Departure, Arrival, Windows, and Planning
During the summer, sometimes it feels like there isn’t too much happening that needs to be included in the bulletin. Other weeks, it feels like there isn’t enough room for all of the information that needs communicated. This is one of those jam-packed weeks.
First, Angie Woodruff has decided to step away from her role at our parishes at the end of the month. Angie has been an incredible team member. She consistently brings joy and warmth to everything that she does. Her joyful spirit is a blessing to our parishes. For over eight years she has generously served parishioners who were grieving the loss of a loved one, welcomed new parishioners, and reached out to the sick.
It has been wonderful to work alongside Angie for the past seven years. She brings an incredible warmth to every room she walks into. Sometimes this warmth comes from her decorations. Even more than that, it comes from her attention to every individual with whom she is speaking. We wish her abundant blessings in her next adventure.
Secondly, Archbishop Dennis Schnurr will be celebrating the 4:30pm Mass at St. Joseph Church next Saturday, July 29. Every summer, Archbishop celebrates three Masses to thank the donors of the annual Catholic Ministries Appeal. One Mass is in the Cincinnati-area, another in the Dayton-area, and one in the northern part of the Archdiocese. This year is our turn to host the Archbishop. I invite everyone to come to this Mass and thank God for the outpouring generosity of the People of God. It will be a typical 4:30pm Mass, except there will be a light reception in the PLC after Mass.
Everyone is invited to the reception. All donors to the CMA are invited to this Mass; please be hospitable to our visitors.
Thirdly, St. Lawrence Church is currently collecting donations to restore their stained glass windows. The windows are in need of new storm windows, new frames, and restoration of the stained glass. A letter has gone out to every parishioner of St. Lawrence detailing the process. It may be a multi-year process based on how much money can be raised. Right now we are hoping to raise enough money to complete the storm windows, which is the most immediate issue. The storm windows will cost around $108,000. The parish has some money in savings, but we still need to raise a little over half of that amount.
Finally, this upcoming week is Naturally Family Planning Awareness week. Pope St. Paul VI released the document Humanae Vitae on July 25, 1968. Humanae Vitae reconfirmed the ancient Catholic teaching about the immorality of contraceptives. In the encyclical letter, Paul VI made some bold predictions about the pervasiveness of contraceptives. He predicted that if the use of contraception grew: “it would lead to conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality,” a “loss of respect of women,” an abuse of power of rich nations over poor nations, and lead humans to think that they have unlimited dominion over their own bodies. While these predictions seemed outlandish 55 years ago, they seem to have all come true.
If you are curious about the topic about contraception and Natural Family Planning, I would encourage you investigate it thoroughly. More than just being “Catholic approved,” NFP follows the biology of women and it works with her body, not disrupting her hormonal cycle. Also NFP builds deeper communication for spouses. Couples discuss their openness to life every single month. NFP isn’t easy, but almost all the couples that practice it highly recommend it.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson
