I have been told that several years ago, St. Anne Parish made a great effort and spent a good deal of capital to create a “Gathering Space” to allow parishioners a place to share greetings, current events and to promote various school and church programs. It is good to have a place for these activities so that the Sanctuary remains a quiet place reserved for the Most Blessed Sacrament and those who wish to talk with God without interruption.
Some parishioners spend 10, 20 or 30 minutes before or after Mass specifically to lay their lives, wants, needs and desires at the feet of the Lord or to ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother or patron saint. Many want to say a rosary, a novena or simply be in the presence of the Lord for a few precious moments.
Please be respectful of Our Lord and those who wish to be at prayer. If you wish to recognize someone in the Sanctuary, a simple nod or handshake will suffice. Please use the Gathering Space for socializing. It is good to spend time with one another.
Many
have asked about the replacement status for our St. Anne statue.
We have many possibilities and we are trying to make sure we get the one
that is right for our parish. It is covered by insurance, so money is not
necessarily the issue. We want to be sure we get a statue that honors St.
Anne. Whether her eyes will peer down at us or at Mary, look up toward
heaven, or close in quiet prayer, the face of a statue draws us into the
spiritual world. The presence of a statue is to encourage believers with the
memory of our ancestors in faith.
During the Month of May -- a month both named for and dedicated to Mary – we Catholics have long honored her by placing a crown on her image. Crowning a statue of the Lord's Mother is symbolic of the honor we give her as the one chosen by God to bear His Son, our Salvation. As we look to May the month of Mary, we have tried to plan a May Crowning at the weekend Masses so the entire parish could participate, but what we found is that every Sunday in May is a Solemnity. So we have made a compromise. We will have a May Crowning at the all school 8:10 Mass on Friday May 9th.
I have asked that the Adoration Chapel be closed
during the weekend Masses from 5PM on Saturday and re-open at 2PM on
Sunday. Attending Sunday Mass is one of the precepts of the Church.
Nothing should interfere with it.
Quoting from the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2041, "The precepts of
the Church are set in the context of a moral life bound to and nourished by
liturgical life. The obligatory character of these positive laws decreed by
the pastoral authorities is meant to guarantee to the faithful the
indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort, in the
growth in love of God and neighbor." These last nine words are in St.
Anne Mission Statement.
Fr. Leland
- The Liturgy
- On behalf of Fr. Leland, myself and our staff I want to publicly say a heartfelt thank you to Maria Sosa, our parish secretary. As most of you know, ‘secretary’ doesn’t come close to describing all of the work she does; whether that’s translating, doing our printing, coordinating our stewardship efforts, fielding phone calls, answering questions or being a listening ear and support to myself and many of you. And the amazing thing is not only can she do this in two languages but that she manages to do it with kindness, grace and a positive attitude. We are so very blessed to have her.
- Attention all liturgical ministers: We will be receiving the new minister lists from the stewardship drive within the next couple of weeks. If you have not returned your stewardship form, please do so ASAP so we don’t accidentally leave you off the next schedule.
- We will schedule June and July ministers in the middle of May. Please let us know of any weekends you will be gone on vacation. We can work with you!! we value all of our ministers and don’t want to miss someone, nor do we want to assume you still want to minister so please send your form in. Thank you very much!!
- Spring is such a busy time for many of us. We have already celebrated some things and look forward to others. There are graduations, First Communions, Confirmations, Weddings, Quinceañeras, Mother’s day. Our parish is no different. For those of you that like to plan ahead:
- May 9th – May Crowning at All School Mass
- May 10th/11th is Pentecost Sunday.
- May 11th is Mother’s Day. We will have a special blessing for Mothers.
- May 17th/18th is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. We will have a blessing for all graduates and a cap & gown graduation procession for graduates from all high schools.
- May 20th at 7:00 pm is the 8th grade graduation Mass.
- May 21st at noon is the Kindergarten graduation Mass.
- May 22nd is the last day of school and an All School Mass.
- May 24th/25th is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.
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- All members of the parish are invited and encouraged to attend the special liturgies.
- --Tracy