Spirit of the Eagle – May 2015

Spiritual Tidbits for May from Father Tim

The arrival of May brings a beautiful spring to full splendor. May also brings us two great holy days: Ascension Day and Whitsunday (Pentecost). The busiest time of the church year begins at Christmas Eve and ends at Whitsunday. It is the busiest for the following reason. Through these seasons we experience all of the earthly life of Jesus Christ from beginning to end. If we are to be true imitators of Christ it is necessary that our lives pass through all the stages of His life. No one says it better than Saint Gregory of Sinai:

Everyone baptized into Christ should pass progressively through all the stages of Christ’s own life, for in baptism he receives the power so to progress, and through the commandments he can discover and learn how to accomplish such progression. To Christ’s conception corresponds the foretaste of the gift of the Holy Spirit, to His nativity the actual experience of joyousness, to His baptism the cleansing force of the fire of the Spirit, to His transfiguration the contemplation of divine life, to His crucifixion the dying of all things, to His burial the indwelling of divine love in the heart, to His resurrection the soul’s life-quickening resurrection, and to His ascension divine ecstasy and the transport of the intellect into God.

I hope and pray your spring, conceived in the last days of winter, progresses and grows to its full height of beauty, lifting your spirit outward and upward in divine ecstasy toward the eternal Sun of Righteousness, Jesus the Christ. ~Father Tim

May Spirituality Class

We will continue to utilize two resources: The Ways and Teachings of the Church and The Way of a Pilgrim. Pertaining to the first resource, if a Little Learning is a dangerous thing, it is also true that dense ignorance is a calamity. No one should willingly be ignorant concerning a great institution with which he is connected, or with reference to matters by which he is surrounded. The Historic Church is without doubt the greatest institution ever established on the earth — Divine, Universal, Permanent. Everything connected with it is important: its foundation, its history, its buildings, its customs, its precepts and laws, its ministry, its ordinances and ceremonies, its worship, its missionary work at home and abroad. No intelligent member of God’s Church should disdain — rather should he fervently desire — to be well instructed in all these things with which his life is brought in contact over and over again all through the year. The second resource was written by an unknown nineteenth-century Russian peasant and tells of his constant wrestling with the problem of “how to pray without ceasing.” Through his journeys and travels, and under the tutelage of a spiritual father, he becomes gradually more open to the promptings of God. The reader is enriched as he shares these religious experiences in a most humble, simple, and beautiful narrative. Please join me after Mass the 24th of May on a winding, joyful path to both physical and spiritual enlightenment. We will discuss the first three chapters in this class. ~Father Tim

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Pray continually for the rest of humankind as well, that they may find God, for there is in them hope of repentance. Therefore allow them to be instructed by you, at least by your deeds. In response to their anger, be gentle; in response to their boasts, be humble; in response to their slander, offer prayers; in response to their errors, be steadfast in the faith; in response to their cruelty, be civilized; do not be eager to imitate them. Let us show by our forbearance that we are their brothers and sisters, and let us be eager to be imitators of the Lord, to see who can be the more wronged, who the more cheated, who the more rejected, in order that no weed of the devil may be found among you, but that with complete purity and self-control you may abide in Christ Jesus physically and spiritually.   ~ The Letter of Ignatius to the Ephesians, The Apostolic Fathers

The Children’s Ministry has been moved to the third Sunday, the 17th of May, because of Mother’s Day. Once again it will be after Mass (during the Coffee Hour – all children should attend the Mass). It is designed for age 2 through 12 years. Please commit to bringing all related children in your family for this once a month fun and educational class. While you enjoy fellowship during the Coffee Hour, the children will participate, enjoy, and learn the foundation and building blocks of the Christian faith through bible stories and created crafts.

An advance notice about June. Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events. The 7th of June – Butler Coffee Hour with Asbury Church Match fundraiser for Savannah. Come and enjoy Padre Tim’s All-You-Can-Eat Taco Bar. For those of you who survive the Taco Bar, please be sure to attend the open “State of the Parish” meeting on the 14th of June. It will take place in the parish hall during the ACW coffee hour. ~ Father Tim

May Birthdays & Anniversaries

Abigail Evans – Birthday – May 4
Preston Moore – Birthday – May 6
Kacy Robbins – Birthday – May 9
Maria & Mike Whalen – Anniversary – May 8
Carol & Bob Petrie – Anniversary – May 9
Donna Lipscomb – Birthday – May 10
Steve Marvin – Birthday – May 12
Dana Law – Birthday – May 14
Judie & Rich Boughner – Anniversary – May 15
Natalie Evans – Birthday – May 16
Mike Murray – Birthday – May 16
Myrna Richtor – Birthday – May 16
+Fr. Richard Bryant – Birthday – May 17
Kim & Jim Marshall – Anniversary – May 23
Tina & Eric Smith – Anniversary – May 25
Judy Hiltenbeitel – Birthday – May 26
Frank Brady – Birthday – May 28

Ordo Kalendar Dates
May 3 – Easter IV – Celebrant: Fr. Neuroth
May 10 – Easter V – Celebrant: Fr. Butler (Mother’s Day events moved to May 17)
May 17 – Ascension Day – Celebrant: Fr. Neuroth (Coffee Hour & Children’s Ministry)
May 24 – Whitsunday – Celebrant: Fr. Butler (Pentecost Spirituality Class)

PLAY BALL!
As part of our community stewardship, St. John’s will once again be supporting the youth of Dayton in sponsoring a baseball team in the newly formed Hometown Sluggers League at a cost of $200.