Conference. First Holy Communion. Other Stuff.

From the Pastor:    Conference. First Holy Communion. Other Stuff.

     Last weekend we hosted a conference featuring Michael Voris and two local speakers, Dr. David McKalip and Travis Ferguson. It was, even with short notice and without special advertising, a full house. Our Catholic Women’s group did a bang up job of taking care of every need, including setting up--and cleaning up--everything, from the social hall to the outdoor registration, to the parish room where lunch was served. They worked tirelessly (or, at least, selflessly) for two days before the conference, throughout the conference itself, and even after everyone else had gone home. Thank you, ladies! (I will not mention anyone by name, lest I leave out any of the women or their sons or husbands, whom they recruited to do some of the grunt work, too.) The speakers, from what I understand, gave wonderful presentations. (I had to miss most of it due to a funeral, but I heard exactly zero complaints, which is a miracle in itself, and received many, many compliments--as if I had anything to do with how well the speakers did!). The talks given by Michael Voris were recorded by his crew and should be available on his site (ChurchMilitant.com) within a few weeks, after editing is complete. The rest of the talks, as far as I know, were not recorded. Too bad. I wanted to hear them myself.
    On to different subjects. Although we have not yet entered into Holy Week (which is coming up next week) we are already planning for First Holy Communion, which will be two short weeks after Easter. This is a friendly reminder: We need baptism certificates for all children who are to receive their First Holy Communion (and, soon enough, Confirmation). If you somehow forgot to register your child for this sacrament and they are properly prepared, please go online to our parish webpage and fill out the needed information. First Holy Communion will take place this year on April 30. Confirmation is still scheduled for the day before Pentecost, June 3, at 1:00 pm, but we are still waiting to hear if Bishop Parkes will be able to celebrate it for us on that day. Get ready for a last minute change if he needs to adjust the schedule. Our now-retired bishop, thinking he would be too sickly to perform many Confirmations himself, had told the pastors to schedule Confirmations for any date/time they wished, as he would simply give each pastor delegation to confirm at his own parish (as happened here last year). So Bishop Parkes did not “inherit” a well-planned, orderly schedule! Now he is trying to fit in as many as possible. For us, he also has to learn the Traditional Rite of Confirmation, adding a small additional burden if he should be able to come. So now you can see one more reason to pray for him in his new assignment in our diocese!
     Time for yet another change of subject. The roof of the chapel has been leaking badly every time it rains, so we have a tarp over it. The roof of the old school, now used as meeting rooms, classrooms, etc., has long been leaking. The roof of the rectory, though not yet leaking, is the same age as the others. We have received quotes from many roofers and are finally getting everything in order to get the roofs replaced. We are, as of this writing, simply waiting on the diocese to give us permission to spend our money on something so desperately needed. The final cost will be (gulp) over $100,000. Thanks be to God we have the money in reserve, but we will need to build our reserve up once again to cover any further big projects like this, which is routine maintenance. So please check with God and find out if you are giving to His Church as He would have you give. I am not going to set up a special campaign or collection for this, as this is the type of thing that should be anticipated and saved for as part of regular budgeting, the same as you would do for your house. But this is a good time to remember that just meeting our daily expenses is not enough. There must always be money set aside for a rainy day. In the case of leaking roofs, the idiom becomes literal.
     Finally, get ready to fulfill Our Lady of Fatima’s requests for prayer on five consecutive First Saturdays, beginning in May. More information will be coming to you soon but mark your calendars already for the mornings of May 6, June 3, July 1, August 5 and September 2. The Adult Catechism Classes will be pushed back about 20-30 minutes those First Saturdays to accommodate what we have in store for you! (And the June 3 CCC classes might be canceled if the Bishop is coming for Confirmations that day. We will know more as we get closer.)
     Be sure to keep up with our parish facebook pages (Epiphany Families, Epiphany Homeschoolers, Help for the Amani Family, and AHG Troop FL 0106), and our website, EpiphanyTampa.com for news and information and scheduling at our parish. Or at least read the bulletin.

With prayers for your holiness,
Fr. Edwin Palka