May 5, 2019

Spam ALERT
        A number of parishioners recently received e-mails and text messages pretending to come from clergy and diocesan staff, asking for gift cards, personal information or a reply. Parishioners have reported numerous times that requests for iTunes gift cards have fraudulently been made in my name.  DON’T BELIEVE THEM! These are fraudulent spam, phishing e-mails and texts and should be deleted immediately without opening.  I regret that you have to be bothered with these annoying requests.  Pray that like criminals, they  see the light and turn to the Lord.
 
Prayers Requested
Canon Law, the code of law of the Church requires every priest to make an annual retreat.  A retreat is not a vacation, rather it’s a time of prayer, intense listening and an openness to God’s holy will.  God blesses us by recharging our spiritual batteries so as to nourish us throughout the year.  It is critically necessary time in a priests’ life and ministry.
   Tomorrow morning, May 5, I will be leaving for my annual retreat.  I very much enjoy an environment of silence for reflection and prayer.  For this reason I have made my retreat at various Trappist monasteries in the United States for almost twenty years. This year I will again be going to join with priests and monks at Holy Cross Abby in Berrysville, Virginia.   Silence is not always a comfortable place to be, but it is necessary for all disciples so as discern the voice of the Good Shepherd and pray for the humility and courage to follow where we are called to be and to do what we are called to do.  I will be returning on Friday evening, May 11.
Please pray for me during this time away.  All priests depend on and so appreciate your prayers daily, and in a special way, during their time of retreat.  Know that I carry each of you in my heart and remember you in my prayers. 
Father Joe just returned from his annual retreat at Saint Vincent Archabby in Latrobe.  God continues to unpack his graces and direction long after we return to our assignments.  That is, in part, what makes your daily remembrance of priests in your prayers so very important.  Thank you.
 
Fonts of New Life
Recently, new baptismal fonts were installed at Saint Alphonsus and Saint Alexis.  At Saint Alphonsus, the former font was substantial in size, but impractical for use.  The top for it contained three individual bowls, too shallow and without drainage.  In recent years, baptisms have taken place by placing a large plastic acrylic bowl on top of the font (much like a commercial salad bowl) and the use of a glass pitcher.  The new font is surrounded with ornate wrought iron (steel).  It is smaller than the former font and it allows for water to drain through.  It was reclaimed from the diocesan Office of Patrimony which collects and houses religious items and furnishings from churches that no longer have use of them or have closed.  

At Saint Alexis, the former baptismal font was original to the old church, a stock item and matched the old altar appoints.  The new font, handcrafted in cherry wood with a granite top and bronze bowl, matches the new altar and sanctuary furnishings.  It is designed to be plumbed to connect with the sacrorium line which drains into the earth directly under the church.  This font was commissioned for Saint Alexis last year.
Both altar appointments are rather handsome and enhance the beauty and function in the churches they will serve.  Thank you God for your goodness; thank you to our many benefactors who make God’s presence felt in a very real way!  Blessings . . .

In Jesus' love,
Fr. Zywan