Vacations & Commitments

Dear Parishioners,

This month of June marks the beginning of summer vacations. It also marks the time for me to remind us all not to take a vacation from our faith. Many of us will be traveling to some wonderful and sometimes remote places. God’s earth is a cathedral of sorts which proclaims his glory. I, too, will take my annual trip to the Oregon Star Party in August. I want to encourage you to make good plans. We’ve all forgotten something from underwear, to towels, to specific foods, to even important medications. This causes stress for what should be a time of relaxation and recreation. But, let us not forget our faith.

First, before you leave, check our website (stannegp.com) which has always had a place on the left of the page to find churches near your destination and between as well as their Mass times. Just type in the name of the city or zip code, and you will be given several options for Mass. Write down or print out that information and take it with you. Of course, if you have a smart phone, you can do this on the fly. This is where technology is awesome! As a child, a great lesson my parents taught me was that camping was optional, Mass was not. Although it was a real sacrifice to drive back into town from a remote location while camping, my parents did it. At the time, I wish they would have not taken out my Sunday play time on the beach, lake, forest, etc. But, it did instill in me the importance and sacredness of our faith and, in particular, the Mass. I am very grateful today for their example. As a young adult and now adult, I found that going to Mass in a foreign place brought me home no matter where I was. The Mass was, essentially, the same everywhere I went. It brought me peace and a sense of groundedness amidst the strange and unfamiliar sites of my vacations.

Another way not to forget one’s faith while on vacation is to continue one's financial commitment to the home parish. Every parish experiences serious financial dips during the summer due to people not making their offering, because of vacations. Yet, we all have to pay our bills. Some of our bills are lower and others are higher simply due to the season.

must, of course, continue to pay our employees who minister all year around. There are several ways to be faithful to one’s commitment. I’ll list them from less ideal to the most ideal way.

• Make up what wasn’t offered upon return from vacation.
• Offer one’s giving prior to leaving which includes the time away.
• Set up an automatic electronic payment system using what is called Automatic Clearing House (ACH). This, by the way, is the most secure way to give to the church.
• The ACH method is very flexible, timely, and secure.

All we need is a voided check and your signature for permission to make the funds transfer. Using ACH is very secure, for it does not create a check which could be intercepted in the mail or somehow mishandled in a myriad of ways, but rather makes a direct exchange from one bank to another bank. Any parishioner can determine if they want their offering to happen on a weekly or monthly basis. One can change their giving amount and or cancel the process at any time with a simple phone call to our business manager, Stephen Voehl. I use this method, and it gives me satisfaction and peace to know that I am giving what I promised and it happens automatically, especially when I am on vacation.

So, please enjoy your vacations! We all need to take a break and to rest. It is part of living out God’s commandments to rest. Within that rest, we are to keep our lives focused on God. So, please do not miss Mass. As much as is possible, arrange your vacations to seek out the beauty and uniqueness of other Catholic parishes. They will inspire you either in what those communities do or in what we do. Either way it is a win- win. Regarding keeping your financial commitment, seek out Stephen Voehl or me for more information about ACH. 
Finally, may God be with you on your travels. May he guard and guide you with his angels. May your summer vacations be full of life, love, and adventure!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

Going On Vacation?

Once again summer is almost upon us and many are making their plans for vacation. Vacation, recreation, and rest are an important part of the spiritual life. We need to get away from our common work and environment periodically and allow God to refresh and renew us. I hope that your plans will do just that.

As part of any Catholic’s spiritual life, Mass is a critical aspect. Without Mass, we go without our Lord, in his sacramental presence, in our life. Traveling allows us all to visit other Catholic Churches and get a new view of the Mass as it is celebrated in other communities and cultures. Please make every effort to include Sunday Mass in your plans. The worst thing on vacation is to vacate God from our lives. This does just the opposite of what a vacation should do.

I’m always curious to see what other communities are doing. Each Catholic Church has a character of its own, yet maintains that which is most essential. Feel free to grab a bulletin from any churches you visit. I’d be curious to see what other parishes are doing as well. When you are done with the bulletin, feel free to drop it by the office so I can take a look. No need to leave your name. I’d just be encouraged to see what other parishes are doing. Maybe they can be a source of inspiration for us!

Finally, be safe on your vacation. Take God with you, and go to see God at Mass when you are there as well as en route. Plan for our Lord to journey along with you. Give God praise for all the amazing beauty you see and the people you meet. Finally, I pray that you will return safe and refreshed with a renewed sense of faith and life!

