From the Pastor
April/08/2010
Thank you to the many kind people who visited us over the past Easter weekend (the busiest time of year for church services and record attendance) and supported our church through their generous donations and collections.
The church was packed at many of the Masses, and parking seemed tougher than usual. So, I tip my hat to those kind and loyal volunteers who did their best to try to keep the great volume of cars flowing in and out after the most crowded of our Easter Masses, or who offered their services in such a way as to lessen an already difficult
situation. Thank you for being so patient, too, when the bridge went up and the train came through, causing a real delay in arrivals for Mass because the previous crowd couldn’t leave so quickly.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see these crowds coming to Mass each Sunday? But, alas, we know that many are only Easter-time visitors – some for good reasons, too. We appreciate their support of our parish while they are with
us, especially the many seasonal snowbirds who are a tremendous asset to us. We will miss you until you return to us. May God bless all of you who support us while you’re here, especially those who generously support the Diocesan Services Appeal!
Thank you to all those workers and volunteers who helped us prepare for such beautiful and spiritually uplifting Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Our maintenance staff (guided by Jay Flood), our volunteer grounds crew (headed by Chris Grant), the entire Skinner family, Ana Kenefick, and Gene Montfort (decorating the church), seminary students Mark Gobeo and Wesler Hilaire, and several other parishioners stayed very many extra hours in church and on the campus to give that special “extra time and effort.” Our mellifluous-sounding choir (with Bill Stafford & Mark Galsky at the helm) did its part to enhance each of the liturgies. Our teens did a reverent and dignified rendition of the Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening. The many attendees had to be deeply moved by the presentation, as several related later to me.
This weekend unfolds in a relatively new feast in the Church known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks to the intervention of the late Pope John Paul II, we have this celebration of the unlimited love and mercy of Our Lord, shown to us through His divine revelations to Saint Sister Faustina. While each Mass this Sunday is a celebration of Divine Mercy in itself, there will be a special Holy Hour in the afternoon in the church at 3:00 p.m., concluding a nine-day novena. Our weekly visiting transitional Deacon Chris Le Blanc is approaching his priestly ordination (June 5th) in Tallahassee. He’ll still in service with us as a deacon for just this weekend and the next one, too. Then it’s off to the required retreat and time for his immediate preparation for his ordination. “Deacon Chris” will then return to us as “Father Chris,” to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in our parish on June 20th, followed by a reception for all our parishioners in his honor in our Parish Center. I certainly hope you plan to be with us for that memorable
occasion.
On Thursday, April 15th, we will begin our 70th year as a parish!! It’s hard to believe that we have aged that much, but it is so. Checking out our parish website, you can trace the history of the growth of our wonderful parish from its earliest moments as it emerged from Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, and later gave birth to several other neighboring parishes. So much has happened here in the span of these years, and we give thanks to God for the spiritual benefits of this pilgrimage. May He grant us seventy more years plus, and may His love continue
to be poured out upon us through the work of so many generous parishioners and great volunteers!
The feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), our parish patron, is usually observed on April 5th (though this past Monday, we observed Day 2 of the Easter Week celebrations). Vincent, the son of an Englishman who settled in Valencia, Spain, and married his Spanish-born bride there, has been named the patron of plumbers and builders. He entered the Dominican Order at age 17, distinguished himself as a scholar, and became an outstanding preacher and philosopher. He had quite notable success in arousing Christians to repentance in Spain, France and Italy, and he also converted literally thousands to Roman Catholicism. Among his many converts was the Rabbi Paul, who later became bishop of Cartagena, Spain. He did his best to try to arrest what Church historians refer to as “The Great Western Schism” (when there were two, then three claimants to the papal throne at one time), but to little avail. Still, he continued to serve God and His Church very faithfully, influencing so many people in a positive way. Incidentally, Vincent’s very own brother was chosen to head the great monastery of Grand Chartreuse in France, the country in which Vincent died after being worn out by his many successful preaching labors. Shortly after his death, a spontaneous popular cult arose about him, and he was later declared a saint in 1455.
