Last year, when I went on pilgrimage to be with Blessed Pier Giorgio in Turin, I happened to come upon the grave of St. Joseph Cafasso (feast day June 23). Since he lived during the times of the “social saints” in the mid-1800’s, he felt his calling was to shape the hearts of seminarians and priests away from Jansenism and through the works of St. Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Liguori. Unusual for his day, he urged devotion to the Blessed Sacrament through Adoration and daily Communion. Through this Eucharistic devotion, he realized the need to help those who were condemned to prison, especially to compassionately help them die at peace with God. (“Heaven is filled with converted sinners of all kinds and there is room for more.”) He also encouraged his pupil, John Bosco, to become a priest and start the Salesians congregation. (“We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more.”) So why not join St. Joseph Cafasso in making a commitment to a designated hour to pray with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament so you can live to love?
Well it’s time to give an update regarding the Memorare Center. Through the generosity of so many, we are continuing to work diligently through all the details and protocol necessary for building according to our diocese. Gratefully, they have been helpful in supporting us and giving us direction. Most of our expert advisers on this project actually come from our parish and have been priceless to me in order to help me know how to get things moving. Due to the busyness of the summer months for contractors, we were advised to get the finishing touches on the plans and preparations by the end of summer, so we can look to an early autumn ground-breaking day. We have close to a million dollars committed to the building with some major future commitments pending. I am so blessed to see the excitement growing and the realization of the many who know how this building will help us in our ministries and witness. Keep praying the Memorare with Mary, Help of Christians. Don’t forget our children’s mission camp, Vacation Bible School, will be held here on our parish grounds (not at Queen of Heaven as originally planned due to the uncertainty of our groundbreaking). If you haven’t signed up yet to volunteer or to send your child, please call the rectory.
Pax, Fr. Bline
