This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. This special devotion is brought to life in the image of the Icon, whose history goes back to the 15th century. In this image we find Mary offering comfort, protection and help to Jesus, pictured as a young child who has fled to the arms of Mary after having seen a glimpse of His Cross and Passion that are to come as an adult. We honor Mary under the title Our Lady (or Our Mother) of Perpetual Help recognizing that just as she offered comfort, help and protection to the child Jesus, so too she offers them to us in our moments of need and fear.
As we celebrate our parish feast day, I want to share again how blessed I am to be here as your pastor. My five years with you have been a great blessing from the Lord and I am grateful for the wonderful things the Lord is doing in our parish family. I entrust again our parish family to the special intercession and care of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, asking for her prayers that we will be drawn ever closer to Christ, her son, our Savior. I ask her prayers that all the Lord desires for our parish in the years to come might be accomplished by His grace and our joyful, generous “yes”, modeled on the “yes” of the Virgin Mary.
Finally, a reminder that our Independence Day Mass will be celebrated on July 4 at 9:00am. Please join us as we thank the Lord for the gift of our country’s freedom and pray for our leaders and the men and women who protect and serve our country. May God bless you all!
