HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!! This Sunday, we honor our Dads, soon-to-be dads, and “would-be-dads” (except that they gave up this role to serve some special/greater cause). We pray that all of these men may be the recipients of God’s special graces needed to carry out their role well. We also have a special gift after Mass for these men whom we celebrate today.

Last weekend, we celebrated the Birthday of the Church - Pentecost - and spoke of the power of the Holy Spirit working continually in us to strengthen us to do God’s will. No less “gifted” than the first disciples of Jesus, we are given the same charge: “Go out to the whole world and tell the good news.”

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of The Holy Trinity, as we acknowledge that our Triune God is all around us and is the source of all our being. God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, actively lives within us and around us and defines who we are. We are “called” (vocation) to act as “Children of God” every moment of our lives. In God’s eyes, since we are all His children, none of us is better than another, even if sometimes we act as if we are. This false interpretation probably results from our living in the “Age of Entitlement,” when that prevailing philosophy of life contradicts the way Christ called us to live. As a result of this neo-pagan approach, some people feel that they are more important than others, and that certain laws (of God or man) don’t apply to them. This type of “elitism” forces people into a false sense of security and hope for heaven, especially when they feel they are close(r) to God because they observe those of His external laws that suit them, but ignore the reality of what should be in their hearts because they are not really “in touch” with the real God. Jesus dealt with this often in His encounters in public. So, we pray to the triune God for a change in such hearts, and a chance to inherit what God has prepared for those who love Him.

Next weekend, we’ll observe the Solemn Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord – “Corpus Christi,” as it’s often better known in Latin. While many churches traditionally have a special exposition (and procession) of the Blessed Sacrament, we are blessed to have perpetual adoration of the Holy Eucharist in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel all the time. So you can take the time to visit with Our Lord next week or any other time, and listen to Him speak to you – “Heart to Heart.”

What blessings we have in the many volunteers of our parish who take on the responsibilities of helping our people grow in the faith. We can start with our Deacon Lee, Rusty Skinner, Kit Johansen and the rest of the RCIA team members who help lead our people into the depths of our Catholic Faith. This week, we add a gracious “thank you” to the team of adult leaders who helped Julie D’Addio in that superb staging of our annual “Vacation Bible Camp” in early June, here at our parish. Every year the program gets stronger and attracts more kids. These adult volunteers include Kim Weber, Marjorie Robinson, Amy Sexton, Kit Johansen, Heather Hackett, Lisa Murphy, Michelle Bylow, Dawn Transleau, Sue Perez, Michelle Gemma, Tracy Nixon, Amy Fairchild, Kathy Pollett, Marissa Valdez, Ann Rodriguez, Cecelia Beck, Pat Furbish, Micki Salvato, Teri O’Reilly and Doug Socha. They were assisted to a good degree by their spouses, and Deacon Bruce Turnbull, as well as a large array of students from high school and middle school (far too many to enumerate here, but equally deserving of our thanks and our prayers). Judging by the response from the participating kids during my visits there, the program nhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifot only gave the children better knowledge of the Bible and their God, but also engaged them in a lot of fun activities. May they now be able to carry this knowledge and love of God and His creation further into their lives. By the way, you can see some recent pictures captured by the camera of Marjorie Robinson by clicking here.

Our new Parochial Vicar is Father Khan Hoang, who has served, until now, as something like the “left hand” of the Bishop of Honolulu. Father Hoang and his family fled their native Vietnam to the United States when he was a youngster. He was ordained a priest in 1994 (a “youngster” by some standards), and has served in Colorado, California and Hawaii. Father Hoang will officially take up his duties here on July 1st, so let’s extend a warm welcome to him, and pray that his ministry in our parish will bear much fruit for him as well as for our parish.

Very Rev. Canon Tom