The priests' convocation a couple of weeks ago was held at the new lodge at Paris Landing State Park on Kentucky Lake. It is a beautiful place, both the building and the setting. One especially striking feature is the view from the room set up to be our chapel. It was perfect! It has a pitched ceiling and a glass wall looking out onto the lake. Every time I saw this view during prayer or Mass, I kept being reminded of an experience from my pilgrimage to the Holy Land. When we visited Magdala on the Sea of Galilee -- it's actually a lake -- we entered a chapel there that had a glass wall facing the water, like the lodge at Paris Landing! The views were remarkably similar.

A few weeks ago, I was in Washington, D.C. for an ordination and to visit my sister, who teaches at Catholic University of America. One day we had taken the metro into downtown Washington and were returning to the CUA/Brookland area where she lives. On trains like that, you can end up in a seat facing backwards, even as you move forward. I know that some people don't like seats like that, but they don't bother me. As my sister and I were sitting facing backward, we saw a young man coming forward, approaching us from the back of the car. He came right up to us.

I would like to invite everyone in the parish to the Corpus Christi procession after the 5:00pm Mass on Sunday, June 19. Corpus Christi ("Body of Christ" in Latin) is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Before we move out of the cycle of preparation for and celebration of the Easter Mysteries which started at the beginning of Lent, the Church gives us one more Sunday to focus exclusively on the gift of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist before we move into the Sundays of Ordinary Time once again.

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the new pastor of Saint Rose, Fr. Christiano Nunes da Silva – “Fr. Chris.” He will be beginning in the parish on Monday, June 27. Father was born in Fortaleza, a city on the northeast coast of Brazil, in 1972. He pursued studies in the sciences with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. Along the way, he worked as a quality control supervisor in the clothing industry and as an administrator at a center for medical imaging in his hometown.

In a time of transition, it is good to remember the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Soon, we will celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit empowered the Apostles to live in peace and confidence as the Mystical Body of Christ present in the world. After the Ascension, they returned to Jerusalem and spent nine days in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary. As promised by the Lord, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost in the form of wind and fire. Then the Apostles went out and preached Jesus Christ in the city where He had been crucified only weeks before. The Holy Spirit empowers us in the same way!

As a part of the parish facilities master plan produced by the strategic planning committee, initial recommendations include restoring the Marian Center and selling the old rectory on Maymont Drive. These are both located at the southwest corner of the parish property, behind the church. The parish is moving forward on both of these recommendations, and I want to report to you on that progress.

Parishioners keep asking me if I am excited about my move to the monastery, and the answer is yes. But frankly I don't have much time to think about it -- the time will come for that -- because of all the good things happening in the parish and the preparations for a peaceful and positive transition for the new pastor. First, we don't know who that is yet, but keep praying for him anyway! One fixed point we know is that the day of transition will be Monday, June 27. We will know the new pastor before then!

I want to reiterate the invitation to stewardship of talent from last week, especially for service in the liturgy. Thank you to those of you who have volunteered! Please look here to sign up, if you have not: https://bit.ly/3vAr5zV

It has been quite some time since I have addressed stewardship of treasure with the parish. I have made appeals for the diocese and for special collections, but I have not addressed our parish stewardship needs much during the pandemic.

I apologize that this message is mainly for those who attend the English Masses at Saint Rose because most of these updates have already been implemented at the Spanish Masses thanks to the hard work of our dedicated parochial vicars! The pastor has been lagging behind. Of course, like everything else at Saint Rose, anyone in the parish is welcome!

I think that we had a glorious commemoration of Holy Week and celebration of Easter at Saint Rose this year! Beauty really can lead us to what is eternal and transcendent, especially when it is united to truth and goodness.

I have to thank an army of people who made our liturgies and devotions so beautiful, as well as so true and good. The sublime music helped us to engage more deeply with the liturgy, according to the spirit of each celebration.

As we celebrate Holy Week and Easter, I am challenged and inspired by the example of Jesus Himself. During Holy Week, He consistently refuses to use the tactics of this world. He does not do so on Palm Sunday when the crowds are enthusiastically supporting Him, and He does not do so on Good Friday when practically everyone has turned against Him. He remains obedient to the will of His Father in everything.

The liturgies of Holy Week correspond to the historical events of the passion, suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. In that sense, it is possible to enter into these events with the Lord and with the Church in real time. The world around us does not pay much attention to Jesus during this week, but as Christians we must. If we set our hearts on Jesus and stay with Him, then we are drawn into the mystery of Holy Week. It becomes hard to imagine living during Holy Week without commemorating the events of the passion of the Lord.

The last two weeks of Lent are sometimes called "Passiontide." We begin a shift in late Lent to focus on the suffering and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. These are powerful days of grace in preparation for Easter.