We ended Easter Time on May 15th with the Feast of Pentecost (Ascension was the week before that). That put us back into Ordinary Time though you wouldn't really know it since we begin to wear green vestments again. Instead we continued to wear white vestments during the two feasts which always take place at the beginning of Ordinary Time: Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi. Today we are back to green until we begin the season of Advent again which won't be until the very end of November. Just some liturgical information you can use to impress your Catholic friends.
This past week we celebrated two funerals. The first was for James Minch. Jim was faithful to attending Mass until his health no longer allowed that. He was the kind of guy who appeared rough on the outside but was really a gentle soul. The highlight of his life was his family, including 5 children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He taught them to think before you act & to always do the right thing. And he practiced what he preached. May he now have the reward of his faith.
We also had the funeral for Jan Papez. I last saw Jan on Ash Wednesday when I brought her ashes and Holy Communion at her home. I first met her shortly after arriving at St. Leo's and admired her faith & persistence. She donated money toward the new railings we have in the church. Jan battled with cancer over the years and I was sad to receive a call from a neighbor & parishioner who said that she had passed away suddenly in her home. She brought her Shih Tzu over to the rectory office one day to meet Michaela. I'm afraid that Michaela was rather territorial & not very welcoming of her own kind. We had a talk about hospitality & I hope she changes her bark. Please say a little prayer for Jim and for Jan as you read this so that we may help them reach God's kingdom.
Thank you for the prayers for my dad. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, stage 3. There's a 60-70% chance of it being cured with chemo but he can only take half of the chemo dose due to his congestive heart failure. But he started on his chemo this past week & we hope that it won't make him feel nauseous as it often does. He continues so far to remain in very good spirits as he jokes with us, the nurses & staff. We spend a lot of time reminiscing with him and just enjoying his company. He is blessed to have so many children (5 of us) & grandchildren (13) who usually crowd his room every day. We are all blessed to have him.