A not so light day

     In Friday's post I mentioned that there was not much happening.  That could not be said of this morning.

     Before the 8:30 liturgy one of our elderly parishioners fainted in the pew.  He was "out of it" and not alert at all.  I am always thankful for the trained medical people of the congregation who jump in and assist those in need.  That is what happened again this morning, until the ambulance and EMT's arrived.  By the time they took this kind gentleman to the hospital, he was much more alert.  Our prayers are with Bill (his first name) and his daughter, and our thanks to those who helped.

    We began Mass with the ambulance still at the front door of the church.  As I was vesting, a screw to my eye glasses came loose, and a lens popped out.  Needless to say, I could not find the screw [ by the way, its not the only time that I've been told that I have had a screw loose! ], and I had no extra glasses at the church.  So, my glass frames were askew, and I could see clearly out of only one eye.  It was interesting.  By the 11 am Mass I had a replacement pair.

     This was the weekend to begin teaching the new musical setting for our revised Mass texts.  That went over well.  We began with the Holy, Holy, Holy. I shared the Latin (to impress the people), then the present form followed by the new translation ... "Lord God of power and might" becomes "Lord, God of hosts". Then the music people taught the melody.

     Our Seton's Men's Group hosted Coffee and Donuts after both morning Masses outside in the circle of grass in front of the church.  It went over well, and they were gracious hosts.

     This was also the first Sunday for our Religious Formation for grades K through 4 at the Seton Center, our parish office center.  This takes place between Masses, and makes for complicated traffic patterns.

    And following the 11:00 am Liturgy, we celebrated the Sacrament of Baptism for four youngsters, whose parents and families brought them to the Church for welcome.  It was a great celebration, and all four were attentive and beautiful.  I have done multiple baptisms many times before, but this was a large group for this parish.  We had one young lady and three guys: they are Cora Marguerite Anselmino, Jackson David Phillips, Chase Britton Frischolz and Daniel Alexander Schlanger.  Parents were proud, grandparents were beaming, siblings were curious, and friends were excited.  My thanks to these families for sharing the gift of belonging to the Church with their children.

     So ... I am not complaining (many do so much more on a regular basis) but simply pointing out that a simple lost screw or a serious fainting spell can set things in motion that make the day interesting.

     Oh, and by the way ... the Steelers played and won this afternoon at home.  In southwestern Pennsylvania and throughout Steeler Country, this is always welcome news.