Odds and Ends
Confirmation, finally.
As you may or may not know, we had to postpone our Confirmation because of ice. It was a good call. Luckily for us, Bishop Rivituso could not have been more accommodating to us and we rescheduled immediately for this Wednesday evening at 7 pm. Because there are so many eighth graders from both our PSR pro- gram and our day school, we had to limit the number of people who could attend. (That’s a good thing, by the way.) But all of our parish should keep our young people in their prayers this week.
I think that our eighth graders have gone through some incredibly difficult times in their lives. (Not Ukraine difficult, but challenging nonetheless.) In case you are unaware, teenage depression has been skyrocketing over the past few years, in large part because of social media. It is tough to grow up when you are constantly bombarded with images of the so-called perfect life, the perfect body. The trouble is, of course, that absolutely no one can live up to those ideals and expectations. So, obviously, you are going to fall short. That is why I tell students that if they really want to be happy they should jettison their social media or at least limit its usage.
Add to that mix, the strain of the past two years dealing with Covid. To be completely honest, some students reveled in on-line learning. They dislike their classmates and so if they can get an education without dealing with all the knuckleheads in their class, they are good to go. But I believe a majority of the students missed interaction with their peers and many of them floundered with remote learning.
Add to that, the normal chaos, disorder, turmoil and confusion of the teenage years and you can see what our young people are up against. HOWEVER… we need to start recognizing that our kids are more resilient than we think they are and that, outside of clinical mental illness, they will weather the storm of maturity and will be stronger for it.
First Communions!!
On Thursday night, our second graders will have a night of reflection in preparation for their first communions later on in the spring. We will have two celebrations on consecutive Sunday afternoons, April 24 and May 1st. Please keep these children in your prayers as well.
ACA
We are gearing up for the Annual Catholic Appeal which will occur this spring as well. I have not had a normal ACA campaign since I have been here at Holy. (Thanks, Covid!) Mary Smith has organized this for our parish for many years. Mary is retiring from this job this year (Thank you Mary!!!), so we are looking for someone to take over for her. So, if I approach you to volunteer… For the first 36 years of my priesthood, I was a direct recipient of the goodness of the ACA having worked in an Archdiocesan high school. There are so many other projects that the ACA funds, helping people throughout our area. The parishioners of Holy Redeemer have always been incredibly generous helping the poor with our Vincent de Paul, our sister parish in Haiti and with any number of needs that present themselves. I am confident that this year, you will respond generously once again to this vital need.
DMI Update
As of the writing of this article (Monday morning) we are getting close to 500 responses to the Disciple Maker Index (almost 70% of our normal weekly Mass attendance). The portal to respond closes on April 4th. A couple of reminders. First, every family member of age can respond. It is not just one per family. Second, this is only the first step in this process. After all the surveys are completed, a group of parishioners will join me in evaluating the results, which we will then pass on to the Archdiocese. They will compile all those results and the Archbishop will present a first draft to the priests and the Pastoral Council on August 19th. That plan will then go back to the parishes for response. By May 2023, a final proposal will come.
School families should also be aware that there will be a separate survey for both day school families as well as PSR families. It is extremely vital that these fami- lies get involved with this survey. I will give you more information on this as I get it.
Fish Fry
Goodness, how I missed you!! We are sponsoring a Fish Fry on April 1st (no fooling). Please come and enjoy!!
TRIDUUM
It is never too early to start planning to come to Holy Week Services. We will have our normal Sunday Mass- es for Palm/Passion Sunday. There will be no morning Masses on Holy Thursday or Good Friday. We will have the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening at 7 pm, the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at 7 pm on Friday evening. We will also have Stations of the Cross at 2 pm on Good Friday afternoon. And then, finally we will celebrate our Easter Vigil at 8 pm on Saturday evening beginning with our New Fire Ceremony weather permitting. We have no catechumens or candidates this year, but it will still be an impressive celebration of the Lord’s Resurrection. Easter will have the three nor- mal Mass times.
Father Kevin