Dear Friends,
Another mile stone is achieved in the history of our parish as we dedicate the courtyard, a place for gathering and socializing and even meditating. I have always found places like these engendering closeness and community spirit. The statue of Pieta, a near imitation of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s original piece displayed at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome will take the center stage at the courtyard. We dedicate this space on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the 2nd February 2019. It is also observed as the World day for Consecrated Life. This feast calls to mind the moment when Mary presented baby Jesus in the temple as per the Jewish laws. And now the Pieta represents the iconic moment in the Passion of Christ, a moment in which mother Mary cradles the dead body of Jesus on her lap and offers her darling son back to the Father in fulfillment of what she had promised the Angel Gabriel when she said: May it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38). True to her word and commitment Mary has been accompanying Jesus from the moment of conception and as a true mother of valor she has accompanied Jesus until the end enduring this excruciatingly painful moment of the crucifixion and death. Her task of mothering her God - Son now comes to an end by giving Him back to the Father. Pieta has stimulated many inspirational art and poetic works. Pieta truly captures, brings alive and does justice to the title Mother of Sorrows. The Mother of Sorrows is the patroness of The Congregation of Holy Cross, a feast celebrated on the 15 September across the family of Holy Cross. Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the congregation allotted our Mother of Sorrows as our patroness because he often stressed the importance of conforming one’s entire life to Christ, which Mary models through her seven sorrows. The Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross 8:120 describe the importance of Mother of Sorrows in these words:“There stood by the Cross of Jesus his mother Mary, who knew grief and was a Lady of Sorrows. She is our special patroness, a woman who bore much she could not understand and who stood fast. To her many sons and daughters, whose devotions ought to bring them often to her side, she tells much of this daily cross and its daily hope.” The Holy Cross motto, Ave crux, spes unica— “Hail the cross, our only hope”—invites us to stand at the foot of the cross alongside our sorrowful mother. May Mary our Mother who knew much grief intercede for us!
I am indebted to the amazing women of our parish who have gathered under the title Council of Catholic Women, famously known as CCW. They are a true blessing to our parish. Since the time they began to be a force to reckon with they have been in the forefront of all of our activities. They have been prayer warriors, social warriors and solid rock of all our events. They have manned the Bro. Andre Gift Shop and have held many Bake Sales and many other fund raising events to gather funds to be able to realize this incredible gathering space for our parish. This will add to our already stunningly beautiful Church Community. I thank all those faithful catholic women who have worked untiringly to make this uplifting and electrifying place of gathering, a place that will provide space for our children to play and many others to simply sit and relax and build community. They have been and still continue to be the right hand of the pastor aligning with him to bring about a faithful and vibrant community of followers of Christ. This space is dedicated to those lovely, faithful, enthusiastic, devoted, dedicated, committed and grace-filled members of CCW. You can see it on their faces. They are joy-filled. Thanks to the perseverance of the past and present leadership teams. Our parish is proud to have one of the largest memberships and continues to grow as many more truly Catholic women join their ranks. I invite many more of our women to join this wonderful group of women to work along and side by side with the pastor to renew our parish.
Once again I urge all those who have not yet signed up to be part of the pictorial directory of our parish. These portraits have proved to be a great blessing to me personally at many a times. I thank all those who have signed up and invite others to join in. We want you to be part of our community feeling proud to be one. What’s more? It is free and you will get a free 8 x 10 portrait and the Parish Directory. When you come for the photo shoot, please bring along with you some food item that can be given to the poor, this way we prove that we never forget those of our brothers and sisters who are poor. Besides you will get a $5 off from your orders.
Today we celebrate the 4 Sunday in Ordinary Time. St. Paul invites us to reflect on the beautiful hymn of love from the 13th chapter of Romans. Love never fails. And Jesus tells us that it is not easy for the prophets to be listened to because they do not say what people like to hear. Almost all of the prophets of the Old Testament including Jeremiah about whom we hear in the first reading have had a rough time being prophets. Challenges still abound. Let us pray for all of us that we might prove to be the New Evangelizers, bringing people to Christ.
Have a Blessed Week! With love,
Your brother in Christ, Fr. John