 The “Year of the Priest” comes to an end this month, and I’d like to use this space in the coming weeks to share some reflections on the priesthood, starting with a column by Fr. Mike Heher of Orange, California on what a priest does all week:
“This is what I remember: my shaking hands were taken into the bishop’s confident hands. Then hands were placed on my head, the bishop’s first and then the many hands of the priests who, by this action, made me one of theirs. The bishop anointed my hands and was not stingy with the oil; they smelled of Chrism all day.
Quickly my hands were used to embrace, extended in consecration, spread out in supplication, and put to work distributing Communion. Before I knew it, they were used to bless bishops and parents, family and friends, and strangers too.
The rest is a blur, quickly commonplace and surprisingly busy. They stretched out to anoint small babies and dying saints, to absolve, to comfort, to strengthen, to bless marriages, to pray for guidance at endless meetings, and to beg that cars won’t crash and planes will land safely and surgeries will be successful. The have locked and unlocked countless doors and tabernacles and safes and storage sheds and car doors on early mornings on the way home from the hospital.
My hands have pointed the way to heaven and to the nearest restroom. They have picked up trash lying around the parking lot and Cheerios left underneath the pews. They have quickly typed intercessions on Saturday afternoons and letters for the bulletin on Tuesdays and turned the pages of quarterly financials of parish and school which, from time to time, were not in the black as one had hoped.
They have handed rings to nervous grooms and bowls of Eucharist to ministers. They have held bingo balls and winning raffle tickets, documents both civil and religious, apostolic blessings and lost purses. These hands have signed lots of begging letters, and too many cheques against too few deposit slips.
Luckily they have stayed in jacket pockets when I would have preferred to strike out. They have often enough not typed an angry letter to the bishop or a curt e-mail to an annoying parishioner. They have not slammed the door. They have not pointed fingers in angry judgment. Well at least not as often as I wanted to.
My hands are worn now, with marks and bumps and calluses. I should put some lotion on them, give them a rest, reward them for what they have done. But I don’t; I can’t, for there’s much more still to do.
The priesthood is a craft as well as a sacrament. It is an art we priests practice lovingly by means of our hands.” MAY OFFERTORY INCOME
Actual Budget Over/Under Budget
$10,356 $10,960 -$604 OUTREACH CENTER CRAB FEAST The benefit Crab Feast for the Lucielle Fitzgerald Outreach Center will be held on Saturday, July 24, from 1:00 to 5:00 pm at Columbus Gardens. This is our one annual fund raising event for the support of our outreach ministry. Please lend us your support by patronizing this event and helping us to sell some tickets. Tickets are $50 each or $450 for a table of ten and are available now in the church office and the outreach center. KINGS DOMINION BUS TRIP As of now the bus is full for the June 26 trip to Kings Dominion. There is a waiting list for additional patrons, if a space should open up. Call the church office or DeeDee Clark at 443-802-9006. SHARE THE BLESINGS Fr. Peter Claver Mawanda visited us on May 30 and left some literature about a ministry of sharing with the people of Uganda. “Share the Blessings” is a work of American Christians to help provide clean drinking water and educational opportunities to the people of Uganda. Mr. Kevin Green, son-in-law of Marjorie McDonald, is the US contact person for this ministry. Donations can be made payable to Share the Blessings and left at the church office or mailed to:
Share the Blessings
500 Francisca Lane
Cary, NC 27511 PASTORAL COUNCIL MEETING The monthly meeting of the Pastoral Council will be held this Monday evening, June 7, at 7:00 pm in the rectory. All members are urged to be present for this final meeting before the summer recess. USHER MEETING There will be a meeting of the ushers on Saturday, June 12, at 12:00 noon. We urge all current ushers to be present as we address some organizational issues. JOB OPENINGS Check the church bulletin board for job opportunities for nursing assistants and airport porters and wheel chair attendants. 
| NEWLY BAPTIZED We welcome into the family of faith Febechukwu Treasure Moses, daughter of Elias and Rita Egeolu, who was baptized at St. Wenceslaus last Sunday. May the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit remain with Treasure and her parents forever. BLACK AND INDIAN MISSIONS Today’s second collection will be our annual collection for the Black and Indian Missions of the United States. This office provides funding for our home missions, including the Office of African-American Catholic Ministries in Baltimore. Thank you for your generous support of this work. PRE-FATHER’S DAY BREAKFAST St. Wenceslaus is co-sponsoring a pre-Father’s Day breakfast on Saturday, June 19, together with the Men and Families Center and A Good Black Man, Inc. We will be honoring selected fathers from each of the sponsoring groups. The breakfast will be held in the lyceum from 9:00 to 12:00 June 19. Tickets are $20, available in the church office. Families of three or more will be admitted for $10 each. FATHER’S DAY NOVENA We will begin a nine day novena of Masses for our fathers, living and deceased, on Father’s Day June 19. To remember your father by name at the altar, please fill out one of the envelopes in the back of the church. A free will offering may be included but is not required. We also have Father’s Day novena cards you can send to your father. |
MASS INTENTIONS Sun, Jun 6 8 am | Marty Wirtz | 11:15 | For the Parishioners | Mon, Jun 7 8 am | Michael Goldbeck | | Tue, Jun 8 | | | Wed, Jun 9 8 am | | Thur, Jun 10 7: am | Harry & Erma Smith
Gift of Hope Convent | | Fri, Jun 11 | Michael Fields | | Sat, Jun 12 | |
READINGS FOR NEXT SUNDAY Trinity Sunday | 1st Reading | 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13 | | 2nd Reading | Galatians 2:16, 19-21 | | Gospel | Luke 7:36-8:3 |
SUMMER PEACE CAMP The St. Frances Academy Community Center is hosting a fund raiser for its Summer Peace Camp for children. On Thursday, June 17, a hot dog and baked bean supper will be served for $5, along with live Motown music and a silent auction. Proceeds benefit the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade children in the peace camp. “SAFE STREETS” REPORT You’ve seen those black and white signs in our neighborhood that say: Stop Shooting, Start Living. This is the slogan of the Safe Streets initiative, a federally funded program that employs “street smart” mediators to head off violent confrontations. Two such programs operate in Baltimore, one in Cherry Hill and one in our East Baltimore neighborhood. Back in April Mayor Rawlings-Blake temporarily suspended the program pending investigation of a report that some of the outreach workers were in fact “double agents,” being paid to stem the violence while also promoting gang activities. On May 8 the mayor restored the Safe Streets funding after the appointed task force found no evidence to support the allegation. The program is up and running once again, in time to be a positive force on our neighborhood streets this summer. St. Wenceslaus is an active partner in the community coalition which advises Safe Streets. BINGO IN HAMPDEN Jin Lee, our summer organist, asked us to list a Bingo Night at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Hampden, Friday, June 18. Check the flyers in the back of the church for details. |
|
|
