Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
~ Happy Back to School Sunday and Back to School Week! This weekend, we are happy to welcome our school children and school families at our 10:00am Mass for the annual Blessing of the Backpacks. An Open House follows at the school so that our students and parents can drop off supplies, see their classrooms, and start to get into the school routine. And there will be ice cream! All parishioners are welcome to visit the school on Sunday until 1:00pm. Many thanks to our maintenance staff, especially Amira, Todd, and his son Braden who have spent this summer deep cleaning, painting, repairing, and organizing the school buildings. As I mentioned last week, many projects have happened on the school campus this summer to make sure that our students and school community have clean and safe and school buildings and grounds. Everything looks great and we are ready to welcome our students back! Thanks also to Mr. Holley and Mrs. Villmer, and other members of the administration and faculty who have also spent their summer preparing for this school year. The first day of school is this Wednesday, August 13. Please keep our students and staff in your prayers as they begin the 2025-2026 school year.
This week is also the feast of the Assumption of Mary, a holy day of obligation, on Friday, August 15. This
day celebrates that at the end of her earthly life, the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed into heaven and
crowned Queen of the Universe, where she continues to intercede for us. Where Mary has gone, we hope to follow! Masses for the holy day will be celebrated on Thursday, August 14, at 6:30pm, and on Friday, August 15 at 6:30am and 8:15am. (The 8:15am Mass this Friday will be our first All School Mass of the academic year, and School Masses will be celebrated at 8:15am on Wednesdays during the school year.) If these times are not convenient for you, please check other parishes around us for their Mass times.
A special event coming up is our second annual Mass in the Grass at 10:00am on Sunday, September 7, at the Stone Shelter in Tower Grove Park. Weather permitting, we will gather for Sunday Mass, lunch, and fellowship outside that day at our beautiful neighborhood park. You are asked to bring chairs and blankets as we gather for Mass, and you are asked to bring your own drinks and a side to share for a potluck meal with our community. The parish will provide hot dogs, brats, and veggie dogs, and we will ask parishioners to bring sides, chips, and desserts to share; more information about what to bring will be shared in the weeks to come. The Stone Shelter is reserved all day, so you are invited to stay as long as you want to eat, visit, and play. This will be a great opportunity to give praise to God, revel in nature, celebrate our parish, and build our community. We will still have the 4:30pm Saturday and 8:00am Sunday Mass in Church that weekend for those who might not want to come to the park, but I hope that many will want to come to this unique celebration. Even if you are not comfortable coming to Mass in the park, you are welcome to join our community for lunch that day. So mark your calendar for our annual Mass in the Grass: 10:00am on Sunday, September 7 at the Stone Shelter in Tower Grove Park!