Dear Friends:
Since the last time I wrote a message to you, there has been the election of a new Pope. I have to say that I, like perhaps many of you, was shocked when Cardinal Robert Prevost, an American, was introduced to the Church and the world as Pope Leo XIV. It has been said of Cardinal Prevost, an Augustinian friar, that he was the “least American of the American cardinals in the conclave.” He spent more than twenty years as a missionary priest and bishop in Peru and for the past two years was the prefect of the office that nominates priests to serve as bishops in the Church. I believe that God always provides the Pope that the Church needs, and in Leo XIV, I see great promise. I would urge all of us to include Pope Leo by name in our prayers each day, as he will need our support and our prayer in his ministry as the Successor of Peter. Finally, I would, as Deacon John urged us last weekend, to pay more attention to what Pope Leo “actually says rather than what others say about him.”
This coming Thursday, May 29, is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, a holy day of obligation. There will be four Masses offered on that day, at St. Mary’s at 7:00 AM and 12:05 PM, and at St. Agnes’ at 9:00 AM and 5:30 PM.
Monday, of course, is Memorial Day, a national holiday. The parish office will remain closed and no confessions will be heard at St. Mary’s Monday evening. We will have Mass at St. Agnes’ on Monday at 9:00 AM, and at that Mass, we will remember by name all those from our parish who have given their lives in service to our country over the years.
By way of advance notice, Archbishop Coyne will be coming to St. Mary’s to celebrate the 10:45 AM Mass on Sunday, June 15, which is Trinity Sunday. A reception for all to welcome and greet the Archbishop will be held in the school gymnasium after the Mass. Please make an effort to come to the Mass and the reception.
Finally, as you now know, Fr. Lijo will be leaving us at the end of June to take up a new assignment as parochial vicar at St. Francis Xavier Parish in New Milford and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Washington Depot. I want to thank Fr. Lijo for his assistance to me and for all of the very good work he has done since his arrival in 2019. I wish him well and every blessing and happiness. We will be having a reception in honor of Fr. Lijo. More details will become available as things develop.
Have a good week!