beer, not the description of what we would do with it, so here you go. “Crafted with malt smoked over alder wood, Alaskan Smoked Porter showcases a unique and intriguing smoky character, akin to a campfire’s embrace. This robust porter carries notes of toffee and caramel, offering a delightful contrast to the smokiness. It truly shines during fall camping trips, adding a touch of the Alaskan wilderness to your outdoor adventures.” Smoked malt? It sounds like anyone who enjoys a peaty scotch will enjoy that part of it. Toffee and caramel? Let’s face it, somebody’s tastebuds have got to be seriously messed up to turn away at the thought of those flavors. Camping and campfires? Is it pure marketing? Absolutely! But I’ve already bitten. Let’s pop it open. No, it’s ok. I understand. Not everybody likes such a flavor bomb in their beer. You say you would prefer something else? I won’t hold that against you unless you ask for a Bud Light. Thanks for being upfront about it instead of fighting through a beer you won’t enjoy. I, myself, though generally preferring porters and stouts, willingly order just about any type of local beer if I am traveling. After all, I can get a Guiness anywhere in the world. But if I were to visit Arizona and found a light-bodied Cactus beer, I would gladly give it a shot. But, then again, I like darn near any food, so it makes sense that I enjoy, or at least tolerate, most beer and other drinks, too. The fruity beers, like Grapefruit beer from Florida or Blueberry beer from Michigan, are not my favorites, but having one or two every couple of years isn’t beyond my comfort zone. So what can I get you? How about a Maine Lobster beer from Bar Harbor? Ha, ha. You should’ve seen your face! Nah, I’m just pulling your finger... I mean, your leg. But if you want to try something a little off the beaten path without going either too dark or too light, how about an Avocado Honey Ale? “The beer has a light golden haze appearance with an ivory frothy head. Moving to its aroma, the beer shares a biscuity and nutty aroma with hints of sweetness reminiscent of wildflowers...Additionally, it has a super smooth and silky texture that further makes the drink mouthful and appetizing.” No? I’ve got just the one. Do you remember sweet breakfast cereals with the little marshmallows? Check out the description of this beer. “Saturday Morning IPA is a soft, light, and mouthful beer that knows how to satisfy one’s taste buds. The drink has a soft pillow body made using the following: Toasted marshmallow; Dehydrated Marshmallow; Calypso and Galaxy Hops. All these ingredients are united to give a sweet cereal taste to the drink with hints of orange/pear mixed aroma.” You’ll try it? Wonderful! Now that we have that settled and we both have a beer we’ve never tried, let’s get ready to have a blast critiquing them together! But before we take the first swig, I need to (finally!) tell you the reason for this get-together. In case you have forgotten or, poorly catechized Catholic that you may be, were never taught, September 9 is Buy A Priest A Beer Day! Alas, because I don’t have free time anymore, the above conversation about drinking such beers is just wishful thinking. But next year this feast falls on a Tuesday, which, after the morning schedule of Masses, confessions, and Adoration, I generally take off. Perhaps with a bit of advanced planning, we could make it happen. Start searching out your favorite (or weirdest) brews! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: The Final Last Vacation Story
The story of my recent journey left off before I made it back home, so you are stuck with yet another tale of my trip. After the long detour and blocked road from last week, I finally made it to North Carolina where the Carsons had invited me to visit them while they were spending time in their mountain cabin. As I left off last week with the delay causing me to either arrive after dark or spend a night in a hotel, I opted for the hotel. In the morning I had a cup of coffee and sat down to pray my breviary as I drank in both the mountain view and the coffee between scripture verses. It was a good way to start the day. After getting back in the car, I let the Carson's know my approximate arrival time. I checked in with them about an hour out and it seemed like in no time the GPS lady was telling me to turn off the main drag and onto a small, steep mountain road leading up to their house. The distance left to travel wasn't exactly making sense relative to the time it was saying it would take, but I was to find out soon enough why it would take so long. As I mentioned before, I am glad I didn't attempt this part of the trip at night, for even in daylight it was a tough drive. The road was very, very twisty, very, very narrow, and very, very steep. The going was very, very slow. And then the GPS lady got lost. She wasn't showing me to be exactly on the road and didn't warn of forks in the road demanding a decision of which way to turn. At one point the paved road was going left and a gravel road went right and she said nothing. I chose pavement. Up, up, up I went, the whole time thinking, "If I had a cabin up here, I would take a year's worth of food and never venture back down until I was ready to leave." This paved part of the “road” ended up being a driveway. There was no place to turn around so I followed the drive right up to the front door of the house and continued past it as it looped back down. I waved just in case somebody with a shotgun was watching. Going back down I had the Honda in low gear and the GPS girl found me before I got to the gravel road. "Take the other road this time, you big dummy!" she screeched. So I turned. Up and up and around and around I went, this time on wet, loose gravel. Then I came around a tight turn and had to hit the brakes when I came face to face with a four-wheel drive All Terrain Vehicle, which also slammed on its brakes. It was driven by the Carsons, who were coming down to make sure I found the right road. They put their vehicle