Labor Day and Work

My Dear Friends in the Christ,
 
Happy Labor Day Weekend! Consider this a final respite before the routine of school and work begins again.  When I was younger, I never appreciated the irony that on their Labor Day off from work, my mother and father would put in a 12-hour day in our backyard, trying to pull a summer’s worth of weeds!
 
I wanted to mention today another time of labor, that is, the liturgy.  What is liturgy? It’s any time we, as the People of God, pray in public.  The Greek word for liturgy translates roughly as the “work of the people.”  In other words, whenever we gather for Mass, we are doing “work” – the work of petition and praise to God!
 
On this Labor Day Weekend, then, I wanted to mention a few important items relating to our work as the People of God:
 

• Beginning in September, our Grade School (Grades 1-8) will attend the 8:30 am morning Mass every Thursday.It will be a chance for all of our young people to learn the blessed “work” that is liturgy as a community (Our Kindergarteners will join once they get used to full days of school).
• High School Orientation this year will begin for each grade level in the Church: as the old saying goes, Christ is the reason for any Catholic School!
• We are actively recruiting those who wish to serve as lectors, altar servers, Eucharistic Ministers, ushers, and choir members.Don’t believe that you’re not holy enough: the apostles didn’t start out holy either!

 
There will be no 6:45 am Mass and the Parish Office will be closed on Monday in observance of Labor Day.  The office will reopen on Tuesday morning.
 
Please pray for me, and know I’m always praying for you,
Fr. Matt