Dear Parishioners, 

With Pentecost this Sunday, we conclude the Easter sea-son. It can seem a little anticlimactic to celebrate Pentecost and then suddenly move into ordinary time. In the old calendar, there was an octave for Pentecost much like there is for Christmas and Easter. The liturgical calendar is a small ‘t’ tradition, meaning it can be changed, it is not a dogma that must remain the same. The Church can and has added or changed feasts and celebrations to the local or universal church calendar. The liturgical calendar sets the tone for us as Catholics. It gives a rhythm to our year.

One of the things that occurs right after Pentecost is that we celebrate the Most Holy Trinity the following Sunday, and then the Solemnity of the Most Precious Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) the Sunday after that. So, even though we are technically in Ordinary Time, it won’t feel like it for a while.

This year to help us begin to transition to our new campus, we are going to do a Eucharistic procession from the current St. Joseph to the new St. Joseph campus. Even though we can’t house the Eucharist there in the new church yet, it is good for us to take this opportunity to bring our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to this new location. I invite all parishioners to join in this special event. We will process through the town and pray along the way. This is a public display of our faith, and an opportunity for us to demonstrate our love for Jesus in the Eucharist. Here are the important details:

- Procession begins after 10:30 AM Mass at St. Joseph Crosby current location.

- It’s a 2.3 mile walk and we will stay mostly on 2nd Street SW, 2nd Ave NE and 8th Street NE.

- Even though google maps says you can walk it in 52 minutes, it will likely be several hours because processions move very slowly.

- It’s a good idea to have water, we may be setting up a few stations for water along the way as well as at the end.

- If you can’t do the whole walk, consider joining at the area near the library, (where the electric car charging station is). We will hopefully be reaching that location about 12:15-12:30.

- I anticipate finishing the procession about 1-1:30 PM.

- We are working on getting some kind of carpool system to get drivers back.

- During the procession we will be praying the rosary and perhaps singing some hymns. We will likely use cell phones to allow people to access a program. We will have some paper copies as well.

Fr. Paul has been gone this week, he is visiting an aunt of his, who is not well. Next week he will also be gone on a camping trip. I am grateful to have Fr. Paul here, it has been great to have him around. He will be back with us after this week.

Totus Tuus is rapidly approaching (June 21 -26). I invite you to sign up your students for this camp that happens right here in our parish. Totus Tuus stands for totally yours. It comes from St. John Paul II’s papal motto. Meaning he totally gave himself to Mary through Jesus to accomplish the work of the Lord. The program was inspired by that spirit and has been a helpful program all across the United States as a summer effort to catechize young people.

In Christ,

Fr. Eli