in reverse but it simply spun the tires and started sliding sideways toward the edge of the mountain. Not a good sign. They finally got it moving in the right direction—backward—and found a small place to pull over and motioned me to pass. I, too, spun some gravel but the tires soon caught and up I went, the transmission and engine straining as they have never strained in Florida. I certainly knew why GPS said it would take so long for such a short trip. The Carsons make this trip up and down every single day, for they never miss daily Mass. They have memorized the Mass schedule of parishes in various distant towns to which they travel since none of the parishes has Mass every day. I, on the other hand, was very happy to be able to celebrate Mass in the cabin and stay put. Of course, that was not to last long, for they insisted on showing me around. We went to the top of the mountain in the rain on the four-wheeler as they talked about how they almost went off the edge the other day in the exact same conditions. Back home once again, we saw their "pet" woodchuck that lives just down the hill from the house. We watched a multitude of hummingbirds fighting incessantly over the feeder and flowers. I heard about how a bear completely destroyed their apple tree this year, the first year it produced apples, never to be capable of producing fruit again. And they drove me (in their four-wheel drive SUV, not the ATV) all the way down the mountain and into various small towns to show me where they went to Mass, where they shopped, and where they hiked. There is a parish that has a TLM and they are just starting to clear the ground to build a new, beautiful church. Our Lady of the Mountains in Highlands is worth checking out online. We also watched people swimming in "Bust Your Butt Falls" right off the main highway in Highlands. The Carson’s know how it got its name, for others from our parish have visited them and one of the girls busted several body parts there. We also went hiking to some waterfalls and came back drenched in sweat and gasping for air, though the temperature was only about 80 degrees. Go figure! Finally, after much too short a vacation, I had to head back home. The rest of the return trip was uneventful, with the exception of a major thunderstorm on I-75 just outside of Tampa (yes, I took the interstate the last day). And that really does bring me to the end of this series of articles. How was your vacation? With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: One Last (?) Vacation Article
Yes, this is the third week you have to read about my vacation. I wasn’t even gone two weeks, yet I am managing to drag it out at least on paper for longer than it lasted. Anyway, here goes. Last week I left off by saying goodbye to Kentucky and hello to Ohio. I have some friends there whom I have known since before I was a priest but I haven’t seen them in many years. How many years, you ask? This time I got a chance to meet their grandson who, now that school has started, just entered into the third grade. It is the first time I have met him, for I haven’t seen his mother (who I knew from her birth) or grandparents (the friends I mentioned) since before he was conceived! Fortunately, old friends, even when they are distant, are still good friends, and we simply met as if we had never been apart. One notable thing we did, which shows how much of an old geezer I am that I think it is a notable part of my vacation, is take the boy to the local library. Not to read books, for libraries have evolved past that quaint purpose, but to create things with Legos. This was a very child-friendly library and one of its regular activities is a Lego hour for the youngsters. They all piled into a room where they had access to tons of Legos and could not only create anything their imaginations could conjure but also then leave them on display with their names and descriptions of the creation for the whole library world to admire. The descriptions were absolutely necessary, for I would have never known what most of them were even once they were “completed.” Of course, there were some general trends. Boys made machines and robots. Girls made houses, trees, and flowers. Or so the descriptions stated. Unlike when I was growing up and the only things we could check out of libraries were books, over the years libraries started offering videos and then other non-readable things. At the local Seminole Heights library wifi hotspots seem to be the most popular non-book item and there is a waiting list a mile long to borrow one. At this particular Ohio library, along with wifi hotspots (all of which were already checked out—it must be a trend), they had a whole wall full of musical instruments, camping gear, science lab tools (microscopes, telescopes, and related items), sports equipment, and more, all available to be checked out. But in a separate spot, there was the largest collection of all: bakeware. Muffin tins, bundt cake pans, cheesecake pans, and other things that you may not need regularly were all lined up for patrons to take home, use, clean (I hope), and return. But the most amazing sight was the row after row of specialty cake pan molds. You could take home a mold for baking a cake in the shape of Batman, Wonder Woman, a rabbit, a castle, a flower, and probably a hundred other things! Does your library have such a collection of items to be borrowed? This one also had tables set up for chess with an invitation to find a partner and play a game, an arts and crafts section complete with scissors, glue, glitter, and “projects” packages. Children, mothers, grandmothers, and a few fathers (and one Father) were all over the place. It was like a theme park without the exorbitant cost. Alas, I had to head back south, so off I went, setting the GPS once again to take the backroads to North Carolina. In that section of Ohio, the backroads were pretty straight, flat, and boring. Farmland, mostly with corn and beans, as far as I could tell, went on for mile after mile after mile. One road