Today the Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday, the mystery of the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the holy women who had gathered in the locked room. We know well that the Holy Spirit has guided the Church, even in her darkest hour, and we rely on the Spirit power and grace through this time as well.
I want to express my sincerest thanks to all who made the Confirmation Mass last week memorable for our young people who received the sacrament from Bishop Steinbock. He also expressed to me personally how well things went and how pleased he was with all the ministries, including music. Thank you all.
This coming week, Monday thru Friday, May 24 to 28, I need to cover the Mass at the Convent of the Sisters of the Divine Master in Fresno since their pastor will be away for vacation. These Sisters are Eucharistic centered in their spirituality thus Mass in essential for their prayer life. Their Mass is at 7:30 am every morning. I will celebrate Masses here at Our Lady of the Sierra Church on Monday and Tuesday at 9:00AM. There will be a Communion Service on Wednesday and Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. I apologize for the inconvenience this may cause anyone.
Next weekend is the Memorial Day weekend. There will be NO MASS OR COMMUNION SERVICE on Monday, May 31st. The Parish Office will also be closed on that day.
On Tuesday, June 1st, I will be joining Father John Schmoll in celebrating his 25th Jubilee. Father John and I were ordained in the same year, though different days. He is pastor of St. Augustine in Lamont, south of Bakersfield. We congratulate Fr. John for all the hard work he has done. When he went to Lamont, he alone replaced three to four priests, since the parish was staffed by the Augustinian Fathers, who left the diocese in the early 1990's.
Next Sunday, May 30th, is the fifth Sunday of the month. We have begun to have a special second collection whenever there is a fifth Sunday for the Parish Maintenance Fund. These funds, as explained in prior bulletins, help us to do upgrades, updates and repairs on our aging buildings. Remember that both St. Dominic Savio and St. Joseph the Worker where built well over fifty years ago. Our newest church, Our Lady of the Sierra was built eleven years ago. We have already spent considerable funds on re-staining the wooden poles and we need to fix curbs that are crumbling and the repairs at the missions continue. We must seriously consider the installation of an alarm system at OLS Church since we have been made aware of break-ins and damages suffered by other churches in the Oakhurst area.
We do hope you will seriously consider your parish next weekend in the second collection. There is a FYI feature box that outlines our completed repairs in the recent past and those that need to be made.
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