BECOMING FAMILY UNDER THE CROSS
“Behold, your son...Behold, your mother.” -John 19:26-27
As we come to our Festival and Feast Day this year, I’d like to reflect on an easily overlooked aspect of what happens beneath Christ’s Cross: a new family is formed. From the Cross, Jesus spoke to His mother Mary and His friend John who were standing nearby inviting them to discover that by drawing close to Him they were also drawing close to one another. They were not linked with each other by happenstance, but by the very divine intention and transformative gift of grace. As Christ breathed His last, He established His family which would persist through all time.
I was blessed recently by a visit of some extended family on my father’s side. Pondering on the theme of family, I’d like to draw attention to a few new members of our parish family:
In recent weeks we have welcome two wonderful additions to our parish staff: Madeline Tahnk is our new part-time Marriage Formation Coordinator who succeeds Elizabeth Brown in supporting our many engaged couples on their path to marriage and fostering a culture of Christ centered marriages. Mary Conway is our new Assistant to Clergy and Pastoral Care Coordinator who is gradually coming on board leading to her starting full-time in mid-October. She succeeds Hanna McLevish who wrapped up her service earlier this spring. I am incredibly grateful to Madeline and Mary as well as to both Elizabeth and Hanna for their generous service. We promise our prayers in their new ministry roles in their home parishes. I also want to express my gratitude for Melissa Cable who has been a true Godsend in her assistance as interim Assistant to Clergy and Pastoral Care role in recent months. All these roles are critical for the forming and caring for the family which is our parish.
In addition to our new staff, I want to express a warm welcome to our many new parishioners and various newcomers—some indeed through marriage, birth and baptism! As our family grows beneath the Cross, there is always room to welcome more, but we also pray for the infirm and mourn the loss of those that the Lord has called to Himself in death. This weekend, I welcome all our visitors and neighbors present for our first ever Nordeast Polish Fest at Holy Cross! Heartfelt thanks to our many festival leaders, volunteers, sponsors and donors. Families pray together and celebrate together, they work hard and have fun together.
The last week in August we welcomed our missionary preacher, Br. Ayub, OMFConv. It was amazing to hear his encouragement to not forget that the family of the Church is Catholic—that is, universal. Families care for one another as the global Church is called to solidarity. We pray for the young men in formation with the Conventual Franciscans in Kenya that Br. Ayub spoke of. Please consider making an offering to the appeal using the envelopes in our pews throughout the month of September.
On the Cross, Christ had us in mind. He died to draw us together as His mystical family of the Church. In the years since the 2013 merger of our formerly independent parishes, we have increasingly been given the opportunity to see each other with new eyes and receive each other as a gift given by the Lord. With the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, we celebrate He who in being lifted up has drawn all people to Himself. May He continue to draw us together as His one family and one parish.
United beneath the Cross,
-Fr. Howe, Pastor