Many happy returns of the day!

I must have missed these postings last year. They made me laugh when I read them this morning. It is clear that the critic did not know Father Jeffrey Keyes. There are some (not me) who have criticized him (Fr. JK) for over-emphasis on the importance of liturgical correctness. His planning for and attention to the details of liturgy are well known. His reverence for the vessels, the vestments, the worship are evident. He has made great progress since last October. May God bless him and his work

Happy patronal feast!

I was sorry to read Mr. Quintero's postings from last year; he seems to have been traumatized by his own situation, which is not likely to change soon. I have been there, too.

Everybody knows that you have been making a lot of improvements to the liturgy -- the most important thing we do -- and the church. To be able to negotiate this in a large parish with entrenched interests in a short time is quite a task, and God will bless your every effort.

I cannot send you a big check, but I would be happy to spot you some amices; just let me know.

Impone, Domine, capiti meo galeam salutis, ad expugnandos diabolicos incursus.

Lord, set the helmet of salvation on my head to fend off all the assaults of the devil.

Any chance you can post a list of the music done at the Mass?

Nice to see you're able to use incense now :)

Sorry we missed this particular liturgy. (We actually attended Mass Sat evening in Aptos.)
The pictures are wonderful--amazing you could take such good photos and still preside. Oh, maybe you've trained Tori? Smile. Really nice photos. We're ordering some. God bless. Happy Feast Day to all at St. Edward Parish.

"Well, I have been here a year now, and we have some new festive vestments, and we have new communion cups, thanks to some very generous donations."

We have so much more than that, dude!  We have: a beautiful Baptismal font and matching ambry, candles everywhere, real flowers, lovely altar cloths, refurbished pews, a move towards reverent, prayerful silence in the church and during Mass, Deacons serving at many Masses, including weekdays, and an Adult Faith Formation program that makes sense and invites in more than just RCIA candidates, a children's Faith Formation program that seeks to support Catholic teaching, including encouragement to Mass attendance and parental involvement, a more Spanish/Portuguese inclusive atmosphere, a new Pastoral Council with a vision, and those great Parish Assemblies, a leadership team who meets and conducts business on a regular basis, a budget (yuck!), and a pastor who seeks to reconcile the disenfranchised and lukewarm back into the family of the church and really does take on too much in an effort to get it all done. And then there are the little touches like the Lenten brochure, the pamphlet rack, the CDs, the celebrations like the Feast of St. Edward, the blessings for the guys going off to Iraq and Jo & Ernie's anniversary....

Okay, enough, lest this go to your head, I guess I'll have to mention the "music" thing.....that HAS to be next!

Thanks, Donalyn. You are most gracious. Ah, yes, the Music. We have a new music director who has a more Catholic approach to music. All the heterodox lyrics have been removed, and the Vatican II emphasis on chant and organ has finally arrived. So, there are a few happy about this, and a few sad ones who really do want to go back to Egypt.

The shock and horror of a choir in the loft instead of down front where everyone can admire them (snicker).

Looks like a wonderful feast day celebration. Many years!

Congratulations, Fr. Jeff!

Has anybody suggested bringing the flags together to one place in the church? Perhaps they could surround an image associated with the parish and its mission. Right now, they seem scattered and contending for attention.

Many years!

Congratulations, Father Keyes, on the impressive improvements you have made in one year! As a brother priest and a fellow pastor, I know many of the difficulties about which you have written, especially concerning what we pastors "inherit" from our predecessors. It looks like you're trying to move things in the right direction. God bless you.