It is with great pleasure that I let you know that I have nominated Jill and Stuart Chessman for the St. Augustine Medal, given each year by the Diocese of Bridgeport. Each parish is asked to nominate someone who has made a significant contribution to the life of the parish through the years. Stuart and Jill Chessman have been a strong support in so many ways to the life of St. Mary’s. Under Jill’s direction the Coffee Hour after the 9:30 Solemn Mass has become an integral part of the community building effort that is so important to the realization of the mission of the parish. The real mix of people, young and old, that come to the Coffee Hour provides a locus for both community building and evangelization. But Jill and Stuart do so much behind the scenes as well. Their long-standing and firm commitment to the Traditional Roman Mass and their support of the special mission of St. Mary’s with respect to that Mass has been and will continue to be a great blessing to our parish. May God continue to bless them and their family.
As I said in my announcements, my experience at the Society for Sacred Liturgy conference in Philadelphia last week was quite wonderful. I gave a paper called “The Problem of a Modern Liturgy in a Post-Modern World.” I hope to publish the paper soon. It was a strong paper that looked forward to the return of the Traditional Mass as the “ordinary form” in the Church. I was pleased that my paper was very well received. But the most important thing about my being at the conference was the number of laity and young priests from all over the country who introduced themselves to me and said how much they love what we do liturgically at St. Mary’s and how what we do gives them hope that they can do this as well. This shows us the real power of the Internet to spread the good news of true liturgical reform. May God continue to bless us and give us the courage and strength to persevere in our mission.
Fr. Richard G. Cipolla
Pastor
