SANCTUS BELLS

At the First Holy Communion Celebrations in our parish, our pastor calls the boys and girls up around the altar before he consecrates the host. He has the two altar servers stand on either side of the altar, near the candles, so the boys and girls can't get hurt.

It is really a beautiful sight to see the children gather around the Table of Our Lord, just as the Twelve Apostles gathered with Jesus, so long ago.

At the first celebration last Saturday, with the altar servers guarding the candles, there were no Sanctus bells at the consecration.

Afterward, I asked father if he would like me to ring the bells for the next celebration. His "yes" made me joyful. I asked one of my favorite 16 year old parishioners (an experienced altar server, lector, AND catechist whom everyone has watched grow up in our parish family) to give me a quick lesson.

You see, I grew up in the 60's and 70's, we had ALTAR BOYS not Altar Servers. I knew when the bells were to be rung, just not how. With a quick lesson, (she told me to ring them loud, and as father began to bring the host and chalice back down to the altar, to let them linger), I was ready, willing, able, and waiting to announce the presence of our Lord at the exact moment of transubstantiation.

My first time!

What a thrill!

What an honor!!

Having grown up in the 60's and 70's, I attended many years of Latin Mass at OLBS. To this day, when the host and chalice are lifted high, and the Sanctus bells ring, if I am in a standing position, I bow my body to my Lord. If, I am in a kneeling position, I bow my head.

Either way my heart, my soul, and my mind pray: "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Lord Jesus, come to me: body and blood, soul and divinity - cleanse me of my sins, heal me of my iniquities. Fill me up, Lord pressed down and overflowing, so I may do the Father's will."

I don't know if that whole prayer is the prayer everyone prays in their souls at that moment; or, if it is even THE accepted church prayer for that moment...but, it is the prayer that works for me...and apparently, for Jesus.

This week, we again had two altar servers for our celebrations.

I was so excited! I would be able to ring the bells, and announce the presence of our Lord, not once, but TWICE!!

At the first celebration one of the altar servers said to me, almost incredulously: "Father said, you're gonna ring the bells."

I smiled and said: "YES, I AM!"

At the second celebration the other altar server told me: "Father said, you do a pretty good job with those bells."

My smile was even broader, then!

I would ring those bells at every mass, every single day of the week, if I was allowed!

To be able to announce the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to the congregation is a phenomenal thing!


To announce the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to the world is equally spectacular!


This week, how will YOU announce Jesus' presence to those you meet?


This week, how will YOU model Jesus' presence to those around you?


This week, how will YOU recognize the presence of Jesus in others, without the help of bells?


How Will I?


For more information on the use of Sanctus bells go to:
Sanctus Bells Their History And Use In The Catholic Church

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

As a little girl in Catholic School (Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Bayside, Queens...YEA OLBS!) I won a raffle. The raffle tickets were 10 cents each (oops is my age showing?). The prize was an 18 inch cream colored plastic statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary donated by one of the other children's dad.

It became my prized possession!

Every year, after I won that statue, I would set up a May Altar in my bedroom with fresh lilacs from the bush in the backyard of the garden apartment we lived in at the time. I prayed to Mary every single day...still do.

The Blessed Mother is perfect! She is the shining example of what women and especially mothers should be. Her "yes" to God saved us all!

The Blessed Virgin Mary is Mother of us all!

For those of us, whose mothers can't or won't be present to us at times or always, due to death, mental illness, drug abuse, family drama, or other circumstances beyond their or our control, I assure you The Blessed Mother is present for you ALWAYS!

And, what better mother could you ask for?

Several years ago, the Knights of Columbus in our parish erected a beautiful grotto for the Blessed Mother. I love this statue even more than my 18 inch prize.

This Blessed Mother is life size. I can stand before her and pray and imagine myself talking face to face with my holy mother. It is incredible.

As I drive by the statue each morning, I say this quick prayer: "Blessed Mother, please intercede for me this day, with your beloved Son."

If you cannot be with your biological mother today, for whatever reason, and this day is difficult for you because of that...Pray To The Blessed Mother.

Tell Mary, your cares, your woes, your concerns, your goals, whatever it is that is on your heart.

