May Musings - Rector's Rambling for May 1, 2016

May is my favorite month, and not just because I have an ordination anniversary and a birthday in it.

Usually a lovely, temperate month (not too hot, not too cold), the flowers come into full bloom.  The grass has finally greened up and the trees finally get their leaves.  The earth puts on its spring and summer splendor this time of the year.

May has traditionally been a month dedicated to St. Mary, the mother of our Lord.  In my former parish in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, dedicated to her patronage, we had a crowning of her statue in the church and special prayers of thanksgiving for her life as the mother of our Lord.  We give thanks for her purity, her willingness to say yes to the archangel’s announcement that God had chosen her to be the mother of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, and for her faithfulness throughout all of Jesus’ earthly life, death, and resurrection.

Because Easter was early this year (end of March) we also find May chock-full of important feast days!

This Thursday, May 5, is the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven.  We will celebrate this at our 10:30 AM Mass as well as at a special 5:30 PM Mass in the chapel.  The next day we begin our nine day special prayer intention, called a novena, in preparation for the Feast of Whitsunday/Pentecost.  We ask God to prepare us and fill us with the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Ghost on that day, May 15.

May 22 is not only our Tiger Baseball outing, but also the celebration of Trinity Sunday.

Then the following Thursday, May 26, we celebrate Corpus Christi, the gift of The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, with a special Solemn High Mass and Eucharistic procession.  A garden party follows.

All of these, and everything in between, make May a wonderful month to be alive, to be a Christian, and to be a member of St. John’s.  Take advantage of, and celebrate, all these great things!  There is no better place and time to do it.