It is Priesthood Sunday and the people here at St. Edward have been very affirming. Many have stopped to wish me a happy anniversary whuch happiliy coincides with the event, and members of the Team have informed me that I needed to relinquish the last page of the Sunday bulletin so they could celebrate Priesthood Sunday there too.
But probably the most affirming letter I have gotten in a while came by email. The correspondant has graciously allowed me to post the letter, but I have removed the signature to protect their privacy. The letter is here.
My favorite part of the letter:
At St. Edward’s you have proven that, despite some problems, the dignified, prayerful, and truly artistic celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not beyond the reach of the contemporary Church. Despite some difficulties, you have avoided allowing the assembly to determine the way a liturgy should be celebrated, but instead have demonstrated, that “Priests who faithfully celebrate Mass according to the liturgical norms, and communities which conform to those norms, quietly but eloquently demonstrate their love for the Church”.
It is apparent that he/she reads several blogs and is well educated on the liturgy. It is a joy to celebrate Mass with such generous and faith filled parishioners.
Hey Fr. Keyes, very nice little bio on each of the Priests. Looks like things are going well over at your Parish (nice little article on the Psalm of the week... does that happen every Sunday? Are you writing them or Sam?)
Also, with your Parish being so big, is one hour for confession enough every week? Or do people usually make use of the appointment system?
I'm in Ohio. Hope you are well.
Hi Matthew, That hour of confession keeps us pretty busy. We also have confessions every first friday which keeps us busy, and then a lot of people use the appointment system.
I write the psalm for the choir and prepare the text for Adult Faith formation for every Tueday. It goes in the bulletin each week, and on the choir website too.