threw the GPS off with the unexpected sign saying, “Road closed six miles ahead. Use detour.” The next road was miles away and it, too, as well as the next two isolated roads, had the same sign. It took me so far out of the way that, instead of getting there through Kentucky and Tennessee I wound up traveling through West Virginia and Virginia, an unexpected but happily beautiful change to my route. But at one point I was on a four-lane road when I passed by an electric company truck stopped in the middle with a large pole lifting the overhead wires crossing the road. Then I passed another one and another. Every electric wire stretched across the road for miles was being lifted. Dozens more electric trucks kept driving past to lift the next successive line on the road behind me. Something BIG was coming and they were clearing the way. And then I saw the police cars. Everywhere. Blocking the road and the crossroads. And traffic came to a stop. A massive “thing” was being trucked up the mountain in front of me and just as the top of it came into sight over the hill it stopped. For the next hour or more only cars with lift buckets or flashing blue lights moved in either direction. But finally, they let the traffic that had piled up behind this thing use “my” lanes to go around it. For a full hour, the traffic kept coming. Then, for whatever reason, they started moving the Big Thing again and I was allowed to drive toward and then past it. Even seeing it didn’t help me figure out what it was. But it was massive. And the traffic behind it was still backed up for many more miles. I wound up in a hotel that night, not wanting to drive mountain roads in the dark. And, boy, was that a good call... With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Sanders Kentucky At Last!
Following up on last week’s tale of adventure, my driving days continued through the mountains heading mostly northward. When I was finally getting close to the Hernandez’ house, I had just turned onto their road when Kevin called. “Great timing! I just turned onto Snort Wallow Road (or something equally strange),” I answered through the speaker as the phone automatically picked up for me. “Then you should be only a few minutes away. I’ll stay on the phone to guide you through,” came his reply. We chatted a bit and then he asked, “When you got to the fork in the road, did you stay to the left?” I didn’t recall coming to a fork in the road. “You should have seen it by now,” he said,“Are you sure you are on the right road?” Heck, I’ve never been there before. How would I know if I’m on the right road? I’m just blindly following the GPS. “I’m on Snort Wallow Road,” I replied, “How many of them could there be?” Of course, I was in Kentucky, so there could be a couple of dozen, for all I knew. “Have you seen the old cars sitting in front of a house up on the left?” or something like that, the conversation continued. But I wasn’t seeing anything of what he was describing, so he asked me to tell him what I was currently passing. Note that I was on a very narrow, twisty road winding through the wooded hills, not on a highway or anything like that, and it is supposed to be the road he lives on, so it would seem like he would know it pretty well after living there 8 months, but he was stumped as to where I was as I described a huge red barn on the left, followed by a shack on the right, and so forth. “You should be seeing thus and so,” he said, confused as to where I was, “and we don’t live that far off the road from where you turned. This isn’t making sense. I’m outside watching for you but you should have been here by now.” That wasn’t too comforting. After the GPS fiasco earlier in the trip, where it wouldn’t take me by the back roads, maybe it was now playing a joke on me by having me on the wrong little country road. When I told him I saw Punxsutawney Phil run across the road, the thought went through my mind that maybe I wasn’t even in Kentucky, for he replied, “I’ve never seen a groundhog out here,” Fortunately, at least that one woodchuck actually does live there, for soon afterward I saw Kevin by the road, his back to me, staring intently in the other direction. I was coming, not from the highway that any normal person would be coming from, but from the long way from nowhere! I got to see parts of his road that he had only been on a few times himself, for there was no reason for him to travel in the “wrong” direction to get anywhere! It was a good thing that he was standing out there, too, for the GPS pointed to the house next to the drive that actually took me to his house. And, even once on the proper drive, I would have stopped at his garage thinking that it was his house! You wouldn’t believe that garage/barn of his. The man who built it made it look like a little cottage rather than a garage and the disguise worked quite well. That building and the actual house stood at the top of a series of rolling hills, a beautiful sight to behold. Cheryl, of course, had a garden growing and the folks they bought the property from had planted apple, pear, and peach trees as well. Those, plus some hazelnut trees (I have never seen any of those before!) were all showing forth the great soil of the land. Of course, I was there to see Kevin and Cheryl, not the greenery, so I didn’t really pay much attention to all of that until later when they took me on a tour and showed me the various things growing right in front of the house. Later still we would walk their property. Down the hill. And over the next one. And around the bend. And past the creek. And through the woods. Oh, what a spectacular place! Over the next several days I did a lot of nothing with them. Cheryl wanted Kevin to take me out to do things, to entertain me. But I was content to go nowhere. In the morning I would sleep in (what a great thing all by itself!), celebrate Mass and pray the Breviary, then spend the rest of the day putting together a puzzle, talking, watching the deer consume their fruit and rabbits destroy their vegetables, and sitting on the cool, mosquito-less porch watching the sunset. I did go out to Salvator’s boarding school when they had an open house and I saw and blessed the Rosendale’s new fixer-upper house which is (coincidentally?) within sight of that same boarding school, although they would not arrive until a few days after I left. We also visited the Castle and Key distillery near Frankfort (there are a lot of distilleries in the area including Buffalo Trace, Woodford Reserve, Whiskey Thief, Heaven’s Door, Bulleit, Old Crow, Jim Beam Old Granddad, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and too many others to list. Holy League field trip, anyone?). After a few days of much-needed rest at their place (and they said to tell everyone here they said “hello”) it was time to visit some friends I’ve known since before ordination. Northern Ohio, here I come! With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka From the Pastor: Some Time Away
Some time ago I wrote that Fr. Vincent generously offered to come and take my place for a while so that I could get a short vacation. I asked for suggestions as to where to go. The first suggestion I received was a great one: Blairsville, Georgia. It has been many, many years since I visited that small town but I thoroughly enjoyed myself when I was there. One time was in autumn and I was able to attend their Sorghum Festival. The days were cool, the nights were cold, and the festival was typical small-town fun. Good memories. But this time, before I had even looked for a place to stay, I got an email from some former parishioners who moved to Kentucky last year, the Hernandez family. “When we left we told you that you are always welcome to come and stay with us. The invitation is still open. We have plenty of space and a beautiful view of the hills.” So, although I was already dreaming of the hills of Georgia, Kentucky won out. I started planning my trip on Google Maps on the computer. I decided to take a leisurely route, staying off all interstate highways and traveling through the backroads into the Smokey Mountains. I told Kevin that, if he didn’t mind my lack of definite plans, I would just drive until I wanted to stop along the way and wouldn’t set a particular day to arrive. He was fine with that, so off I went. My first stop was in Lake Wales just outside of Orlando. Fr. Marshall was back in Florida visiting his mother and taking care of her for a while as her husband had died and she needed some assistance. We had a great chat and caught up on all sorts of things. He said to tell everyone that he misses you and prays for you daily. Toward late afternoon I said farewell to them and resumed my trip. Instead of using Google Maps I entered my destination into Waze, set it to “avoid highways and tolls,” and trusted that it would do what I programmed it to do. I was wrong. After driving for more than an hour it told me to get on Interstate 75 heading north. Strange. I knew I had told it to avoid highways. But Waze is pretty good at recognizing closed roads and detours, so I reasoned that maybe this was just a temporary thing. Sure enough, as soon as I got on the interstate it told me to exit at the next exit. I exited but at the bottom of the ramp it told me to get back on the interstate. Nope. I pulled over to check out the planned route. I should have done that earlier. It showed me taking I-75 all the way to Kentucky and getting off each exit and then immediately getting back on. Only a computer can be so moronic as to think that that is the proper way of following the “avoid highways” command. I unclicked the “avoid” boxes. It took me on I-75 all the way, with no exiting. I clicked the “avoid highways” box again and it took me all the way on I-75 but exiting and re-entering every off- and on-ramp. Nothing I did could get it to change. So I went back to Google Maps (both are owned by Google, by the way) and, sure enough, found that app working properly. I also concluded that I had gone quite a long distance out of my way to get to that stupid interstate that I was trying to avoid in the first place. I would have been better off with a real map! Maybe next time... By now it was time to eat and get a hotel and I was still in Florida. I sure am glad I didn’t plan my route step by step and make hotel reservations in advance, for I was quite content to just call it a day and be happy about being wherever I found myself. I slept for about 10 hours that night and was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep too well the next night. I shouldn’t have worried about that, either, for I slept for 9-10 hours each night for the first five or six days of my trip! In the morning I checked Waze and it still wanted to direct me to interstate highways getting on and off and on again. I still haven’t figured that out but haven’t bothered checking it since. Most of the time I took back roads that led from one tiny town to another and every once in a while the navigation system would take me down tiny roads within the tiny towns, roads that I never would have traversed if I was following a paper map. Some of them were delightful. Some were downright scary. But all were part of the adventure. As I said, I wanted to drive through the Great Smokey Mountains so I had to change the destination on the GPS so that Maps wouldn’t bypass that area. I took my time and many times had no clue as to where I was or where I was going to end up, and that was exactly the way I wanted it. It was a very relaxing few days of driving and sightseeing. I didn’t listen to much news (someone told me that Joe Biden was not running again, but that is about the extent of my keeping up with current propaganda). I didn’t respond to emails. I prayed a lot of rosaries. I loved every minute of the journey. Next week I will probably write about actually getting somewhere. With prayers for your holiness, Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka 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 |
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