[And you think we have it rough in the Church in this day and age!]
Very Rev. Canon Tom
The church was packed at many of the Masses, and parking seemed tougher than usual. So, I tip my hat to those kind and loyal volunteers who did their best to try to keep the great volume of cars flowing in and out after the most crowded of our Easter Masses, or who offered their services in such a way as to lessen an already difficult
situation. Thank you for being so patient, too, when the bridge went up and the train came through, causing a real delay in arrivals for Mass because the previous crowd couldn’t leave so quickly.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see these crowds coming to Mass each Sunday? But, alas, we know that many are only Easter-time visitors – some for good reasons, too. We appreciate their support of our parish while they are with
us, especially the many seasonal snowbirds who are a tremendous asset to us. We will miss you until you return to us. May God bless all of you who support us while you’re here, especially those who generously support the Diocesan Services Appeal!
Thank you to all those workers and volunteers who helped us prepare for such beautiful and spiritually uplifting Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Our maintenance staff (guided by Jay Flood), our volunteer grounds crew (headed by Chris Grant), the entire Skinner family, Ana Kenefick, and Gene Montfort (decorating the church), seminary students Mark Gobeo and Wesler Hilaire, and several other parishioners stayed very many extra hours in church and on the campus to give that special “extra time and effort.” Our mellifluous-sounding choir (with Bill Stafford & Mark Galsky at the helm) did its part to enhance each of the liturgies. Our teens did a reverent and dignified rendition of the Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening. The many attendees had to be deeply moved by the presentation, as several related later to me.
This weekend unfolds in a relatively new feast in the Church known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks to the intervention of the late Pope John Paul II, we have this celebration of the unlimited love and mercy of Our Lord, shown to us through His divine revelations to Saint Sister Faustina. While each Mass this Sunday is a celebration of Divine Mercy in itself, there will be a special Holy Hour in the afternoon in the church at 3:00 p.m., concluding a nine-day novena. Our weekly visiting transitional Deacon Chris Le Blanc is approaching his priestly ordination (June 5th) in Tallahassee. He’ll still in service with us as a deacon for just this weekend and the next one, too. Then it’s off to the required retreat and time for his immediate preparation for his ordination. “Deacon Chris” will then return to us as “Father Chris,” to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in our parish on June 20th, followed by a reception for all our parishioners in his honor in our Parish Center. I certainly hope you plan to be with us for that memorable
occasion.
On Thursday, April 15th, we will begin our 70th year as a parish!! It’s hard to believe that we have aged that much, but it is so. Checking out our parish website, you can trace the history of the growth of our wonderful parish from its earliest moments as it emerged from Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, and later gave birth to several other neighboring parishes. So much has happened here in the span of these years, and we give thanks to God for the spiritual benefits of this pilgrimage. May He grant us seventy more years plus, and may His love continue
to be poured out upon us through the work of so many generous parishioners and great volunteers!
The feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), our parish patron, is usually observed on April 5th (though this past Monday, we observed Day 2 of the Easter Week celebrations). Vincent, the son of an Englishman who settled in Valencia, Spain, and married his Spanish-born bride there, has been named the patron of plumbers and builders. He entered the Dominican Order at age 17, distinguished himself as a scholar, and became an outstanding preacher and philosopher. He had quite notable success in arousing Christians to repentance in Spain, France and Italy, and he also converted literally thousands to Roman Catholicism. Among his many converts was the Rabbi Paul, who later became bishop of Cartagena, Spain. He did his best to try to arrest what Church historians refer to as “The Great Western Schism” (when there were two, then three claimants to the papal throne at one time), but to little avail. Still, he continued to serve God and His Church very faithfully, influencing so many people in a positive way. Incidentally, Vincent’s very own brother was chosen to head the great monastery of Grand Chartreuse in France, the country in which Vincent died after being worn out by his many successful preaching labors. Shortly after his death, a spontaneous popular cult arose about him, and he was later declared a saint in 1455.
[And you think we have it rough in the Church in this day and age!]
Very Rev. Canon Tom