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Browsing Fr. Poggemeyer's Weekly Letter

June 11, 2023

+JMJ

Dear Parishioners,

First, congratulations to all our graduating seniors! Thank the Lord for everything he has given you to get you to this point! Certainly, thank the Lord for your families who have supported you and provided for you in so many ways. Please continue to be dedicated to the Lord for the rest of your life. There's an old adage in the church: "Keep the rule, and the rule keeps you." The rule is the spiritual rule of life. It's everything you have to do to stay in contact with the Lord. If you stop praying daily, you will stop knowing him, and slowly you will drift away from him. It's not rocket science! Just like any relationship. If you decide you don't have to go to Mass on a given Sunday, it will grow into another Sunday, and then another Sunday, and so on and so forth… And soon you are a fallen away Catholic. What a pity that would be, since Jesus in the Eucharist is the source of every good thing that happens in this world, including any good each of us achieves! Live the moral life for the rest of your life, choosing what is objectively the good thing to choose, and avoiding what is objectively the right thing to avoid… Live the moral life as an act of thanksgiving for everything the Lord has already done with you, especially saving you from sin by his death on the cross, and opening for you the way to eternal life, which you can experience with all of your loved ones who live for Him. If you ever need extra prayers during the next leg of your journey, please contact the parish offie, so we can pray for you as a staff.

This coming Thursday and Friday, Fr. Gary Walters will celebrate our daily Mass. I've been asked to participate in a vocations summit with the Vocations Director of the Diocese. Please pray that this summit be fruitful for everybody in attendance, and for the Diocese.

Also, about every fifth weekend during the rest of the ordinary time, we are going to sing the ordinary parts of the Mass (Gloria, Holy Holy, Mystery of Faith, Lamb of God) using the notes in the sacramentary – i.e., the traditional chant melody. This setting is in Journeysongs, in the grey-tipped pages. We already use this setting at weekday Masses when we have a feast day. This will provide some variety for us in the Mass, and it should also strengthen our corporate singing as we chant these without musical accompaniment. Look at how well we already sing the Our Father, which is that same chant! It's a good exercise for the parish, and certainly good worship of the Lord.

On another note, parents sort of get uneasy when it's time to have their first big “sex talk” with their child, right? Well there is now a great website to train parents how to handle such a talk. The website is www.thesextalk.com. The presenters are super solid, many of whom I recognize. Who doesn't need help talking to their children about sex in this day and age, when the world and the devil are throwing so much at us in the area of sexuality that is contrary to human nature? Check out the website. I bet it will be of help… even for grandparents or godparents whom the Lord might use to steer grandchildren in the right direction.Have a blessed week!

In cordibus Iesu, Mariae et Iosephus,

Father Poggemeyer

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