Letter from the Pastor
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April 21, 2023Last Saturday our 7 Pilgrims returned from Lourdes, France. They all prayed for us at the Grotto of Massabielle, where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception. The many graces from Our Lady’s intercession received from their holy pilgrimage will come to our parish. The Pilgrims also bought us a gift, a beautiful white and blue Communion Stole that
Fr. Clarke and I will wear on Marian Feasts. Thank you!
The Pilgrims for 2023: John Thompson, Geoffrey Ludwig, Joey Francamono, Nicky Klein, Robert Daly, Danny Berge, Bridget Murphy. I would also like to thank Nadine Green and Ed O’Dea who do such a wonderful, heartfelt job of organizing and running the pilgrimage. There are so many aspects of bringing all the pilgrims, the helpers, the doctors, the nurses and our youth group to Lourdes, 26 people in total. It takes months of planning and many hours of hard work. God will certainly bless all those who bring our Pilgrims to Our Lady’s Sanctuary each year. I also would like to thank the parents of our Pilgrims for allowing and trusting us to take care of your son or daughter. For many of these parents and pilgrims, it is the first time away from each other. Then you see the joy of their faces when they are reunited at the airport, you know what love is and it is all worth it.
The Pilgrimage this year was dedicated to two of our saints, who died this past year: Ciaran Green and John Screene, Jr. Two great gifts God gave to this world, to our town, and to the Church, two lives, although short in number of years, now eternal in their influence.
Then, on the following day, Sunday at the 10:30 AM Mass, our parish inducted the following ladies into our Rosary Altar Society. We welcome Lucy Birkmaier, Bridget Bredin, Marie DeVito, Kathy McCourty, Pat McGowan, Mary Moran, Teresa Murphy and Katherine Wysokowski.
We also gave Past President Medals to Angela Byrne and Mary Clark. Over the years, these two ladies have done great and untiring work for our parish. Thank you.
The Rosary Altar Society is an international Society of the Roman Catholic Church under the spiritual patronage of the Dominican Order; established in many parishes in countries all over the world. The Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary is the legal name; it is known in our country as the Rosary Altar Society, each Rosary Society is chartered formally by the Confraternity. The Society promotes devotion to Our Blessed Lady and encourages the daily recitation of the rosary, in addition to other charitable works. In the United States, these parish Rosary Societies were limited to women, but internationally the Confraternity itself has always been open to both men and women, having been founded by the Dominican Friars.
Our Society is very active with dedicated women, under the co-presidency of Mary Millilo and Diane Edsall. The members pray the Rosary, keep the altar linens, make rosaries for schools, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and for our parish Church. The ladies also provide scholarships for 8th graders and give monetary support to a seminarian.
Thank you, Ladies for all you do for us here at St. Margaret’s and beyond.
Remember the Easter Season lasts until Pentecost
—50 days of joy!
And don’t forget to fulfill your Easter Duty.
