Notes from the homily of Bishop Mitchell Rozanski on February 12, 2012 (11:15 a.m. Mass) at St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor
In his homily, based on the story of the healing of the leper in Mark 1:40‑45, Bishop Rozanski expressed how pleased he was to be present with us and to encourage our parish as we work toward building our new church. The leper of the Gospel story came to Jesus with great faith, and his faith was rewarded by Jesus as the Great Healer reached out to the leper with a healing touch. The Bishop encouraged us in our efforts to build our new church, because such growth in our parish is a powerful way for us to reach out to bring others closer to Christ’s healing touch.
Bishop Rozanski spoke about a particular design element of the new church that will allow us to see the steeple of the historic church through the windows above the altar, and he noted that this will help connect us with our ancestors who came before us and who spread the faith by building the stone church in the 1800s.
The Bishop acknowledged that growth is always accompanied by struggles. He assured us that we are in his prayers and he asked for our prayers for our parish and for him. He reminded us that our ancestors had a vision for themselves and the future generations, just as we do, o provide comfort and hope and to minister to others about the presence of God. This attracts others to join us in praising God.
The Bishop thanked Father Frazier for his leadership and his steady hand through this process. He noted that we have reached 46% of our goal of raising $1.6 million in pledges in the current capital campaign, and he is looking forward to returning to turn a shovel at our groundbreaking.
