The bulletin today says we are planning to move back acro= ss the street to the church next weekend, but I’m putting it off at least one more week. After the bulletin went to p= ress, a few more factors came to light. = Most importantly the wood floors are being varnished this week, and they need ti= me to dry before we move in heavy objects like the altar, the pews, the organ,= the piano, and a congregation. Further= more, some of the manufacturers have not been able to keep up with their schedule= , so we have not yet received the cabinet work and some of the interior doors. This coming week we go through the punch list, and we expect there will be a number of small items we’d like to get finished before we move in.

In addition to all of that, I need a bishop. We will have a new altar in the church,= and it has to be formally dedicated by a bishop before we should start using it. Bishop Finn and Bishop Boland = are each willing to come, but they already have quite a bit on their schedules. I don’t know yet which of them will come= , or when that will be, but it will be soon. We can celebrate a few masses over there with our old altar, but it would be fitting to start the celebrations across the street with a bishop = on hand.

I’m sure you are anxious to see the building, and it is b= eautiful inside, but I need to ask you please to stay out of there while the workers= are finishing up. We need them to concentrate on some very specific tasks, and we cannot afford to have someo= ne walk over our newly-varnished wood floors. I don’t like asking anybody to stay out of church, but for another w= eek or two, we need to be careful about walking in over there.

After that, please welcome anyone you know to come see St= . Munchin’s – and to worship with us. The First Letter of Peter says today, “= Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” This can easily be done by showing off our church. Here is a building set aside for sacred purposes, a building that explains our faith = in God, our love for one another, our concern for the world, and our hope for everlasting life.

Last week my mother and I visited her 90-year old sister,= who lives in a convent in southern Minnesota. A few weeks ago my aunt tripped and fell over a display area in a department store. Her face turned = black and blue, and a large knot appeared on her forehead. When we saw her, her complexion was yel= low, but the other nuns told us she had looked a lot worse. I said to her, “It must be embarrassing= to fall down and look this way.” I sa= id that because I would sure be embarrassed, but my words were a whole new idea to her. “No,” she said, “I wasn’t embarrassed. These things happen, = and besides, it could have been so much worse. I could have broken my leg, my hip, or my neck. But God took care of me.”

“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who ask= s you for a reason for your hope.” If Go= d is protecting you, let people know. W= e all need reminders of things that are going well.