Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Did you know that growing up, Pope Saint John Paul 2 lived right next to the parish church? He would stop in daily and pray at the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

I thought of this when a teacher recently sent me a picture of one of our 2nd graders kneeling in the hallway to say a prayer in front of the new chapel in our parish school.

Did you know that we are now privileged to have the Blessed Sacrament continuously reserved in the school chapel? We can never overestimate the value of Our Lord’s real presence in our school. Why do we exist? Catholic schools exist to educated the minds and form the souls of our children in the Love of Our Lord. Now, the children are learning to make reverence every time they pass by the chapel!

What tender love for Our Lady the future saint learned in front of the altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (pictured below from my 2017 pilgrimage). May our parish, especially our children, likewise learn the perpetual help of the Queen of Heaven! I also included a picture of Pope St. JP2’s favorite cake, just for fun!

Pax,

Father John Mosimann

Three Things:

1. The Feast of the Holy Cross was Tuesday this past week and is the patron feast of our parish school. I am so proud of the work, energy, and dedication of the faculty and staff of our parish school in making this day something the kids will remember, treasure, and celebrate! I encouraged the staff to consider how we could celebrate the Feast Day with prayer, recreation, service, and feasting. The staff took that idea and built a whole day around the celebration: Holy Mass, service projects, adoration, extra recess, and even a Kona Ice Truck – providing delicious cold treats!

2. “That Man is you”. At the invitation of Fr. Koehr, our parish has embraced this program to forming men in faith and family leadership! Last Saturday more than 200 men came together for the first session and we are excited for the possibilities for our parish family! I am told that registration has cleared 300! It’s not too late to join – all men of the parish are welcome and we have plenty of room! Perseverance is everything: May the Lord bring to completion this great work that He has begun in the souls of many of our parish fathers and brothers.

3. Eucharistic Miracles. Mark your calendar for Friday & Saturday October 22 & 23. Block it off and get ready for an amazing, informative, and transformative talk. We are privileged to be able to host Dr. Ricardo Castanon Gomez who was asked by the church to investigate an alleged Eucharistic Miracle in Buenos Aires in the 90’s. His investigation of this and other miracles led him to conversion from staunch atheism to Catholicism and now powerfully gives witness on the scientific proof of our Lord’s presence in the Eucharist! With Our Lord opening doors, we are even going to be able to host this talk at the new FredNats Stadium! A Session for schools students on Friday, and on Saturday for adults in both English and in Spanish. More information next week.

The Lord is doing great things in our parish: rejoice and be glad!

pax,

Father John Mosimann