Well folks, I have gotten very far behind on the blog. I am truly sorry for this. There is a lot going on these days, and I feel like I am really behind on everything at this point. I sincerely welcome these Advent days with the hope that with God’s help I am able to renew my own vision of seeing all the different elements as a form of prayer while still maintaining dedicated time for prayer.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation: December 8
Please join us at 4:00 PM on Sunday, December 8 for our communal celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Advent. We will have a short service before offering individual confessions. We have many priests from the Des Moines area joining us for this opportunity to celebrate God’s mercy and grace.
Immaculate Conception: December 9
In other years, December 9 is the memorial of Saint Juan Diego, the one who encounter the apparition of our Blessed Mother on the Tepeyac hill in Mexico in the 16th century. However, this year is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In short, the Sundays of Advent are more important than the celebration of Mary and the Saints. However, because the United States is placed under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, we move the feast day to Monday. With the move of the feast day also comes a move in the obligation to attend Mass on Monday, December 9. We will offer Mass at 8:15 AM and at 5:15 PM for the Solemnity. Please join us.
New Confession Time: Wednesday evenings
We have moved our regular time for Confessions from Saturday mornings (a popular time for many parishes) to Wednesday evenings (a rare time). With our regular Confessions, we will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Wednesdays. Please note that on the first Wednesday of the month, confessions will be in the vesting sacristy as our Faith Formation students will be in the church for prayer services. Please look for the signs to see where the priest will be.
We are blessed in that Father Frank Palmer generously is available to hear confessions on Friday mornings. Father Palmer hears confessions in front of the Marian Shrine (the west corner of the church). We will continue to offer these confessions as long as Father Palmer is available to do so.
Council updates
Our Pastoral and Finance Councils met in joint session during the month of November to look at our 5-year vision and how to be wise stewards in order to realize our vision. The Councils identified several areas that we need to invest our resources of time, energy and finances in order to allow our family of disciples to live our mission. We spoke about both present and future needs, especially as we develop a roadmap for discipleship here at Saint Pius. The Councils engaged in a fruitful discussion that will be continued in the coming months.
Our Focus on the Eucharist
This year we are seeking to focus on the Eucharist. In the fall we shared with you the book Beautiful Eucharist, a compilation of essays published by Dynamic Catholic, to provide a foundation for developing a more Eucharistic spirituality at Saint Pius. Additionally, we announced an expansion of offerings of Mass during the week as well as time for Eucharistic adoration. Last weekend we passed out The Little Yellow Book created by the Veil Removed, a program developed in the Diocese of Des Moines to foster growth in devotion in the Eucharist. I want to renew my invitation to you to attend daily Mass—we celebrate Mass daily at 8:15 AM and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays (except the first Wednesday of the month) and Thursday at 5:15 PM. We have periods of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for your adoration following Mass on Monday mornings until 10 AM, on Wednesday evenings until 7 PM, on Thursday over the noon hour in addition to the already established times in the Adoration Chapel on Monday evenings (6 to 10 PM) and Tuesday mornings (6AM to 12 NOON).
December 16: An evening with the priests
Please join Father Daniel and me on Monday, December 16 at 6:30 PM. Father Daniel will give us an update about the Saint Pius X House at the Sacred Heart Parish in Atase, Ghana, and I will share about the pilgrimages I had in October. We are excited to be able to share our experiences with you in a more cohesive way—we have done bits and pieces at Mass. This will be a bit more expanded. We both look forward to these presentations.
Projects, projects, projects
We have some pretty amazing folks here at Saint Pius who are helping with some projects. I am hoping you’ve noticed that we have a new sanctuary lamp next to the tabernacle. We also have other projects around our campus that have been done by folks who don’t want a lot of attention. I am grateful for everything being done to make our spiritual home a more beautiful and attractive space.