Dear friends,
Although we have resumed Ordinary Time after the end of Easter Season with the celebration of Pentecost Sunday, the two Sundays following Pentecost are set aside for the celebration of some of the most important mysteries of our Catholic Faith. This weekend we will be given an opportunity to contemplate on the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity and the following weekend we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, popularly known as the Corpus Christi.
As we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend, let us remember our brave men and women who died while serving our country in the Military, and most especially those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. Let us remember our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Today, we remember and honor their heroic sacrifice acknowledging their willingness to give of themselves, even unto death, for a purpose they believed was greater than themselves. It is therefore a time to gratefully recall, honor, and offer some prayers for all those who have lived and continue to live lives of service and sacrifice for the good of mankind. Let us be grateful to God for the many valiant men and women who have served our country and are still serving.
Tom McGrath points out that one of the definitions of sacrifice is “the destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else.” Though suffering is always a part of sacrifice to some extent, seeking suffering for its own sake is not sacrifice. Sacrifice implies giving up one good for a higher good. For example, a child gives up a day of play to visit an ailing grandparent, or a parent sacrifices watching a favorite television program to help a child who is struggling with homework. Life in the family is full of opportunities for service and sacrifice.”
This Memorial Day invites us to reflect on sacrifice, suffering, and love which are also reflected in the very nature of the Most Holy Trinity. The love between the Father and the Son flows in the person of the Holy Spirit, and this bubbling of love causes them to create us. Out of this very same love, the Most Holy Trinity is willing to suffer and the Son is willing to sacrifice his life for us. True sacrifice is always at the service of life. Jesus’ ultimate purpose for this sacrifice was our eternal well-being—and as Jesus himself says us in John 10:10, he died that we might have life and have it abundantly.
I would like to thank Toni and Ken Donavan for hosting the GriefShare, a special program of 13 Video based Sessions that benefited some 18 of our beloved parishioners who have lost their beloved. We continue to offer our prayerful support to those are grieving the loss of any member of their families.
Be Blessed!
With love, Fr. John