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger 
Pastor 

Some Liturgical Changes

Dear Parishioners,

In the past several weeks, Fr. Manuel, Jessica, and I have been pondering upon and experimenting with some ideas and ways to adjust our liturgy.  Beginning this weekend, we will be implementing two changes, one for Sunday celebrations and Holy Days of Obligation and one for daily Mass.

On Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, we decided to change the way the vessels will be purified after Communion.  Going forward, the cup ministers will return their chalices to the Credence Table while the host ministers will continue to return their bowls to the Altar.  The vessels will still be purified by the priest or deacon, but in two different locations, expediting the clearing of the Altar.  To do this, the servers are being retrained to make sure that the Credence Table is mostly free of other items used earlier in the Mass such as the lavabo (the bowl for the priest to wash his hands) and other items used in preparation for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Also, the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are being trained to follow this new process.  This will also allow the sacristans to clean or prepare the vessels for the next Mass if they wish.  The clearing of the Altar is not a separate Rite in the Mass but a procedure in a transitional phase from the Communion Rite to the Concluding Rite.  However, due to the number of vessels, this procedure has been taking so much time so as to appear as a formal rite in and of itself.  This change will clarify and simplify this part of the Mass.  The General Instructions to the Roman Missal directs that the purification of the vessels can be done at their location. (GIRM 163).

On weekdays, we have decided to emphasize a greater unity with the Universal Church and increase awareness of the principle of Progressive Solemnity.  This term, Progressive Solemnity, is the principle where by the Mass ebbs and flows according to the state or “level” of celebration in the Mass.  When Mass is being offered on a day in Ordinary Time and there is no saint of whom we memorialize nor is there any feast or solemnity, the Mass should take on a very basic form.  This kind of day is called a “ferial celebration” or “ferial day”  The term comes from the Latin, feria, meaning “free day.”  On these weekday Masses, we will forego singing at the beginning and end of Mass and, instead, replace the entrance song with the universal antiphon which the Church is expressing all through the globe.  This is called the Entrance Antiphon.  The procession of the priest leaving the Sanctuary will be done in silence.  This small change will let us experience the change of a seasons via memorials, feasts, or solemnities in contrast to those days where none of these are prescribed.  So on ferial days, the Mass will be much simpler.  When a saint is to be memorialized, singing at the entrance and recessional of the Mass will return.  On feast days, as the Church prescribes, the Gloria will be said or sung.  On Solemnities, the Creed will be added.  So, depending on the kind of day the Mass lands, there will be more or less things happening.  We hope that this very small shift will allow our daily Mass goers to experience more the variations or the progressiveness of the sacrifice of the Mass while also bringing more harmony with the Masses offered throughout the world.

Are these important or critical changes, no.  But, I do believe that these small changes will aid us in more clarity and intelligibility of the actions, meanings, and sense of progression within the celebration of the Mass.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

New Roman Missal

Dear Parishioners,

I hope that your summer plans and events have been life-giving a re-creating of your body and soul. While our local temperatures have been lower than normal, I cannot complain that we haven’t hit any triple digit temperatures.

In the past several weeks, we have been making plans to prepare for the new Roman Missal. The Roman Missal is the big red book that the priest uses to celebrate Mass. This is different than the Lectionary, another big red book which contains the Scripture readings for Mass. With the new Roman Missal coming, it is important to prepare for its implementation. So, I’ve met with our priests and discussed plans with our Liturgy Committee about how to go about teaching everyone what, why, and how we will bring these changes to our community.

In October, I will offer a workshop that will describe, in depth, the rationale for the new Missal as well as offer many examples of the changes so people can get a good sense of how it will differ from what we hear today at Mass. The changes are not just for our area nor just for the United States. The changes are for all English-speaking countries. Please keep your eye peeled to the bulletin as well as announcements at Mass for locations, dates, and times.

In addition to this workshop, all our churches during November will pause from the normal preaching of the homily in order to allow for catechesis to take place on the changes as well as overall education about the Mass. In order to maintain continuity, each of the priests will be scheduled at the same location during the first three weeks of November. Here’s the schedule:

1st weekend of November: Reasons and philosophy for a new translation of the English Roman Missal and teaching of a musical setting for the Mass Parts.

2nd weekend in November: Catechesis on the Opening Rites and the Liturgy of the Word

3rd weekend in November: Catechesis on the Liturgy of the Eucharist and the Concluding Rites.

4th weekend in November: Total implementation of the new Roman Missal as directed by the Church.

I realize that any change is difficult for so many. That is why I am writing today, over two months in advance of this process. In my own preparation for this change, I have found that the Mass is more alive and the texts are more articulate of the mysteries we celebrate. I believe it will be a renewal for me, personally, and I hope that the same will be true for you.

If you have any questions or comments for me, please don’t hesitate to approach me and ask.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor