SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND CATHOLIC CHURCH AND SCHOOL MAY 23, 2021 PENTECOST SUNDAY CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST Saturday 4:30 p.m. & Sunday 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Monday thru Friday at 6:30 a.m. Holy Days and holidays as published in Sunday Bulletin Saturday 4:30 p.m. Mass is live streamed and is accessible online for the duration of the weekend SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:45 to 4:15 p.m. PǑǢǙǣǘ MǙǣǣǙǟǞ SǤǑǤǕǝǕǞǤ SǓǘǟǟǜ MǙǣǣǙǟǞ SǤǑǤǕǝǕǞǤ Saint Margaret of Scotland St. Margaret of Scotland Parish Church is a diverse, urban, School is a diverse, urban, vibrant, Catholic parish. Inspired by the and inclusive Catholic community. Holy Spirit and the example of our We promise a challenging learning patroness, we are called to be a environment for children, vibrant voice and beacon of the pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, in which Catholic faith in our neighborhoods. they realize their academic potential and giftedness in body, mind and spirit. Our students We proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word embody the example of our patron saint as and action by: responsible leaders and caretakers of our Praying and celebrating as a Eucharistic community through works of service and social community, justice. Educating children and adults to live a full Christian life in today’s world, Serving others with unconditional generosity, and Living just lives and working for a more just “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the society. same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in CǟǞǤǑǓǤ IǞǖǟǢǝǑǤǙǟǞ everyone.” - 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6 PASTOR: Rev. Matthew L. O’Toole All of us are blessed, regardless of our own individual circumstances. God has given each of [email protected] us many gifts. How we use those gifts is our gift RECTORY: 3854 Flad Avenue, back to God. For God’s plan to work, each must Saint Louis, MO 63110 do what we are called to do. Guess what? We Office: 314-776-0363 are not all called to do the same thing! For God’s Staff Directory Available At: plan to work you have to do what God is calling you to do and I have to do what God is calling me www.stmargaretstl.org/Staff to do. ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: For emergency assistance call: 314-772-2219 PARISH/SCHOOL WEBSITE: www.stmargaretstl.org PARISH EMAIL: [email protected] BULLETIN ARTICLE DEADLINE: Monday, 2:00 p.m. E-mail submissions to: [email protected] O FǕǜǙǨ CǥǜǠǑ “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” (John 16:12) We hear Jesus say this to His apostles in one of the gospels for this Pentecost Sunday. There’s more they will need to know and to understand after His departure, but Jesus recognizes their human limitations. And ours, as well. We cannot, in our present condition, take in the breadth and depth and height of the truth that is God and God’s ways. In time, though, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we can come ǒǩ FǢ. MǑǤǤ O’TǟǟǜǕ to understand this mystery. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit an ‘Advocate.’ It offers a rich image for the third person of the Trinity. In the original Greek language, the word ‘advocate’ means “called alongside” to speak for another. In a sense, Jesus is telling us that the Holy Spirit is our assistant who accompanies us, walking with us on our journey and sometimes speaks up for the sake of God’s interests. In our journey as a faith community, St. Margaret was challenged to see how it could endure: the economic hardships of the Great Depression, the boom of large families with limited space in the school, the carving of Highway 44 through our neighborhood, the flight of people out of the city, the downturn in the number of parishioners, the uptick in crime and the instability it created. Each presented challenges for the parish to see where the Spirit was taking St. Margaret. But with the benefit of reflection through the lens of faith, we come to see that God was walking alongside us all the time. The Spirit was our advocate, our holy reminder who helped in the choices that were made, allowing us not only to endure those difficulties but to thrive and make us the strong parish we are today. Sometimes ‘in the now’ we find ourselves perplexed. Rather than despair because changes are happening or challenges are confronting us, we must put our faith in the movement of the Holy Spirit – leading us in ways we may at first not trust. Jesus’ counsel, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now,” is a promise that we will come to see how far God can bring us by faith. New Policies for In-Person Worship at Church Following on the Center for Disease Control’s announcement regarding mask wearing, the Archdiocese no longer requires those who are fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus to wear a mask inside parish churches of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The mandate to wear a mask now only applies to all the faithful who have not received a vaccination. St. Margaret is a community of faith, so we will go on good faith to believe that those of us who choose not to wear a mask have been fully vaccinated; and in the same way, we will trust that those coming to Mass who have not yet been vaccinated will wear a mask. Of course, one in either situation is free to wear a mask if that makes the person comfortable being in a public space. Following the CDC guidance, capacity restrictions and social-distancing measures at Archdiocesan parishes have been left to the parish pastor to determine, based on the size and construct of the church. Here at St. Margaret, we will keep every-other pew restricted to seating but will allow a greater number of persons than before inside church at one time. Please continue to sign-up online for the weekend Mass you plan to attend. We will continue to sanitize the pews and touch points of church between Sunday Masses, and we encourage the use of hand sanitizer as necessary. Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski leaves in place the dispensation for Sunday Mass at this time, but will be re -evaluating the need for the dispensation in the coming weeks. CONGRAULATIONS CLASS OF 2021 Eighth graders of St. Margaret of Scotland School will graduate on Saturday, May 22. Fortified with an excellent Catholic education, they will move on to high school at the end of summer. Please keep our young people in your prayers. May the spirit of St. Margaret be with them evermore. Theo Agniel St. Louis University High School Alex Bauer Nerinx Hall Nora Blaes Cor Jesu Academy Charlie Casey St. Louis University High School Grace Chambers Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience Linus Christian St. Louis University High School Sofia Couilloud Metro Academic and Classical High School Claire Council John Burroughs School Lucie Crittenden Nerinx Hall Nora Duffy Nerinx Hall Maddie Ewing Nerinx Hall Giuliana Fasano Rosati-Kain High School Carson Heller St. Louis University High School Alexa Hynes California Regan Ibendahl Nerinx Hall Jens Istvan St. Louis University High School Zoe Junginger Mountain Vista High School - Colorado Eva Juric Nerinx Hall Clementine Killeen Visitation Academy of St. Louis Miriam LaCara Rosati-Kain High School Xavier LaPorte Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience Rowan Lemp St. Louis University High School Aurea Lopez St. Joseph’s Academy Danny Montrey St. John Vianney High School Olivia Moss Rosati-Kain High School Olivia Oatis Bishop DuBourg High School Bobby Olson St. Louis University High School Norah Overberg Ursuline Academy Miriam Qadadeh Nerinx Hall Naida Reitenbach Cor Jesu Academy Otto Reitenbach St. Louis University High School Rudy Reitenbach St. Louis University High School Abby Stark Rosati-Kain High School Calvin Stewart St. Louis University High School Sarah Wangard Rosati-Kain High School Cedric Wiedlocher St. Louis University High School Avery Williams St. Mary’s High School Malcolm Yearby Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience NǕǧǣ FǢǟǝ SǤ. MǑǢǗǑǢǕǤ ǟǖ SǓǟǤǜǑǞǔ SǓǘǟǟǜ As we come to the end of our 2020-2021 school year, we want to take some time to reflect on the many successes and challenges that we experienced. We learned several things over the course of this school year, but most importantly we learned about the strength of our students, our teachers, our school parents, and the St. Margaret of Scotland community. We learned that teaching and learning in a virtual environment are extremely difficult, that our children’s social/emotional health is the most important thing for learning success, and that relationships and communication within our school community CǜǑǢǕ YǟǥǞǗ matter. We learned that together we can make it through difficult times and still find Bǩ success even though it might look different than in previous years. During this pandemic, we missed our St. Margaret of Scotland community. We recognize that we’ve had to adjust our school environment and our expectations many times as the year progressed. I want to take this opportunity to reflect on so many things that went well this school year. My heart is filled with gratitude for so many groups of people: Fr. O’Toole, our Pastor, who worked with me as I navigated through this school year. Thank you for your unwavering support and confidence in me and the entire St.