Weekend of July 29-30th, 2023

Dear Friends,

      This weekend we welcome Sister Nancy, who is representing the African Sisters Education Collaborative, which is the organization our Mission Co-op collection is benefitting this year. Sister will speak at all the Masses at Saint Timothy and Saint Bartholomew this weekend, and our collection will directly benefit the good work of the African Sisters Education Collaborative. You will notice that the envelope for the Mission Co-op collection is undated, so many of you already made your contribution to this annual collection. If you did, I thank you. If you did not yet make your donation, I would ask you to use that envelope for this important collection. As always, I ask you to be as generous as possible as we help others to proclaim the Gospel which we ourselves have received and accepted.

At the entrances to our churches this weekend are copies of a book, which is titled This Is My Body. The author of this book is Bishop Robert Barron, who is presently the Bishop of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. Bishop Barron is a very popular Catholic author and evangelizer, who has written many books and has produced many Catholic videos and educational programs in the past several years through the organization he founded, Word on Fire. Bishop Barron wrote this book in light of the Eucharistic Revival we find ourselves in the middle of at this time here in the United States. The book, which is easy to read, is a wonderful summation of what we as Catholics believe with regard to the Eucharist, and a clear course of what we must do, as individuals and as a Church, to ensure that the Eucharist remains the center of our lives as Catholics.

      I invite you to take a book and read it, especially during this time of Eucharistic Revival. I believe that you will agree with me that the book is what I refer to as a “keeper,” that is, a book that you will read more than once. It contains a lot of good, solid Eucharistic theology, as well as food for thought as we contemplate the great gift that is ours in the Body and Blood of Christ. Please feel free, as well, to take a book to someone who may not be able to come to church.
           
I once again call to your attention the ad in this bulletin regarding the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults(R.C.I.A.). This process will be beginning in the fall. This journey of faith is for those adults and young adults who have never been baptized, those who were baptized in another Christian denomination and would like to be received into the Catholic Church, and those who were baptized Catholic but never were catechized and/or never received the sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation. If you know of anyone who falls into any of these categories, please encourage them to call the Rectory to speak with me so that they can begin this journey and be received into the Church at Eastertime.

            This is the last week of our Parish Raffle summer fundraiser. We are asking for a donation of $25 for each raffle ticket, and are asking you to please consider purchasing the raffle tickets for yourself, or selling them to family members, neighbors, or friends. The purchaser keeps the right half of the ticket. The left half of the ticket should be returned to us, along with the payment. We also ask you to please return your tickets and payment to the rectory, along with any unsold tickets. All tickets and money should be returned by August 1. The raffle will be drawn on Saturday, August 12, 2023 at 8:00 P.M. and can be viewed live at www.parishraffle.com

            Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere