St. Mary's Church, Roslyn: Pastor's Page

Rev. McCartney

Pastor’s Page – March 3, 2019

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My dear people of St. Mary’s:

This weekend we welcome Father Tim Valentine to St. Mary’s as the new temporary administrator assigned by the bishop. I have no doubt that you will give Fr. Valentine the same warm welcome you gave me when I arrived.

It is hard for me to believe that six years have passed since my arrival at St. Mary’s. I am grateful to God for allowing me to serve this wonderful parish as pastor, and I am grateful to all of you. These last few weeks have been challenging, and very emotional for all of us. The farewell gathering in Msgr. Ryan Hall on Sunday afternoon was extraordinary! I thank everyone who worked to put it together on such short notice. It was good to have the opportunity to speak to so many of you. It will take me some time to read all of the cards and letters and open all of the gifts, but I want you to know how much I appreciate them, and the love that comes with them.

I leave you with a bit of history. In all my packing, I came across this photograph of St. Mary’s sanctuary as it looked years ago. There is no date on the picture, but I would place it as having been taken in the early 1900’s. The sanctuary is larger; the statues of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph (the same ones we have today) are on small altars instead of pedestals; there are three steps before the high altar, not two; and the back wall is heavily stenciled. The statues of the Sacred Heart and St. Therese which we have in the back of the Church are in the sanctuary, and there is an altar rail with votive candles directly in front. The ceiling lights look surprisingly similar, and the roundels of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Blessed Mother can all be clearly seen. The pastor at this time was probably Fr. Louis Martel (1900 to 1928).

When you look at this photo from nearly a century ago, you can see some differences, yet anyone would instantly recognize this as St. Mary’s Church, Roslyn, where the Catholic faithful have been worshipping for the last 148 years. We must be grateful to those who went before us and preserved it for us. And we must commit ourselves to preserving it for future generations. This picture is a reminder that the most important thing any of us have is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Faith He has given us. And we are grateful to Him also for giving us the wonderful gift of our parish, and our beautiful Church, where the faithful will continue to gather to encounter and worship the Lord for years to come.

—Fr. McCartney

Immaculate Heart of Mary

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My dear people of St. Mary’s:

You will remember that in April of this year I made a pilgrimage/retreat with my priest friends to the town of Ars in France, the home of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of all parish priests.

This year is the bicentennial of the saint’s arrival in his parish as its new pastor. He arrived on February 9, 1818, in the little farming village some 14 miles north of the city of Lyon. The church was tiny and, on his arrival, the parish numbered only 230 parishioners. In assigning him there, the Vicar-General of the diocese had said to him: “There is not much love of God in that parish; you will have to bring some into it.”

He did all that and more over the course of the next forty-one years as their curé, or pastor. By the time of his death in 1859, it is estimated that more than 100,000 pilgrims were coming to the town of Ars annually to attend Mass or go to confession to the man they knew to be a living saint.

On May 1, 1836, the Curé of Ars did something very beautiful, and very valuable for his people: he consecrated the entire parish and all parishioners to the Blessed Virgin. He had a votive heart made to hang around the neck of the statue of the Blessed Mother in the Church. Then he took a long ribbon and, with his own hand, inscribed the names of all of his parishioners on it, and then placed it inside the votive heart. On it he had engraved these words: “Consecration of the Parish of Ars to Mary Conceived Without Sin, Made the First of May, 1836, by M. John Marie Vianney, Curé of Ars.” This was his way of making sure that his parish and his people were always under the patronage and protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and always kept in her maternal heart.

During my pilgrimage to Ars, while praying before the statue of the Blessed Mother in the church, with that heart hanging around her neck containing the names placed there by the saint 182 years ago, I realized that I had to do the same thing here in our parish.

Below you will see an image of the votive heart I have obtained for our parish. Made of silver, it was handcrafted in France around the year 1880. The front is engraved with the letter “M” surmounted with a cross, indicating Mary standing at the foot of the Cross of her Son, and united with Him in His work of redemption. This is also the symbol on the obverse of the Miraculous Medal, as seen in the vision of St. Catharine Labouré in 1830. Around the edge, it is engraved with lilies, a symbol of the Blessed Mother. Finally, the heart is surmounted by a flame, always seen in depictions of the Immaculate Heart, and representing Mary’s burning love for God and for all of us as her spiritual children. Inside, there is a compartment where the names will be placed.

This week I encourage all parishioners to fill out a card with the names of your family’s living parishioners (we will collect the names of deceased parishioners for the heart at a later date). Then, thanks to computer technology, all of the names can be printed in small enough type to fit on a paper to go inside the heart. On December 8, 2018, we will consecrate our parish to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and bless the votive heart and all the names contained within and place it around the neck of the statue of the Blessed Mother in our Church.

In this way, you the people of St. Mary’s will always know that you are under Our Lady’s protection, and occupy a special place in her heart.

—Fr. McCartney