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Every day, at a pre-arranged hour, a
Eucharistic Minister visits one of our homebound parishioners, bringing him
or her the gift of Jesus in Holy Communion.
So, it was with great joy that on Sunday, June 1st, these same
homebound parishioners accepted the invitation to join in the 12:30 pm mass
especially for them.
As they were escorted to their reserved seats, each received a
boutenniere from a member of the Boy Scout organization; blue for the men and
pink for the ladies. As yours truly
was helping one of our special guests to his seat, I overheard someone say,
in a raspy voice, “Give me the blue one and him the pink. Let’s drive everyone crazy”.
I never did get her name, but that remark drove me to teary
eyes. What a wonderful outlook. Their bodies may have “betrayed them by
refusing to function as before, but their zest for life was still intact.
Mass began and despite their infirmities, many stood or knelt
during the celebration. And the
smiles of joy never left their faces, most especially as they joined in the
singing.
How then could Mgsr. Gaeta, the celebrant, not describe this
in his homily as an “Alleluia” day?
“Yes, you are sick”, he continued, “but more importantly, you are a
Tower of Prayer. We need that gift of
prayer which you offer for the parish.”
He then said, “when I was newly ordained, a Sister Joseph Agnes
promised to offer a decade of her daily rosary for me. Last week, I celebrated my fortieth year
in the priesthood, and I know that Sister’s prayers helped me get through on
many a day”.
“So I say to you”, Father Frank continued, “you are so needed
by your community and you are so precious to Our Heavenly Father. Don’t ever think you are useless because
you can’t do the things you used to do.
Remember God loves you, not for what you do, but for who you are. He is so grateful when you offer your pain
as prayer to Jesus, His Son, for the
sake of all souls. You are our dear
saints on earth and are so needed”.
Father Frank then asked his brother priests to join him in a
special “Anointing of the Sick” service.
Applying the Holy Oil to the foreheads and palms of each homebound
parishioner, a prayer was expressed for God’s healing power to be poured out.
It was a most beautiful celebration of love – and of
life. It was the love for all of our brothers and
sisters that brought this day about, but it was the love of life which the
homebound exhibited that rewarded our efforts.
So, it was with great joy that we continued this celebration as
we shared in fellowship after the mass.
There were cookies, coffee, tea as well as the surprise birthday cake
for Fr. Frank.
The thankful gratitude of each homebound parishioner was
touching, and we hope and pray that they know how they are needed. As they left, they were given a wrapped
while-chocolate cross, created by Eileen Passariello, one of the Eucharistic
Ministers.
Thanks for Fr. Frank, his brother priests, the Eucharistic
Ministers under the guidance of Lucille Bogusz, members of the Boy Scout unit
and all who helped in making this an Alleluia day!
Praise God ! ! !
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