Tuesday, June 7, 2011

24th Anniversary Reflection

Yesterday I celebrated my 24th Anniversary of Ordination.  Today I celebrate my 24th Anniversary of my First Mass.  First and foremost I want to GIVE THANKS to Almighty God and our Blessed Mother.  The day of my ordination, I dedicated my priesthood to the Blessed Mother.  She has been the source of great strength and has managed to guide (and rescue) me through many situations over the years.

I'm always amazed when thinking of these events in my life.  Mass has always been a part of my life.  I can't remember ever "not" going to Mass. It has always been a priority for me in my life.  Moreover, as a kid, I used to come home from Mass and "play mass" in the basement of our house.  So it was never obligatory for me.  Instead it was something I loved and wanted to have in my life all the time...even in my play.

The Eucharistic celebration is the source and summit of the life of the Church, but it is also the source and summit of my life.  It is the place I am most myself and most vulnerable.  It is the moment when Christ has complete control of my life, for which I am truly grateful.  This is the moment in my life when I am in total communion with Jesus Christ and His Church.  You might say, it is the moment when I am most real and most intimately in love.

I pray today for my classmates.  I pray today for all those individuals, living and deceased, who shared that precious moment with me 24 years ago.  Moreover, I give thanks and pray for all those who have shared the grace of the Eucharistic feast with me over the years.  May the Lord bless them this day.

I especially give thanks to God for my parent who gave example by their lives and nurtured my vocation, my family who supported it and my friends who were there through every step of the way.  You are always there with me at every Mass as I celebrate the mystery of faith.  God Bless you.  And, may God be praised!

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