THANK YOU for all the wonderful support you have given for our 44th Annual Parish Festival! The fine leadership, the true spirit of volunteerism (doing without seeking a personal kickback or in-kind payback in return), the often overlooked efforts of the behind-the-scenes back-breaking, time-consuming and really menial chores (that actually are many), helped make this year’s festival a great success (despite Mother Nature’s rain-dances over the weekend). The pre-festival set-up and post-event break-down efforts of our maintenance staff and volunteers, and their constant clean-up during the event, helped make the whole program run smoothly this year.

I thank Festival Chairman, Gerard Olortegui, and all his team for their brilliant teamwork. The final results aren’t available as I write this, but I’m told that each day’s results were better than each day of last year; and the generous underwriting, including the last-minute cost of the $100 raffle tickets (selling for $75 outside last Sunday’s Masses), helped pick up the total profit for the benefit of our school children. For all the people who have made this possible, and for all who genuinely participated in this parish-wide effort, I will offer a special Mass!

Next Week, Steve Dudenhoefer from our mission in Guatemala, will be back to our parish to speak to us and give us an update on the latest events at Ak’ Tenamit. I think you’ll find this year’s presentation a bit different than previous ones. The following weekend, we will make our annual generous response to his appeal. The school has grown exponentially over the past few years, and its success has been such that the Guatemalan government is asking that the program be reproduced in other regions of that country.

Thank you for your sponsorships During next week’s Spring Break (the kids love it, though Moms may be at their wits’ end), several of us are going to travel to Tallahassee for our annual “Catholic Days at the Capitol.” It’s an opportunity to work with the Florida Catholic Conference to ensure that our Catholic voices are heard in the preparing of legislation for the coming year. While there, we will participate in the annual “Red Mass,” concelebrated by Archbishop Wenski of Miami and Florida’s Bishops. It is attended by most of the top state officials (no matter their religious affiliation), and we’ll get a chance to see Father Chris LeBlanc there, who served as a deacon in our parish not long ago.

When many of us were youngsters in Catholic grade school, we participated in a Lenten “mite box” program to help the missionaries in their work. Our pro-Life missionaries ministering to mothers debating about bringing to term the children in their wombs are asking our help. Birth Line and Life Line of this diocese are distributing Baby Bottles during Lent, so that our Lenten sacrifice might help unwed and other distressed pregnant women bring their babies to term.

Next Saturday morning, at 10:30 a.m., Bishop Barbarito will be present to offer the annual Anniversary Mass for Married Couples (those who have been married 25 or more years, and measured in 5-year increments). It’s an exciting time for these faithful couples and their families and friends to gather and offer thanks to God in a wonderful ceremony. Bishop Barbarito will return to us next month (on April 2nd) to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation to our teens who have been diligently studying and deepening their knowledge of the Faith. The following week, he

will return AGAIN, for the celebration of a Solemn Mass that will mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of our parish, on Sunday, April 10th, at the 11:30 AM Mass. Then he will return on May 14th, to help me mark my 40th anniversary as a priest. We’ll keep his schedule quite busy around here; imagine what it’s like for him the rest of the time!

As we continue through our own busy schedule during Lent (and despite the older signs on campus), there is no Noon weekday Mass during the season. We no longer have 5 priests in the rectory as we once did. Yet, the requirements of several extra Masses for funerals, weddings and children’s liturgies (allowing for a day-off for those priests who can afford to take it) and the like can put a strain on our limited resources. Occasionally we have been blessed to have priests from St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary assist us, but even they’ve been reduced in staff (though, fortunately increasing this year and next in the seminarian population).

We’re going to lose our longterm weekend help in the person of Msgr. Stephen Bosso, who has recently been named a pastor in his home diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. His appointment will take place in June, so we will still be graced to have him with us for the next few weeks. I, personally, shall miss his company, sense of humor and willingness to “go the extra mile” for our parish needs. We have been friends for a long time, long before I came to Delray Beach. His homilies always have been “on the mark,” and he has spent previous years before this as our weekend assistant. But, being the good, obedient priest he is, he answers unswervingly to the call of his bishop to serve in his own diocese, again. So, this is one more reason why I often ask you to “pray that the Lord of the harvest will send more laborers (priests) into His harvest.” God bless Msgr. Bosso!

Very Rev. Canon Tom