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I have no doubt that Blessed Stanley is exerting an influence on your formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral – and what a good thing that is! It is my prayer that you’ll tap into the example and intercession of this priest, who not too long ago, walked the halls in which you walk, sat in the classrooms where study, and worshipped in the chapel where you now pray.

Padre Pio had a warm and loving devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here in the heart of Mary’s Basilica, let us ask for the grace to be ourselves living interpretations of the Scriptures we read and proclaim.

It is a pleasure to return to St. Joseph Parish to celebrate with you the 100th anniversary of its founding. Today we pay tribute to those who went before us in faith – to the Redemptorist Fathers at St. Mary’s in Annapolis whom we claim as our “mother-parish” –and to the Archdiocesan priests, deacons, religious, and lay leaders who guided St. Joseph Parish through the years, and to your current pastor, Fr. Augustine Inwang, of the Missionary Society of St. Paul.

For some 75 years, St. Matthew Parish, Northwood, has stood as a place where Christ’s grace and mercy remain alive and active, where many who experience the truth and mercy of Christ, also experience God’s call to conversion, to discipleship, and to service.

The centerpiece of Vespers is Mary’s Canticle of Praise, the Magnificat. The Magnificat  speaks is first and foremost Mary’s inspired expression of amazement, gratitude, and fidelity, as with her cousin Elizabeth, she contemplates the birth of the Messiah and his forerunner.

As I offer this Holy Mass, I join you in lifting up colleagues who died in this past year and in commending to the Lord the mission that is yours each day in serving the needs of individuals and in serving the common good of diverse communities across the State of Maryland.

From your beginnings in Hereford high school, throughout all the ups and downs of your history thus far, your commitment to your parish, dear parishioners, has been constant and preserving. I came today to say “thank you” and to pray with you, asking the intercession of Our Lady of Grace that you and your parish may have a bright future, indeed, ‘a future full of hope’.

The five-fold cross that we wear as members of the Order signals our historic and ongoing commitment to the Church in the Holy Land and to the overall welfare of a region that, for much of its history, has been torn by conflict and war. It is obvious that the mission of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre is more important, more critical than ever, both its spiritual mission and its mission to provide concrete assistance.