Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Of all the letters I’ve written here over the past few years, the one that has received the most comments was the letter I wrote a few weeks ago about my mother and her fastidious preparation for guests, especially the photo of her having a cigarette break before serving her Christmas dinner in 1962. I mentioned to a few people that I should have Photoshopped a high ball glass into her hand! I mention this because August 14 is the 20th anniversary of her death. Both she and my father died within two months of each other in the summer of 2002; so I’m sure Joe and Eleanor Shreenan would appreciate a few prayers for their eternal rest.
August 14 also happens to be the Memorial of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan Friar who died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz in Poland in 1941. The story of his brave martyrdom is worth reading. After a prisoner had escaped that awful death camp, the commandant announced that ten prisoners would be randomly selected to die. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniszcek, cried out, “My wife! My children!” Kolbe volunteered to take his place. According to an eyewitness, who was an assistant janitor at that time, in his prison cell Kolbe led the prisoners in prayer. Each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After they had been starved and deprived of water for two weeks, only Kolbe remained alive. The guards wanted the bunker emptied, so they gave Kolbe a lethal injection of carbolic acid. Kolbe is said to have raised his left arm and calmly waited for the deadly injection. He died on August 14, and his remains were cremated the next day, August 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary.
Fr. Kolbe was beatified in 1971; he was canonized by his fellow Pole, Pope John Paul II, in 1982. Franciszek Gajowniczek, the man Kolbe saved at Auschwitz, survived the Holocaust and was present at both the beatification and the canonization ceremonies. For me, St. Maximilian’s death is not unlike Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” We are reminded again and again how deep the cost of discipleship can be, even in our present day. Many Christians continue to suffer persecution and even death for their faith in Jesus, and they are models to all of us for their bravery and perseverance in the face of hatred and religious intolerance.
On a much happier note, earlier this week we welcomed Fr. Dominique Regis, until recently the Pastor of our Sister Parish of Sainte Geneviève in Zoranje, Haiti for a brief visit to St. Patrick-St. Anthony. Fr. Dominique is assisting in a parish in Queens, NY for a month before he returns to Haiti this week to take up a new assignment as the Principal of a Catholic school in Port-au-Prince. Together with Fr. John and myself, he concelebrated the 12:05 Mass on Monday, August 8 – coincidentally the feast day of St. Dominic! Near the end of Mass, Fr. Dominique spoke briefly to thank the parishioners of St. Patrick-St. Anthony for your faithful support of the Covenant between our two parishes and for your ongoing financial assistance to the students, families and teachers of the Zoranje parish.
Members of our Sister Parish Committee attended the Mass and a lunch in the Franciscan Center afterwards. I am grateful to Frances D’Amico, Stacie Mawson and Michael Boone for driving Fr. Dominique to and from Queens and Hartford. It was a memorable few days, and I know that he was delighted to be able to meet and chat with our parishioners who serve on the Sister Parish Committee.
Blessings on your week ahead.
Fr. Tim Shreenan, O.F.M.
Pastor