Last week we had several moving celebrations which we have been advertising in this bulletin recently.
Last Monday evening over a hundred people gathered for the annual Memorial Mass. As we prayed and sang and remembered the deceased in a Litany of Remembrance, it felt good to be together and to know that God was there with in His compassionate love.
Then Saturday morning found another large number of parishioners gathered to celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Each person comes with their own individual need and presents themselves before God. The Holy Oils are placed on the forehead and the palms of the hands in the sign of the cross and the prayer for healing is said. Peoples’ faith never fails to move me and deepen my own faith in God’s healing love.
And then on Sunday afternoon, Fr. Brian Kiely came to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation for our young people and for several adults who have also been in preparation. Through Fr. Kiely hands, God imparted the Holy Spirit into the hearts of all the confirmandi, praying for strength and faithfulness all their days. It is again an experience for me as I watch the great faith potential in each candidate as they approach the altar and are signed with the Holy Chrism.
These are the types of experiences which highlight our sense of community as a parish and the reality that God dwells in our midst everyday!