20 June 2023
Dear Ladies and Friends of TASTE,
- ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
- We will have TASTE for Tots Child Care starting in the Fall. Please help get the word out!
- We chose our new Theme (Abide in My Eucharistic Heart) and Quote (See picture above).
- OPENING — We hope all of you are enjoying our summer break. This month, we celebrated two important feast days — 1) The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (also known as Corpus Christi) and 2) the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Both of these feasts highlight Jesus' boundless love for all of humanity and the first one clearly relates to our Church's 3-year Eucharistic Revival.
- NEW THEME — In the spirit of continuing our theme on the Eucharist, our 2023/2024 theme will be "Abide in My Eucharistic Heart." Additionally, each year we attach a scripture verse or Saint quote to our theme. This year, we wanted to highlight: 1) Jesus' Real Presence in the Eucharist, 2) His unfathomable love for us, (His Bride, the Church), and 3) how it increases our unity with Him and the Body of Christ. The picture above captures the quote we selected which is "When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now." by St. Teresa of Calcutta.
- THEME INFLUENCES — In preparation for selecting our new theme and quote, the following inputs were amongst those that helped to guide us. First, Fr. Mike Schmitz’ Corpus Christi homily was centered on that theme (VIDEO). Second, an article entitled "Msgr. James Shea on Evangelizing in a Post-Christian Society, Belief in the Invisible World, and Utopias" addressed our theme and our role in evangelization (ARTICLE). Third, Fr. Mattia from St. Mary of the Mills presented 4 talks on the Eucharist. TALK1 TALK2 TALK3 TALK4
- CHILD CARE — We are blessed that the Sisters of the Servants of the Lord offered to return to TASTE in the Fall to support our child care. Given that this will allow young mothers to come to TASTE who may not have been able to in the past couple years, please help us share the word.
- ROSARY FOR REPEAL — This Saturday (June 24th) is the 1st Anniversary of the repeal of Roe vs Wade. In celebration of this event, local Catholics will be praying a Rosary at 9:00 am at St Mary of the Mills' cemetery at the Memorial for the Unborn in the cemetery. In case of rain, the Church basement (the Breen Room) is reserved for prayer. All are welcome!
- HOLY BASKETBALL — On June 29th, DC Priests and Seminarians will be playing basketball against Sacred Heart Catholic Church in LaPlata MD. (Archbishop Neale School, 104 Port Tobacco Rd, La Plata, MD 20646). If you are available, consider showing your support for the church and vocations in our diocese! FLYER
- FR. SWINK — Our Spiritual Director Fr. Swink recently had a 2nd surgery in an attempt to relieve his back pain. Thank you for all of your prayers. We are pleased to let you know that Fr. Swink has returned to sharing his message on the Deeper Dive Podcast (LINK) and will be coming back to TASTE in September.
- FR. AL SCHWARTZ — In October 2021, one of our speakers (Kevin Wells) shared a talk called “Al Schwartz: An American Superhero and Future Saint.” EWTN will be airing a documentary chronicling Fr. Al's life and work called “The Unfinished Symphony” on June 30th at 8:00 pm. Despite being diagnosed with ALS, Fr. Aloysius Schwartz was the founder of the World Villages for Children and dedicated every moment of his life to serving the poor. LINK
- RETREAT— Interested in a retreat with Fr. Larry Swink and Fr. Dan Leary? Save the Date for an upcoming Women's Retreat that will be held at the Malvern Retreat House, Malvern, PA from October 6-8, 2023. While it is not yet open for reservations, we hear that it will fill up quickly. LINK
- PRAYER REQUESTS — Please continue to pray for our TASTE program, our speakers, and the logistics of offering childcare this coming year. This week, please pray for: 1) Fr. Swink for resolution of his back problems, 2) Susan Conroy as she continues to have medical issues, 3) Katylee McInerney as she is now in hospice care, 4) Mayra Wilson (TASTE member) to successfully navigate the program to become a police officer and that her actions as a future police officer always bring honor to God, 5) Kate Christianson for eradication of her cancer and overall health improvement, 6) healing for Jennifer Dougherty's mother Kay's multiple fractures after a fall, 7) God's complete physical and spiritual healing for Helen Griffith's brother-in-law Rod who is undergoing surgery this Thursday, 8) Kara Helfenbein's daughter Ellie Carter for healing from complications of a bone marrow treatment for AML, and 9) peace and comfort to the families of each of the people mentioned above. New prayer requests can be sent to Joy Parker at joyparker73@gmail.com.
Blessings,
Joy, Michele, Karen, and Helen
Jesus, I trust in You!
ATTACHMENTS:
- TASTE Small Group on Zoom -- Updated
- E-Invitation:1-Sided Front Back
CARRY-OVERS - The below information is carried over from the last email.
- CASSEROLE COVER — One of our ladies left their 10” X 15” blue plastic Pyrex casserole dish cover at our end of year brunch. If you are the one who is missing this cover, please reply to this email. Helen Griffith has it for safe keeping and is looking forward to returning it to its proper owner.
- EUCHARISTIC MIRACLES -Blessed Carlo Acutis (Additional LINK) catalogued the Eucharistic Miracles of the World.
- RECENT EUCHARISTIC MIRACLE — The Archdiocese of Hartford (Conneticut) is investigating a possible eucharistic miracle that may have taken place during the celebration of the Mass at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Thomaston. One of their eucharistic ministers was running out of hosts and suddenly there were more hosts in the ciborium. God seemed to duplicate himself in the ciborium. ARTICLE VIDEO1 VIDEO2
- PRIEST VIEW OF CONFESSION — Fr. Mike Schmitz wrote that describes what Confession is like for a Priest. Some women asked us to share it again. For those who may have missed it the first time here is the ARTICLE.
- SPECIAL ACCESS — Exciting News! Bill Keimig has provided the TASTE Program with our very own membership to the Catechetical Institute's "Franciscan At Home" completely free of charge to you! With this membership, we have workshops available to us on our computer given by excellent instructors such as Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Bob Rice, and our very dear friend, Dr. Bill Keimig! You can go as deep as you like in your study or just explore various topics involving catechizing all age groups, parenting, holy families, the Eucharist, discipleship, and many more. The link to set up your account under TASTE's membership is HERE. Questions? Feel free to email Karen Giermek at karen.giermek@gmail.com.
- INVITE A FRIEND - It is We encourage you to invite a friend regardless of where they are on their faith journey. If they are interested, please also encourage them to register. Attached is a POSTCARD that you can text, email, or print as an invitation to others.
ATTACHMENTS:
- Small Group TASTE Zoom Invitation
- E-Invitation: 1-Sided Front Back 2022/2023
