How Is it Already August!?
Greetings everyone on this wonderful Feast of the Transfiguration. We take a break from the Sundays of Ordinary Time because August 6th is the annual Feast of the Transfiguration. Whenever it falls on a Sunday it supersedes the Sunday in Ordinary Time. There are a couple other feasts of the Lord that trump Sundays in ordinary time like the Presentation of the Lord on February 2 and the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14. So this is a special occasion and we should all celebrate this incredible feast of Jesus Christ. Today we remember his countenance shining like the sun which reveals His divinity.
In the afternoon of August 6, we have the much-anticipated ice cream social. In some ways it will be a back to school bash as we will offer blessings upon students’ backpacks. Also it will be the farewell for Christopher Buschur who has been our seminarian intern for the last year. It was wonderful to have Christopher as the seminarian intern. He really challenged himself to get to know life in the parish. He embarked upon many new experiences and learned boatloads. He has a special care for the elderly and isolated. Every time I visit the homebound, they discuss Christopher’s visits and his kindness. Christopher will be around for a couple weeks before he heads back to the seminary later this month.
Speaking of farewells, Nate Hanson will be playing his final Sunday Masses at Immaculate Conception and St. Lawrence next weekend. Nate has been the organist for two and a half years and he began when he was just 16 years old. He has grown a lot over the last couple years and we are grateful for his service. This fall he will begin studying organ performance at Duquesne University. It has been a great blessing to have him. It isn’t easy to find an organist these days and we were blessed to have a young man step up to accompany the music at our parishes. Please join me in praying for Nate in the next stage of his journey.
This means that we will be welcoming a new music director at St. Lawrence and Immaculate Conception beginning with the Solemnity of the Assumption (more on that later). Anthony Moeder has been hired by our parishes after he was unanimously recommended by the hiring committee. Anthony will keep his current job as a school counselor as he takes this new role. Previously he has subbed at various parishes in the area. He and his family have been attending our parishes for the last year or so, and we are blessed to have him on board. Please join me in welcoming Anthony to our parishes.
Finally, I’ll conclude this article the same way that I began, discussing a liturgical feast day. Tuesday, August 15 is the Solemnity of the Assumption, and it is a holy day of obligation. During this feast day we celebrate the fact that Mary (not Jesus) was assumed body and soul into heaven when the course of her earthly life had passed. Sometimes this feast is confused with the Ascension of Jesus into heaven which occurred forty days after Easter. August 15th’s feast day is about Mary’s Assumption. Also that evening we will have our annual candlelit Marian procession through the streets of Botkins after the 7:30pm Mass on August 15. Of course, everyone is invited.
Have a blessed Feast of the Transfiguration.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson
