July  12 & 19, 2026 Bulletin

Dear Parishioners,

    I have been pastor of St. Mary/Holy Cross for a couple of weeks. I thank all of you for the kindness, generosity and welcoming you have shown me. It is always a big change for a parish when pastors move. Both the pastor and parishioners leave behind treasured relationships and have to invest in building new ones again. Please keep introducing yourself and forgive me if it takes a while for your names to sink in. I thank you for your patience and understanding as you get to know me and I get to know you.

    Of course, when of the most noticeable changes is the way a priest celebrates Mass. On the one hand all priests celebrate the Mass the same way since there are specific rubrics we are required to follow. Nevertheless, we know that priest’s personality shine through. To that end some people have already asked me a few questions so I thought I would share those here. First, people ask me about my hat I wear at Mass. It is called a biretta. Any priest can wear one. It is a symbol of the priestly office. A priest can wear it just as daily wear but in the context of Mass it is worn processing in, processing out and any time the priest is seated. When a priest is functioning in Mass, he does not wear it. You have actually seen it before, usually worn by bishops and cardinals, though it is a different color depending on one’s rank in the Church. For regular old priests like me it is merely black.

    Another practice someone noticed was how I keep my thumb and index finger together. This is done after the consecration until the purification of the sacred vessels at the end of Mass. This is done to safeguard any particles of the host that may have adhered to the priest’s fingers. Until recently it used to be required but is now optional. However, since we really believe Christ to be truly present in the Eucharist it is prudent to protect against the profanation of the Sacred Species.

    In addition, for most of the Mass I am not looking directly at the congregation. This reflects the nature of the Mass as a prayer directed towards God. If you listen to the dialogue at Mass, you’ll notice that most of it is the priest speaking to God and not the congregation. As such his gaze is directed towards God. When the priest does engage directly with the congregation, such as in the homily, then his gaze is directed toward them.

    Lastly, we are in the middle of summer and people are traveling and enjoying their summertime activities. I hope your summer is all you wish it to be. We know it goes by so fast. Still, it’s also important to make time for Sunday Mass and our daily prayers. After all, we wouldn’t have our lives to enjoy the beautiful summer if it wasn’t for God. Let’s show him our gratitude!     - Fr. Pisut

 

July  12 & 19, 2026 Bulletin

Dear New Parishioners,

I’m so glad to be your new pastor. However, I’ll be staying with my younger sister for a few weeks while the rectory is being put in order. I also have an older brother. Don’t be surprised that you might see them at church from time to time. This is my fourth assignment in my 23 years as a priest. I was an associate pastor at St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Moines from 2003-2006. Next, I studied Canon Law at the Catholic University of America in Washingtom D.C. from 2006-2008. Following that I was pastor of Sacred Heart in Chariton, St. Francis in Corydon and St. Brendan in Leon from 2008-

2015. Lastly, of course I was pastor of St. Augustin from 2015 until just this past week. I have also been the Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of Des Moines since 2009 and I will continue to have care for the Latin Mass Community at St. Augustin. I look forward to getting to know you. It will take me some time to learn names and faces so please be patient with me. The best thing you can do is just say your name every time you see me and hopefully that will help it sink in. For those of you who are not sure how to pronounce my name it’s pronounced pea-shoot, like a peashooter. However, don’t be afraid if you mispronounce it, it wouldn’t be the first time. While I understand you are sad to lose Fr. Parker I am happy that he is the new pastor at St. Augustin. He is a good man and they will no doubt do well by him. I look forward to serving the people of St. Mary/Holy Cross and thank you for so warmly welcoming me as your new pastor.    ~ Fr. Pisut