10/30/2022

Last Sunday at 1:30 PM we had a wonderful celebration at which 21 of our parish youth and 16 youth from Stanberry were confirmed by Bishop Johnston. Mike Casteel did the honors as Deacon (Randy Holtman was at Conception where his nephew was confirmed earlier in the day), and former pastor Fr. Pachomius represented St. Peter in Stanberry. I want to thank everyone who was involved in the successful planning and carrying out of the day: Cathy Hall who prepared the youth over the year and organized the ceremony, Abby Dropinski who headed up the liturgical effort, Glenda Conover who organized the reception, and so many others who helped out and volunteered to make it a beautiful celebration. I also want to congratulate those who were confirmed – it is a good class, and you made it!
This weekend we are doing The Blessing of a Child in the Womb. It is a relatively recent blessing which was approved only ten years ago. We do this blessing twice a year at Masses, once in the fall and once on Mother’s Day weekend. There is a blessing for the child, for the mother, for the father (if present), and for the whole family (if present).
This blessing fits in well with our welcoming of children. Children are valued in this parish. We have a Mass periodically where children participate in various roles, including singing; we have a school which is a huge commitment of finances, manpower, and energy to challenging children to grow; we have lots of baptisms; we recently had 21 youth confirmed; and we invest ourselves in our Wednesday evening religious education program. More recently we have begun to train parishioners and implement The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) for children from ages 3 – 12, though we don’t have the older level training (9-12) as of yet. CGS is experiencing growing pains, but it is also experiencing great spiritual fruit. It is the best of the programs out there for passing on the Faith to our children, and we have great hopes that we are training our children to combat the secularization that our culture is undergoing. No one could reasonably say we are not invested in our children.
The Blessing of a Child in the womb is an attempt to recognize that all human life comes from God and is sacred, that having a baby is a huge undertaking requiring courage, dedication, and ability to love self-sacrificially on the part of the parents for the long haul. We the community want not only to recognize that commitment, but also to support the parents in rearing their children as we bless them now in the womb, then baptize them, then teach them through CGS and in the school, confirm them, and eventually witness their marriages, their dedication to religious life, or ordain them to the priesthood. Much of what society is doing today focuses on individual happiness. We are countercultural in emphasizing that true blessing comes when we give ourselves away, not when we collect more stuff or knowledge or resources or influence/power for oneself. Sacrificing for the sake of our spouse or children or loved ones is the primary way that we learn to love. That is the kind of Christian culture we are trying to build here, where gift of self is prized over enhancement of self, and enhancement of self is done to enable one to give more, not have more. Let us gaze together at, and be inspired by, the crucified Jesus.
It is a privilege to be your pastor!

Father Albert, O.S.B