She will listen.

You will find peace.

And, best of all she has an "IN" with our beloved Lord, Jesus Christ!

What more could you ask for in a mother??

Do it, I guarantee you'll feel better about yourself and your world!

God Bless You!

WELCOME HOME, CORPORAL CHRIS LEVI AND... THANK YOU!!

"On Saturday, May 16th Corporal Chris Levi, a Holbrook native and former
Sachem student, will be coming home to Holbrook, after a long recuperation at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, DC.

Chris, 26 years old, suffered the loss of both his legs above the knees, and the use of his right arm, during combat in Iraq.

Chris will be arriving at LI McArthur Airport at 12:30 pm on Saturday, the
16th of May.

With the efforts of the Holbrook FD and the local communities,
we would like the streets to be lined with people, starting from Mollie Blvd
in Holbrook, all the way down Broadway Ave to Vet's Hwy, greeting Chris home.

Please let's all make every effort to pass the word, and to be there to
welcome this brave young man and soldier home, and show him how much we
appreciate his service and sacrifice, and how proud we are of him.

American flags will also be passed out to all.

For more information, pleae call 631-484-3197."

CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS...

If you have SAT scores of at least 1050 or ACT scores of at least 21 and are interested in attending a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College in Texas go to:

Our Lady of Corpus Christi.

Check out what a Roman Catholic Liberal Arts College can do for your future.

They still have 10 Scholarships available for the coming year!

Meet Fr. Samuel Medley, the inspiring, faith-filled chaplain at OLCC, in the video I posted on May 7, 2009.

If you are interested in one of those 10 Scholarships, please leave a comment below, include your e-mail address, and I will be happy to pass it on to Fr. Medley.

I Wish God's Bountiful Blessings Upon All The Graduates Of 2009!!

WITHIN YOU IS THE POWER TO CHANGE OUR WORLD!!

"SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL DEFEND US IN BATTLE. BE OUR PROTECTION AGAINST THE WICKEDNESS AND SNARES OF THE DEVIL..."

Those who see dollar signs where there are NONE; those who value money more than human relationships; and, those who justify hurting others because of their own past hurts are NOT of God.

Love of worldly goods and love of retribution, over love of one another, is of Satan and his minions, NOT of God and his Church.

Let us all remember: Satan DID NOT CREATE God.

GOD CREATED he who became Satan.

Satan and his minions WILL NEVER OVERCOME God and the God loving!

GOD AND THE GOD LOVING WILL ALWAYS OVERCOME SATAN AND HIS MINIONS!

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live...." Deuteronomy 30:19

FR. SAMUEL MEDLEY: "EVERYBODY ON THIS EARTH HAS AN URGE...THE DEEPEST URGE WITHIN US IS LIFE ETERNAL...THAT IS GOD!"

Rev. Samuel Medley is a Roman Catholic Priest in the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. He is the Chaplain and Formation Servant at Our Lady of Corpus Christi, Texas. Fr. Medley teaches in plain language...his fervent faith makes me smile.

Fr. Medley's website can be found at:
Theology of the Body Taught at the Street Level

FRANK S. CAVA: MAY 24, 1916 - MAY 6, 2009

I first met Frank Cava in the summer of 2001 when I began working in the parish.

He was a pistol.

A member of the Fighting 69th he had many medals as proof of his courage. He brought some in one day to proudly show me. He was also proud of the movie they made about his battalion.

Every Sunday, Frank opened the church for the 9 o'clock Mass. He would get in around 7 - 7:30 AM and sit in the Fellowship Area waiting patiently for the rest of us. I think this was his quiet time with the Lord.

Every First Communion and every Confirmation Frank was at his post at the center doors of the church kibitzing with people about tickets. Whenever I would walk through for this or that last minute detail, he would put up his hand for me to Stop and say, "Ticket, please!" I would always grab his hand or high five it and tell him "I don't have one, guess I have to go home...you're in charge."

This past Saturday, was the first time in 8 years that Frank was not at his post. It wasn't the same at lunch in between celebrations without Frank's jovial demeanor.

