St. Paul VI - May 29, 2026

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

"Every night about midnight I open my mail of the day. Almost every letter has a thorn in it. When I put my head on my pillow at night, I really lay it on a crown of thorns." said Pope St. Paul VI to Archbishop Fulton Sheen. 

Today is the feast day of St. Paul VI (+1978).  He was pope in a turbulent time of society and the Church. He was a pope reformer of the liturgy and ecclesial structure of the Church. He was an advocate for peace and social justice in a world of turmoil. All these advancements brought praise by many inside and outside the Church, so what were the ‘thorns’ he was referring to? It was the rejection of his encyclical, Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) in which he prophetically warned the world about the dangers of contraception. This document was rejected by many U.S. Bishops, priests, faculty at esteemed Jesuit colleges, Notre Dame and Catholic University of America. The sexual revolution of the 60’s was the “Smoke of Satan that has entered the temple of God.”

The openness to life in the marital act “is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act. ...a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, reducing her to being a mere instrument for the enjoyment of his own desires, he may no longer consider her as his respected and beloved companion" (St. Paul VI).

“The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator” (St. Paul VI). Parents, I thank you for your witness and openness to life and to work together with God!

In His Mercy,

Fr. Eric Clark, Pastor

PS – Please click here for tickets to our annual parish fellowship and fundraiser SADDLE UP AND SIP