Mass + Mary = Home: Daily Mass Homily--Wednesday, July 16th, 2014 (Last Mass at St. John's!)

             It gives me great comfort to be celebrating a Marian feast—Our Lady of Mount Carmel—on this, my last day at St. John’s.

            Mother Mary is a part of all of our lives, whether we know it or not.  My devotion to Mary began in high school as I prepared to attend World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada.  As I got ready to meet my hero, St. John Paul II, I began praying the Rosary daily because I know he did.  After an amazing time I continued this devotion daily.

            The Rosary was a staple for my prayer life throughout college, and it was a blessing to have prayed the Rosary from time to time with my Grandmother.  It was actually Grandma Betty who had taught me how to pray the Rosary as a young child, even though I didn’t begin praying it until many years later.

            The Rosary was the setting for one of the most powerful experiences of faith I have received.  While praying it with her and a friend mere hours before she died, she spoke her last words to me: “Jesus loves you.”  These simple three words were foundational for my own faith and vocation.

            Mary was also there when I said yes to go to seminary.  Before a daily Mass with the Sisters of St. Scholastica I was drawn by an angel that was carved into the altar.  I reflected on how Mary was approached by an angel to proclaim her salvific mission to bring Jesus into the world.  I felt called to go to seminary and I remembered Grandma leading me to Mary who led me to Jesus.  And I said yes. 

            I have also been reflecting on a line from Jesus in the Gospels: “The Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.”  Many people ask me how I am doing as I approach moving to a new location to begin a new assignment: “How are you doing?  Are you nervous or excited?  What is it like to be uprooted to move?”

            While I haven’t yet moved as a priest, and I have been a priest for only two years, I have already noticed that I always feel at home during Mass.  I have had the opportunity to celebrate Mass in a variety of locations, including Ghana, Africa.  And when I do I know I am home.

            We all know that where Mom is, that’s home to us.  My Mother is in International Falls and Little Fork just as she is here in Duluth.  While saying goodbye and leaving brings feelings of sadness and indeed some nervousness, I am confident that Mother will always take care of me.

            Thank you for a blessed two years.  Please continue to pray for me as I move to a new earthly home, but continue serving as a priest in our true home with Mary and in celebrating Mass.