Blessing of Statues

In his 2018 Apostolic Exhortation Rejoice and Be Glad, Pope Francis wrote about the importance of the Catholic doctrine of the Communion of Saints. He quotes Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: Each of us can say, “Surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God … I do not have to carry alone what, in truth, I could never carry alone.

All the saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me.” In these times in which we live, perhaps we need to recall the doctrine of the Communion of Saints more than ever.

Through the generosity of parishioners we have been able to add to our church a constant reminder of the “great cloud of witnesses” (HEBREWS 12:1) walking with us and protecting us always with their prayers. Each of the niches in the walls of the church has a stained-glass window depicting one of six sacraments (the window dedicated to the Sacrament of Baptism is in the narthex,) We now have in those niches the statue of a saint associated in a particular way with that sacrament. They were blest and unveiled at the 4:00 Mass last Saturday. Standing at the doors of the church and going clockwise, the windows and statues are:

1)  The Sacrament of Reconciliation—St. Faustina Kowalska, the gift of Veronika Ehrenclou in loving memory of her late husband, Alfred.The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the great sacrament of God’s mercy and the Church owes the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, said daily by so many Catholics, to divine revelations received by St. Faustina.

2)  The Sacrament of the Eucharist—St. Anthony Padua, gift of Jim Sasso in loving memory of his late wife, Maryann. St. Anthony is considered one of the Church’s greatest preachers and a frequent theme of his preaching was the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

3)  The Sacrament of Confirmation—St. Monica. The window depicts the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles at Pentecost, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in the forefront of those receiving the Spirit. In this niche is another mother and the patron saint of mothers, St. Monica, a gift of the children of Lou and Joan Harding in loving memory of their parents.

4)  The Sacrament of Marriage—St. Joseph. This statue was placed in the niche some months ago, during the Year of St. Joseph; the St. Joseph Statue is a gift of Pauline Puleo and her sons Joseph, Richard and Sal Jr. in loving memory of their husband and father Salvatore Puleo, Sr.

5)  The Sacrament of Holy Orders—a saint of our time, Pope St. John Paul II, the gift of Eric and Karen Dill in honor of the Dill and Phillips families.

6)  The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick—St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, gift of Veronica (Ronie) Bannon and family. St. Thérèse wrote her classic spiritual biography, Story of a Soul, while dying of tuberculosis.

I was very glad that all was prepared so that we could bless the statues last weekend, when the Church celebrated the great gift of the men and women who serve the Church as religious priests, sisters and brothers. Three of the saints we honored were consecrated religious: the Carmelite St. Thérèse, the Franciscan St. Anthony, and the Sister of Our Lady of Mercy St. Faustina. Saints Faustina, Anthony, Monica, Joseph, John Paul and Thérèse: pray for our parish. My prayers for a blessed week. Msgr.