Pentecost Sunday

Catechism of the Catholic Church – Paragraphs 665-667 “Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus’ humanity into God’s heavenly domain, whence He will come again (cf Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides Him from the eyes of men (cf Col 3:3). Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with Him forever. Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” From these three paragraphs of the Catechism, we learn that the Ascension of Jesus accomplishes 3 main things. First, Jesus takes human nature in the flesh to heaven. Second, we are given HOPE that we too in spirit & body may one day join Jesus in heaven. Last, Jesus and the Father will provide us with the Holy Spirit to pray & be sanctified. The glorification of our bodies, the promise of heaven, and the gift of the Spirit are gifts freely given by our Lord & God so we may more perfectly be who we were created to be. Lift your hearts, minds, souls & bodies to God in Praise. PRAYING FOR A NEW PENTECOST – A Holy Novena About a hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII was inspired to call every Catholic Church in the world to pray for nine-days for the coming of the Spirit. This is drawn from the Apostles’ nine-day prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost. With the election of Pope Leo XIV, consider praying this novena for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Father, I repent of stifling the Spirit (1 Thes 5:19) by giving in to selfish desires. May I let the Spirit lust against the desires of the flesh (Gal 5:17) so that I thirst much more strongly for the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37). Father, stir into flame the gift bestowed when hands were laid on me (2 Tim 1:6). Father, by the power of the Spirit, may I devote myself "to the apostles" instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42). Jesus, the Holy Spirit bears witness on Your behalf. May I bear witness as well (Jn 15:26-27) right where I am and even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Father, without the Spirit I cannot please You (Rom 8:8-9). Not by my might or power but only by the Spirit can I live for You (Zech 4:6). Come, Holy Spirit! Lord, as the Spirit moved over the waters on the day of creation (Gn 1:1), breathe on me to receive the Spirit (Jn 20:22), send forth the Spirit and renew the face of the earth (Ps 104:30). Holy Spirit, take me in prayer to the foot of Jesus' cross. Reveal to me how I shared in crucifying Jesus through my sins. Crucify me to the ways of the world and the world to me (Gal 6:14). Crucify my flesh with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24). (This prayer is based on Pope John Paul II's encyclical on the Holy Spirit.) Holy Spirit, through Your gifts produce Your fruit in my life. Give me "love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness, and chastity" (Gal5:22-23). Spirit of Truth, make me true and faithful in all my relationships -- in family, church, and work (Jn 16:13). Be the Source of unity in my life (Eph 4:3). Father, may the Spirit of the Lord rush upon me and may I be changed into another person (1 Sam 10:6). Jesus, thank You for giving Mary to me as my mother (Jn 19:27). Mary, Spouse of the Spirit (Lk 1:35), as you prayed in the upper room for the first Pentecost, pray for me now (Acts 1:14). "Let it be done to me" according to God's word (Lk 1:38). AMEN. https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/praying-for-a-new-pentecost-12601 Reminder : Demolition of our boiler smokestack will begin Monday, June 2 by Koetter Construction. We anticipate it taking two-weeks. Electrical power for the church, cafeteria & middle school wings will be disconnected. Fortunately, the Fr Marchino Gym power will remain on. We plan to continue with Masses in the Gym for the weekend of June 7-8 th . Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God. Holy Family, With Eyes raised to Heaven, Pray for us. ~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Get ready for Catalyst Catholic’s exciting summer tradition— Theology on Tap is back! This June, join us every Thursday for an inspiring talk, great food, refreshing drinks, and time to connect with others. Open to all adults 18+ , this event is the perfect opportunity to grow in faith and community. New this year, your $10 ticket includes a free drink to enjoy while you listen and learn! Here’s our stellar lineup: June 5 – Dcn. Ned Berghausen: Crossing Over Jordan June 12 – Cassie Schutzer: Roots & Fruits of the Jubilee Year June 19 – Jamie Baxter: The Risk of Faith June 26 – Fr. Simon Herrmann: Making Sunday the Son day Doors open at 6:00 PM , with dinner served at 6:30 PM . On June 5 & 12, we’ll meet at Lanesville Knights of Columbus ; on June 19 & 26, we’ll be at the New Albany KofC . Grab your tickets today at catalystcatholic.org/tot and join us for an unforgettable summer!

