At St John Neumann Church in Gaithersburg, the 9am Mass was packed today. It could have been a Sunday Mass. This was a nice thing to see, especially since Thanksgiving is not a Holy Day of Obligation.
Towards the end of Communion reception, with several people still in line, the priests and Extraordinary Ministers ran out of Consecrated Hosts. There was an apology for that at the end. However, not all was lost. One of the concelebrating priests hurried back to the rectory as there were Consecrated Hosts there. The announcement was made that those who were in line could receive after Father returned in 5-10 minutes.
I am grateful for those two priests who took the trouble to ensure that all could receive Holy Communion today. Clearly they took seriously their call to administer the Sacraments to their parishioners.
I'm also grateful that we retain (for the time being) our rights as American citizens. A component of gratitude is being actively vigilant in their protection. From that task we cannot rest for one iota of a second. Ora et labora.
Our Mass was well attended as well out here in the Shenandoah Valley. It's always wonderful to see people putting first things first, thanking the giver of the feast!
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