I want to thank Fr. Bob, the parish staff and all our ministry leaders for keeping things running smoothly during my recent retreat and vacation. I spent my annual retreat at a Cistercian monastery in Vina, CA (near Redding). It was a restful week of prayer, Holy Mass and communal prayer with the monks, walking among their orchards and time spent reading. This monastery is surrounded by nut and fruit orchards and, true to the name of the town, boasts a working vineyard and winery. After my retreat, I spent time here and there socializing and camping with friends in beautiful California. My time away finished up this last weekend as our Band of Brothers men’s ministry went on retreat at a cabin near Pollock Pines, CA. That was a very special time! God is working in this ministry; bringing strength, insight and grace to help these men become better Catholic husbands and fathers.
I’d like to thank the many St. Raymond parishioners who generously contributed to the 2017 Bishop’s Appeal. With your help we have already achieved our goal of raising $59,125.60! The Bishop’s Appeal supports programs that all parishes benefit from such as faith formation and catechetical training, CYO, the education of future priests and the needs of retiring priests – just to name a few. I am especially proud that St. Raymond had one of the highest participation rates among the parishes. 324 individual gifts have been made so far – a very large number! Thanks to all of you for helping us accomplish this goal for our diocese and our bishop.
Speaking of our bishop, Bishop Michael Barber, SJ is with us this weekend (on Saturday night) to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation upon 80 of our young people. It is an honor to have our bishop visit us again. Welcome, Bishop Barber, and thank you for all your support of our parish! And congratulations to all those being confirmed as you complete your Sacraments of Christian Initiation. May the gift of the Holy Spirit give you the grace to do great things for Christ!
Like Pope Francis, Bishop Barber has a heart for the needy. Recently our bishop invited priests and parish leaders to a presentation from experts about the rights of U.S. immigrants. We listened to several speakers tell us about the law as it applies to immigrants and those living in our country currently without immigration documents. Many of us were surprised to learn that from time to time law enforcement official take liberties with the law regarding immigrants living in the U.S. To learn our constitutional rights about this issue, in conjunction with Catholic Charities of the East Bay, St. Raymond is offering an information session in Moran Hall on June 29th at 6:30pm for anyone interested in learning more. Please share this information with anyone who can benefit from this knowledge, especially those among us who are seeking ways to obtain a legal pathway to living and contributing as U.S. citizens.
You may notice some slight changes in our church this weekend. Fresh paint was applied to the walls of the church interior and new accent paint was applied around the stations of the cross and on the niches in the sanctuary. These are beginning steps in our church interior renovation, supported by the 2015 capital campaign. We we will close the church from July 24 to August 17 (Mass will be in the hall) in order to install new flooring, a new tabernacle enclosure and a beautiful new mosaic treatment around the tabernacle. Other improvements coming soon include interior lighting and sound system improvements. Additionally, to comply with City of Dublin requirements, we will be building a new trash enclosure near the kitchen in Moran Hall. Thank you, again, to the hundreds of generous parishioners who through your participation in the 2015 capital campaign helped us bring the new plaza, preschool building, new school office and new parish meeting room to St. Raymond in the last year. We are ‘building our future together’ so that St. Raymond’s can continue to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ in accordance with our Catholic faith for generations to come.
May God bless you all. Know of my continued prayers for all of you.