On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation. 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. James 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? Let us pray for their souls this weekend, and ask God to keep safe all the men and women who protect and serve us. Mass on Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, will be at 8:00am. 

As we finish the month of May, we continue to honor our Blessed Mother Mary and pray for our mothers, especially those remembered in our Mother’s Day Spiritual Bouquet. Our Holy Father’s intention for May is for the formation of religious and seminarians. We pray that religious women and men, and seminarians, grow in their own vocation through their human, pastoral, spiritual, and community formation leading them to be credible witnesses to the Gospel.

As we anticipate the month of June, the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us remember Pope Francis’ intention for June: for migrants fleeing their homes. We pray that migrants fleeing from war or hunger, forced to undertake journeys full of danger and violence, find welcome and new opportunities in the countries that receive them. We pray to the Lord…