Next Steps

Two weeks ago I wrote about the possibility of St. Lawrence Church hosting the area Schoenstatt Shrine. Hopefully you had a chance to discuss the possibility with family, friends, and fellow parishioners. Earlier this month, the Schoenstatt Diocesan Council voted unanimously to move forward in discerning this possibility. That means the ball is in our court.

With this in mind, we will have a Question and Answer session regarding the Schoenstatt Shrine on Tuesday, October 25 at 6:30pm in the St. Lawrence Hall. This meeting is open to all parishioners. It is open to all because whatever way we move forward affects all of our parishes in the long run. Please revisit my bulletin article from October 2 and come with any questions or thoughts about the matter.

We are also approaching the Wax Museum event to narrow down our future patron saint. The Wax Museums will be held on Sunday, November 6. It will begin immediately following the 9:30am Mass at St. Joseph and then at 2:30pm at Immaculate Conception. Please mark your calendar. If you attend the wax museum, you’ll be allowed to vote on our potential patron, narrowing our list from nine to three.

I’m thinking especially about our wax museum because one of our potential patrons, Pope St. John Paul II, has a feast day this week. His feast day is October 22. Normally a feast day commemorates the day the saint died, but his commemorates the day in 1978 that he was inaugurated as the pope.

As we embark on this discernment process, please ask for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us. Ultimately we want to follow God’s plan for our new parish. Let’s all implore God, “Reveal to us our potential patron! Help us, O Lord, to follow Your plan.” May we have ears to hear and hearts to perceive the ways God is leading us.

Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson