Dear Friends,
Way before Covid, Saint Catherine of Siena received a Bible donated by parishioners, Laureen and Joe Sortino. At the time the Bible was 156 years old. Welcoming the gift, it was decided to create a place of honor for it. Bob Gruber, our very gifted, creative and talented woodworker artisan offered to make a fittng stand to hold the Bible.
In additoon to placing the Bible within the stand we thought, we would create a tome capsule to be part of it. The idea was to enclose some history of the parish, the times we were living in and have it possibly opened in one hundred years!
This was in 2020, the year Covid hit. The stand was completed, the time capsule had its enclosures and the church closed. We had hoped to have a dedication but all was put on lock down. Two plus years have passed since Covid introduced itself to our lives and world. The Bible stand has been in Saint Catherine’s Church for some time now. So much has happened since the initial undertaking of this project.
Our two parishes, Saint Catherine of Siena and the Church of the Transfiguration have clustered (June 29, 2021). The world has seen great strife and war with Russia invading Ukraine. Our nation has experienced divisions among its populace with elections, politicians, mass shootings, gun legislation, poverty, cost of living and the Supreme Courts ruling overturning Roe vs Wade.
There has been so much happening in our lives and world. These issues will be added to the Time Capsule with this writing. There has been goodness and blessings as well in these past years. Our faith communities continue to get to know one another better. We share Parish Staffs and join one another in celebrating our rich faith in the various liturgies offered at both worship sites. A new shared parish
pictorial directory (one book featuring each parish separately) is in process of being created by our fabulous stewards, Carol Finucane and Karen Zielinski. Our mass attendance is still continuing to grow and we pray it will continue to grow to nourish our spiritual lives.
Most importantly, we have the presence of Jesus Christ in our midst. He has gifted us with the fruits of the Holy Spirit to aid us in our roles as His disciples in the world. We rejoice in being able to be fed in the Holy Eucharist every time we come to mass. His real presence coming into our very life enables us to be part of the holy Paschal Mystery. We are blessed indeed.
So, with these latest additons, the Time Capsule will be sealed and awaiting the faithful who will lead and be part of our communities in 100 years!!! This is the weekend to celebrate the birthday of our nation. It is 246 years old! Happy Birthday USA!
God bless our nation and all of us. May we live to offer freedom to all peoples here in our nation and throughout the world.
Enjoy a safe holiday and let us all praise the Lord for all that has been bestowed upon us!
With faith and hope,
Father Rob