When is a picnic more than just a simple picnic?  When the picnic is a gathering of the people of St. Alphonsus Parish, it becomes so much more than just a sharing of a “dish to pass” along with the hamburgers and hotdogs off the grill!  When the folks of St. Alphonsus gather, the gathering truly becomes a celebration of  God’s loving presence in our lives!  Our annual picnic is also a great opportunity for new members of our parish family to meet others in a relaxed atmosphere.

A parish of our size requires the help of many people. When you look around at a parish picnic, it becomes very evident that those gathered, by giving generously of their time and talent to staff the various parish organizations, make the parish “click”.  The presence of the parishioners just enjoying themselves and one another shows their commitment and willingness  to be there for one another and to be active participants in the Parish Family.

To me, the Parish Picnic is a reflection of the life of the parish family day in and day out, year in and year out.  Have a great time and hope to see you there!

Fr. Bernie Carlin, C.Ss.R.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, body and soul. Mary completed her work on earth.  The Assumption completes God’s work in her. It was  fitting that the flesh that had given life to God himself should never undergo corruption. The Assumption is the crowning of God’s work as Mary ends her earthly life and enters eternity. The feast turns our eyes in that direction, where we will follow when our earthly life is over.

The feast days of the Church are not just the commemoration of historical events.  They not only look to the past, but they look to the present and to the future and give us an insight into our own relationship with God. The Assumption looks to eternity and gives us hope that we, too, will follow Our Lady when our life is ended.

The prayer for the feast reads: “All-powerful and ever-living God: You raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul, to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory.”

In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma of the Catholic Church in these words: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven.”

With that, an ancient belief became Catholic doctrine and the Assumption was declared a truth revealed by God.

Pope Pius XII hoped that meditating on Mary’s life and her miraculous return to God would make us “more and more convinced of the value of a human life, entirely devoted to carrying out the heavenly Father’s will and to bringing good to others,”  he wrote in the Pray to Mary for she is our Perpetual Help, and gateway to heaven.

Brother Andy Patin, C.Ss.R.

Dear Parishioners,

As we enter August, I sincerely hope that all of you are enjoying the warm summer weather and that your schedules have allowed you some vacation time. But even as we rest and do our summer fun things, we don’t vacation from our faith. Faith is an integral part of who and what we are. Because we do believe in a loving and forgiving God, we should strive to be loving and forgiving as well.

This month we are blessed with faith opportunities. Last Sunday, we witnessed a commitment to the religious life as Aaron Meszaros made his first vows and we had so many Redemptorist here to welcome him. Each Saturday, during this month we are celebrating marriage, as young couples commit to each other and begin their journey of faith and life together.  Next Sunday, we honor Mary, our Mother in Faith, as we celebrate her Assumption into heaven. Like Mary, we too will have our faith rewarded, when at the end of our earthly lives we join God in eternal rest. Then later in the month, we celebrate our life of faith in community with our Parish Picnic. I look forward to sharing some delicious food with so many of you who help me be firm in my faith as I hopefully help you to be stronger in your faith. Then, there is also the Parish Golf Outing, in which some of us will be trying to hit that small ball accurately into a small hole, while the whole time trying not to be embarrassments to our faith. Here I interject that golf truth well known to golfers – not even God can hit a one iron. What a month of faith filled events and it is just beginning.

As I reflected upon the readings for this Sunday, I realized that faith is a part of me, who I am and what I hope to be in the future.  And, all those little and not so little moments of my life are opportunities for me to expand and grow in that faith. But, the truly wonderful part of it all is that I can do it with you. Thanks for being part of my life journey and making the trek in faith with me.

Faithfully with you all on the journey, Fr. Andy