Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Folks,

This weekend we have the blessing of a dozen new altar servers which is always an inspiration to see the enthusiasm with which they undertake this service. Let me share with you a story of a young man serving at the altar. His mother asked me if he could go through the training, despite his only being in third grade. And so he did with great enthusiasm. Over the course of his first year, he couldn’t stand still, would fidget, and sometimes when holding the missal it was impossible for me to read. As the next years training arrived, I thought, “never again a third grader…too much of a distraction.” But the next day his mother came to me and told me this: He had just had a dream. He was in the church with me, dressed in his ‘priest clothes,’ fighting off the ‘bad guys’ who were trying to attack Jesus. She also related that on their 3 hour drive to Grandma’s, he would pray the rosary non-stop. She thanked me for being a positive influence on her son.

This was 10 years ago. Now this young man is joining the marines. Despite his family moving across the country, we have kept in contact, and he was excited to let me know how his life journey is progressing.

Being a pastor means being a spiritual father. I thank God for the privilege of serving you in this way, and look forward to the graces that God will work in our lives together.

Because altar serving has long been connected with promoting vocations, I want to continue to emphasize this. St. Mary’s is blessed with very capable female altar servers. In order to make the vocational encouragement even more explicit, we are going to add a black scapular to the vesture that female altar servers wear. This is being done to visually make the connection with the religious life to which young ladies are called. Boys will still dress like priests, girls like religious sisters.

If you were at the server installation ceremony today (10:30am), you also noticed another way to make the connection more explicit. Each of the male servers was vested by me with their surplice, while Sister Susan Louise vested the female servers with the scapular. It is an important day for each as they embark on this journey of service, and I am hopeful they will remember this day with joy.

Please encourage vocations. Generous prayer, faithfulness, and service are the fertilizer that make vocations grow in our families.

Pax,

Fr. John Mosimann

Dear Folks,

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving  and that your giving thanks lasts all year. This  Sunday we begin the season of advent and thus all of our frenzied preparations for Christmas.

I hope you picked up a copy of the Magnificat  Advent Companion that we set out for you to have a daily assist to your prayers.  I will share with you one of my favorite
Advent books: The Reed of God by Caryll Houselander. She beautifully builds the image of the Blessed Mother as a reed: empty and open to becoming an instrument of God. How do we percieve emptiness? The virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not barren emptiness, but a beautiful receptivity to the Lord.

This thanksgiving weekend we are grateful for the abundance of God’s blessings, and let us move forward with an eye to avoiding the excesses of our culture by focussing on the life living, virginal, receptivity of the Blessed Mother. The more generously we can imitate her this Advent, the more fully we can help bring Jesus into the world this Christmas.

Pax,

Fr. Mosimann

Dear Folks,

A Blessed Thanksgiving to you! On thanksgiving day, there will only be one Mass, and it will be at 10:00 a.m. in the Church. So let me say that I am thankful for:

1. St. Mary’s Generosity and Discipleship—too many examples to list!

2. Our Parish Staff: we have so many hard working, generous, and kind staff.

3. Spiritual Fatherhood: it is a great joy to see souls enkindled with the fire of Divine Love.

4. My Family: thanks Mom & Dad for helping to light the fire in number 3.

5. My Vocation to the Priesthood – to quote St. Augustine, “with you I am a Christian, for you I am a priest.”

6. Brown Rice, Turkey, Apple Pie, Sesame Chicken, Ribeye Steaks, Chocolate Muffins – this list could go on and on!

7. Military Families – so many sacrifices to keep us safe and free.

8. Simple words of support and Kindness – You never know when your gratitude will lift someone’s soul.

9. Jesus: He is everything and without Him there are no number 1 to number 9.

10. The wisdom to end this list that could go on all year.

Candlelight Masses 7:01pm Sundays in Advent:

Just for fun, and because I love candles, and to carry on a tradition that I began several years ago, the 7:01pm Mass each of the 4 Sundays of Advent will be by  candlelight only. I have occasionally celebrated candlelight Masses before, and had folks say, “I wish we could do that more often.” Given the emphasis in Advent on “the people in darkness have seen a great light,” I figured why not give it a go. Candlelight Mass means that the lights will be off in the Church, and illumination will be mostly from the candles on the altar. These Sunday evening Candlelight Masses will only be during advent, and the 7:01pm Mass will get the lights back on after Christmas. Please check it out if you wish for a fresh and especially contemplative take on the Sacrifice of the Mass! This will begin next week!!

Pax,

Fr. Mosimann