We want to make you aware of upcoming schedule changes and campus impacts due to significant construction work. Beginning Monday, June 2, Koetter Construction will start the demolition of our boiler smokestack. This project is expected to last approximately two weeks and will require electrical disconnection to the church, cafeteria, and middle school wings. As a result, please note the following temporary changes to our Mass and Adoration schedule: June 3 : 6 p.m. Mass in the Gym June 4: No Eucharistic Adoration June 4–6 : 8 a.m. Mass in the Gym June 7: No 8 a.m. Mass 5 p.m. Mass in the Gym June 8: All Masses (8 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 6 p.m.) in the Gym June 10: 6 p.m. Mass in the Gym June 11: 8 a.m. Mass in the Gym June 12–14: No 8 a.m. Mass June 17: No 6 p.m. Mass June 18–21: No 8 a.m. Mass June 24: No 6 p.m. Mass June 25–28: No 8 a.m. Mass We appreciate your patience and prayers as we improve our campus. Please use extra caution while visiting and stay tuned for updates.

Rosemary Unruh, New Albany, IN, passed peacefully in her sleep from this life to heaven on Monday, May 20, 2025, at the age of 100. She was born in New Albany on February 23, 1925, the daughter of Dorothy and Lawrence Haller. She was preceded in death by her parents; her loving husband, James Unruh; her daughter, Kathryn Unruh; and her sister, Doris Owens (Ron). She is survived by her children, William Unruh, Don Unruh (Denise), and Mary Lynn Spencer (Jeff); her grandchildren, Christy Wiseman (Brandon), Emily Simpson (Justin), Allison Unruh, Lindsay Engle (Tony), Sarah Unruh, Nick Spencer, and Steven Spencer - also surviving are ten great-grandchildren: Piper, Hunter, Asher, Rylan, Josie, Carter, Mason, Logan, Kaden, and Sloan.

Christ has Risen, as He said He would, Alleluia!!! What a difference a few days makes. Last week was the close of another amazing school year. We had our annual Field Day, 8th Grade Awards, & 8th Grade Graduation. With the start of Memorial Weekend, the parish campus watches the departure of school students and the arrival of various construction crews. It seems that summer break should just be called construction season. We do work throughout the year, but certainly, we take advantage of the longer student absence to do more extensive work. On Monday, June 2, folks from Koetter Construction will be arriving to begin the two-week demolition on the old boiler smokestack. For safety reasons, we will have to disconnect the electrical power to the church, cafeteria wing & middle school wings of the building. All the power for those areas enters the building for distribution through the old boiler – now mechanical – room. Duke Utilities determined the proximity of the lines and need for an extensive personnel lift to be too close, so the system will have to be de-energized. This discovery last year during the Seventy & Strong Church refresh work is the primary reason the demolition did not take place last year. Fortunately, the Fr Marchino Gym is on a separate electrical feed, and we plan to continue with Masses in the Gym for the weekend of June 7-8 th . You may have noticed the huge pile of playground equipment sitting in the yard next to the Parish Office Building since April 23. With the start of summer break, work will commence installation of the new playground equipment. There will be one unit where the existing playground equipment is located. A new set east of the existing, near where the outdoor volleyball court is located. Plus, a new swing set in the northwest corner of the sports field where the current sunshade is placed. This upgrade is partially funded by generosity from parents & patrons at the HFS Gala back in February. It is also a response to the increased enrollment at HFS. Memorial Day Please pause this weekend to pray for and remember those who gave all, for all of us. Eternal Rest Grant unto them O Lord, and let Perpetual Light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Congratulations to Cody & Makenzie Married at Holy Family Saturday May 24! Know of our prayer for you both. Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God. Holy Family, Living Resurrection Glory, Pray for us. ~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Christ has Risen, as He said He would, Alleluia!!! “Many Catholics underestimate the power of hell and the possibility they may end up there", says pastor and author Msgr. Charles Pope. He said 21 of the 38 parables in the Gospels are about hell (often referred to as Gehenna)... “Nobody loves you and me more than Jesus, and yet nobody spoke of hell more than Jesus,” he told Raymond Arroyo on his EWTN television show The World Over on Thursday… “Jesus warns that many are on the wrong path. And we’ve got to stop and make a decision and be more urgent about this thing in our life,” he said. “And if I can say one thing about the Church today, we don’t have any sense of urgency. Everyone [assumes] ‘The deal is done; who needs to be saved? We’re already — it’s already taken care of.’ And that’s not true.” Even many daily Mass-goers reject hell, he said which he chalked up to what he called “a cultural trend where I think we’ve reduced love to mere kindness.” It’s possible for people to go to hell because people are free to choose God or to reject God, he said. “You can’t force someone to love you. And that’s why there’s a hell,” said Msgr. Pope, “It’s not about an angry God trying to keep people out of heaven, but rather a deeply loving God who is very reverential of our freedom, and He stands at the door and knocks. He doesn’t barge in.” “And we have to recover a sense that we have a decision to make, whether we really want to be with God in heaven one day — the real heaven, not a made-up one”… “But the ones I’m worried about,” he continued, “are the defiant, who shake their fist against the Church and the teachings of Scripture and say, ‘Look, I will not be told what to do. I’m going to celebrate my lifestyle, celebrate my abortion, celebrate a lifestyle that God calls an abomination,’ whatever, or celebrate greed or violence. ‘And I don’t think there’s anything wrong. I don’t need forgiveness.’” Msgr. Pope said a lack of urgency about salvation afflicts not only laypeople but is “among the clergy and bishops,” too. “We’re all distracted by minor worldly things and souls are being lost. And it’s like, ‘You need to make everybody feel nice and feel included.’ But what if they’re going to hell?” Msgr. Pope said. A second reason to emphasize what’s at stake in the spiritual battle for heaven and against hell, he said, is that without the battle for heaven, “there’s also no joy.” “If you don’t know the bad news,” he said, “the Good News is no news.” [Msgr. Charles Pope is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and the author of a new book called The Hell There Is: An Exploration of an Often-Rejected Doctrine of the Church, published by TAN Books and available at EWTN Religious Catalogue. < https://www.ncregister.com/news/msgr-charles-pope-new-book-on-the-doctrine-of-hell >] The quoted article excerpts above may seem like a very strange topic for a Pastoral Notes in the wonderful & glorious season of Easter! We are supposed to be rejoicing in Christ’s Victory. His vanquishing of death itself. Why speak of hell now in the season of Easter? Precisely because Christ’s suffering, death & resurrection was to open up the “narrow way” that leads to heaven (Mt 7:14). His victory & resurrection makes Heaven possible. Yet, this possibility requires more than His promise. It requires our purpose & choice. It requires us choosing the narrow way in our life. We indeed rejoice in Christ’s Resurrection, but we must see in that Resurrection also the call to make needed & necessary changes & choices in our life in the present, today, Now! It is said, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” Our journey to heaven started with Christ’s first step on the Road to Calvary. Will you take up your cross and follow Him? This is the only way that leads to heaven. Jesus is the only ‘Way, Truth & Life” (Jn 14:6). Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God. Holy Family, Living Resurrection Glory on the Path to Heaven, Pray for us. ~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Christ has Risen, as He said He would, Alleluia!!! Nearly every year during Lent, someone will tell me, “I don’t fast from anything during Lent. I just add something extra!” Certainly, I highly encourage the addition of an extra devotional, Holy Hour, Stations of the Cross, Rosary, daily Mass attendances during the week, etc. It is a great means to increase the time spent focusing on God amid the many distractions of the world. Of course, adding in that extra devotion during the 40-days of Lent, might lead to it becoming a holy habit in the Easter season & beyond. Typically, I’ve always thought about fasting as an essential step to the adding new. We fast to make room in our lives & then infill that space with the new holy habit. Even now in the Easter season, we can still think about Prayer + Fasting + Almsgiving. They are not set aside for another year, even while they are less of a focus in the writing & preaching of the Church now. But the real reason, I bring up the practice of adding versus fasting is because of the world around us. It is interesting how much Catholic Christians struggle with, resist, & fully ignore the importance of Fasting as a spiritual practice. There can be this sort of unspoken & unrecognized subconscious thought that “we’ve out grown those ‘medieval practices’, like Fasting.” We haven’t. The struggles against sinful flesh, while conquered by Christ’s victory upon the Cross precisely by the sacrifice of His human flesh, are still present. What is new, is His Victory has unleashed grace to make our victory possible in our personal struggles with our flesh, whether sexual, stomach, sleepiness & the like. But what I also find even more strange is that, just when we Catholic Christians seem to be fasting from Fasting, the world is promoting it. Many in the world are embracing it whole heartedly, even spreading the word of its value as if it were the Gospel Good News. In fact, just talk to someone who has recently discovered the value of “intermittent fasting” and they do their best to encourage, cajole, convince you that you should try it too! A search of the web of ‘benefits of the intermittent fasting’ will provide you a whole string of websites extolling its physical, mental, & emotional benefits. From the Mayo Clinic’s website: “Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating based on time limits. For a set time of hours or days, you eat a typical diet. At the end of the set time, you switch to very few or no calories, called fasting… The idea is that intermittent fasting causes the body's cells to change how they work. Timed eating may push cells to focus on repair, energy use, and balancing body-wide functions. Research shows that intermittent fasting may improve some signs of health in the short term. These