Stress, the Saints, and the Eucharist:
Forty Hours Devotions, St. Aloysius Parish
June 19-21, 2016
I first arrived as pastor of Saint Aloysius Parish on June 21, 2010, the feast day of Saint Aloysius. I immediately noticed that the parish did nothing to celebrate its own feast day and also immediately decided that the week of the parish feast would be a week of celebration including Forty Hours Devotions and a Parish festival. I am very happy to say that this year will mark the sixth consecutive that the dream of the Pastor who arrived 6 years ago on the day of the parish feast has been made real. This week’s Pastor’s Corner will serve as a bit of a “sneak preview” and promotion of our annual Forty Hours Devotions which begins this Sunday, June 19 and concludes on the evening of June 21, which is our parish feast day. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed at the close of the noon Mass on Sunday until the Evening Prayer Service at 7PM, and then all day Monday and Tuesday as well. All of you are very much encouraged to try to spend some time in prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament during this most special time. There is no better way for you to feel God’s love in your life. If you can commit to a half hour there are sign up sheets available in the Gathering Center. We would like to make sure that Jesus is not by Himself at any time. There will be Evening Prayer services each evening at 7PM. This year I will be preaching during these services. I have entitled my talks “Stress, the Saints and the Eucharist”. Do you experience stress? Would you like to experience some relief from it? Do you think that maybe the Saints experienced stress and perhaps may have some insights as to how to overcome it? Do you believe in the wonderful gift of the Eucharist? Do you think that it might hold a key for us to managing stress in our lives? Would you like to learn how we might benefit from the Eucharist in the same way that the saints did? If some of these questions piqued your curiosity even a little bit, then maybe these talks will be helpful to you. Please give yourselves a break and come out. At the close of the Tuesday evening prayer service, will process down Hanover Street to King Street and back with our statue of Saint Aloysius, a relic of Saint Aloysius and the Blessed Sacrament as wonderful witness of faith to our larger community. When we return to Church, the Blessed Sacrament will be reposed and we will enjoy light refreshment in our Gathering Center. If you have been part of this wonderful celebration before, you know how uplifting it is. If you have not, this is the time to treat yourself and celebrate with us.