UPCOMING EVENTS
May Crowning by Livestream, Tuesday, May 11 at 1:15 PM - Coronación de María Nuestra Madre por Livestream, martes 11 de mayo a la 1:15 p.m.
Vivo en el Espíritu, miércoles 26 de mayo en español en la iglesia con Juana Mendez, S.C.
Alive witht he Spirit, Thursday, May 27 in Englisn in church with Sr. Juana Mendez, S.C.
Dress in RED for Mass on Pentecost, May 22nd and 23rd - Vístase de ROJO para la Misa de Pentecostés, 22 y 23 de mayo
From Fr. E.J. - -
Two Wednesdays ago on April 21, the majority of priests in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati gathered for their Annual Convocation. We did not gather in person this year for protection from Covid. We met through ZOOM remote video-conferencing from our own homes or offices. During that day of reflection and prayer, we priests, well over 100 in number, devoted a large part of our time to the issue of racism. We heard from Bishop Sheldon Fabre, Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux (Louisiana) and chair of the U.S. Bishops Ad Hoc Committee on Racism. Archbishop Schnurr, two professors from the University of Dayton, and four of our fellow Catholics shared experiences of racism in their lives. It was a powerful event which carried forth the message of Open Wide Our Hearts: An Enduring Call to Love, the 2018 pastoral letter on racism from the U.S. bishops. Our Archdiocese is actively engaged in confronting the sin of racism, and there is still much work to do. Please pray that these efforts continue to bear good fruit.
My own life experiences have taught me how difficult it is for me and lots of other people even to talk about racism or cultural differences, language barriers, political or religious differences. That kind of conversation often brings fear and feelings of being threatened or negatively judged. However, during my ministries in many cities, I know that some of the greatest blessings in my life have been living among and interacting daily with African Americans and Africans, Appalachian folks, Filipinos, Mexicans, Asians, Creole folks and those of different religions and spiritualities. This list includes the Guatemalans of our parish as well as the diverse set of students in our parish school. All these relationships help me to understand myself better and help me correct false assumptions about people different from myself. Gradually “me and them” have been growing into “us.”
We are close to knowing who our next school principal will be. Interviews have been scheduled. All we need now is to have those interviews. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide this whole process and that the Spirit will lead a good Principal to us. The Search Committee is enthused, dynamic, and committed to finding a Principal who will advance the mission of our parish school.
Finding a good Music Minister for the parish has been a challenge. After a few weeks of this job description being posted on the Archdiocesan website, we have had only one response. I have contacted an old friend who teaches at U.C. College-Conservatory of Music to spread the news of the job opening there. He volunteered to talk to a colleague at Xavier University School of Music to pass the job description around there as well. This job posting has also been sent to every tri-state area musician in the National Catholic Music Association. Better results should be coming.
We also have had two leads on the next Parish Director of Faith Formation. Both are Religious Sisters. We will see how this process progresses.
Have a good week everyone!