Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

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

Dear Folks,

You may notice that I always sign my bulletin notes or emails with “Pax” at the end. It’s a little odd—and a little humbling—to see others pick up and use this greeting in emails, as has happened in parishes where I’ve served.

So where does it come from?

The Latin phrase “Pax et Bonum!” was used by St. Francis of Assisi as his common greeting to those he met throughout the day. It can be translated as “Peace and Goodness. ” This is a theologically rich phrase—its depth is not reduced to a casual “peace, bro.” The bonum (goodness) spoken of refers most specifically to God, who is the supreme good. In the words of Our Lord: “No one is good but God alone” (Mk 10:18). All goodness is a smallshare in the infinite goodness of God. Thus, the greeting is truly a wish of abundant blessings upon the person encountered.

The meaning of this phrase struck me deeply in 2000 when I was leading a group of pilgrims to World Y outh Day in Rome. I had never had a devotion to St. Francis prior to that trip. The version of St. Francis I was presented with growing up in the ’70s seemed to be a wimpy projection of various secular values of that era. However, when I walked the same cobbled streets St. Francis once walked in Assisi, heard his words, and prayed at his tomb, I encountered a very different saint. This man loved God with his whole heart, mind, and soul—holding nothing back. Because he had forsaken riches to serve the Lord, he was able to recognize the providence of God wondrously in all of His created works. Hence, we know him as the lover of animals. So, when I sign my emails with “Pax, ” I do so as a brief nod to St. Francis.

Sometimes I’ll use other language variants of the Latin Pax, like: French (Paix), Italian (Pace), Spanish (Paz), or Hebrew (Shalom). But always with the same intent: may you enjoy the peace and blessing that can only come from the Lord of the Universe.

pax (et bonum),

Father John Mosimann

Pastor

St. Mary will have a special collection on July 26 and July 27 for the flood relief efforts in Texas.  All checks should be made payable to St. Mary Catholic Church.  You may also donate online at https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/