Greetings friends!
On Monday, August 15th we celebrate one of the greatest and most important feast days of Our Lady…Her glorious ASSUMPTION into Heaven, or Her most holy DORMITION (for any Eastern friends reading this). This day is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning the faithful are required to come to Mass in celebration and offer our worship to Almighty God. However, because this day falls on Monday this year, the obligation is ABROGATED. What does that mean? In a nutshell, as long as you come to Mass on Saturday evening or Sunday for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, you have fulfilled that obligation.
We might ask ourselves, isn’t our faith so much more than just fulfilling obligations? The answer is…ABSOLUTELY! If you have a particular devotion to Our Lady, if you pray Her rosary, wear Her scapular and Miraculous Medal, then certainly attending Mass on Her day would be important to you. Please consider coming to Mass, or if you are unable, then consider praying an extra rosary at home before Her holy image (everyone surely has a statue, icon, or picture of the Blessed Virgin at home) correct?! Yes, you do…
A word of THANKS from Fr. Leo
Msgr. Leo McCarthy asked me to pass along his profound gratitude for the cards, prayers, and well wishes of many of you…THANK YOU! After visiting with him (with a batch of cards that people dropped at the parish offices), I received a little update about him. He is resting comfortably in one of the local nursing homes and is happy with the attentiveness of the staff. Thankfully no surgery is needed on his ankle yet a chip in a section of bone requires him to stay off of it for a little while. He is getting physical therapy to get his strength and balance back and, as many of you know Fr. Leo personally, he is very eager to move faster than his ankle will allow. As per his doctors and family members, Fr. Leo needs to rest and be patient before he can return to the parish. However, we continue to pray for him and he continues to pray for all of us as well. Thank you, everyone!
Bon voyage, Fr. Peter!
As many of you know from both of us, Fr. Peter Ekanem is traveling back to Nigeria for his annual priest’s retreat. At the conclusion of his retreat, he will visit with family at a long awaited reunion and enjoy some vacation time. Please remember to pray for Fr. Peter, especially for safety in travel…St. Christopher and St. Raphael the Archangel…ora pro nobis! We also pray for Fr. Peter and his family members while at home in Nigeria, for safety and security. The government is currently dealing with tensions, violence, and intimidation from Boko Haram and other Islamic fundamentalists. Let us ask Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Victory to watch over that land and all its people. Safe travels, Fr. Peter…and we can’t wait to have you back with us!
~Fr. Martin Gallagher