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I cannot help but think of my mother, Alice McCaffrey, on this weekend. Of course, I think of her every single day and pray to her as well. But on this weekend, I am particularly mindful of her, her laughter and her sweet smile, as I remember her tender love. On the 7th of August, 1960, she gave me life. On August 8th, 2011, she was born to eternal life as she passed from this world into eternity.
This amazing woman, who suffered greatly as a child, came to faith as a teenager and ended up living the vast majority of her life in service to Christ and his church. She not only gave me and my brothers life, she also provided for our eternal life. On many occasions I have made it very clear that my mother is the reason I am a priest today. Not because she told me to be a priest or ever made the suggestion, but because she witnessed to the faith! She taught me from a very early age that God was real. In all of my joys and sorrows, even as a child, she pointed me to the Lord. She taught me to turn to him in thanksgiving, in times of great success and joy, and to turn to Him when I was distressed or frightened. This amazing woman who did not have loving parents of her own, became the most loving, strong, determined woman and mother any child could ever hope to have had. Her self-sacrificial love still inspires me to this day. There is not enough room in this short bulletin space to say everything I could say about this remarkable woman. But I do see glimpses and examples of her passionate love for the Lord in many of you—like the Johnston family.
This family worked diligently to weed and enhance the outside Stations of the Cross at the St. James the Apostle site. The stations needed clean-up in time for the parish celebration of the Feast Day of St. James the Apostle on July 24th. Another group—Bernie Crespi, David Bobic,
Martin Isaac, Chris Anderson and John Provencher—did the mulching about the stations. This type of volunteer self-sacrifice to enhance our prayer experience is motivated by deep faith and love for Christ and his people.
There are many other examples throughout our parish and our various church sites of people who put their faith into action! This is our greatest
treasure! There is no limit of the amount of good that we can do with this treasure. We have over 400 volunteers in this amazing parish. Your life and witness is worth more than any material thing this parish possesses. It is your life and witness, your love for Christ that
inspires the next generation.
God love you,
