From the Pastor's Pen

Thanks as always to all of you for your support for my time away, this one a true vacation. I visited Wash. D.C., New York City, Buffalo, and Chicago, seeing major art museums in those cities; stayed with a cousin’s family in Virginia (outside D.C), my brother and a niece at the Jersey shore; and hotels in southern Pennsylvania, Rochester N.Y., and South Bend Ind.; and made a short trip to Niagara Falls (Canadian side). And the time driving this route was very valuable in itself, and very smooth (thanks, Car!)

The time at the parish office has been relatively quiet this summer (apart from my office roof caving in, as you may have heard.) It still felt so this week, although school is getting ready to start, this Wednesday. We’ll have about 40 more kids than last year, this due mainly to two things: St. Angela Merici school has closed, and a lot of those students are coming our way; and, the excellence of our school staff: principal, teacher and aides and office. We hear regularly that the spirit and atmosphere around our school feels especially peaceful and positive, and that attracts many to take a tour and eventually enroll.

The Feast of Mary’s Assumption falls each year during a major celestial event. The Perseid meteor shower happens each year at this time, as we pass through a meteor belt. This year, Mary’s feast is just a few days from the full solar eclipse we’ve been hearing about. I wonder if there isn’t a connection. Mary continuously remained in the shadows so her Son’s light would shine brightly. This writing is a bit too early to include results from the last Finance Meeting of the recent Fiscal Year, so I can’t officially announce the historic first balanced year for our parish. Stay tuned. Ice cream, anyone?