Summer has begun (not officially but school is out and the Parish Festival is this week)! I hope to see lots of you at the festival on June 20, 21, and 22 from 5:00-10:00 pm. We still have spots to be filled for volunteers so check the website and sign up…or even give an hour or two when you show up for the evening! Lots of good food, games, entertainment, and just plain fun with your parish family…and at the same time supporting our one major fundraiser for the parish.

I hope all of you have time for real rest and relaxation this summer: time for prayer, time for being with family and friends, perhaps traveling to new and exciting places. But do yourself a favor and allow vacation to be a time to quiet your soul (and your cellphones!) and be grateful for this beautiful world of which we are a part. Whether you go away or stay close to home, don’t let this summer pass you by like every other day of the year!

Finally, thank you for the great response we are getting to the Centennial Project! We are doing great. I just encourage everyone to fill out the pledge card and support this capital campaign. We are a parish on the move and your help will keep us growing, thriving, and being a real powerhouse of evangelization here in Hershey! God Bless!
 

We have HEART (abortion recovery) at Morning Star. Following an abortion, many women and men experience initial relief, as the perceived crisis is over and life appears to normalize. For many though, the crisis is not over. Months and even years later, countless women and men continue to experience pain and grief. Morning Star recognizes the need for a safe, confidential environment for individuals to seek help and healing.

We will be beginning our next HEART (Healing the Effects of Abortion Related Trauma) Support Group in mid June. If you or someone you know needs hope and healing, contact Linda.

All inquiries are confidential.

Linda: heart@morningstarchoices.com
 

This year on June 17, the Daughters of Mercy will celebrate 100 years of being in the United States. We were founded in northern Italy by St. Mary  Joseph Rossello.
 
We will celebrate with a Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, June 16 at the 5:00 pm Mass. Visiting Sisters will participate in the readings and offertory procession.
 
Some may remember Sister Mary Grace, Sister Damian, Sister Geraldine, and Sister Judith from their teaching days here at St. Joan of Arc. Sister Claudia, Sister Amelia, and our new Sister from Haiti, Joana, will also be here to celebrate with us.
 
The Sisters will be selling the annual raffle tickets to benefit their retired Sisters after all the Masses today. Tickets are $20 for 102 chances to win! They will be available in the parish and school   offices throughout the summer.
 
RAFFLE WINNERS

• Daughters of Mercy—Newfield, NJ
• Jim Casaccio—Bolton Landing, NY
• Regina Yanick—Gilbertsville, PA
• Mary Pontano—Vineland, NJ
• Paul Behrens—Bridgeton, NJ

 

Please join us on June 23, as we process with the Blessed Sacrament through the neighboring streets in witness and faith to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi. We also hope that you will invite all family members and friends to what promises to be an inspiring and meditative journey.
 
The procession will begin immediately after the 11:30 am Mass and the walk of approximately 0.7 miles will stay in close proximity to the church building.
 
If for some reason you are unable to walk with us, feel free to come to one of the three stations and wait for the Blessed Sacrament to arrive.
 

The special collection on June 16 will benefit the Catholic Communications Campaign (CCC). Your support helps connect people to Christ, in the United States and around the world, through the internet, television, radio, and print medias.

Half of the funds collected remain in our Diocese to support local efforts. Through your  support, we produce radio messages from Bishop Gainer and promote the work of our Diocesan ministries in the media. We will also be launching a new series of podcasts and television programs.

By supporting the CCC, you directly help spread the Gospel messages to more than 240,000 people annually.

Thank you for your generosity. Learn more about Diocesan communications efforts on their website.

www.hbgdiocese.org/communications

I celebrated my first Mass 28 years ago on Pentecost Sunday (that year Pentecost fell on May 19). What a thrill for me to begin my priestly ministry at the altar on the day that the Universal Church was celebrating its beginning, its birthday. (The homilist for the Mass was coming from Philadelphia and just barely got there…he was stopped on the turnpike and got a whopping speeding ticket!) We gather around the   table of the Lord once again and pray that the Holy Spirit will shower us with his sevenfold gifts! Each year we recite or sing (in various versions) the Sequence of Pentecost, a hymn of praise to the Holy Spirit. My favorite part of the Sequence is the following:
 
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour thy dew,
Wash the stains of guilt away.

Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
 
I cannot think of a better prayer for us individually and for the Church as a whole! Come Holy Spirit, come! Happy Pentecost!
 

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.” (Ps. 119:105) Learn different ways to meditate on God’s words. Join us for a talk on Scripture: Taking the Word to Heart on June 12 at 7:00 pm. Be sure to bring your bibles as it is your passport to the Lord!

Lynn: (717) 503-1600
 

At all Masses on Sunday, June 16, the Nights of Columbus Council 6693 will be sponsoring Consecration to the Holy Family by inviting each family in the parish to consecrate themselves to the Holy Family and to devote themselves to the ideal model of familial love set by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. By reading a composed prayer aloud at the end of mass, each participant is consciously choosing to be a beacon of God’s love through his church. We suggest that each family pray together each day for the week leading up to June 16. We encourage a fast from something a week ahead of the consecration. We encourage each member of all parish families to go to confession the week prior to June 16 in preparation.