A Concord Pastor Comments: Highlights of a great weekend!

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- On Saturday afternoon we had the fourth and last of our small group celebrations of First Reconciliation for 85 children preparing for First Communion this spring. The service begins with prayer and Jesus' story of the shepherd searching for the one of his 99 sheep who's lost. I use an arm puppet (above) to tell the story and after each child has been to the sacrament, we give them a miniature sheep (below) around whose neck is this prayer:

Dear Jesus, my Good Shepherd,
   I believe that you love me
   and watch over me always.
You know then that I am sometimes
   not the best child I can be,
   and so, I need your forgiveness.
I am like a little lamb who is lost
   and I need you, my Good Shepherd,
   to bring me back to your loving arms.
Jesus, my Good Shepherd, I do love you
   and I am sorry for all my sins.
Thank you for loving me so much.
Amen.

Child's Lamb

These celebrations are beautiful for the children and for their moms and dads as well. It's a joy to see parents so pleased with how the Church is relating to their children!

- Saturday evening I stopped into a favorite restaurant to grab a bite to eat. Sitting at the bar I met a delightful man and then his wife, daughter and her boyfriend who joined him. Jeff and I enjoyed an interfaith exchange that was both instructive and humorous. A good day capped with a great conversation.

- At the 11:30 Mass on Sunday morning two middle school youngsters, a boy and a girl, received First Communion. They wanted their First Communion to be a simple part of the liturgy and asked me not to draw too much attention to them. Simple, yes - but joyful for all who had gathered with them for this occasion! It was also the Mass for our bell choir's monthly ministry in our prayer. I love the sound and it always amazes me how each ringer knows just when to ring! Also at this Mass we had 20 seventh graders and their chaperons visiting from the local Unitarian Church. Each year the 7th grade class there makes the rounds of other houses of worship in town. I met with them before and after Mass, first to welcome them and then to respond to their questions. The chaperons had as many good questions and comments as the young people with them. They were taken by the spirit of our faith community gathered for prayer and the very joyful atmosphere. I'm not sure what they might have expected but I know they were pleased to experience what they found in our celebration.

- In the afternoon I posted my homily here on my blog. I've received some good feedback on it and from a range of responders, younger and older. If you haven't taken a look, you'll find it here. After writing, delivering and posting it, I've been wondering what others might add to my list of the names of the demons in our lives...

- In the evening I did my annual "Ask Fr. Fleming Anything You Want" session with our high school candidates for Confirmation. Submitting questions on index cards seems to free up the students to ask what they want. It was an hour's opportunity to speak about ministry, celibacy, why and how I became a priest, sexuality and marriage, alcohol and drug use and how to grow closer to God. Lots of territory to cover! I was especially appreciative of this class's good questions and their attentiveness to my responses.

Highlights from a great weekend: praise God from whom all blessings flow!