June 10, 2007 June 17, 2007 -
Corpus Christi and 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Dear friends in life and in ministry . . .
Well it looks like I actually missed a week. Two weekends have passed since my last update on my life and ministry. As is our parish tradition, we celebrated First Communion on the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Three children received our Lord for the first time at our Sunday celebration.
This Sunday we welcomed a special guest - Bishop Philip Naameh from the Diocese of Damongo in Northern Ghana. Bishop Philip is the uncle of our parish priest Fr. Peter Anglaaere. Since accepting the position of pastoral administrator at St. Mary's, Bath I have used the former housekeepers room for overnight stays - jokingly renaming it - "The Bishop's Suite." Finally, there is a real bishop using the room - making its new name legitimate for the first time. The Bishop will stay with us through June 27th.
Today we also celebrated several young people from the parish who will graduate for high school next week. In addition to a special blessing at Mass, our shawl ministers prepared a shawl for each of the girl graduates. The parish purchased a blanket for the boys. Following Mass, the parish continued their celebration with a Pancake Breakfast in the school hall.
On Tuesday, Patty will begin her nine week adventure as House Manager at Catholic House at the Chautauqua Institution. I plan on joining her for a week or so of vacation at the beginning and end of the season and a few days each week. It is such a blessing, and I really need some time away.
In addition to our last two bulletins, I'm also attaching the homily that I prepared for this weekend. See link below.
Also, recently it came to light that Fr. Peter (our Ghanaian priest) has been using about 70% of his salary to sponsor the high school education of 24 of children from his home in Northern Ghana. Tuition for each child is $400 per year. See link below.
But now, he himself will be returning to school to achieve a Masters in Education/Counseling at Alfred University. In an effort to assist him have the funds needed for both his own education and the students he financially supports each month, the parish has begun a Scholarship Sponsorship Fund for Ghanaian Students. An information and application form is attached should any of you wish to participate.
Have a blessed week.
Deacon Ray
Click image for printable document...
(Adobe PDF file, plugin needed)
Over the years, God has blessed me with many wonderful opportunites to
minister. As a Roman Catholic permanent deacon of the Diocese of
Rochester, New York, (ordained 1982), I have served in a wide variety
of ministries. Whether I am ministering to my parish, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, travel or retreat groups (e.g. Cursillo, Walk
to Emmaus, Koiniania, Pre Cana, Youth) - music has played an important
role in opening doors and hearts.
This website is an
extension of that ministry. Here you'll find the lyrics to many of my
prayer-songs and, if you like, purchase from a collection of CDs I've recorded.
There's also information about tours and pilgrimages that my wife Pat and I
occasionally host and links to web sites I've found interesting.
