Trinity Sunday and Hymnody

I just picked up our blue hymnal and opened it to a random page and looked at the hymn.  #413 was the first page I saw, Gather and Remember, text by Owen Alstott.  The hymn text written in 2001, not familiar to me at least, follows the traditional hymn method of using its last verse to praise the Holy Trinity.

Many hymns end this way - with praise to our God:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The next time you open your hymnal check out the last verse of the hymn - does it include a reference to the Most Holy Trinity?  If it does, then the writer of that hymn (whether it was written in 1500 or 2012) is following a tradition that spans many denominations, countries and styles of music.

This shows us how important our belief in the Trinity is and how important it is to praise our God:  Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Come to Mass this Sunday and sing your faith - that God is one God, three persons.

O most holy Trinity, 

Undivided Unity;  

Holy God, 

Mighty God, 

God immortal, be adored.

Memorial Day Stewardship Reflections

This Memorial Day we see so many visbible signs of Stewardship to our nation and faith. Freedom and faith go hand and hand and our nation has fought to keep our religious liberty. There are always threats to that religious liberty both inside and outside our nation. Jesus and many New Testament figures, like St Paul, reminded us that the evil one will always prowl the earth to cause division and even disbelief. This Memorial Day we honor those who fought for our country and thus helped us preserve that most important right, the right of Faith. Western History is full of movements that tried to take away religious liberty; from the French Revolution in 1793 to the Russian Revolution of 1917, to the Cristero War in Mexico in the 1920s, to the Nazi Movement of the 1930s and 1940s, along with hundreds of other smaller attemtps to extinguish the Faith. In addition to honoring those who serve, let us Thank God for His Providential Hand in keeping the faith alive.

Pentecost Mass this Sunday

We look forward to our Outdoor Pentecost Mass this Sunday at 12:30pm. 

We hope to see you there!

This Sunday will be our last Choral Mass of the season and our last Handbell Mass of the season.  I have seen both of these groups grow - both in number and in talent - throughout this year.  Their hard work and dedication shines in their exquisite and edifying music.  May God give them a restful Summer so that they may come back and continue His work in the fall.

Have you ever considered joining the choir?  Ever wanted to ring a handbell?  We'd love to hear from you!

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Easter Season--Ordinary Time

After celebrating Pentecost, we transition from the Easter Season to Ordinary Time in the Church calendar. The Easter Season is a joyous season within the Church calendar that lasts 50 days. Ordinary Time takes us through the summer and fall. The phrase “Ordinary Time” comes from the Latin Tempus Per Annum which loosely translated means “time throughout the year.” However, in reality no time in the Church calendar is ordinary. Just go to the internet and type in May Feast days or any month of the year and you will find an array of saints for each day. These men and women were certainly not ordinary, though many of them came from “ordinary” backgrounds. Sometimes we want the saints to be superhuman to let us off the hook. However, most of them were very much like us, they just persevered in the Faith more. As we transition to summer, we too should realize that God makes us all extraordinary, but do we take the type to notice and thank God for His gifts? Perhaps this summer as our lives hopefully slow down a notch we should take the time to ponder God’s gifts and act accordingly. The Church’s calendar year, much like the sacraments fit into the rhythm of life. Let’s take the time to find out how we are currently fitting into that rhythm and see how we might adjust to follow to God’s rhythm and will.

An exciting weekend at St. Joan of Arc!

This Sunday is Ascension Sunday!

At our Saturday Vigil our Children's Choir and Children's Handbell choir will provide music for our inspiration and joy.  This is the final Mass for our Children's Choir and The Ringers! for the year.  Afterward, the children will gather to celebrate our musical efforts from this year and award some students who have went above-and-beyond the calls of duty.  Thank you to all of the children who are involved in our music program.

At 10:45am we will have our last big Choral Mass of the year.  Many of our anthems from Easter will be repeated and we will celebrate with joy that day when our Lord ascended into heaven.

Alleluia!  Our God has risen and will one day come again.  Go out and proclaim this good news to all the nations!

Coming to the Pentecost Outdoor Mass?

Coming to the outdoor Mass on Pentecost (March 27th at 12:30pm)?

Some pictures from last year's Pentecost Mass:

Stewardship--Ways To Help

In the last few posts, you have read about ways to use your talents and the many blessings that God has given us through His Church. Now here are some ways we can give some of the fruits of those blessings back to God and His Church. It is Bishop's Annual Appeal time again. There are so many programs that the Bishop's Annual Appeal funds, which is helpful in the realization that some program close to each of our hearts will benefit from our generosity. While we are on the subject of giving, some of you use Automatic Withdraw to pay your bills, why not use the same method to give to the parish? It beats forgetting your envelope while on your way to Mass. One final thing to consider; have yout thought about the parish in your will? Something to ponder as we face the fact that tomorrow is not promised to us. We should use each and every day to thank God for His blessings and find ways to say thank you.

Who do you serve?

Many thanks to the wonderful people who share their faith and life with each other. Your witness provides a glimpse of the face of Christ. These examples are played out each time someone shares a life experience and connects that with God's presence.

One example that comes to mind is the time Rose Rouse and Margaret Royce shared their outreach experiences serving at  J.0.I.N. (Joint Organization for Inner-city Needs) with their Tuesday morning GIFT community.   Through their enthusiasm they inspired others in our small community to visit and support the efforts of J.O.I.N. by bringing donations of supplies each week they meet. This small community has also made 'field trips' to J.O.I.N. to volunteer and learn more about the vital work being done to assist those in need.

There are many opportunities to serve God's people, sometimes it just takes one small step such as joining a small faith sharing community to get the journey started. Please contact Pete Shears 614-888-1562 or Romy Riebe 614-885-9450 to get more information about various Growing In Faith Together (GIFT) opportunities.

An Exciting Weekend at St. Joan of Arc!

This coming weekend is an exciting one at St. Joan of Arc, in Powell, Ohio.

The Choir will sing their weekly Choral Mass at the 5:00pm Vigil Mass Saturday evening!  We hope to see you there.

On Sunday we have cantors at both 7:30am and 9:00am Masses.

At 10:45 we have our Children's Handbell Team, The Ringers! providing instrumental music to edify our congregation.

After a cantor Mass at 12:30pm noon, our contemporary ensemble St. Joan of Roc will sing at the 5:30pm Sunday evening Mass!

After the Sunday Evening Mass, we will have our final installment of our Christian Concert Series as the Columbus International Children's Choir presents its Spring Concert at 7:00pm at St. Joan of Arc.  We hope to see you at this wonderful concert event!

As with all concerts in the series, admission is free.  A free-will collection will be taken up to support the artists involved, as well as St. Joan of Arc Music Ministry.