“O Mary bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life:
Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of life with honesty and love to the people of
our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilization of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life. ” St. John Paul II
With all the craziness in the world, it is always helpful for me to come back to the basics of love and truth to find equilibrium and peace. That is where our beautiful Catholic faith and family, both my immediate family and parish family (that’s you!), comes in to ground me. It is our duty and privilege to radiate that love back to the world.
To distill that down, I absolutely love my immediate family with all my heart and soul. My ultimate goal is to get them to heaven. I do my best to pass on the faith with little “wisdom nuggets” and share my love for the faith with my wife and children. I hope the same seeds my grandparents planted in me are planted within my family. They sometimes think I’m crazy, but the reality is, the highlight of my week is Sunday Mass with my family!
I also love my extended family and do my best to set a positive example and gently inform them about the importance of my faith and how much it means to me. This will many times include something simple, like sharing everyday experiences of things that help me as I grow and try to reach my full potential on my faith journey.
Finally, I absolutely love my Saint Francis Borgia family. I felt God calling me to relocate closer to my parents about six years ago when we moved to Cedarburg from the Madison area. I had no idea what a wonderful gift was waiting for me at St. Francis Borgia Catholic Parish! This parish family is such a blessing and offers so many wonderful activities in addition to Mass, such as bible studies, support groups, a top-notch school, and so much more. I also have to say that we are so fortunate to have Father Patrick as our spiritual leader. He has inspired and motivated me to be a better Catholic and his wisdom is well beyond his years.
Our parish family is extremely special and it is each one of you, the laity, that creates this amazing environment for us to flour ish as a faith community and radiate that love to the greater Cedarburg community, our work, our immediate family and other people we come into contact with.
We are all busy and it can be challenging to find the time and energy to get involved, but I promise you that what you receive in return will be a multiple of what you contribute. More importantly, we must be active within St. Francis Borgia for this parish to be healthy and vibrant. Personally, I feel I could and should do more to con tribute and give back. Currently, I’m currently involved with the Knights of Columbus (although I only go to a few meetings per year) and a Men’s Prayer Group. I love both groups and hope to find more time this year to contribute.
So take the time to get involved, meet new people, and help your family and our SFB family grow in faith. Lead with radiant love!
Written By: John Garey