We met on August 18 at St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham, celebrating Mass and then meeting for discussion. Fr. Rene van Hissenhoven from Bogota, Colombia was visiting, and celebrated Mass with Fr. Dan.
Marian Vestments
Thanks to Diane and Michael O’Sullivan for generously donating Marian vestments to the Serra Club of Boston. The O’Sullivans bought the vestments during a visit to Rome, and Fr. Dan wore the vestments (shown below) to celebrate Mass.
World Youth Day
Fr. Dan Hennessey told about his experiences at World Youth Day in Sydney. Events such as youth festivals, music, and adoration offered a great opportunity for catechesis, confession, and celebration of the faith.
Fr. Dan noted that when the Holy Father led Eucharistic Adoration at Randwick, it was “stunning” to see him backed by 400,000 young people also adoring the Eucharist. Attendees discussed other powerful visuals from World Youth Day, such as the Pope’s entrance via boat in Sydney Harbor, the Aborigines bringing up the gifts during Mass, and the Vigil with the Holy Father.
When travelling and doing the “pilgrim thing,” it can be hard to pray - there are numerous distractions, duties, and events to attend during a pilgrimage. After the closing Mass, the Holy Father gave an address intead of the final blessing. His address addressed the challenges of continuing to live the faith in the materialistic “real world,” after the comfortable environment of World Youth Day.
At our meeting Fr. Dan read from the pope’s address, which is reproduced in full below:
Dear Young Friends,
In the beautiful prayer that we are about to recite, we reflect on Mary as a young woman, receiving the Lord’s summons to dedicate her life to him in a very particular way, a way that would involve the generous gift of herself, her womanhood, her motherhood. Imagine how she must have felt. She was filled with apprehension, utterly overwhelmed at the prospect that lay before her.
The angel understood her anxiety and immediately sought to reassure her. “Do not be afraid, Mary …. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Lk 1:30, 35). It was the Spirit who gave her the strength and courage to respond to the Lord’s call. It was the Spirit who helped her to understand the great mystery that was to be accomplished through her. It was the Spirit who enfolded her with his love and enabled her to conceive the Son of God in her womb.
This scene is perhaps the pivotal moment in the history of God’s relationship with his people. During the Old Testament, God revealed himself partially, gradually, as we all do in our personal relationships. It takes time to get to know and love another person. It took time for the chosen people to develop their relationship with God. The Covenant with Israel was like a period of courtship, a long engagement. Then came the definitive moment, the moment of marriage, the establishment of a new and everlasting covenant. As Mary stood before the Lord, she represented the whole of humanity. In the angel’s message, it was as if God made a marriage proposal to the human race. And in our name, Mary said yes.
In fairy tales, the story ends there, and all “live happily ever after”. In real life it is not so simple. For Mary there were many struggles ahead, as she lived out the consequences of the “yes” that she had given to the Lord. Simeon prophesied that a sword would pierce her heart. When Jesus was twelve years old, she experienced every parent’s worst nightmare when, for three days, the child went missing. And after his public ministry, she suffered the agony of witnessing his crucifixion and death. Throughout her trials she remained faithful to her promise, sustained by the Spirit of fortitude. And she was gloriously rewarded.
Dear young people, we too must remain faithful to the “yes” that we have given to the Lord’s offer of friendship. We know that he will never abandon us. We know that he will always sustain us through the gifts of the Spirit. Mary accepted the Lord’s “proposal” in our name. So let us turn to her and ask her to guide us as we struggle to remain faithful to the life-giving relationship that God has established with each one of us. She is our example and our inspiration, she intercedes for us with her Son, and with a mother’s love she shields us from harm.
More transcripts from World Youth Day can be found at WYD2008 site (use the search box in the upper left to search). Video, images, and other text can be found at the Pope in Australia site.
Upcoming Events and other items
We discussed other upcoming events, and various items around the Archdiocese of Boston.
- The Altar Server Appreciation Mass is coming up on October 4. Last year, more than 500 altar servers from parishes across the archdiocese gathered together to receive certificates of appreciation and participate in a vocations fair. This year, people can register for this event at www.altarserversunday.org.
- Priesthood Sunday will be held on October 26. Loretta Gallagher has submitted an article to the Pilot, and Serrans are asked to advertise the event in their local parishes.
- Serra Boston will be sponsoring an Adopt-a-Priest apostolate. Check this site for more information!
- Michelle Dickson continues to research the history of the Serra Club in Boston. The older club was very active under Cardinal Cushing, and in 1955 the annual meeting of Serra International was held in Boston. Anyone who has more information on the old Serra Club is invited to contact us at information@serraboston.org.
Next month’s meeting will be held on Saturday, September 20. We will have a special guest speaker: Dan Kennedy, Sr (father of Fr. Dan Kennedy) will speak on his son’s life and commitment to the priesthood.
See you in September!