March 28, 2004
Plenty Good Room
From
Father Wismick
In the course of all the unrest in Haiti, we’ve been praying for
our brothers and sisters there. Father Wismick just sent this e-mail:
“This is to thank you for your support and your prayers for Haiti
for the past days. I know that the parish has been praying a lot for
us in all masses. After the recent turmoil which has made life even
more precarious for the people of Haiti, things are getting back to
normal slowly. For that, we thank God!
Keep praying for our country whose health and food are the most immediate
priorities.”
This weekend we, along with the other parishes in our diocese, take
up a special collection for the people of Haiti. The funds will be distributed
through the church in Haiti.
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
March 21: More
Passion
March 14: Reconciliation
March 7: A sequel
from Mel?
Feb 29: Come
to
Life!
Feb
22: An Adventure to Life
Feb15:
A rose by another name?
Feb 8: If at
first...
Feb 1: Our Patron
Saint
Jan 25:A View
From Inside
Jan 18: Our
School
Jan 11: Baptism
with Fire
Colums from 2003
Columns from 2002
Next
Sunday it will be hard to get a seat in church. It’s Palm Sunday
and huge crowds of people will come to pray -- not unlike that first Palm
Sunday, when the roads into Jerusalem were jammed with pilgrims on their
way to the Holy City. They ripped down palms to wave, threw clothing in
the street and chanted loud songs. I’m sure the usual inhabitants
of the place were either thrilled (“Oh good! Here comes everybody
again!”) or dismayed (“I can’t wait for this all to
be over..) In any case, it was a joyful mess.
So too at St. Brigid’s. There
are enough things to confuse both the “regulars” and the “crowds”.
To make it even more “fun” this year, we must remember to
turn our clocks ahead next Saturday night due to daylights saving time
-- if you forget that, you’ll show up an hour late and miss the
mass you wanted to attend!
Then we’ve moved the family
mass up to the school -- we’ll actually start with a procession
from Drexel Ave School at 9:30am and have mass in Code Auditorium. The
usual 9am Mass in the school will start at 8:30am so there’s time
to be out by the time the family mass “crowd” arrives. The
Spanish 11:45 Mass will also be in Code Auditorium -- but will start with
the blessing of the Palms in the Chapel.
We also have added two masses in the cemetery chapel (at 9am and 11am)
to help with the crowds.
Still it will be crowded and that’s
a good thing. I don’t know how you feel about “A&P”
Catholics (those who comes for ashes and palms) but I love them. They
are like family members who show up at the holidays and we’re so
glad they’re here. Sure, it’s a tight fit, but that’s
what happens at home too at our birthday parties, anniversaries, Christmas
dinners etc. We pull up extra chairs to the table and squeeze in. This
year there may be even more people than usual -- many people who have
seen the movie The Passion of the Christ, have decided to come back to
church and Palm Sunday will be special for them. So smile, squeeze in
and sing an extra Hosanna -- the family’s all together.
You are Person
