Daily Mass

St. Ann Altar

"Only God knows the good that can come about by reading one good Catholic book" - St. John Bosco

The one good Catholic book for me was Rediscovering Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. This book helped catapult me on a quest to learn as much as I can about my Catholic faith. For years, reading Catholic books has been my norm.

One of the many books I read was The Supper of the Lamb by Scott Hahn. Hahn's book has taken me to an even higher level of faith in helping to create in me a desire to attend Mass as often as possible. It has helped me to understand the meaning of the Mass and all that is taking place at the Altar, which has given me a desire to become a daily communicant.

A daily communicant is a person who receives Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist every day or as often as possible. I have for some time now been a daily communicant; Monday through Friday at St. Ann-Bartlett, Saturday at Ave Maria, and Sunday at St. Michael.

Why do I go to daily Mass? I spend those 30-minutes each morning focusing on God. It feels good to hang out with Jesus at the foot of the Cross and receive the Eucharist. Plus, the church is the perfect place to pray for others and thank God for His many blessings.

I invite you to attend one morning Mass with me and bring your family with you. Once Mass ends at 6:45am, you have plenty of time to get some breakfast before getting to where you need to be. It is a great way to start your day.

“How happy is that guardian angel who accompanies a soul to Holy Mass!” – St. John Vianney

Morning Mass starts at 6:15am at St. Ann. It is usually held in the chapel but lately we have been in the big church.

Also, I have ten copies of Rediscovering Catholicism in my office. If you would like a copy, it is yours.

God bless you,

Didier Aur

Pleasure and Peace

While many folks don't look forward to attending Mass and come up with more excuses for skipping out than for attending Mass, I derive much pleasure and peace from attending Mass. I use the words pleasure and peace because I feel great and burdenless having participated in the Eucharistic celebration.

My favorites aren't the Easter or Christmas Mass celebrations. My favorites are the Friday all-school Masses when we come together as a community to celebrate. I love seeing our students participating and being an active part of the Mass celebration.

Each month during the school year, a different class takes charge of the Mass. The students of the class in charge serve as the greeters, altar servers, gift bearers, and lectors. The school choir leads the singing. Two of the 8th graders run the projection booth. The teachers serve as the eucharistic ministers. The younger students proudly sing the hymns while the older students are too cool to sing. The 8th graders and their PK3 Mass buddies become best friends and attend Mass together. Parents and grandparents attend with our students sitting with them. The priest's homilies are a short lesson of the day that quickly turn into a humorous and entertaining question and answer session. The younger students love participating in these Q&A sessions, while the older students try hiding under the pews so as not to get called on. At the end of Mass, the younger students are excited to greet the priest by the baptismal fountain. At the end of most Masses, there are awards to be presented to our students and educators. All of the pieces of the all-school Mass come together for a wonderful weekly Eucharistic celebration.

So yes, the all-school Mass is my favorite. This Mass more than any other gives me a sense of pleasure and peace. Our St. Ann families and friends are invited to join us for our weekly all-school Eucharistic Celebration and to hopefully experience that same pleasure and peace.

God bless you,

Didier Aur, Principal