​Our diocese has received a great gift: a new priest! The salvation of countless souls is attached to ordination of each priest and many graces are poured upon the Church with each ordination. We thank God for this great gift and pray that our newest priest may ever be faithful to the graces of his ordination. We were privileged to attend the ordination of Fr. Andrew Pacheco, received his first priestly blessing, and then to attend his first Mass. For his first Mass, Fr. Pacheco chose to celebrate the Extraordinary Form External Feast of Corpus Christi with a glorious Missa Cantata. In the presence of his loving family and friends, supported by clergy and seminarians, accompanied by exquisite sacred music, Fr. Pacheco offered the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with intense ardor and devotion. More pictures here.

 While not every sister teaches in a classroom, every sister participates in carrying out our charism of joyful evangelization in some way. Some sisters do teach the faith in a classroom setting, while others form the younger sisters or serve as catechists for the parish and diocese.

​One of our favorite May customs is crowning Our Lady. We have a crowning on the Saturdays and Marian feasts of the month. Each Sister has the opportunity to make the little crown of flowers, choose the hymn, and pick the Marian prayer the community will offer Our Lady on her special day.

Fittingly, the Church begins this month devoted to Our Lady by honoring St. Joseph, her Most Chaste Spouse, as the model for all who labor. St. Josemaria Escriva urges Christians to seek to know and follow Joseph for he will always lead us to Jesus. He says, 

Let us pray that the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, protect the family and teach us to understand both the dignity of the human person and the dignity of human labor.