This is an important and wonderful weekend. It is Trinity Sunday, a day that we recall that God is love and that God exists as one God in three distinct persons. Love is what binds them together and pure love is what God is. The mystery of the Trinity is something we cannot fully comprehend and yet it is the cornerstone of our faith and the basis for our church and how it is structured as a community open to all. Each and every time we begin prayer we declare the faith in the one true God as we make the sign of the cross and profess our faith in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This three in one existence of God assures us of God’s presence in all of our lives. If we try to explain the Trinity we will ultimately fail. We need to accept this awesome fact and live in the presence of pure love.
This is also the first of the summer holiday weekends, Memorial Day. We remember another kind of special love, the love that led brave men and women to give their lives in defense of the freedoms that this country was based on. Memorial Day should not be just a day for picnics and fun, although that is certainly part of it. It should be a day when all of us pause and remember the gifts that we have and the great cost that was paid to protect those gifts. Memorial Day has also become a day when we remember all the dead who have gone before us. Many people go to cemeteries this weekend to remember all those who showed them the love of God through their own love of us. The Catholic Cemeteries all have Field Masses on Memorial Day. Most begin at 10:30 but you can call the particular cemetery to be sure. We will have a 9:00 AM Mass on Monday here at Our Lady of Hope. In the midst of relaxing on the holiday pause and remember.
On May 22nd Cardinal George ordained fourteen new men to the order of priesthood. What a day that is for the new priest and his family and friends. I remember that day as vividly today as I did 38 years ago. These are the men who comprise the class of 2010.
Elvio Baldeon
Shawn Gould
Andrew Liaugminas
Nathaniel Payne
Luis Valerio
Brian Kean
Sergio Mena
Carlos Rodriquez
Andrew Wawrzyn
Manuel Dorantes
Christopher Kituli
Michael Moczko
Stanley Stuglik
SergioDeLa Torre Carrillo
As these men begin their first assignments in the priesthood, please keep them in your prayers and continue to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and religious life. As we come to the end of the year of the priest let us make the intention of these men a special prayer for all of us during the coming year.
Have a great holiday and enjoy the Blackhawks this weekend.
It’s not too early to save the date for HopeFest August 15th. We are returning to the picnic and outdoor mass and plans are in the works to make this a memorable and enjoyable day for all people of Our Lady Of Hope. Plan on being there and sign up to work on the various committees that are needed to pull this day off.
Have a great week. Pray for your parish. Know that you are loved and live that love.
Fr. Clem