It was my special privilege to bestow the Sacrament of Confirmation on 25 younger men and women and one adult this past Friday afternoon during Mass. Congratulations to our newly confirmed Catholics. I pray that the outpouring of grace by the Holy Spirit, which came upon them in a very special manner at that time, now will be cultivated to assist them in becoming more active in their faith that they may become faithful inspirations of the Christian way of living. Though the bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation, because of Covid-19, he has delegated me to perform this rite of Confirmation in his stead. Otherwise, he would not be able to catch up on all the Confirmation ceremonies that were scheduled when the virus caused our churches and schools. to be closed. I’m grateful for the patience of our parents and our children because of this delay, and I assure the next class that our bishop is scheduled to return to our parish in March for the next set of candidates.
One week ago, we were blessed to house overnight on our campus several college-aged pro-life students and their chaperones who were journeying to visit several of the colleges and universities in south Florida in order to promote a program of respect for life for the unborn. Their organization is known as “Created Equal.” It’s always a joy to see our younger generations follow in the footsteps of those who value the lives of those defenseless children who want to be born. (Pictured are members of this group)
The Knights of Columbus are rejoicing in the long-awaited beatification of their founder, Father Michael J. McGivney, who will be henceforth known as Blessed Michael McGivney, beginning on Saturday, October 31st , the Vigil of All Saints. His beatification is the last step before any future canonization as a saint, another dream that we hope to see in our lifetime (it takes a second miracle for that). The ceremony will take place in St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford, and will be covered on EWTN-TV, as well as live-streamed on the Knights of Columbus website. I think it’s a great opportunity to learn more about this American-born priest-son of Irish Catholic immigrants, who did so much to care for widows, orphans and immigrants and their families in his short life of just 38 years (he died 2 days after his 38th birthday), establishing a great ministry for Catholic men that has developed into the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization. His younger brother, inspired by his sterling example, followed him into the priesthood. Blessed Michael McGivney, pray for us!
Our Knights of Columbus also have been actively promoting devotion to our Blessed Mother with the presence of the travelling icon of Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians, that was brought to our parish for part of the past week. It will then move on to another parish in the area, and continue its journey throughout the state of Florida.
Thank you for your generous support of the good works done by the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception through the special 2nd collection taken up for them last weekend. We are grateful that two of those sisters are our own Sisters Elizabeth (Halaj and Kulesa) who teach in our school and our parish religious education program (PREP). If you have not had the chance to send in your offering, please take the opportunity to do so today. Your generosity is a wonderful sign of your affection for them and the work that they do caring for the very young and the elderly in the schools and institutions they serve throughout the world. They possess a true missionary charism and serve God’s people in the variety of situations where they minister, especially among the poor and underprivileged of our society. May God grant them an increase in numbers to continue their work for many generations to come.