Consider this… May, the Month of Mary!
As a parish of St. Mary’s, the month of May shares important significance for us as it is the month dedicated to the Blessed Mother. This weekend we will crown the statue of the Blessed Mother (in the back area of school near the playground) as a tribute to Mary, honoring her and asking her to intercede for us and our parish as our patron. I encourage all of us to find some special time this month to devote to the Blessed Mother, as she does all in her power to point us closer to her Son. Consider crowning a statue of Mary at home, saying the rosary together, or even praying an extra Hail Mary a day.
Great things continue to happen at St. Mary’s! Congrats to our First Communicants this weekend! Also, this past week the decision was made to add another Saturday vigil because our numbers are growing! To keep everyone safe and to provide another option to worship, beginning on May 8th we will add a 5:30 vigil on Saturday to our schedule. I am not promising that this will be a permanent addition, but it will help us in the short term and will be reevaluated periodically as we move forward. Therefore, we will have 4pm and 5:30 pm Masses on Saturday evenings beginning on May 8th.
Needing more room is a wonderful problem to have and Fr. Luke and I are dedicated to making sure our parish’s needs are met. Yet, there are many who have not returned to church, and many who have become comfortable staying home. As I have mentioned previously, if someone has medical issues, certainly staying home during the pandemic is important, but many who are not here do not fall into this category.
This is where all of us come in. It will take all of us reaching out, welcoming and encouraging to help people realize we need to remain close to Jesus, and the Mass is essential for a disciple. The Mass is the heartbeat of a disciple’s life, and without the Mass we do not remain in Jesus. Jesus tells us that remaining in him gives us true life and keeps us connected. Think about that, in today’s world we often think social media keeps us connected, but in reality, it is Jesus that gives us the ultimate connection. That connection gives us the courage and passion to see beyond ourselves.
In our First Reading this weekend, Paul is brought to the Apostles and they are scared of him because of his reputation. It is Barnabas that speaks on Paul’s behalf and helps Paul to be accepted and welcomed into carrying out Jesus’ mission. That is our job too, to encourage others and to empower them. How are we empowering one another to encounter Christ and remain on the vine? A great way to start is by thinking about what coming to mass does for you? How does mass transform your life and world?
A wonderful woman this past weekend stopped me after mass and said, ‘Father, I’m so depressed by our world and all that continues to happen, but when I come to Mass I feel rejuvenated and find Mass uplifting and it gives me hope!’ There’s a reason Jesus wants to see us, to give us hope and to enliven us for the struggles of the world!
Let’s work together and reach out, invite those we don’t see back to mass and to their faith community that misses them. Let’s remain with Jesus, I promise it will fill you with hope!
St. Mary, pray for us!
Keep smiling,:-)
Fr. Bryan