Dear St. Raphael Parishioners,

Summer Events: After a cold and rainy spring, summer weather has finally arrived! We have some exciting events to mark on your June calendar. Our Parish Picnic will be Sunday, June 12 after the 11:00 am Mass. Our annual Rummage Sale is scheduled for June 22 through 25. It takes many volunteers to make this fundraiser successful. If you would like to help, contact us either online or at the parish office. On Sunday, June 26 we will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Ordination to the Priesthood of Father John A. Jamnicky, the founding Pastor of St. Raphael. All are invited to take part in these celebrations, details will be in bulletins through the coming weeks.

The Archdiocese will gather priests for a convention during the last week of June. Some weekday Masses will be replaced with Communion services that week. Fr. Anthony Jelinek might have Mass on some days besides his usual Friday.

Social Issues and Controversy: There was a notable news story last week about our naon’s Supreme Court possibly planning to overturn the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision. That decision in effect made aboron legal at any time before birth, and took away virtually all human rights from a child in the womb. So news of a possible reversal of Roe stirred up serious turmoil. Keep in mind that it appears to be an unethical leak of information from someone on the Supreme court staff. The Chief Justice affirmed that the information was accurate, but subject to change when the Court issues their ruling next month.  

The abortion controversy stirs up strong emotion on both sides, often resulting in great antagonism. People who wonder about the lack of civility in our political process should be aware that the abortion issue has played a part in this for almost fifty years. The Roe vs Wade ruling effectively “locked out” the general public from our normal role in shaping public policy. It did our nation a great disservice in preventing the necessary moral debate on so serious an issue. For this reason alone, it would be a great social achievement to have Roe v. Wade overturned. Please pray in a special way during the coming weeks that the leaked news will turn out to be correct. Be warned of more turmoil to come, if the court follows through.

God bless,
Fr. Matthew