The Easter Cycle feasts of the Church are all glorious in their very own way. We celebrated the feast of Pentecost last weekend: the empowerment of the Church by the descent of the Holy Spirit on Mary and the Apostles in the Upper Room. And it is that same Spirit who empowers the Church to be fully who She is today: the place where the person of Jesus Christ heals, forgives, restores and prepares us for eternal life. This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, the feast of God as He has revealed Himself to us, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The God in whom we believe is One and a Community, a Community of Love. The Trinity is indeed a mystery, but it is not an abstract doctrine that we just have to accept. The God in whom we believe is not merely the God of Abraham, nor is it the God who is called Allah. Of course we share in a fundamental way the Jewish and Muslim understanding of God. But the understanding of God as Trinity, a Trinity bound by Love, is unique to Christianity, and we must not be afraid to state that uniqueness to our non-Christian friends.
The traditional day for the feast of Corpus Christi is the Thursday after Trintiy Sunday, which is the 31st of May this year. Usually we have a Solemn Mass or Missa Cantata on this day. I have cancelled that evening Mass so that as many of our parishioners and servers can be at the Solemn Mass at St Pius X parish in Fairfield. Our own Father Tim Iannacone has received permission from his pastor, Fr. Kachuba, to have a Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary form on Thursday, May 31 at 7 pm. This is such a wonderful breakthrough for the Traditional Roman Mass. This is the first time that the parishioners at St Pius X will have seen the Traditional Mass. I hope many of our parishioners will support Fr. Tim’s effort in behalf of the Mass of Tradition by being present. I shall sit in choir and many of our servers will be present.
We will celebrate Corpus Christ at St. Mary’s on Sunday, June 3 with a Solemn Mass and Procession at 10:00 a.m. There will be no 11:30 Mass on that Sunday. We want as many people as possible to come to what should be a true Community Mass, celebrating the precious gift of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Those of you who go to other Masses on Sunday, please consider coming to the 10 am Mass. We are hoping that each family will bring a picnic lunch to eat after the Procession.
I hope to see you all both at Fr. Tim’s Mass in Fairfield and at our Corpus Christi celebration.
Father Richard Gennaro Cipolla
Pastor
