Holy Cross Parish Community
225 Purchase Street South Easton, MA 02375
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Fr. Brad's Weekly Column
This page contains 4 weekly columns. Click on the dates to view.
| May 11, 2008 | May 4, 2008 | April 27, 2008 | April 20, 2008 |
Dear Friends,
Last weekend, we celebrated First Holy Communion for about half of our second graders. Next weekend, we will celebrate this beautiful sacrament for the remaining half. In all, there are 120 boys and girls in this year’s class. It is always nice to celebrate this sacrament with them because they are so serious, while at the same time are so excited. I am excited, too, because they now can join us adults who share the Eucharist each Sunday at Mass. In my homily, I spoke about going to my grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving or Christmas. So much of the celebration focused on the special meal that my grandmother prepared. As kids, we had to sit at the “kids” table, and sometimes felt left out of what was taking place at the grown-ups table. We yearned for the day we would “graduate” to the adult table so we could share the meal with Gram and everyone else. I told them with their first communion, they had been moved up to the grown ups table. Now they are able to share in the Eucharistic Banquet with everyone else. And, unlike the meals on special holidays, they can share in this “meal” every week. I only hope that each one’s parents will bring them to church at least frequently, if not every week. Unfortunately families get so busy that weekly church attendance is not the norm, as it once was. If all of our parents who celebrated the first communion of their son or daughter each year came to church, our Masses would be full to overflowing. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Hopefully, this trend will change in the coming year.
During the First Holy Communion Mass last weekend, the church was crowded, as you might imagine – with our usual 4:00 Mass attendees, being joined by 20 second graders and all of their families. This certainly is not the first time the church has been filled to capacity. However this is the first time I have ever witnessed people being so disrespectful of the fact that they were in church, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Both Fr. Walter and Anne Tarallo were appalled at the conduct of many of the adults. He equated the behavior to that of a baseball or football event. I mention this because at times the atmosphere in the church prior to the start of Mass is anything but prayerful. I’d ask you to think about your conduct once you arrive at Mass – whether it is the 4 pm Mass or one of the Sunday Masses. There’s a time and a place for everything. Once in church we ought to be quiet, reflective, and prayerful.
Finally, let me bring to your attention a change we wish to make regarding your posture (standing, sitting, kneeling) during the Mass. For all of my time here, everyone remains standing after the Our Father and during the start of Holy Communion. People kneel, only when they return to their pew following their reception of the Eucharist. The norm of the Church is that we kneel when the Lamb of God begins and stay kneeling until those in your row get up to receive the Eucharist. Once you return to your pew, we ask that you kneel again until Holy Communion is complete and the priest returns to his chair. At that time everyone should be seated. Fr. Walter and I will be reminding you of this change at the beginning of Mass, as well.
As we move into the warmer weather. I know that there are many things going on in your lives. I urge you to remember the importance of the Eucharist and make every effort to attend Mass every weekend – even during the summer. God never takes a vacation from us!
Faithfully yours,
Fr. Brad
Dear Friends,
Time is flying by. As I look at the calendar I realize that I have just two months more here at Holy Cross. I know that it is going to be a busy two months. As I write my column this week, we have just completed our first year of G.O.L.F. (Generations of Living Faith). Needless to say, it has been a lot of work, but we are glad that we followed through with this new format for Religious Education. The response by all of those who took part has been very positive. Even though we have encountered some glitches along the way, it has been wonderful to see families coming together to learn about their faith. Overall, the results have been far greater than they ever were with the traditional form of Religious Education—simply because the parents have taken an active part in the learning process.
The program has been successful, thanks to the involvement of our parish staff. Having said this, let me assure you that much of the success is due to the commitment and hard work of Anne Tarallo, who practically lived at the parish center each time a new cycle of G.O.L.F. rolled around. She was assisted by some very dedicated volunteers, as was I when it came to preparing the food for the meals. However, we could have used many more volunteers. To be sure, for the program to be successful in year two, more volunteers are going to have to come forward.
Speaking of volunteers, as I look back over the six years that I have been here, this issue is one that concerns me. In almost every instance when we have prepared to conduct programs or hold events or activities, the number of volunteers stepping forward to offer their time and talent has been relatively few, and often the same individuals each time. With a parish our size, we should always have more volunteers than we need. I have not yet seen that happen. Indeed, young families have lots going on in their lives; they are involved in so many other groups and activities. I sometimes feel that Holy Cross suffers because events and activities here tend to be lower on their priority list. It goes without saying that to be a thriving parish there needs to be lots going on. We do have lots going on, but often not lots of volunteer support. In the future, if this trend continues, then those same few volunteers will back off and some of our wonderful activities may not be able to take place. In the G.O.L.F. program alone, we had many people sign up to volunteer, but many of those just never followed through. To those who did come to help, THANKS! The program could not have been successful without you. For this program to continue more individuals will have to be willing to become involved in some way.
We all have heard the old saying “We vote with our feet!” That is true for many of the programs we offer at Holy Cross. We have to consider the extent of support and volunteer involvement with each offering.
As you prepare to welcome a new pastoral team – Fr. Jim and Fr. Larry – I encourage you to think about the role you play in this wonderful parish. Is it an active role? Is it a passive role? Think about how much better our parish could be if every family volunteered for just one event or activity during the year – just a few hours of your time for the good of YOUR parish. This is one of the challenges I leave you with as I prepare to move to my new parish. Remember, when you serve your parish, you are serving God!