include: blood sugar, weight, blood cholesterol, blood pressure & chronic inflammation.” Now in full disclosure, on the same Mayo Clinic webpage, they also caution that such fasting may or may not have long term benefits. There is a lack of long-term studies & data from which to draw conclusive conclusions. < mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/intermittent-fasting/faq-20441303 > We Catholics should know (& promote!?!) the value of Fasting. But not for its physical, mental & emotional benefits (although those too are good!!!), but because of its spiritual benefits. Its aid in self-mastery. Its contributions to conquering sin in our lives. Yet, rarely have I heard a lay Catholic try to encourage, cajole, or convince their non-Catholic or especially a non-Christian friend of the importance of such a practice in their lives. Why is it the secular world has no difficulty taking a perfectly sound religious practice (not just Catholic) and promoting it; yet, we faithful cannot do the same for specifically religious reasons?!? Fasting is just one such area which the Church has promoted that has since been adopted & expounded by the secular world, but stripped of its religious significance. Did you know that Natural Family Planning (the only approved method of regulating births & stewarding a couple’s fecundity) is more readily preached & promoted & implemented by the all-natural secular crowd than talked about or practiced by the Catholic Christians who did much of the work to develop the medical science behind it. Women who want organic, non-hormone infused foods, more readily adopt the non-hormonal NFP than Catholic Christian women whom God has instructed!?! Similarly, someone sent me an online article expounding the value of ‘resting one day a week’, from a completely secular perspective. Go figure?! God rested on the seventh day, but that’s not a good enough reason?!?! There are many articles touting the transformative power of daily meditation… but when Holy Mother Church reminds us its necessary to pray every day, we’re too busy. It’s interesting that the world is re-discovering the value of practices that used to be common place practice among Christians? Yet, how is it that the Christianity has nothing to offer, when the world is going the long way round just to arrive at what we already know – lives directed & shaped by Faith in Jesus Christ?!? Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God. Holy Family, Living Resurrection Glory through our daily practices, Pray for us. ~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Cain, James (Jim) age 84, entered his heavenly rest after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease on May 13th, 2025. The son of the late Marie and Bill Cain, Jim was born January 15th, 1941 in Louisville, Kentucky. The oldest of three children, he attended St. Helen’s grade school and graduated Flaget High class of 1959. Jim met the love of his life, Juanita, when they both attended the same kindergarten. Reconnecting in 8th grade, Jim followed her to Butler High School before transferring to Flaget. They were married the year following graduation. In the late 1960s, Jim accepted a position in Civil Service for the United States Navy on the island of Guam. Jim and Juanita packed up their young family and moved across the world, living the island life for 10 years. Jim felt called to serve and joined the Naval Reserves, then active duty aboard the U.S.S. Iowa. A true patriot, Jim was immensely proud of his years of service. He returned to work in Civil Service, retiring from Naval Ordinance in 1993 to pursue his dream. Jim developed an early love of all things automotive and enjoyed working with his hands. When the opportunity presented itself, Jim purchased an old lumber yard on Dixie Highway and converted it into “Antique Car Company”. Jim spent countless hours restoring and repairing old cars, especially Studebakers. In his later years, he found great comfort in his time spent with his Saturday shop crew; Alan, Steve, Kenny and Ronnie. Jim had a love for his cigars, Milwaukee’s Best, and bourbon. He was proud to be a South Louisville resident, active in Shively Area Ministries and in his parish. Jim was proud of many things, but nothing brought him more joy than his family. He is preceded in death by his parents, brother Dickie, son Danny, and grandsons Mikey and Jacob. He is survived by so many who love him, including his wife of 65 years Juanita, children Willy (Leilani) and Melissa (Jeff), grandchildren and great grandchildren: Shaun (April), Kyle (Maria), James (Ashley), Daniel, Sara (Ryan), Erin (Kevin), Amanda (Scott), Jonathan, Kevin, Mikey and Joey(Maria), Luana, Jacob, Lanea, Lilli, Gracelyn, Brennan, Bradley, Sawyer, Jackson, Emma, Madison, Abigail, Sedona, Lanie, Henry, James, Marc, Joelle, Teddi, Finley and Scarlett. 

If you or someone you know has experienced the loss of a child, we invite you to join us for a Memorial Mass for the Loss of a Child on Thursday, May 15 at 6:00 PM at Holy Family Catholic Church. This Mass is offered for parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends who mourn the loss of a child through: Miscarriage or stillbirth Early infant death Abortion Illness, accident, or suicide Any reason or circumstance No matter how long ago the loss occurred, you are not alone . We gather in prayer to remember, to grieve, and to lift our hearts to the healing love of Christ.  All are welcome to this sacred and compassionate time of remembrance and hope.