Message from our Pastor
Fifth Sunday of Easter
April 28, 2024
It is difficult to believe that one-third of the year has passed us. This weekend we hosted fifteen couples for their Pre- Cana Day in preparation for their upcoming weddings. I am more than grateful for what our married couples do for this day. Meetings, preparation, and the actual day create a great deal of effort and work. The Pre-Cana team does an incredible job of providing this day of talks, reflection, prayer and food. Thanks to all who were a part of making this day possible. Please pray for the couples who attended the day and are looking forward to married life.
Next Sunday, we have First Holy Communion for our second graders. I always look forward to this celebration and enjoy the young people gathering with their families for Mass. Our second grade teachers, teachers’ aides, our Director of Religious Education, Gina Rensi, and those who have prepared these young children put in their time and effort to make this a special day. Our young second graders are thoroughly prepared to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and hopefully will grow in that relationship for years to come.
Since we are talking about our young people and all that they do here at Divine Word, I hope parents have enrolled their children for Vacation Bible School this summer. Registration is now open for VBS June 10th-June 14th 9 am until noon each day. Registration can be found on the Divine Word website under Faith Formation. Complete the registration form, return it and the fee to the Parish Office by Friday, May 31st.
We finish up our two-week series for “end-of-life issues” this Monday, April 29th. This meeting will include end of life directives, pre-planning from Catholic Cemeteries, and pre-planning information from DeJohn’s Funeral Home. These nights have been provided in response to those who have asked us to provide them with this information. We thought there was such a demand that we would open these meetings to the entire parish. Thanks to all who have attended these workshops for such a good purpose.
Last week we heard Jesus identify himself as the Good Shepherd. Today he calls us all to see just how close of a relationship we have with him. Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” Where does that leave us? Jesus later states in reference to that question, “I am the vine, and you are the branches.” The branches cannot survive without the vine. The vine feeds the branches and is the reason they have life. The whole concept of a branch “grafted,
configured, intimately connected” is how we should envision our lives with Christ. I wonder if the apostles in their day felt that way about their relationship with Jesus.
I wonder in John’s gospel as he reflected on witnessing Jesus dying on the cross, if he saw the cross as the vine that gives life. At his death, when all seems lost God recreates the world. He has uprooted the world like a plant and has re-grafted the world to himself like a branch to the vine. Can the world bear fruit on its own or do we all need to be readily configured to Christ like a branch is to a vine to truly bear the fruits of Christ?
I am away from the parish this weekend. I am leading a retreat for the men preparing for their ordination to the Permanent Diaconate. Please pray for these fine men, their wives, and families as they look forward to their ordination next Saturday, May 5th at St. John’s Cathedral.
Have you noticed that as we pray the prayer for Eucharistic Revival at Sunday Mass, that the words express much of what the Eucharist is and what it does for us? We will continue to pray this special prayer as the Church in the United States prepares for the Eucharistic Revival in July. Representatives from every diocese will gather in Indianapolis for several days of workshops, prayer, and Mass. Notice what stands out for you as we offer this prayer in preparing the Church for this special occasion.
Finally, with May ahead of us and all those school ending celebrations coming to us, we will begin preparing for our next Five-year Strategic Plan. We have already set aside a day in July for our Parish Staff, Finance Council, and Parish Council to gather to look ahead to the last half of this decade. One very important celebration will be our parish’s 50th anniversary with the celebration starting in August of 2026 and concluding the 50th year in July of 2027. We are planning a year-long celebration of events and moments for our parish.
I hope and pray that the week ahead is filled with time for prayer and worship.
