Oops! And Other Things

From the Pastor:    Oops! And Other Things

       It is not a good idea to be one’s own proofreader, but that is a necessary thing most of the time. In my article about the 1962 rules of fast and abstinence, I somehow inserted part of the “partial abstinence” rules into the “complete abstinence” rules. The corrected version with the correction in bold, is this (although I am my own proofreader once again, so I may have to do yet another correction!): COMPLETE ABSTINENCE, which forbids the eating of meat, and soup or gravy made from meat, is required on: all Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, the Vigil of the Assumption, and the Vigil of Christmas. (Current: only Ash Wednesday, Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday.) People who read the “oops” version knew something was wrong when “complete abstinence” allowed meat eating! Nicely, they didn’t bring it up to me, probably because those who point out typos and other little mistakes in the bulletin usually hear my response, “Thank you! We need a volunteer with your talent to take on the task of putting the bulletin together each week. When can you start?” That is usually the end of the complaints! Of course, this one was more than a little typo, so I am glad to print a retraction. Don’t eat meat or meat products on days of complete abstinence!
       On a different topic, some of the newer parishioners didn’t understand the complete intent of the ECCW’s “Prayers and Pennies for Sisters and Semmies” cans which we encouraged them to take home. A few cans came back the first week. One man I spoke with thought that it was just a collection, like the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal, so he put some money in it and handed it right back. I pointed to the photos on the can showcasing the young men and women from Epiphany Parish who are currently in various stages of formation. Currently, we have four men and five women studying, praying, and discerning their Religious vocation in various Religious Orders. Both the number and the individuals vary year to year as some discern that Religious life is not their calling, others eagerly enter to begin the process, and some “graduate” through ordination or vows. We ask for prayers for them all year but during Lent, we put a special focus on them with these containers. We ask that you place the can in the middle of the dining room table, or your “prayer space” in your house, or wherever the family gathers on a daily basis where they can talk about vocations, pray for those in formation, donate money to their expenses as they continue their discernment, and, while doing so, perhaps even discuss personal vocations among family members. Seeing others joyfully in formation to be Brothers, Sisters, or Priests helps instill a sense of longing to listen to God’s call and answer in a way pleasing to Him.
       The vocation of most people will be married life. Seeing that as a vocation helps to ward off temptations to enter marriage for the lesser reasons to get married, such as “just doing what everyone else is doing,” or “I never heard of any other options,” or just plain ol’ lust. (It can also remind husbands and wives that their marriage is a chosen vocation, not to be treated lightly or discarded when married life seems too hard) Seeing people from our own parish (and most parishes don’t have anyone at all in formation, so we are very blessed in this regard) who have made the leap of faith to say “Here am I, Lord” and give up all worldly desires in order to love Him above all things, is quite a way of seeing a religious vocation as a blessing to be accepted joyfully! So, pray daily for these young men and women, talk about vocations, and pray that the donation you make for this appeal will help the Church and the world more than any of us can possibly imagine. As an aside, it seems that a good number of cans in previous years never came back. Please remember that we have to purchase these cans, so every lost one has a financial cost. A can returned empty is better than a can thrown away.
       Since I mentioned the Bishop’s Catholic Ministry Appeal above, now is a good time to once again thank all of you who donated to it last year. We met and exceeded our goal and the Bishop will use that money (for the projects you chose) for diocesan expenses that he explains in the literature he sends to all registered parishioners each year. This year’s CMA is underway already. It is a yearly collection so it never actually disappears. Kind of like an electric bill. And just about as important to pay, I might add, except this one pleases the Bishop more! Our assigned goal, pledges, and donations are listed each week elsewhere in the bulletin. This year’s goal has only modestly increased, to $128,653.00. Allow me to gush over how welcome this is compared to the past few years’ drastic increases, the same way government officials exuberantly tout the current decrease in the increasing rate of inflation. Our increase shows that we are a strong parish. The smallness of the increase shows that other parishes may finally be rebounding from their ghastly (and largely self-inflicted) covid numbers, which is a great relief for everyone who cares about the souls lost due to clerical mismanagement of the Church during those past years. Perhaps the lost sheep are finally returning to the fold. Anyway, your CMA donations can be made online or via the envelopes in the back of the church if you haven’t already used the one sent to you in the mail.

With prayers for your holiness,
Rev. Fr. Edwin Palka