“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.” John 15:16-17
Next weekend is a weekend of great rejoicing! A weekend of celebration! Deacon Alex Clark will be ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ! At 10:00am at St. John’s Cathedral in Cleveland, he will lay down his life for the Diocese of Cleveland, for the people of God. He indeed did not choose this, but God chose him and appointed him to go and bear fruit that will remain! As we celebrate the soon to be Fr. Alex Clark, here are a few reminders for his Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, May 16. Know that the Mass will be open to the public. There will be overflow in the gym. And after Mass there will be a reception line at the Memorare Center. In speaking to Dc. Alex, he is looking forward to this time, specifically to thank you for the prayerful support he has received from you over the years. He says, he couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you!
In light of thanksgiving, we cannot forget about Mother’s Day! Each and everyone of us are here because of our mothers! They formed us in the womb, they love us all the days of our lives, and deserve our thanks in so many ways! We also give thanks to God for our Heavenly mother. This past Monday was our final PSR Closing Mass with May Crowning. At the Mass, we prayed the Litany of the Mary. In the litany, there are so many different ways that we proclaim Mary to be in our lives. We proclaim her to be virgin, mother, queen, a person of wisdom, peace, and purity in our lives and so on. I think May is a great time to pray with the litany and ask ourselves how Mary might need to help us the most. Let her help you this month and always. And while we prayed the Litany of Mary, I challenged our students to think too about our own biological mothers. Take a moment this week and write a litany of thanksgiving for your mom, either living or deceased. Thank God for the way your mom loved you, made you laugh, took care of you when you were sick, etc. We celebrate our heavenly mother and biological mothers this weekend! How blessed we are to be so loved in our lives.
May God’s peace and joy be with you,
Fr. Jeremy
