My dear friends of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish,

Today and tomorrow book distribution is scheduled to take place for Religious Education grades 2-8 - may it go smoothly and safely! Thank you to the Coordinators and Staff for all the work and preparations they have undertaken for this new year!

Yesterday, the Church in the USA celebrated Catechetical Sunday as parishes like ours prepared for a new season of the essential responsibility and privilege of the Church, and of parents in particular, to hand on the faith to each new generation. The following words of Saint Paul from his first letter to the Corinthians help us understand this wonderful mystery that our parents, Religious Education Coordinators, teachers and staff are entering into anew:

‘For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes’ (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The What that we seek to pass on to the children of our parish is a Who - Jesus Christ, the Son of God we truly receive at Mass - and everything that He has revealed to us and entrusted to the Church for our salvation!

Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
Msgr. Luke Sweeney