St. Juliana Falconieri Parish

Excitement and fatigue often happen together. This was certainly evident in the parish sacramental celebrations recently. Parents, children, teens, catechists, parish staff, celebrants, and well-wishers celebrated with great jubilation and some fatigue the final Mass of the School of Religion (SRE), First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. These were truly joyous occasions for everyone directly involved. The church was filled to capacity for the sacramental celebrations. The SRE Mass was a cause of joy because of the outstanding presence of so many parents. The smiles, hugs, handshakes, kisses and laughter were exhilarating.

Some have asked how my recovery from shoulder surgery is going. Well, I have about 60% normal range of motion. Lifting high above my head and behind my back are still stubborn moves. There is a significant amount of scar tissue and stiffness prevalent. My physical therapy has been reduced to twice a week for three more weeks and then a break for a while when my own home therapy takes over. This has been a painful six months. And as many of you know, recovery happens in small victories. Muscles and tendons have a mind of their own and the response time is different for everyone. At my age progress is slow. I am usually very sore after therapy and it is difficult to follow through with more home therapy.

The good news is that I can drive and do most movements using my lower muscles. I even played some golf with Paul Riffle and Leonard Aube from the parish. They are both excellent golfers and even during my pre-injury days patiently coaxed me along. I can only use a slow half swing and with some luck I make con- tact with the ball. After playing 18 holes of golf with a new caddy, the golfer asked him, “So what do you think of my game?” “Interesting,” replied the caddy, “but I like golf better.”

Recently, a near accident involving two cars driven by school parents took place in the parking lot in front of the rectory. This parking area is designated for rectory, facilities’, aides’, and teachers’ parking only. Sometimes school parents and others use it as a student drop off. Student drop-off is not permitted in this lot in order to avoid accidents or injuring our children. We ask all of our parents to abide by the drop-off procedures in the school parking lot. These procedures have been in place for many years and are familiar to everyone.

I hope you will take home a copy of The Catholic Worker on the bulletin shelves in church. This May edition is particularly in- formative because it is the 80th anniversary of the paper. In it you will find excerpts from articles past and present outlining Worker concerns, issues, and teachings relevant to the dates of publication. There is also a section which explains the philosophy, mission, and routine associated with houses of hospitality and the ministry of Catholic Workers.

In a recent article published in America magazine the author Eric Anglada writes about the history and new growth of Catholic Worker farms. Peter Maurin, the French protagonist of The May 19, 2013 Catholic Worker philosophy, along with Dorothy Day founded the non-violent revolution in 1933 to help spread Catholic social teaching, along with a back to the earth movement by creating farming communes, and in the city “Houses of Hospitality” to feed and provide shelter for the homeless and unemployed. The first farm was named Maryfarm in 1936 seventy miles from New York City and on the outskirts of Easton Pa. Besides farming, these workers canned vegetables and fruits, some of which were sent to the breadlines back in the city and held retreats that provided a space to rest for the down-and-out.

Today 80 years later, The Catholic Worker is reaping the harvest of those early years. It is 180 communities strong, including nearly two dozen farms and with renewed excitement, Catholic Workers are rediscovering the truth in Maurin’s quip, “Eat what you raise, and raise what you eat.” The Mustard Seed Farm, outside of Ames, Iowa, and home of the Catholic Worker Farmer newspaper, splits the fruits of its harvest three ways: among the poor, those who are active in growing the produce and subscribers to their Community Supported Agricultural program. For more on this topic you may go to americamagazine.org/pages.

The latest edition of the Orange County Catholic is also available in church. You will find this Diocesan newspaper in the metal newspaper rack at the parking lot entrance to the church. Please take a copy and share it with a neighbor or leave it some- where for others to read.

This weekend we bring the Easter Season to a close with the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. In article 731 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read: “On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person; of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.”

St. Paul in his letter to the Galations lists the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.”

In the fifteenth chapter of St. John’s Gospel Jesus says to his disciples: “When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth...He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.”
“’As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”

In the Joy of Our Faith,
Fr. Frank Falco, O.S.M.
Pastor