St. Paul reminds us that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. These are of course the angels and saints who witness to the merciful love of God in Christ Jesus. The Greek word for witness is martyrion from which we get the word 'martyr.' Witnesses of Jesus give their lives for the sake of the Gospel. They sacrifice everything for the sake of the Lord and His glory. These are the witnesses who surround us, who support us, who remind us all the sacrifices we make on Jesus' behalf are all worth it. They encourage us to keep the faith and pray for the strength to give our all to God each day. All our sacrifices and sufferings offered to Jesus become incredibly fruitful just as the blood of the martyrs bears great fruit for the life of the Church. As the communion of saints in heaven increases with the years, the Church on earth is able to bear through more and more suffering because of their prayers. I often ask my deceased friends and family, especially my grandparents, for their prayers. Made perfect in love, the saints pray for us with great power in Jesus.
We will have back-to-school backpack blessings for students at all Masses next weekend, as well as have our playground dedication after next Sunday's noon Mass. I hope you can join us for the dedication. PTU is providing lunch afterwards, so please RSVP to them this week if you plan to come to lunch.
Inspired by the National Eucharistic Revival and our Listening Sessions, I will be speaking at the Masses at which I preside the next two weeks on a few liturgical reminders and updates, and publishing these updates in the bulletin on those weekends. These reminders will focus on our unity as a family in Christ as a Church, fostering a welcoming environment, and deepening our respect and reverence for the liturgy. I am already working with our clergy and ministry leaders to invite new people into our liturgical ministries and hold training/refresher sessions this Fall for ministers. We will be focusing on parish stewardship this Fall, so please prayerfully consider how Christ might be calling you and your family to serve at our parish in one or more of our many ministries.
Please remember that the Solemnity of the Assumption on Monday, August 15 is NOT a holy day of obligation this year since it falls on a Monday. We will have Mass at St. Mary's at the usual 7:30 a.m. Mass time to celebrate the Assumption.