Dear Family,
Two months after he was elected Pope on March 13, 2013, Pope Francis said the following in a homily on Holy Trinity Sunday:

"Today is the Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity.
The light of Eastertide and of Pentecost renews in us every year the joy and amazement of faith.
Let us recognize that God is not something vague, our God is not a God “spray,” he is tangible.
He is not abstract but has a name: “God is love”.
His is not a sentimental, emotional kind of love but
the love of the Father who is the origin of all life,
the love of the Son who dies on the Cross and is raised,
the love of the Spirit who renews human beings and the world.
Thinking that God is love does us so much good, because it teaches us to love,
to give ourselves to others as Jesus gave himself to us and walks with us.
Jesus walks beside us on the road through life."

Dear Family,
It is (last) Thursday, and I’m in a very quiet office. Annie has Thursdays off. (She needs a little time to recover from the 300 hours she gives us on the other days of the week.) Honey, Annie’s dog, is also off so I do not have her personal announcements of each person as they arrive. Sometimes, Honey insists that we know someone so well, that she doesn’t stop announcing their arrival until they are departing. I never knew long-haired dachshunds could be so beautiful and so loud.

Having this incredible quiet gives me a much appreciated moment to really hear the scriptures. As I look at the readings for the Feast of Pentecost, it’s wonderful how they say it all: We are gifted with the Holy Spirit who enlivens all we do.

I’m trying to resist the temptation to think about the Energizer Bunny. Whoops! I guess didn’t resist hard enough.

Dear Family,
I originally began this Twitch on May 13th. I was trying to get a head start. Then the world exploded. First the shootings at the market in Buffalo and then the added horror of Uvalde...

I am numb and have been asking the Spirit to help me think straight and open myself to God’s direction. I’m not just talking about writing this Twitch, but also some vision as to how the gospel speaks to us in all this. I got one answer, or at least the beginning of an answer.

When the Buffalo shooting happened, America magazine published online a compelling article by Nicholas D. Sawicki. I want to recommend that you spend some time in prayer, and then go online and read it. Simply search for <Nicholas D. Sawicki>. It will take you to Sawicki references. Click the one that has AMERICA after his name. Then click on the first article entitled: “Three questions White Catholics must ask themselves after the racist shooting in Buffalo”

Dear Family,
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Fridays was one of the activities that got put on hold with so many other things as a result of COVID-19. Exposition is something we can safely resume. I am putting out sign-up sheets so that I can get some idea of how many people would be willing to help us restore this important prayer ministry to our parish.

We’ll divide the day into half hour slots. We’ll also beef up the prayer aid materials. I made someone mad a few years back by asking that they didn’t have oral prayer with others when they were visiting (e.g. the rosary.) I think we can handle that by designating one of the time slots for the rosary if some wish to join together. I’ll “consult the powers that be.” I just don’t want to begin the practice again without attendance.

Let me reflect a little on why we do it.