Whodda thunk?

Who would have thought my meager blogging efforts would be written about alongside Fr. Vic Galier's? Check out the latest Ga Bulletin article on blogging in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Now I really need to post more often!!!

Pray for our president

Today President Obama meets with our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. Let us pray that the meeting opens the heart of our president on issues regarding life. It will be interesting to see how/if the release of Caritas in Veritate affects the meeting or highlights particular issues.

Caritas in Veritate is out!!

Today the Holy See released the much anticipated encyclical Caritas in Veritate, the latest encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI which deals with Catholic social teaching. Encyclicals are major works by the Holy Father addressed to the entire faithful and offer insights and developments of the teaching of the Church for all faithful in light of the current state of the world and history. It is a beautiful document which focuses on the demands of love in dealing with all human relationships, both personal, public and political. The church will be unpacking it for some time to come!

I feel a homily or two (or three... or...) coming on!

Gearing up for Summer

Now that we have passed Memorial Day, the summer season is officially here! There is a lot going on as the summer approaches. I know I should be relaxing, but there seems to be tons of things to keep me occupied!

First, our seminarian is coming this week to serve at Good Samaritan for the summer. His name is Rey Pineda, and he is a fine young man studying at Southern Catholic in Dawsonville. I have been blessed with great seminarians in the past, and I know Rey will be no exception!

Next week, we have confirmation on Tuesday, with a visit from Archbishop Gregory. It is always a treat when he comes to visit!

We also have the Eucharistic Congress coming up, as well as our local Eucharistic Procession for Corpus Christi, where we will bless the city of Ellijay with benediction in the town square. It should be a very moving experience!

I hope to relax a bit, but looks like it is going to be a hopping summer!!!

Happy Easter!! The Lord is Risen!!!

Happy Easter to on and all!! Ok, I know I am a few days late in this, but I think I have sufficiently recovered from the emotional Holy Week last week. The Triduum was a very emotionally charged and uplifting time for me, from washing the childrens feet, to the Lord scheduling the rain on Good Friday around our Living Stations and Passion Service, to the joy of the Easter Vigil, and seeing the church so beautifully lit up by the Light of Christ in everyone's candles. I have just been OVERWHELMED with the goodness of God these past few days. I hope it isn't just me, and that others have felt the same. God is so good to us.

Blessed Holy Week!!

I would like to wish everyone a most blessed Holy Week as we begin the Holy Triduum today. The Triduum is the three days before Easter where we celebrate Holy Thursday with the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Good Friday with the celebration of the Lord's Passion, and Holy Saturday where we celebrate the richest liturgy of the year with the Easter Vigil Mass. Graces are overflowing in abundance these days!

Moving Day!!

The day has finally arrived! Today we are moving the church offices across the street to our new digs. We'll have more room, more storage, and more parking! Once we are all settled in and the place is all decorated and presentable, we will have an open house of coffee and donuts so everyone can take a look. (Of course, you can always come by anyway and see what is going on!)