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Welcome to our Faith Community
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A Message from our Pastor Our Scriptures for today certainly focus our attention on the role of Peter and his successors in the church community. Our Catholic tradition teaches us that the pope is the successor of Peter and the Vicar of Christ. |
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Matthew’s Gospel says: “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church…to you I will give the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 16:13) From its beginning, the Christian community recognized Peter as the earthly leader of the Church. Over the centuries, our church has been led by saints and sinners alike! In fact, St. John Newman remarked that it could only be the hand of God which has sustained the Church through some of its turbulent times! The Church has been blessed with many saintly and wise popes over the last century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, it was St. Pope Pius X who began the liturgical renewal of the Church. Things that we take for granted like participation in the Mass and frequent reception of communion come from St. Pius X’s teaching and liturgical renewal. During WW II., it was Pope Pius XII who wrote a ground breaking encyclical “Mystici Corporis” in which all Christians are proclaimed blessed members of the mystical body of Christ. It was also Pius XII who had to deal with the madness of World War II and the atrocities committed against the Jews and thousands of others. Through his efforts thousands of Jews were saved from the holocaust by being hidden all over the Vatican and other places such as Assisi! Then in the 1960’s, the Blessed “Good Pope John XXIII, considered by the Roman Curia only an “interim pope”, called together one of the greatest movements in church history—The Second Vatican Council. We are so thankful to this Holy Father for opening up the windows of the Church to “let in some fresh air”. After the death of Blessed John XXIII, the college of cardinals elected a quiet and brilliant man who took the name Paul VI. While he may not have been popular with many Catholics because of his encyclical “Humanae Vitae” (Of Human Life, in which he once again voiced the church’s teaching against artificial birth control, nonetheless it was Pope Paul VI who first visited the United Nations and in a loud voice proclaimed “If you want peace, work for justice”. His great encyclical “Progressio Populorum” (On the Progress of Peoples), states clearly and forcefully that all humanity is one and all are to be given meaningful work, justice and freedom. For only a short while, the Church was touched by the smile of John Paul I. One wonders what direction the Church would have gone had this pope not died after only a short reign of less than two months! Then, the “great” John Paul II was elected to the papacy. We know John Paul’s story. Largely through his leadership and perseverance, Communism toppled in Easter Europe. Probably one of the most beautiful legacies of John Paul was his many travels to just about every corner of the globe, bringing the message of hope to millions and millions. We remember with love his Funeral in Rome—the Eternal City was filled to overflowing with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who wanted to pay their love and respect to this strong Polish man of deep faith, many holding banners reading: “John Paul II—Saint Now!” Despite the attacks on his very life, John Paul kept going and preached the Good News. How blessed St. Mary’s is to have had Pope John Paul II visit us on September 14, 1987. And now, this last Spring, Pope Benedict XVI transfixed our nation for six days, filling Catholics with a sense of pride in our past and hope in our future as he encouraged us, by word and example, to be witnesses to Christ as our Hope in our daily lives. Our Holy Father also expressed his great sorrow and shame for the abuse suffered by children with the community of the Church. Speaking of immigrants in the life of the Church Pope Benedict told the American Bishops: “I want to encourage you and your communities to continue to welcome the immigrants who join your ranks today…This
indeed, is what your fellow countrymen have done for generations.” And so, we are thankful that Christ did not leave us orphans but gave us many holy “shepherds” from St. Peter onwards to lead and guide us.
Fr. Vince
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