Parish & School News

A Reflection by Fr. Dominik Wegiel

Parochial Vicar for the Parish and Chaplain of the Schools of Saint Mary

If you told me a year ago that I would be baptizing four of our high school students and confirming fourteen of them, I would think you were telling me a joke. Yet on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, I had the honor of baptizing Derek Mateo, Dorothy Gao, Matthew Schreiber, and N’Kayla Washington. I gave the Sacrament of Confirmation to all the newly baptized and Adrian Desmoineaux, Jacob Severino, Marlowe GenilChin, Thomas Galan, Rigo Mercedes, and Ryan Ortega. I also confirmed three of our Girl’s Basketball champions: Cayla Williams, Taryn Barbot, and Taylor Barbot. They are true leaders both on and off the court in St. Mary’s, giving testimony to athletic and spiritual excellence.

It was the greatest honor of my priesthood so far . For me, it marked precisely the purpose of authentic Catholic Education, which is to evangelize and help others form a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

As Jesus says, “By their fruit you will know them” (Matthew 7:16). It is certainly the case in St. Mary’s High School that our Christ-Centered focus is bearing good fruit in our students.

Back in the Fall Semester, Sister Monica Marie, one of our Dominican Sisters, suggested putting forth a survey to all our students. The survey asked what sacraments they all received, and it then asked if they would be interested in receiving any sacraments of initiation they missed. We got an awesome response, with many interested in receiving Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. With the help of Sister Monica Marie, Mr. Anthony Cannatella, and Deacon Rachid Murad, we organized sacrament classes during the school day roughly once a week since January. The classes consisted of presentations, watching videos, and group discussions with the students. We would also have pizza lunches during the breaks. Overall, it was great seeing the students engage with the material and grow deeper in their prayer life and catechesis.

The Tuesday before the big day, we took the students to the Seminary in Huntington to have a small retreat for them to prepare spiritually. It was one of the most meaningful retreats I had. We spoke about the importance of the sacraments and gave them time to reflect in silence during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. We gave them an opportunity to share their confirmation saints and why they chose them. I was moved by one student Jacob, who said he chose St. Joseph because Joseph was the man closest to Jesus, and he desired to be close to Jesus as well. With such simplicity, he showed what all of our hearts yearn for, which is God himself. As St. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” It gives me so much hope that many desire to know and love Jesus Christ.

The Sacraments are God’s instruments of salvation and means of communicating himself to us through visible signs. We mistakenly think that God ought to appear in signs like thunder, earthqua kes, or storms. However, our God is a humble God. He uses ordinary things like water, oil, wine, and bread to reveal himself to us. The applause from all our students radiated throughout the Church, expressing the joy we all had in seeing them fully initiated into the Catholic Church. I am so thankful for all the work Sister Monica Marie, Mr. Cannatella, and Deacon Murad have done and for what they do in the school every day. Please pray for our newly baptized and confirmed students, and pray for the mission of our High School. Pray that all of us may continue to grow in our sacramental life of receiving God’s love through the Eucharist and giving our life to Jesus through service to the Church and the World.