Last Saturday I celebrated a funeral Mass for Dorothy Forister who died one year ago on May 1, 2020. Since we could not hold a funeral at that time due to COVID, we celebrated Mass on the one year anniversary of her death. Dorothy had a great smile which invited you into a conversation with her. She had been a member of St. Leo’s since 1956 when she was married to her first husband, with whom she had two children who attended our parish school. She remarried after his death and moved to Brunswick but returned to St. Leo’s in 2014. Dorothy was a faithful member of the parish who attended Mass regularly and lived her faith. May she now enjoy the music and dance in heaven as she did here on earth.
Last Saturday we celebrated the First Communion of our 3rd graders and this weekend we will do so for the 2nd graders (the 3rd graders missed this important event last year due to COVID). We congratulate these children and hope to see them weekly as they share with us in the Lord’s Supper. I would encourage you to look at the pictures that are displayed in our church vestibule of First Communions that have been celebrated in the history of the parish, as well as enjoy the other pictures on display there. Thanks to John & Jeanne Sabol for updating these historical pictures during the year.
Deacon Pat & Joan Berigan & I wish all of the women of our parish a very Happy Mother’s Day. Whether our mom’s are living or deceased, we remember the great gift of life they were willing to give us. May they all come to share in the eternal life God promises to us, especially during this Easter season.
As I looked out my office window last week, I saw a very large pond of water created by the rain we had. I wondered if this were a sign from God that he desired for me to build a swimming pool in that spot. Perhaps not but I do believe that God would have us all take good care of this parish property that is ours to use for his greater honor & glory. To that end, we will continue to make some small landscaping improvements this summer and we hope to get some new signage that will help direct people to the proper buildings, but these can be very expensive so we’re still looking into our options. After several years of doing work on the parking lots, we are finally at a point where they are in very good condition except for a few small holes that are created every year during the winter months. We are also looking at starting a process of replacing the very aging and energy inefficient windows in the gym & school buildings, starting with those in the cafeteria. So we continue to try to practice good stewardship and hope that you enjoy the beautiful flowers that are now hanging around the church.
Now that the winter is finally put to rest for a few more months, the heat in the church will be shut off and the air conditioning turned on for when we will be in need of it, but hopefully we can go for a few weeks just enjoying the nice spring weather before we jump into summer.