May 14, 2023 6th Sunday of Easter To My Spiritual Family of Holy Redeemer and St. Anthony, A Mother’s Vocation: Can we ever even begin to put a value on the vocation of motherhood? I don’t think we can. Those women who have been blessed by the gift of motherhood have been given an ineffable and unimaginably wonderful gift. They are at the very heart of God’s eternal plan for the salvation of the human race. Besides that – and we can think of our own mothers here – they are especially outstanding at preparing great meatloaf, or proofreading our term papers, or making boo-boos feel better! We honor them today and we stand in awe of their dignity, beauty, and selflessness. To our mothers, whether they be living or deceased, we offer a very happy Mother’s Day. Holy Mother Church: Remember that the Church, too, is our mother. She brings us to birth (Baptism), nourishes us (the Eucharist), and heals us when we our wounded (the Sacrament of Reconciliation). As we do well to faithfully love our earthly mothers, so too do we do well to love Holy Mother Church. She may be flawed in her humanity, but she is ever spotless in her divinity. And lest we forget the Church’s most praiseworthy member, Blessed Mother Mary, pray for us! Eucharistic Revival Through Daily Mass: Whether it’s the Tuesday Mass at St. Anthony or the daily Masses at Holy Redeemer, we have a wonderful group of parishioners who have made the parish weekday Masses a central aspect of their life. They are to be lauded for their faithfulness and Eucharistic piety. I realize that not every one of you is able to do this, but I want to encourage you to consider attending one or more daily Masses a week. Especially in this time of Eucharistic Revival, weekday Mass is a powerful way to develop a more Christ-centered existence. Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say that those who regularly attend daily Mass become almost incapable of committing mortal sin. Why? Because they are filled with Christ’s presence, his word, and his Body and Blood. We would love to see you in church on the weekday mornings! Please give it some prayerful thought. Ascension Thursday: I make every effort to laud you when you do good. As your pastor, I also need to exhort you when you can do better. Here’s the truth (spoken in love): we don’t do well as a parish community with Mass attendance on holy days of obligation. Please remember that it is a serious sin to miss Mass on Sundays or holy days (excepting illness, caring for the sick, travel, and the like). God expects us to be at Mass. This Thursday, Ascension Thursday, is a holy day of obligation. Our schedule for Mass on Thursday, May 18th is – 7:00 am @ Holy Redeemer and 5:00 pm @ St. Anthony. Going to Mass at St. Joseph offers another option. Please take the “obligation” part of holy day of obligation seriously. Thank you! Relics Arriving: Finally, please plan on a visit to the relics of St. Manuel Gonzalez Garcia and Bl. Carlo Acutis over the Pentecost/Memorial Day weekend. The Diocese of Erie is one of only 39 American dioceses privileged to host the relics, and Holy Redeemer is one of only 9 locations within our diocese to be so blessed. This is a great opportunity! Although the relics will be on display for veneration throughout the weekend, please try to be with us for the Holy Hour on Saturday, May 27 @ 1:00 pm. Thanks and God bless! Mary, Mother of the Holy Redeemer – Pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us! St. Anthony – Pray for us! St. Joseph – Pray for us! Fr. Steve