The celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation for our young men and women was a high point in our parish last Sunday. Bishop Robert Christian, our new auxiliary bishop, told me that IHM was his first Confirmation. Let us continue to support our youth by our personal example of Faith. I especially thank our Religious Education Director Robyn Lang and all the Confirmation team members: Holly Hesselgren, Patty Torrey, Samantha Suyamoto, and Jim Wolfe. Well done and keep up the great work! A special thanks to our fine musicians.
I continue to give thanks to God for being chosen as the new pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish. To Our Lord and Our Lady I entrust my priesthood and all of you. Let us all pray for the graces we need to be loyal and faithful disciples of the Lord.
This Sunday we officially ask God’s blessings on our new parish website. This has been a project of our Parish Council for over a year with the additional advice of our devoted staff and others. Laveille Voss has ably headed this project and the following have willingly co-operated in this important work: Jeff Voss, Phil Sanfilippo, Terry Messinger, Ed Messinger, Ray Fazzio, and Maureen Grazioli. Thank you for sharing your time and talent to advance this modern tool of spreading the Gospel.
During my first year with you I just simply want to get to know you and the parish better. I really appreciate your warm and cordial welcome. I see a great potential for doing good “here in this place” all to the greater honor and glory of God. I am aware that I cannot accomplish anything alone, but only with your help and by the grace of God. I ask all who read this to kneel down and pray with me that each of us may respond to the universal call to holiness, and that by God’s good graces we may lead souls to Christ. Let each of us make the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the center of our Christian lives. Let each of us pray that those who have wandered away will come back home to the Faith of Our Fathers. We will always offer a warm and cordial invitation to return to the house of our heavenly Father. I ask every Father and Mother of Christian Families to gather with their children at the Holy Mass each week without fail. Here is something that can be done and we know is the command of the Lord Himself at the Last Supper. I aim to always keep before us what I said on my first Sunday with you back in July: “Let us love one another! Let us love one another! Let us love one another.”
Today is Veterans’ Day. Some may recall that it was once called “Armistice Day.” Its origins goes back to the armistice signed to end World War I on the eleventh day of the eleventh month at the eleventh hour of 1918, one hundred years ago today. My grandfather fought in World War I and on occasion would recall to us the difficult times he experienced in the trenches far from home and family, especially the Christmas of 1917. Less than two years after his return to the states, he married my grandmother and they had six children. All four of their sons would eventually serve their country at war, three in World War II, and the youngest in Korea. My Father served in the Air Force as a navigator. He received the Purple Heart. My Mother tended to the soldiers of World War II as a registered nurse. They both received military honors at their funerals.
Authentic Patriotism is a great virtue and should be encouraged and promoted. Patriotism is a duty that falls under the Fourth Commandment. Those who love America and serve her are following a noble cause. But it is not just a solemn duty, it is a privilege. Therefore, we should honor all veterans and remember in prayer those who made the supreme sacrifice by laying down their lives for the sake of our freedoms, all for the love of God, Family, and Country.
From the poem and hymn bySir Cecil Spring-Rice (1859-1918): I vow to thee, my country – all earthly things above – Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love: The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test, That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best; The love that never falters, the love that pays the price, The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.
Yours in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Fr. Mark G. Mazza