August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a Holy Day of Obligation. The Mass schedule is:
August 14: 6 and 7:30pm Vigil Masses
August 15: 6:30am, 9am, 12pm, 4pm Latin Novus Ordo, 6pm, 7:30pm Bilingual
Dear Folks,
Every feast of the Assumption, I share with you the story of my grandmother visiting—and how, when she left, I got up in gratitude to say goodbye. I’ll leave that story for the Masses. It deeply resonates with me why we must come to Mass to bid farewell to Our Lady as she is assumed into heaven. We have an extensive schedule of Masses, as printed in the bulletin here.
And because this Holy Day falls on a Friday, that means added traffic. So let me renew my exhortation to be good neighbors. As good neighbors, we must be mindful that our parking needs can—and sometimes do—annoy those who live near the church. If you worry that you can’t go to the store on weekends because there will be no parking near your home… yeah… that’s difficult.
There are times when our parking spills into the neighborhood and becomes a source of frustration for our neighbors. As pastor, I’ve tried to ease this by adding an evening Mass or two at Holy Cross on Ash Wednesday— one of our most congested days.
Additionally, it seems that some folks try to reenact Our Lady flying to heaven on the wings of angels… by flying out of the parking lot at angelic speeds. Our haste does not justify unsafe driving through residential side streets.
So what can we do?
1. 2. Please use the church parking lot as much as possible. The town recently added several spots along William Street in front of the church—prime spaces that don’t impact our neighbors. But too many people still park along other residential streets even when there’s space in the lot—usually to allow for a quicker exit.
When exiting onto Stafford Avenue, please remember: you’re in a residential neighborhood, with children at play.
Let’s be good neighbors. Charity begins with the Lord—and continues as we exit the parking lot into all the places we go in daily life.
pax (et bonum)!
Father John Mosimann
Dear Folks,
I can’t believe it’s August! I remember dreading this month as a child because all the “back to school” shopping ads reminded me that summer would soon end. But the promise of new folders, highlighters, and notebooks? The novelty of the new always encouraged me to start the year with good resolutions and renewed enthusiasm!
Yes, Holy Cross Academy will be back open in less than three weeks, and—if all continues to go well—we’ll be in our newly expanded middle school and cafeteria! So much hard work, planning, and teamwork are making this possible.
Here are two (or more!) things to keep on your radar as we approach reopening:
1 — Bishop Burbidge will be joining us to celebrate the school’s feast day and to bless the new facilities! Since the actual feast falls on a Sunday, the school will celebrate in anticipation on Thursday, September 11th.
2 — W e’re also planning the parish picnic for that weekend—Saturday, September 13th—so that all parishioners can celebrate, enjoy, and tour the new spaces! The picnic will include a scavenger hunt with prizes, and food will be served from the new cafeteria—so the buffet and lines won’t be out in the heat!
Please mark your calendars for Saturday the 13th to enjoy the full tour and celebration of the HCA expansion!
Last year, I didn’t start panicking about having construction cleared up before the students arrived until the last three days before school reopened! But those final days were a wild frenzy of cleaning and putting away power tools! Thankfully, we look to be on target this year—here’s praying all continues smoothly.
pax et bonum,
Father John Mosimann
Dear Folks,
Sharing with you a few pictures from a great night we had with the priests of our Deanery and the Bishop at the FredNats! Colonial Medicine—parishioner-owned and a FredNats sponsor—took wonderful care of us and hosted us in their suite at the ballpark for a game this week. Many folks from St. Mary’s and surrounding parishes stopped by to greet the Bishop, who even got a shout-out on the scoreboard in the 8th inning!
Which reminds me to encourage you to sign up for Parish Night at the Ballpark on August 22nd! It’s a Fireworks Friday, and there are two levels of tickets available:
$19 for a standard ticket in a St.Mary section OR
$38 for a ticket that includes a dinner buffet (hot dogs, burgers, potato salad, drinks )
It’s a great value, as purchased separately one would pay a lot more.
The priests were all smiles this week, especially after tasting the surprisingly good cookies! I hope you can join us! I’ll let the smiles on our faces be the rest of my “message” this week!
pax,
Father John Mosimann
