By Fr. Will Prospero, S.J., Pastor

 

I am Fr. Will Prospero, S.J., pastor here at St. Mary’s. I am very happy to welcome new and returning students to our student focused parish. We primarily exist to serve the students, faculty, and staff of CMU.  Our Mass and confession schedules, and the events sponsored by the parish follow the rhythm of the academic year. We offer a variety of ways to get involved in parish life. I challenge EVERY student who comes here to take ownership of this parish by getting involved and putting yourself at the service of the community. Every member of the body of Christ is important. Your participation here will enhance the Christian experience of all; conversely, your lack of participation will be felt by all as well. If you do not find something on the affiliation forms that interests you please write down what you are looking for so we can contact you and discuss how we can best address your needs.

 

About forty of our students are currently in Madrid at World Youth Day (WYD)!! This parish sponsored event took more than a year of preparation. Numerous prayers of petition, fundraisers, and preparation gatherings got us ready for this event. Today, Sunday, is the final day of the twenty-two day pilgrimage. Pope Benedict XVI is celebrating the final Mass with all the pilgrims, estimated at 2 million! When the pilgrims return be sure to ask them how they experienced Christ in Spain. We can then all share the joy of knowing Christ more. 

 

The theme for this WYD is: “Rooted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (Col 2:7). Pope Benedict chose this theme to bring the attention of the young adults in the world to Jesus Christ. He is the one who is the foundation of our lives. When Jesus is not the foundation of our lives, we lose our sense of direction and purpose; love and relationships which are so very important to young people can easily become selfish enterprises leading to unhealthy situations and wounded hearts. St. Mary’s provides a place for healthy Christian relationships where students can freely embrace the full truth and beauty of their Catholic heritage. Here, we root and build up our lives in Jesus Christ TOGETHER. The Christian life is not about being alone; it is about forming close ties with others in the household of faith so we can help each other find our eternal destiny. In this way as we become more and more ourselves in Christ. As we are formed into Christ the world in which we live will also come in contact with the God we know and love. This is how God changes the world. I invite all of you to give yourselves totally to this great call to be a companion of Jesus in the household of the Church, and to bring this Jesus into the classroom, the dorms, and your social lives.