Pentecost Sunday
Pastor
~ All Souls Day on November 2, and the whole of the month of November, is the premier time for Catholics to remember and pray for the faithful departed, but to “bury the dead” and to “pray for the living and the dead” are some of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that all Catholics are called to do, so we remember and pray for the dead all year long! And Memorial Day, when Americans remember and pray for those who gave their lives in service to our nation, is a particular time when we pray for the faithful departed.
In the back of our Church, we have a statue of the Blessed Mother holding her dead Son, Jesus, a statue usually referred to as the Pieta. We have designated this shrine as the Altar of Mourning and Remembering Lives Lost. Each month, members of our community gather around this altar to pray for those killed by gun violence, and a book of those killed by gun violence is kept and updated regularly there. To the left of the Pieta is a plaque honoring those priests who died during their service at St. Margaret of Scotland, including our founding pastor, Fr. J.J. O’Brien. To the right of the Pieta is a plaque honoring the men of the parish who gave their lives in service to our nation. Might I suggest that you visit the Pieta this weekend, praying for all those who have died, especially those who died in service to our nation?
In a special way, let us also remember the American service members who have died in the current and ongoing war in Iran and throughout the Middle East, so that their families and loved ones may be comforted and assisted by our prayers and remembrance.
- Sgt. First Class Noah Tietjens, 42, from Nebraska
- Captain Cody Khork, 35, from Florida
- Sgt. First Class Nicole Amor, 39, from Minnesota
- Sgt. Declan Cody, 20, from Iowa
- Major Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, from Iowa
- Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, from Virginia
- Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, from Kentucky
- Major John Klinner, 33, from Alabama
- Captain Ariana Savino, 31, from Washington
- Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, from Kentucky
- Captain Seth Koval, 38, from Indiana
- Captain Curtis Angst, 30, from Ohio
- Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, from Ohio
Mass on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, will be at 8:00am. Please join us that morning as we pray for all the faithful departed, especially those who gave their lives in service to our nation. And let us continue to pray for peace, that wars will cease, and that God’s justice will reign throughout our world. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
