Dear Parishioners:
Happy Mothers Day! We offer our prayers and best wishes to all our OLM Mothers on this Mothers Day! Masses on Mothers Day are to be offered for all Mothers, living and deceased. In particular, we remember those beloved Mothers whose names are inscribed on the memorial envelopes. The late Joszef Cardinal Mindszenty, leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church and a fierce opponent of the communist regime in that nation once wrote a small book in the 1940s entitled, the Mother. In it he reminds us of the importance of motherhood.
He writes beautifully about Mothers: “The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral--a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of her baby's body . . . The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven. Only a human mother can. Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature; God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation. What on God's good earth is more glorious than this; to be a mother?”
Not only is it Mothers Day this weekend, but we also celebrate First Holy Communion. Our OLM Second Graders received Jesus Christ in the Eucharist on Saturday morning with great joy and faith. We rejoice with these children and their families on this special day. It is truly a joyous day in the life our parish. We offer our prayers and congratulations to the 64 children who celebrate this important step in their faith lives. We pray that they remember the wisdom of St. Padre Pio, who says: "Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone possesses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace.”
On Sunday at the 10:30am Mass the children of our First Communion Class join us for the Annual May Crowning Ceremony. This joyous and beautiful tradition of the Church and annual Mothers Day tradition at OLM honors the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of the Church. The Church teaches us that we crown the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of the May, "because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute 'crown' of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. She listened to God's Word and kept it in her heart; she remained steadfastly in close union with her Son, all the way to the foot of the Cross; she persevered in prayer with the Church. Thus, in an eminent way, she won the 'crown of righteousness,' 'the crown of life,' 'the crown of glory' that is promised to those who follow Christ." May Mary, our Mother, and our Parish Patroness, intercede for us.
On Monday morning the roofers are scheduled to arrive at OLM and begin work on a new Church roof. You may recall the roof was damaged in a wind storm this winter. We were able to patch it up but it is clear the roof needs replacing. In order to ensure no further damage would occur our Parish Finance Council thought it best to replace the roof sooner rather than wait. The Church roof is almost 30 years old and its clearly in need of replacement.
After following the guidelines and rigorous process of approval set forth by the Diocesan Office of Planning and Finance, Bishop Tobin granted permission for us to move forward with the project. Several companies bid on the roof replacement job with D’Angelo Custom Homes being awarded the contract. The cost of the roof replacement is $47,200.
I am thankful to Paul Anderson, OLM Facilities Director, for his great work on this project. He will vigilantly monitor the roof project this week. We hope that the roof replacement is completed by the end of the week. The roofers will begin each day after 7:30am Mass to ensure our worship is not disturbed.
As you know well from maintaining your own homes the costs are high. We have old buildings at OLM that need constant care and maintenance. I am grateful for your generous financial support that enables us to afford such important projects like replacing our roof. Please pray for good weather this week for our roofers!
Do good. Be well. God Bless. Go Sox!