As a dedicated, long term member of the Knights of Columbus, Frank would be there early every first Wednesday, with cake and cookies, to make the coffee for the other Knights. I remember one hot summer night, he mixed it up a little and brought ice cream and fixings to make sundaes for his brother knights. Another time, he came with a spaghetti dinner. He would always say he had to do something to get the guys to come to meetings.

I guess his motto could have been, "If you feed them, they will come!"

Frank would always talk about his days at Madison Square Garden and the different celebrities and people he had met there in his security post.

Frank always had great stories.

But, nothing meant more to him than his family and his wife, Susie.

A mutual friend told me a story about how he would ask her to call Susie to make sure she was okay. He worried about her so, but didn't want to be a nuisance. The friend called Susie and told her that Frank asked her to call. Susie told her Frank worried too much.

Such a cute man, such a beautiful wife, such a loving couple and wonderful family....Frank Cava will be sorely missed by his parish family.

Frank, may you rest in peace in the comfort of Christ's loving arms.

We love you!

THE AWESOMENESS OF GOD'S CREATION!

I DON'T KNOW WHO'S MORE ADORABLE: THE KID OR THE CAPYBARA!



FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CAPLINROUS GO TO: GiantHamster.com

FROM MY E-MAIL: ANOTHER TAKE ON WHY WE GO TO CHURCH!

I received this in my e-mail tonight. I don't know who wrote it. But, it is definitely worth repeating:

If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this!

If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it.

If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!

Why Go To Church?

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"


When you are DOWN to nothing, God is UP to something!

Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible!

Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

PLEASE HELP ME FIND A GOOD HOME FOR THIS SWEET SIAMESE TWOSOME!

THIS IS GINGER. SHE IS FIVE YEARS OLD...VERY SWEET...WELL TRAINED. SHE IS ONE OF MY AUNT'S BELOVED CATS. SHE NEEDS A NEW HOME WITH HER FRIEND JIMMY. MY SON AND I ARE VERY ALLERGIC; AND, I AM WORRIED MY DOGS WILL NOT BE HAPPY IF I BRING GINGER AND JIMMY TO MY HOUSE. THEY ARE THE SWEETEST TWOSOME I HAVE EVER SEEN. SHE IS A CHOCOLATE SIAMESE AND HE IS A SILVER POINT SIAMESE.



THIS IS JIMMY...HE IS FIVE YEARS OLD, TOO. IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW CAN GIVE THESE LITTLE SWEETHEARTS A GOOD HOME PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THEY HAVE LIVED TOGETHER THEIR ENTIRE LIVES AND MUST STAY TOGETHER. THEY ARE INDOOR ONLY PETS. PLEASE HELP ME FIND A GOOD HOME FOR THEM...I PROMISED AUNTIE DEE I WOULD!!

HOW IS IT THAT YOU MUST DECREASE...SO GOD CAN INCREASE?

Saturday night, we went to a concert by the Huntington Men's Chorus. They were wonderful, and our very own deacon had a solo, which was simply incredible. I told him afterward that he must sing EVERYTHING from now on...homilies, lessons, voicemail messages...EVERYTHING!

During the show, I spotted an elderly man, across the aisle, enjoying himself immensely. During the entire concert, he kept tapping the tips of his fingers together in time to the music. He was too cute. The smile on his face, that never dimmed the entire time, was infectious.

I can't get that man out of my mind. He simply glowed with the excitement of a little child! He came to enjoy himself and that is what he did! He had a way about him that reminded me of a young boy enjoying a new toy. Watching him enjoy the program made my enjoyment of the show increase.

I imagine that is how God feels when he watches us. His enjoyment of creation and humanity must increase when he sees us enjoying and taking good care of it and each other.

I think of the commercial, when I was a little girl, of the Native American man looking out over litter strewn along the highway, and garbage ruining the lake...the commercial ended with a tear streaming down that man's cheek.

I wonder, how many more times, God's enjoyment decreases by our actions and our words in relation to the created world and each other.

We have been told, and know it to be true that we must decrease so God may increase.

What are YOU doing today, that might increase God's enjoyment?

What are YOU doing that might bring a tear, instead, like the one in that long ago commercial?

How is it that YOU must decrease...so God can increase?