This place has turned into a hotbed of activity once again. We were all a little caught off guard, I think, when the kids came back from Easter break and we found ourselves already on the Monday before First Holy Communion, and Mother’s Day! Now, already, next week is Memorial Day, and after that comes summer. Imagine!
Despite the weather, which has been admittedly crazy, the campus is swarmed much of the time with activities athletic, spiritual, academic, and of every other good sort. From the small people playing ball on the back field to the prayer groups in rooms across the front, this is the place people come to connect with others who share the strongest connection there is: the divine life of Christ Jesus.
I am relieved that the slow, chill spring has finally produced the thick canopy of leaves on our trees and lush green carpet of lawn that emerges each year between our buildings and the busy roads out front. This turns the place into a parklike preserve that makes me thank God for the wise souls who did not turn the whole front into a paved, striped, sizzling parking lot.
Whether we play on the field or pray in the beautiful church, we have reason to be grateful for the stewardship of those who were here before us. Beyond our gratitude and prayers for them, though, we ourselves have a role to play in that stewardship. We must maintain and improve this place as well as the spirit that animates it, building up the community in love, and giving the buildings a little tender loving care.
In order to make sure that your material contributions to this stewardship continue strong and faithfully regardless of travel or distractions, please consider enrolling in Faith Direct, our secure and straightforward electronic giving program. There are forms at the doors and in the rectory, or you can enroll online at www.faithdirect.net using our church code, MD91.
If you are already enrolled and know how effective and easy it is, please check before you go to make sure your planned offerings reflect your gratitude to God and commitment to the parish. Either way, we have to keep the air conditioning running and the roof fixed, pay our staff, and mow that beautiful lawn, even while you are at the beach or in the mountains.
Allow me to draw your attention to the letter printed nearby from Cardinal Wuerl, thanking us for our participation in the Cardinal’s Appeal, meeting our parish goal for commitment, and making it possible for him to meet his Apostolic commitment to serving the poor and promoting the Gospel throughout our city and our Archdiocese. That is a letter I am pleased to receive, and I join my thanks to his for your faithful witness and sacrificial contribution to this work of love.
Just because our pledges have cleared the hurdle of our goal, please do not think if you have not already pledged that your participation is not necessary. Circumstances often lead some folks to fall short of their planned contribution, so if you get a call or letter asking you to join us in this great work, please, by all means, do weigh in. Remember too that it is important that as many of us of this parish as possible participate together. This is not only a demonstration to our Archbishop of our commitment, but also binds us more closely into one body, one Spirit in Christ. Thank you, and thanks be to God.
Monsignor Smith