Faithfully yours,
Fr. Brad
Dear Friends,
Time is fleeting! Here we are at the end of April already. We notice it in the warmer weather, we notice it when we look at the gardens around the property. More and more green sprouting up. Soon we will start to see flowers again. How blessed we are to have Bob DiFabio as our plant manager. He takes such pride in care of the gardens and the grounds around the compound. I certainly will miss him. I only hope that the person who holds that position in my new parish is half as good.
After one of the Masses two weekends ago, a parishioner was commenting on the clear glass in the church windows. Her question was, or course, when will the new stained glass window inserts be put in. After speaking with Jack Hurley of Custom Stained Glass, it would seem that the project will be finished by the end of May. In a week or so, you will see two window inserts on display in the foyer of the church. This will give you an opportunity to see a completed window close up. Once the windows inserts are put in place, I invite you to consider memorializing loved ones by purchasing a window. A full window will be $1,500. If two families want to share the cost of a complete window, the cost of one half of a window will be $750. Each time a window is purchased, a plaque will be affixed to the bottom portion of the window. These windows will last long into the future. What a wonderful way to remember your loved ones.
You may remember a certain sign that was on display in the foyer of the church two years ago: We are already ‘prayer conditioned, help us to become air conditioned.’ It had been my hope, then, to air condition the church. There seemed to be many in favor of such a move. However, when we began fundraising for the project, we did not reach our goal. Though we did not go forward then, we did keep the $40,000 that was raised, with the understanding that we would follow through if and when we had the money to do so. During the past two meetings of the Parish Finance Committee, this project has been on the “front burner” so to speak. Parishioners have continued to ask when we would air condition the church. With the warm weather gradually approaching, it seems that I have spoken with a number of people who admittedly do not attend Mass here when the weather is hot; they attend one of several air conditioned churches in the area. Since we now have the funds necessary, and are the only church in the area that is not air conditioned, the time has come. Once I have heard back from the Diocese, with the go ahead, we will begin the project. If all goes well, we should have it installed by the second week of June, if not a bit earlier. Then we can put a sign on our front lawn, like St. Ann’s Parish in Raynham did three years ago: “We are both prayer conditioned and air conditioned.”
As I look back over the past six years, I am reminded of a good number of positive changes that have taken place, both in the parish community itself and in the overall property. Holy Cross continues to grow and we continue to work at meeting the varied needs of our parish family. For this, I continue to be grateful.
Faithfully yours,
Fr. Brad
Dear Friends,
As I write my column this week, I am preparing to visit my new parish, St. John the Evangelist, in Viera, Florida. During this six day visit I will have an opportunity to meet the parish staff, sit in on a parish council meeting, a finance committee meeting, meet the Bishop of Orlando, Bishop Thomas Wenski, and then preach at all five weekend Masses. One might think that 6 days in the Florida sun will be great. I doubt that I will see much of it. I may come back more tired than when I left. However, this will be a good opportunity for me to begin meeting people, and should give me a good sense of what my new parish is really like. Keep me in your prayers, please!
Despite the fact that I am beginning to think about moving, and all that this entails (UGH!!), the parish continues on its journey and I intend to give it my full attention right up to the end –the last day of June. We have some upcoming events that I am looking forward to: Our annual Appreciation Dinner for our volunteers—June 7th—and our Annual Golf Tournament at the Easton Country Club – June 22. Attention, golfers, get a foursome together (or 2 foursomes if you can). I understand that this year they are going to dedicate the Tournament to Bro. Jim Madigan.
This past Monday evening, the parish Finance Committee met. In reviewing our budget, after the first quarter, it became evident that our weekly collections are not meeting our budget expectations. Though we have had some good weeks, the past week was almost $2,000 below the projected amount. With this in mind, I feel I should say something about our 2008 Pledge Drive. I know that at least 1,600 families received an informative brochure that stated simply what the parish provides its parishioners, and what the costs are to support these needs. Our goal is that every family send in a pledge form, indicating what they are willing to commit to as their share in support of the financial needs for the fiscal year 2008. This information was sent out at the very beginning of February. As of last weekend, we have received only 192 completed pledges. To say that I am disappointed is an understatement. I do realize that of the 1,600 that we sent out, probably 600 families are actively involved in the parish. Which means that we should receive that many responses. Even in our best year, which was 2003, we received 450 completed pledges. I guess I need some help to understand why 400 families would choose not to send back their forms. By sending in a pledge, you are simply indicating what you are willing to commit to for the financial support of the parish during the year 2008. To make this kind of commitment says to me that the parish is important to you. Now I realize that many of you may be struggling financially. This should not effect your making a commitment to the parish. We are struggling too, but we are still committed to meeting the many and varied needs of you, our parishioners. Just a month ago we brought in a youth minister to work with our young people. This is a priority for us, even though we might have to struggle to meet it.
As I look back over the past six years, I can see how we have grown, and how much has been accomplished. Holy Cross can’t continue to grow and serve your needs if more of you aren’t willing to make a commitment to support the ongoing work of the parish. Instead of 192 completed pledges, why don’t we have 450? It’s not too late to do your part. And if you have done your part, be assured that we are very grateful.
Faithfully yours,
Fr. Brad
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