22nd Sunday of the Year

Dear Friends in Christ,

1. From Monday 15 September through Friday 19 September, the church will be closed to all visitors, and no sacraments will be celebrated here on those days. That is the week of the annual Retreat for Priests of our diocese, and we’re taking advantage of that time to replace our 12 year old spot lights with new LED fixtures that are much more energy efficient and should last for years. Please excuse the inconvenience of the church closure, but the heavy equipment needed to lift our electricians to the peak of the roof timbers requires that we err on the side of caution.

2. In observance of Labor Day, the school and church office are closed on Monday 1 September, but we will have the 7 am Mass.

3. On Wednesday 3 September, classes begin for religious education for grades one through eight. All children of the parish who are not enrolled in a Catholic school or home school must attend these classes on Wednesday evenings and must be pre-registered. For more information, contact Joann Miller at joann.miller@stmarysgvl.org.

4. Also on 3 September, classes begin for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. RCIA is really a general introduction to Catholic Christianity, and we invite you to come this Wednesday if you are a Catholic returning to the practice of the Faith after some time away, or you are an adult Catholic who has not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation, or you are a non-Catholic Christian who wants to learn more about Catholicism, or you have never been baptized and want to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ and his Church. Classes are at 6.30 pm in McGrady Hall in the church undercroft (reached by the stairs outside the church on both sides of the building), and for more information, please contact T.J. Nielsen at timothy.nielsen@stmarysgvl.org.

5. In addition to these dates, here are several important dates in the Church’s liturgical calendar in the coming weeks:

+ Wednesday 3 September is the Feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great (d. 604)
+ Sunday 14 September is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
+ Monday 29 September is the Feast of Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels
+ Wednesday 22 October is the Feast of Pope St. John Paul the Great (d. 2005)

Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to him and all the ages. To him be glory and power through every age for ever. Amen.

Father Newman