Dear Friends in Christ,
On May 6th, King Charles III was crowned as King of Great Britain and the Commonwealth Realm. The St Edward’s crown was placed on the monarch’s head. The crown, made for King Charles II in 1661, was previously worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her 1953 coronation. The symbolism and much pomp were certainly impressive and very British. This monarchy is a Protestant one and regretfully has anti Catholic aspects. There are Catholic monarchs such as those from the royal families of Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra, and Lesotho. Despite these venerable monarchies, in the month of May, we traditionally crown with flowers the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the May. The Fifth Glorious Mystery is the Coronation or Crowning of the Holy Virgin Mary. Pope Saint Paul VI said in 1965, “It is precisely because the month of May is a powerful incentive to more fervent and trusting prayer, and because, during it, our petitions find their way more easily to the compassionate heart of our Blessed Lady, that it has been a custom dear to our predecessors to choose this month, dedicated to Mary, for inviting the Christian people to offer up public prayers, whenever the needs of the Church demanded it, or whenever danger with flowers hovered menacingly over the world.” The Lord Jesus is the King of kings, Lord of lords and His Most Holy Mother is the Queen Mother. The great Pope Saint John Paul II said of Our Queen, “The queen symbol was attributed to Mary because she was a perfect follower of Christ, who is the absolute ‘crown’ of creation. She is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Mary is the Mother of Christ, the Word Incarnate…’ He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; The Lord will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.’ Elizabeth greeted the Blessed Virgin, pregnant with Jesus, as ‘the mother of my Lord.’ Mary is the perfect follower of Christ. The maid of Nazareth consented to God’s plan; she journeyed on the pilgrimage of faith; she listened to God’s Word and kept it in her heart; she remained steadfastly in close union with her Son, all the way to the foot of the Cross; she persevered in prayer with the Church. Thus, in an eminent way, she won the ‘crown of righteousness,’ ‘the crown of life,’ ‘the crown of glory’ that is promised to those who follow Christ. And upon completion of her earthly sojourn, she was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory and was exalted by the Lord as Queen of all, in order that she might be more completely conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the victor over death.” May 3rd is the Feast of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland; it was an honor to crown Our Lady in our grotto on May 6th. Our Mother and Queen has so many titles and we invoke her powerful intercession upon us: Our Lady of Hope; Our Lady of Knock (Ireland); Pambansáng Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Lourdes (Philippines); Our Lady of Czestochowa (Poland); Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Nigeria); Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico); The Immaculate Conception (USA); Nuestra Señora de Chiquinquirá (Colombia); and Our Lady of Loreto (Italy); amongst so many loving shrines to Our Lady. There are earthly queens and kings, but only one Lady deserves to wear the crown placed on her fair head in Heaven and she is Miriam of Nazareth.
A garden bower in flower
Grew waiting for God’s hand:
Where no man ever trod,
This was the Gate of God.
The first bower was red
Her lips which “welcome” said.
The second bower was blue
Her eyes that let God through.
The third bower was white
Her soul in God’s sight.
Three bowers of love
Now Christ from Heaven above.
LAWRENCE HOUSMAN
God bless you,
Father Szolack
Dear Friends in Christ,
May is one of my favorite months because it is dedicated to Our Lady, Mary, Queen of the May; May 1st is dedicated to Saint Joseph, Patron of Workers and it is the month in which I was ordained to the Holy Priesthood. On May 28, 1988, I was ordained as a priest at the hands of Bishop George Guilfoyle in Saint Joseph, the Pro cathedral. I cannot believe that it will be 35 years of service as a priest of Jesus Christ. Saint Jose Maria Escriva wrote, “Custody of the heart. That priest used to pray: “Jesus, may my poor heart be an enclosed garden; may my poor heart be a paradise where you live; may my Guardian Angel watch over it with a sword of fire and use it to purify every affection before it comes into me. Jesus, with the divine seal of your Cross, seal my poor heart.” (The Forge, 412). It is so important to pray for priests as the devil wants to destroy the souls of the shepherds. He does not care about the priest himself but wants to pain Our Savior and to scatter the sheep. A good priest can do an infinite amount of good and this is only if He reflects the Lord Jesus instead of Himself. I recently had a young priest say to me, “I love being a priest!” I can still say, 35 years later, I too love being a priest. Dear Lord, please never let that young priest’s heart grow cold! We need good priests and I invite you to pray for men to answer the call of God to consider the Priesthood from our parish. We are working on beginning a group to encourage and pray for vocations to the Holy Priesthood, the Diaconate and Religious life from Our Lady of Hope Parish. I expect the fruit of so many prayers uttered before the Real Presence and with the great love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, that we will have men answer the call or at least to ask the Lord, “Do you want me Lord to be Your priest?” I know that if a priest did not ask me if I ever thought about the Priesthood, it would not have crossed my mind. I have also had the privilege of working with cardinals, bishops and above all, very good priests. I know that I have been privileged and I so want this happiness to be for other men. If I had the chance to choose another vocation, it is unthinkable that I could say “yes” to anything else. The Priesthood has never disappointed me. Are there crosses? Of course, but it is absurd to think that any of us can avoid the Cross, especially if we want to truly be followers of Christ. The Priesthood is all about love: love for God and love for neighbor in an intense, sacrificial way. Father Pedro Arrupe, S.J. wrote, “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you will spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love and it will decide everything.” Everyone desires a love affair, what could be more profound than living and serving in the love of Jesus as a priest!
God bless you,
Father Szolack