One thing that seems stable right now is change. As was mentioned last weekend at the Masses, the Bishop met with his Clergy Personnel Advisory Committee the past couple of weeks and some changes were made to the priest assignments. The effective date of these assignments is still August 19, 2020. I have been appointed to be the Pastor of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception and St. Ann Church, Lafayette.
There has also been an update to the pastor being assigned to the Pastorate of Holy Spirit Church, Fishers and St. John Vianney Church, Fishers. Fr. Dale Ehrman is the newly appointed Pastor of the Pastorate of Holy Spirit Church, Fishers and St. John Vianney Church, Fishers, which will still take place on August, 19, 2020. As previously announced, Fr. Cole Daily and Fr. Matthew Arbuckle will be Parochial Vicars (Associate Pastor) and Fr. Derek Aaron will be in residence.
Please continue to pray for the priests of the diocese as they undergo new assignments and especially pray for your new priests as they seek to help you journey closer to the depths of the immense love of God.
Coming up soon is our Patron Saint, St. John Vianney’s, Feast Day on Tuesday, August 4th. In preparation for this day, I invite you to pray a novena to St. John Vianney which begins on July 26th. There are pamphlets for the novena located by the St. John Vianney statue at the entrance to the nave of the church. I invite you to include within your intentions for this novena the priests who will be appointed to your pastorate. In preparation for the feast day of St. John Vianney on August 4th, allow me to share with you some of one of his sermons:
“If you desire the worship that you give to God to be pleasing to Him and valuable for the salvation of your soul, put it properly into practice. Begin by preparing for holy Mass as soon as you are awake, uniting yourself to all the Masses which are being said at that moment. When the bell rings to call you to the house of God, consider the fact that it is Jesus Christ Himself calling you. Start out immediately, so that you will have a moment to meditate upon the tremendous act at which you are about to assist. Do not say, like those people who have no religion, that you have plenty of time, that you will be there soon enough. But say, rather, with the Holy Prophet: “I rejoice when I am told that we are going into the house of the Lord.” When you come out from your home, think about what you are going to do and what you are going to ask of God. Begin by clearing your mind of earthly matters so that you will be thinking of God only. Avoid all sorts of unnecessary conversations which serve no other purpose than to make you hear Mass badly. When you enter the church, recall to yourself what the holy patriarch Jacob said: How awesome is this place! How holy it is! It is truly the house of God and the gateway to Heaven!
— The Sermons of the Cure of Ars