Esta semana voy a Oregon para el festival de Shakespeare, junto con unos amigos sacerdotes, el Padre Jaime Coleman y Ken Olsen, quienes he conocido desde mis días como seminarista. El Padre Coleman estuvo en Sudamérica al mismo tiempo que yo y ahora es párroco de St. Joseph en Salem. En unas maneras es semejante a Holy Family – una población hispana muy grande y una escuela parroquial que ha servido la comunidad por décadas.

Hablando de nuestra escuela parroquial, seguramente han notado el trabajo en el lado sur. Estamos sellando el muro exterior para prevenir la entrada de agua. Fue notado cuando sacamos los asbestos este verano en preparación para la renovación mayor el próximo año. También estamos terminando el piso en preparación para el nuevo año escolar.

La próxima semana daré un resumen del trabajo hasta la fecha, cumplido gracias a su apoyo de la Campaña Capital. Y durante las semanas siguientes, proveeré información sobre los próximos proyectos.

También quisiera agradecer todos que han respuesta a la Petición Anual Católica: unas 332 familias, prometiendo un total de $49,468. Es una buena cantidad pero no alcanza la meta completamente. Ojala que podamos añadir algo. La Petición apoya sacerdotes enfermos y jubilados y la educación de futuros sacerdotes. En el fin de semana de la ordenación de Peter Mactutis habrá una segunda colecta para la educación de seminaristas. Irá para la Petición Anual.

Y, por favor, no pierdan la misa de ordenación. Se llevará a cabo a las 10 de mañana, aquí en Holy Family. La misa, mayormente en inglés, tendrá cantos y otras partes en español. Combinará las misas de 9:30 y 11 a.m. Arzobispo Brunett será el celebrante y habrá una recepción después de la misa.

Below is a picture of the poster, which the German youth magazine Bravo included in its most recent issue. The decision to include Pope Benedict instead of a pop band is momentous for Bravo, which reports a readership of 1.8 million. "We wanted to do something special for this German pope," said Tom Junkersdorf, editor-in-chief of Bravo. "He's a big star in Germany, and people want to see him and hear what he's going to say."

It is nice that the pope can compete with pop artists for the attention of youth. Of course, for us, much more is at stake. As we hear in this Sunday’s readings, Jesus gave the “keys of the kingdom” to St. Peter and told him, “you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” The keys were not buried with Peter, but handed on to his successor, St. Linus. Today those keys are in the hands of the 266th pope, our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Seven young people from our parish attended World Youth Day in Cologne. They brought our prayer intentions with them, and we look forward to hearing from them when they return later this week.

Benedikt Moellering, a young man from Muenster who bears the same name as the new pope, made the following comment: "I'm excited. I think it will be a new chance for the Church in Europe, and especially in Germany. The Church here is not strong. The many young people are a symbolic sign of supporting the pope." He was part of the many people shown in this picture. It shows a young sister who accompanied a group of youth. I don’t know what the large plastic hand means, unless it is simply a way of waving back to the pope.

This week I am going on a little pilgrimage myself, not to Europe but to Ashland, Oregon, for a few days of the Shakespeare Festival. I will be going with a couple of priest friends, Frs. Jim Coleman and Ken Olsen, whom I knew from my student days. Fr. Coleman and I were also in South America at the same time, during the late eighties and early nineties. He is now pastor of St. Joseph Church in Salem, which in some ways is similar to Holy Family Parish – a very large Hispanic population and a parish school that has served the community for decades.

Speaking of our parish school, you have probably noticed the work on its south side. Because of some long standing leakage, we are sealing that part of the wall. The need to do this became more apparent when we did the work on the ground floor this summer. As you know we have removed the asbestos in preparation for a major renovation next summer. The asbestos work required the removal of the floor tiles (the old tiles contained asbestos) as well as work on pipes and other parts that had that material which contains a potential health hazard when exposed. The floor itself is being sealed and leveled in preparation of for our new school. The covering looks very nice.

Next week I will give a summary of the work done so far, thanks to your support of the parish Capital Campaign. And the following week I will try to provide some information of the upcoming projects. I am most grateful for your ongoing support of Holy Family Parish in your regular Sunday giving, as well as those four hundred plus families who have made pledges to the Capital Campaign.

At this time I also would like to thank all those who responded to the Annual Catholic Appeal: a total of 332 families pledging $49,468. That is a respectable amount, but a bit shy of our parish goal. Because of the importance of the Appeal, we hopefully can add to it as the year progresses. The Appeal, for example, helps support retired priests and religious, as well as educate future priests. On the weekend that Peter Mactutis is ordained a deacon, the two-bit collection will go for education of seminarians and will help toward our Annual Appeal goal.

Please, of course, plan on attending that ordination Mass. It will take place at 10 a.m., September 4, here in Holy Family Church. The Mass, which will be in English with some Spanish parts, will combine the 9:30 and 11 a.m. Masses. Archbishop Brunett will be here, and a reception will follow the Mass. Don’t miss it.