St. John Neumann
Catholic Church

Tuesday the 22nd will be the last day for weekday confession and Mass in the early evenings for a few months. We will begin a modified "summer and early fall" daily Mass schedule, with two Masses offered each morning of the work week and morning confessions and Mass offered each Saturday. I do this for two reasons:

1. It looks like SJN will not be assigned a new parochial vicar until mid to late October. I enjoy lots of work but need to be prudent about how much work comes my way, as the only priest for this large family;
2. I will be away several times during this June through October period. In speaking with the deacons, all of us thought it best to suspend the evening offering for the time being, and initiate the evening confessions and Mass again on the 28th of September, when my retreats and days of study and holidays are mostly completed. Please check the bulletin for more details about this.

Thursday the 24th is just a few days away. I hope and pray that you plan to be with us as we assist Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama in blessing and dedicating our new worship space. The liturgy begins in the plaza, at 7:00 pm. The doors will be locked until the Bishop begins our Dedication Mass with a prayer and the ceremonial unlocking of the doors. Those parishioners that have difficulty with mobility will be allowed to enter the worship space beforehand, at 6:30 PM, from the lower level. Otherwise, we are all in the plaza... together... waiting to initiate the dedication of our new  spiritual home.

Once the doors are opened, all will file in and find a seat. You will see the staff of SJN standing in the aisles at the front of the church. They will reserve the front pews of each section for members of our four choirs, families that are participating in the liturgy, our visiting clergy, our Knights of Columbus and a group of parishioners and friends that have shown special leadership in our Building a Legacy of Faith.

Once the parish family fills up the new space, the rest of the people will be asked to find a seat in the current worship space, where a screen and a sound system will assist the "over-flow". The lower level of the church may also serve as an over-flow area (at the time of the writing this column, we're still working things out!).

Please come and join me in praying and singing and rejoicing... that the Lord has allowed us this incredible blessing! After the Dedication Mass, there will be a light reception on the plaza (or in the lower level, if raining). The 24th is one of those true milestones. To my eyes, it's a bit of a miracle: the deacons and the lay leadership of SJN keeping a true focus on what was needed through several transitions; collecting pledges during the worst economic situation since the Great Depression; redeeming those pledges when many are un-employed or under-employed; surviving the floods of 2009; surviving the issues of stolen dollars and missing pews. But look where we are... look what the Lord has allowed us to accomplish, together! Come and see, and please remember SJN's Golden Rule of Parking, leaving the best parking spaces for our seniors and for those with some problem with mobility.

Friday the 25th will see the beginning of new Mass schedules for both daily and Sunday liturgies. Beginning the day after the Dedication, the Monday through Friday morning Masses will be at 6:30 and 9:00 am. The Saturday morning sacraments of confession and Mass will be at 8:00 and 9:00 am. The Sunday schedule is as follows: Saturday evening, confessions are offered from 3:30 to 4:30 pm and the Vigil Mass begins at 5:00 pm; on Sunday, our Masses will be at 9:00 am, 11:00 am, 1:00 pm in Spanish and 5:00 pm.

Sunday the 27th will allow us another blessing: We have experienced the beginning of true spiritual renewal; we have completed the first phase of our Building a Legacy of Faith project (Phase Two will be the Parish Hall); we have survived obstacle after obstacle by the grace of God... as living branches of the Vine of Life; and on the 27th, one of our own... a young man that was a part of SJN throughout his formative years, will preside at his first Masses with us as a newly ordained priest! Fr. Llane Briese, ordained on the 26th, comes to SJN and celebrates the Lord's love for us at the 11:00 am and 5:00 pm liturgies... in our new church.

Take a look at these blessings. How loved we are by the Lord of love!

AMDG

Msgr. David Talley