Dear Parishioners,

Thank you very much your prayers, cards, flowers, and expressions of love on the occasion of my mother's death on April 24th. Mom's given name was Mary Rita, but she went by "Rita" all her life. She was 86 years old and the happiest person I have ever known. She had a wonderful life, as she herself said many times. Her funeral was this past Monday at our home parish of Saint Henry in St. Henry, Ohio (Mercer County). Our family is so grateful for the gift of her life. She truly helped us to see the goodness and tenderness of God. We will miss her, but we pray now that she is united in heaven with our Dad and our brother Jim. Thanks again for your prayerful support.

Next weekend we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, which brings the Easter Season to a conclusion. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the gathered disciples marked the birth of the Church. It is by the gift of the Spirit that we are able to pray and to live as the adopted children of God. The Spirit brings gifts ("charisms") and bears good fruit in our life (see Galatians 5:22). May our parish celebration of this great feast next Sunday help us to "fan the flames" of the Spirit in our parish and our lives.