THANK YOU
During my homily at 5:00 pm Mass last Saturday, I used the conjunction words of The Body andBlood of Christ to talk about other conjunctions in our lives, such as Family and Work, Family and Friends, Faith and Work, Song and Dance, Physical and Spiritual, among others. One of the others that I mentioned was Gift and Gratitude. This conjunction is at the heart of the Eucharist (meaning to give thanks) that we celebrate as Catholics. We receive a REAL Gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, and the most appropriate response is to be thankful for that great gift. Gift and gratitude are conjunctions that I am both energized by and overwhelmed by at the same time these days.
I am so grateful for the gift of YOUR generosity – you, the great people of Holy Family, because there has been a series of celebrations for me as I mark 40 years of priesthood and 70 years of life. This community has literally defined my priesthood and given me such life for the past 17 years. I have been honored to share your triumphs, setbacks, struggles and achievements, your weddings, loved ones’ funerals and passion for good church. You have inspired me so much as you live out the values of the gospel and our mission here at Holy Family. I have celebrated Sacraments with you for healing, Reconciliation when you were burdened, Anointing when you were sick, sharing Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, Baptisms and Confirmations. Priesthood and life have melded together seamlessly during my time with you, and for that I am unbelievably grateful.
However, the outpouring of prayers, good wishes and gifts that you have given to me recently is truly overwhelming. As I also mentioned in my homily, it is a very dense sea of grace that will sustain me for the rest of my life. My truly deep response to these gifts that you have given me is GRATITUDE.
My thanks continue for the collaboration of our staff and parishioners.
I want to thank Gene Garcia, Judy Petrie, and many musicians and singers for crafting and carrying out such a beautiful Mass celebrating important things in my life and the Body and Blood of Christ.
Thank you to Scott Baietti for leading all of the maintenance and operations details and the Knights of Columbus for their ever faithful help with organizing, serving and doing whatever needs to be done.
Thank you to Karen McHale and Bob Clough for making the gym much more than a gym (and I like gyms), along with Jeannie Parry, Jean Swenson and Mary Whiteside who coordinated much of the setup and clean up. Thanks to Bernadette Konopka and Jean Dotson for shopping and helping with setup. Thanks to the Holy Family Catholic Academy kids for making the placemats that brought smiles to many faces.
Thank you Debbie Lively-Weyers, Paula Nowicki, Nick Fiddick and Bernie Schaeffer for bringing together many of the special tribute touches, and Ro Geisler for “protecting” me throughout the evening.
While all of these folks contributed in some way, I am particularly grateful to Dawn Mayer for coordinating and executing so many details of hospitality and celebration. She assumed the widest scope of managing this wonderful event, which enabled over 700 people to catch our spirit of hospitality.
Finally, thanks to so many of YOU for the wonderful side dishes and desserts of all sorts! It made for the best parish potluck ever!!
On another note, we are beginning construction for a new display of our tabernacle on Friday, June 19. Here is a rendering of what it will look like.