Blessings for this first week of July and for your July Fourth activities. May God bless us in his kindness and pour out his saving wisdom upon us. The following is an excerpt from the Litany for Liberty from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
For the freedom to love / For the freedom to believe / For the freedom to hope / For the freedom to worship / For the freedom to serve in charity / For the freedom to care for the suffering / For the freedom to comfort the sick / For the freedom to feed the hungry / For the freedom to shelter the homeless / For the freedom to proclaim the Gospel / For the freedom to walk in chastity / For the freedom to live in peace / For the freedom to walk in good conscience / For the freedom to stand in solidarity / For the freedom to seek justice / For the freedom to reject sin / For the freedom to reject coercion / For the freedom to reject falsehood / For the freedom to reject evil temptations / For the freedom to reject injustice. – Give us your grace.
Prayer: O God, who gave one origin to all peoples and willed to gather from them one family for yourself, fill all hearts, we pray, with the fire of your love and kindle in them a desire for the just advancement of their neighbor, that, through the good things which you richly bestow upon all, each human person may be brought to perfection, every division may be removed, and equity and justice may be established in human society. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.
Periodically we will provide updates on the priorities and goals of our Next Generation Parish initiatives. Today’s focus is on revitalizing the Usher Ministry.
The blue blazers still reside in a forgotten closet at Our Lady of Peace Church. These blazers are remnants of a former Usher Ministry that once thrived at the parish. This smart goal seeks to reestablish this important ministry of welcome and service.
Ushers represent a welcoming face to the parish. The holding of doors, and distribution of bulletins is but a fraction of the role of ushering. Parish ushers are the sentinels of liturgical space. Ushers make sure that the worship space is clean, presentable, and ready to receive its congregants. Ushers are attentive to the needs of the congregants and stand at the ready to respond to their concerns.
Furthermore, ushers coordinate the Sunday in-pew offerings and identify individuals who will represent the parish community through the presentation of the offertory gifts of bread and wine.
Ushers exhibit the spiritual qualities of joy, patience, kindness, goodness and especially faithfulness. Through their ministry the ushers hope to instill these qualities upon the congregants and encourage their participation.
Blue blazers notwithstanding, the hope of this smart goal is to re-establish the ushering ministry at both of our worship spaces in the Fall of this year.
A reminder that Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated every Tuesday at Our Lady of Peace from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. with Benediction. During the summer months the evening of Benediction will also feature a brief catechesis along with the Sacrament of Penance. These evenings will begin on Tuesday, 16 July and go on through Tuesday, 27 August. The 7 p.m. Tuesday Mass will return for the Fall at Our Lady of Peace on Tuesday, 3 September.