A Letter From Our Pastor: THE MONTH OF MARY — A TIME FOR CELEBRATION AND JOY

Dear Parishioners,

In the Catholic Church, May is a month we honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

Our Blessed Mother is important to our faith, to our Church, and to the world. Without her Our Savior Jesus Christ would not have been born. Her willingness to serve God in a way that allowed Him to take on human flesh made our salvation possible. Because of her complete trust in God, she lived her life free from sin. And after her life, she was assumed into heaven by the power of God and crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth.

She is, of course, not divine. We worship only God — Our Father who art in heaven, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless we do acclaim Mary as a saint deserving more honor than any other saint. It is an honor to God when we remember the role of Mary in our salvation.

It was He who created her, preserved her from sin, and called her to the special vocation of being Mother of Jesus. This is why true devotion to Mary always leads us to Jesus Christ.

Mary was joyous when she said “yes” to God. That is the kind of joy we receive when we too say “yes” to the Lord. Let us be grateful to Mary for bringing us her Son. Let us be thankful to Jesus for saying to us from the Cross, “Behold your mother!” This is why we crown Mary in the month of May — she is Jesus’ mother and He gave her to us to be our mother as well.

Through Mary, we are invited to “do whatever He tells you.” For it is Jesus Christ we must follow. It is His will that must be done. This is how Mary’s feminine presence and the instincts of her motherhood help us grow closer to God.

May as one of our favorite months for many reasons. May is a beautiful time. Spring rains bring May flowers. The daylight is growing longer and the sun is getting stronger. It is also a good time for us to think about and concentrate on our devotion to the Mother of God. Perhaps we can memorize a new Marian prayer. Or we might renew our commitment to Jesus by daily reciting the Rosary.

As your pastor, I am totally consecrated to Jesus Christ through Mary. Through her intercession, guidance, and example I have become a better man and a stronger Christian. It is my hope her influence in your lives does the same.

That said, I am deeply blessed to be one of your beloved priests and a pastor among you. Let us pray for each other — Hail Mary...

In our Father’s hands,

Fr. Greg Paffel, Pastor

Fr. Greg Paffel, Pastor