A word from Pope Francis ~ “Mercy is the force that reawakens us and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” We were blessed to have our 4th of July holiday fall on a Sunday last week. It gave us a welcome 3-day holiday weekend. We could have not asked for better weather for our holiday celebrations. It gave us some good opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and reconnect with some family and friends we have not seen since the beginning of the pandemic. As we come to the second Sunday in this month of July, we celebrate the 15th Sunday in the Ordinary Time of the Year. We have been making our way through the Gospel of St. Mark in our Sunday Gospel readings. Week by week, we are seeing Mark’s portrayal of Jesus’ ministry unfold before us. This week we hear the account of the first mission of the disciples – sent in pairs to preach his message of repentance, a call to change attitudes. Thank you for your patience during our recent seal coating of our parking lots. As the work was scheduled “weather permitting,” we had to deal with the heavy rains we had in the middle of the project. Fortunately, we had the basic markings for parking in the lot done when the weekend came. The painting of the individual stalls took place early the following week. The seal coating work that we did was done as preventative maintenance. When water gets beneath the asphalt and winter comes, it freezes and expands breaking up the surface and creating potholes. So the seal coating and re-striping work does more than give our lots a nice, finished look. It actually prevents water from settling beneath the asphalt and causing major problems come winter. This preventative maintenance step helps keep our parking lots in good condition. Each year the Diocese asks us to welcome mission speakers to our parish who then invite us to respond to their appeal for a cause beyond our parish. During the winter months we received a local request for support from the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans located in Wheaton. They are a non-profit agency founded in 2007 that provides housing, supportive services and community outreach to help homeless and at-risk veterans. They operate on a vision of no veteran left behind due to homelessness, joblessness, poverty and /or mental health issues. We will be able to welcome guest speakers from the MSHV to our parish over next weekend, July 17th & 18th. They will help us become aware of their work and provide us with opportunities assist them. Please join me in welcoming their representatives to our parish next weekend. I recently received a prayer card that included “A Summer Prayer.” As we approach the mid-point of July, I’d like to share it with you. Fr. Jim Murphy