Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My friends, greetings from Budapest! We are still on Pilgrimage as I write this. After a few days in Poland diving into its rich Catholic history and the life of our Holy Father of beloved memory St. John Paul II, we spent today touring Budapest, Hungary, listening to the story of faith of the people. Tomorrow we will make our journey to Vienna, Austria, another country and city steeped with history and the Catholic faith before we end in Prague. Know that we have caried you in our prayers as we have visited the holy sites and celebrated Mass in some beautiful and ancient churches.
I want to congratulate our First Holy Communicants who received Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament on Saturday, May 9th. Please join with me in praying for them as they begin a Eucharistic way of life.
I would also like to offer a word of thanks and offer prayers for all our moms who we celebrate this weekend. Thank you for your love, support and example. Today (Sunday, May 3rd as I write this) and tomorrow morning we celebrate Mass at the church of St. Anne, the mother of our Blessed Mother in Budapest, as we do so, we pray for all moms as we look forward to celebrating Mother’s Day!
Just as we have our earthly mothers and our Blessed Mother, we also have Holy Mother Church. Like a faithful mother, she desires the good for her children and is also due our respect and honor. There are no lengths we wouldn’t go for the sake of our mothers, indeed we should hold that same devotion to our Blessed Mother and to Holy Mother Church. This is why we will put so much effort over the next 7 months to Restore and Renew our Mother the Church. For over 70 years, the church building here at Assumption has served our community well. I hope and pray you share my desire that she will continue to do so for another 70 and beyond. As we begin to repair, update, and beautify so that this church dedicated to Our Lady may radiate our love and devotion for our mothers who have passed on the faith to us, our Blessed Mother who shows us the way to her Son and Holy Mother Church, the Body of Christ here on earth and the stalwart home for saints and sinners alike. One of the great joys of these pilgrimages is to celebrate Mass in beautiful centuries old churches where generation upon generation have celebrated Mass and gathered for prayer. Let us pray that for generations to come those who come after us will look back to our love and care for our spiritual home and that it may edify their faith.
May 11th the work begins, and we will transition to Daily Mass in Kohls Hall and Sunday Mass in our Family Life Center (Gym). I want to thank all who have had a hand in making these spaces a place where we can celebrate together. I know there are some who may choose to attend other churches while we renovate, I would simply ask you not forget about us and continue your offertory support which funds our work and ministry here at Assumption. This support ensures that even during our construction phase we can still offer our ministry and programs here at Assumption. T
Thank you to all who have supported our campaign, and we invite those who have not yet joined in the campaign to please prayerfully consider helping us to restore and renew our church! May God bless you all, and Happy Mother’s Day!
Love,
Fr. Jason