Pastor's Column for August 15, 2021

This year the feast of the Assumption falls on a Sunday so we focus on Mary this weekend. It’s an important feast for us to celebrate because it not only provides the opportunity for us to honor Mary as the first person after Christ to be raised to the glory of heaven “body and soul,” but because she leads the way for rest of us who share in her humanity. We pray that like Mary, we too will be raised body and soul into heaven at some point after our death. So this feast is a cause of joy for us, even as we look to Mary & her example of holiness. May each of us be given the grace to join her some day in the life of God’s kingdom.
When asked by the Berigan’s if we should attend The Feast in Little Italy which honors Mary every year at this time, my response was rather liturgical: “It is right & just!” So we plan to drive there after the 4pm Mass this Saturday. A little warning to you if you plan to be there at the same time: I intend to buy up all the cavatelli, meatballs, pizza & bakery that I can find while there, so you may want to get there before I do. The pizza I buy there is different from the run-of-the-mill pizza we normally eat. It’s cut into squares & uses a different sauce & cheese & maybe spices than what we are accustomed to and so it is uniquely Italian in that way. It’s best when eaten cold, so I love to stock up on it when I can. Their cavatelli is also homemade of course. Since I’m going to the Holy Land and not to Italy in this next year, I need to eat all the Italian food I can to satisfy my Italian palate. Unfortunately I’ve noticed that my weight is increasing after a year & a half of keeping it down but that concern is for another time. I’ll see the endocrinologist soon anyway but not until I’ve feasted at the Feast on the weekend of this Marian feast. That’s a lot of feasting.
I have not yet begun to ask anyone to be a part of our parish and finance councils but I will be doing so soon so please give some consideration to the request but also feel free to say no if for some reason you don’t feel it’s the right fit for you at this time. I won’t ever speak to you again but I want you to be truthful (just kidding about the never speaking to you again). We’ll begin meeting in September and keep in mind that I don’t believe in meetings going over one hour in length. As they say, the mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.
While I was away in Key West, a priest from St. Charles celebrated here the funeral Mass for Rita Shandersky on July 12th. She was the mother of 4 and grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of 20. We express our sympathy to her family and keep her in our prayers along with all those who have died as members of our parish.
I’ve been noticing that more people are starting to wear masks again when coming to Mass, and of course that is commendable for those whose health or age or home circumstances encourage them to do so, regardless of their vaccination status. We will again provide masks for those who may not have one with them and will have sanitizer at the doors of the church as well. Let us continue to pray for an end to the pandemic and remember those especially who are becoming ill with the new variant of the COVID virus.