Pastor’s Corner — May 4th, 2025
Praying for the Cardinals of the Church: Conclave Begins May 7th
At daily Mass we have begun praying for the Cardinals of the Church so that they might be led and guided by the Holy Spirit as they elect the next Successor of Peter.
While some people are doing some fun things like a “Cardinal draft” (my fraternity is doing one), I exhort all of us to certainly pray for the cardinals of the Church in these days ahead. A great website that I recommend: Adopt a Cardinal, where people can sign up and “adopt” a cardinal to pray for during these critical days of discernment. There are already about 250k people signed up to pray for the cardinals. Come Holy Spirit!
New Catholics at St Pat’s!
At our Easter Vigil, we had many people initiated into the Catholic Church through Baptisms, Confirmations, and First Communions. Here are the names:
Those who were Baptized, Confirmed and Received First Communion:
Raymundo Banuelos-Guerrero, Ellie Buckwheat, Taunja Gores, Sophie Harbison, Kylie Hisler, Phi McCaig, Ben McGillivary, Kaitlyn Nickerson, Christopher Paton, Sarilya Senkowski, Andrew Snyder, Hunter Weber, Landon Wharton, Annabelle Webster, and Owen Webster.
New Catholics received in full Communion with the Church, and Confirmed and Received First Communion:
Chelsea Babinger and Polly Salvato.
Two Catholics also received their First Communion:
Bain and Camilla McCaig
We have an additional group prepping to become Catholic and receive Confirmation on the Pentecost Vigil (June 7th) too!
By the end of the year, I think we will set a record for people becoming Catholic at St Pat’s (not counting infant baptism) at thirty-five! Let’s praise the Lord for his goodness in giving new life to all of these people!
If you feel called to learn more about the Catholic Church, or are already discerning entering into her sacramental life, we have two opportunities this spring and summer to begin the first stage of the journey. The May - June meetings are held on Wednesday evenings, and our July - September meetings are held on Thursday evenings. Please feel free to reach out to Anne Guminik if you have any questions about OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults) aguminik@stpatchurch.org
May Crowning: This Sunday, May 4th
This Sunday after the 9:30am Mass, we will have our May Crowning of Mary. Crowning Our Lady with flowers is a Catholic tradition of reverence and honor for Mary, the Mother of God. It signifies her status as Queen of heaven and earth and her role as an intercessor and our mother. The flowers themselves symbolize purity, beauty, and new life, and the crown represents her queenship.
We will begin our procession after the 9:30am Mass with the recessional hymn and walk in a solemn procession to the grotto. Following the crowning, please join us for coffee & donuts in the grotto (weather permitting). All First Communicants are welcome and encouraged to wear their attire to Mass and the procession as well.
Important: New Worship Supplements for Weekend Masses
Here is a note from Steve Royal our Director of Music about new music aids that will be available every weekend now:
Today, you may have noticed the new worship supplements in baskets at the entrance doors as you entered the church. The purpose of these supplements is for 1) increasing intentional devotion by providing the lyrics and titles of special music, solos, choral anthems, prelude and postludes–none of which are provided in our hymnals; and 2) to provide access to few more contemporary songs as well as original compositions by our own worship teams.
The Catholic Vatican II document on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, states that sacred music is “integral” to the Mass, especially its sacred or devotional texts. Unlike secular music, these words are prayers to God or devotional meditations about God’s character and actions that help guide and mold us in holiness. (While sung Scripture is preferred, sacred poetry and lyrics are also allowed.) But how can one sing or meditate on the words of these prayers if one does not understand the words or titles? The supplements help us pray with these words.
Certainly, one can pray with background music to some degree. And one does not have to focus on the supplements in all personal prayer moments–and should not be bound to it legalistically but should be guided by the Spirit in the Liturgy. But the Church is also asking us to pray corporately (that is, together) as the unified Body of Christ. Jesus Christ said, “Where two or three are gathered together, there I am in your midst.”
Much of the music one hears at St. Patrick–which was composed with countless hours of prayer and performed with hours of practice–is not in the hymnals. By providing the supplements, we are enabling the People of God to enter in more fully to the entire sacred artistry of the Mass, not just part of it.
Please return the supplements to the baskets after every Mass, so that they can be used by the people of the next Mass. (The Sunday 5 PM Mass will continue to use the supplements that have been used in the past.)
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias