Our Forty Hours celebration this year was a deeply spiritual experience for everyone who participated. I was very pleased with the attendance and I was especially proud of our altar servers. They are on their way to becoming great Catholics. I extend a joyous welcome to our new servers (see their names in the adjacent column) and look forward to their service in our sacred celebrations here at St. Peter’s. We also congratulate our new senior servers!
Regarding our speakers this year, former parishioner, Michelle Bowers’ recounting of the healing of her son through the intercession of the Servant of God Maria Esperanza was very moving. It was great to see Jaxon, the “miracle boy”, embracing his mother in the sanctuary; a loving testimony to Maria Esperanza’s heavenly influence.
The story of the March 25, 1984 apparitions of Mary, Reconciler of All Peoples and Nations in Betania, as told by Maria Coromoto Marrero, the daughter of Maria Esperanza, was spellbinding. It was like having Lucia of Fatima or Bernadette of Lourdes visit our parish.
The graces granted to our parish over these three days were immense. In addition to our beautiful liturgies, processions and Eucharistic spirituality, it was as if Maria Esperanza visited our parish once again and shared with us our traditional Forty Hours Devotions in an intimate and personal way.
May she bless our parish and all of our families with the gifts of unity and peace.
I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to everyone who made this event possible, Fr. Polansky, our seminarian Eric Goonan, our seminarians, our sacristan Karen Burns, our Knights of Columbus, our servers, our choir and musicians, our lectors, our extraordinary ministers, our ushers, our maintenance staff, our rectory staff, our principal and faculty, our school students, all those who spent time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament and anyone I may not have mentioned by name who had a hand in this holy effort.
Servant of God, Maria Esperanza, pray for us!
Fr. Tim Byerley
Pastor
2016 NEW SERVERS
Matthew Abate
Hudson Dials
Madeline Dials
Michael Esimio
Tyler Garden
Nathan Goldwasser
Salvatore Leone
Maria Montes
Sebastian Montes
Michael Rohr
Dominic Saffioti
Jason Saffioti
Benjamin Truong
Christian Ugarte
Shane Wood-Embrey
2016 SENIOR SERVERS