St. Maria Goretti - Pastor's Note

Happy Feast of St. Maria Goretti! It is a great opportunity and special occasion for all of us this year to get to celebrate together the Feast Day of our Patroness, on a Sunday. Because we are a parish under the patronage of St. Maria Goretti, her Feast Day today overrides the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Today we keep the memory of this young Saint who gave us such a powerful example of Faith and love in her life and in her death. It is an honor for us to have this young Saint as our intercessor and patroness. Happy Feast Day! Enjoy this special day! In many religious communities, they are allowed to have dessert on the Feast Days. So have some gelato or ice cream, or watermelon, or even a cupcake in honor of St. Maria Goretti today!

Next Saturday evening, beginning at the 4:30 PM Mass, we will have our annual celebration of our Patroness, with our 2008 Italian Festival. This is one of my favorite evenings of the entire year here at our Parish. Please come out next Saturday evening and join us for a wonderful evening of food, music, camaraderie, and fun for all ages. Months of preparation have gone into this year’s Festival. I’d like to thank Ben and Kristen Russell and Greg and Kim Stanley for their awesome leadership this year. I’d also like to thank the dozens of committee chairs and hundreds of volunteers who have stepped forward to make the Festival a reality. As I write this, still more volunteers are needed for next weekend. The sign-up lists will be out one more time this weekend, in anticipation of next weekend. Please! If you have NOT signed up yet to help out, please do so today. If you’ve already signed up to help out, would you consider giving another hour to help us fill volunteer slots in another area. I’d also like to remind our youth, many of whom need service hours for Confirmation or for their Catholic schools, that helping out at the Italian Festival is a fun and easy way to rack up some serious service hours for your requirements. Please sign-up this weekend, as this is our last chance to get everybody on board for next Saturday night.

Mass for the Italian Festival will be at 4:30 PM in the main sanctuary. Many guests will be joining us for this special Mass, so come early to get a good seat. Prior to moving into the new church, Masses for the Italian Festival used to be held outside to accommodate the extra number of people praying with us. With as many seats as we have in the new church, that is no longer a concern. Everyone is more comfortable and everything is safer from the elements and the wind indoors. You may still want to bring outdoor folding chairs to the Festival, which is always limited in seating for the band and for eating. We are pre-selling food tickets, and wristbands for the games and children’s activities, this weekend after all Mass, to cut down on the lines at the beginning next Saturday night. If you don’t like to wait in line, you may want to purchase your food and game tickets early.

Please also remember that the Italian Festival is NOT a fundraiser. We make very little money on this event, usually just enough to start up the preparations for next year’s event. It is supposed to be a fun event for all of us to come together and celebrate and remember our Patroness. In the past eleven years, it has become one of the most popular events on the community of Westfield’s summer calendar. We also very much want to use the Italian Festival as an evangelization effort for our community. The Italian Festival is the perfect opportunity to invite non-parishioner, non-Catholic, and even non-Christian friends to come and join us for a great evening. Who could you invite to this year’s event? Bring your whole family. Bring your neighbors. Bring your co-workers. The more folks, the better the Festival is.

Please keep the Italian Festival in your prayers this week. Let us especially pray for good weather! Traditionally, St. Maria Goretti has always given us one of the most beautiful evenings of the entire summer for her Italian Festival. Let us pray that she hears our prayers again this year.

Last weekend, Pope Benedict in Rome opened the year of St. Paul. The Pope is giving us a special opportunity to read, study, and discuss the writings and theology of St. Paul this year. How about pulling out your Bibles this weeks and taking another look at 1 Thessalonians? Scripture scholars tell us that this was actually the first book of the New Testament to be written down. You’ll see for yourself why the Holy Father wants all of us to get more into St. Paul this year.

Have a great week! We’ll see you next Saturday night at the 2008 Italian Festival!

In Christ,

Fr. Kevin

Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don’t.