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From the Pastor
April 18, 2021
The Third Sunday of Easter

The Holy and Great Martyr St. George

Christ is Risen! He is Truly Risen! We continue to glory in Our Lord’s Holy Resurrection as we stand in the shadow of the Easter candle. The Holy and Glorious season of Easter will reach its culmination and wondrous conclusion on the Solemnity of Pentecost – May 23rd. And Easter is made more joyous as we celebrate the liturgical commemorations of the saints. On Saturday of this week April 23rd, we will keep the Commemoration of St. George, on April 25th the Feast of St. Mark, and on April 26th the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel. For our meditation of today I would like to turn our attention to St. George.
St. George is one of the most important saints in the life of the Church. He is the patron of England, of Russia, of Greece, and of Turkey. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. He is the patron of the Spanish province of Aragon and to this day it is the custom for children to make First Holy Communion on his Feastday in that province. The Cross of St. George is a red cross on a white field and it is the flag of England. We see it in the Union Jack. There are more Churches named for St. George than for any other saint. He is the patron of the Order of the Garter and of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George. He is the patron of all soldiers, and all scouts. George was a soldier of the Imperial Roman Army and was martyred at the beginning of the fourth century. This was the period right before the conversion of the Emperor Constantine and, ironically, was the time of fiercest persecution of the Church.
George is always pictured riding a white horse and slaying a dragon while a maiden is in the corner whom he rescues. Actually, this is a symbolic depiction of our great martyr. Through his martyrdom he slays the dragon who is, of course, satan, the ancient enemy of our race. The Empress Theodosia was so impressed with George’s courage that she herself sought baptism. She is the maiden in the picture.
You fought the good fight with faith,
O Martyr of Christ, George.
You exposed the perversion of the persecutors
And offered an acceptable sacrifice to God.
Therefore you also received a crown of victory
And through your prayers O Holy One,
Obtained the forgiveness of sins for all.
-from the Byzantine Liturgy

SPRING AT ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE

We remind you that our little ones will be receiving First Holy Communion on Saturday, May 1st. They will participate in the May Crowning on Sunday May 9th after the 10.30AM Mass. On that day they will be enrolled in the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Our Confirmation students will be making their Confirmation on Saturday, May 22nd.

Please see elsewhere in the Bulletin information about our Annual Communion Breakfast sponsored by the Marian Guild and the Knights of Columbus. The Guild members and the Knights and squires will attend the 10.30 Mass and the Breakfast will immediately follow the Mass. Our guest celebrant for the Mass and speaker at the Communion Breakfast is Father John Crozier who was ordained a priest in June of 2020. We had hoped that he would have been our guest for the Communion Breakfast in 2020, but the Covid-19 made that an impossibility. Father Crozier worked here at St. Paul’s in the summers of 2013 and 2014 while he was doing his seminary studies. We welcome Father Crozier in the charity of Christ.

In Jesus and Mary,
Monsignor James F. Pereda