Bishop to seniors: ‘Continue to carry out the mission’

Bishop Earl Fernandes encouraged senior citizens of the Diocese of Columbus to “fill the jars” at the 44th annual Diocesan Senior Citizens Day Celebration on Tuesday, June 27.

The celebration was a day of prayer and food and an opportunity for all people across the 23-county Catholic Diocese of Columbus to spend time in fellowship with senior citizens. The event was organized by the diocese’s Office for Social Concerns.

The day began with a 10:30 a.m. Mass celebrated in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help by Bishop Fernandes at Columbus St. Catharine Church and was followed by a luncheon in the church’s Monsignor David V. Sorohan Parish Center.

In his homily, Bishop Fernandes reflected on the Gospel reading , Jesus’ miracle at the Wedding at Cana (Jn 2:1-11). In the reading, the Blessed Virgin Mary alerts her Son that the wedding couple has run out of wine, instructing the disciples to “Do whatever He tells you.” Jesus responds by telling the servants to “fill the jars” with water.

“You have plenty to offer,” the bishop said to the congregation. “And so, Jesus’ words to the disciples are, ‘Fill the jars.’ That’s what I want to encourage you, to do - no matter how old you are - continue to carry out the mission.

“This was Jesus’ first miracle at Cana, where He turned water into wine. The disciples saw His glory, and they began to believe in Him and follow Him. You yourself began your journey, began to believe in Him, many years ago, but do not stop.”

The bishop encouraged those gathered to turn to Mary and imitate her “yes” in carrying out God’s mission.

“We must always remain young at heart,” Bishop Fernandes said. “Mary was young when she said ‘yes’ to God: ‘Let it be done to me according to Your word,’ and she never took back her ‘yes.’

“There are times when we suffer in old age. I saw it in my parents. There are times when we suffer loneliness and many other things. Do not withdraw your ‘yes,’ and if you are tempted to do so, go to Mary, go to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. She is always there, a tender mother, who can identify with us, who hears the cries of her children and comes to their aid.

“For today, these were the words of Mary: ‘Do whatever He tells you.’ Respond to the voice of Jesus. Fill the jars.”

At the Wedding at Cana, the bishop said, there were “massive jars, 20 to 30 gallons each. You can think of the jars symbolically, being empty, and things are sort of empty in our world today. Our people today, they lack a sense of history, they lack a sense of tradition, they lack a sense of true wisdom, they lack a sense of peace, joy and true love.”

He encouraged senior citizens to use the gift of faith they have been given, and “share a sense of history” with younger generations.

Also celebrated on June 27 was the feast day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The bishop discussed the history of the icon of Our Lady in his homily. 

The Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child, also known as Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, was brought to Rome in the late 15th century. Napoleonic forces invaded Rome in the 18th century, destroying the Church of St. Matthew, where the icon was located. 

The icon was found years later, and in the 1860s, Pope Pius IX ordered the icon be restored to its original location, which had since become the site of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, founded by St. Alphonsus Liguori.   

“This date (June 27) represents the date on which that icon was restored in the Church of Sant’Alfonso (St. Alphonsus) in Rome,” Bishop Fernandes said of the original icon, which remains on display in the church today.  

“Our Lady of Perpetual Help, she always comes to us in our time of need, and we heard that in the Gospel, which was taken from the second chapter of St. John’s Gospel. Mary, she had an attentive heart. She saw that the couple was in great distress and had no more wine, and she told the servants, ‘Do whatever He tells you.’

“Again, we should always listen to what our mother says, we should do whatever Jesus tells us in prayer. Listen to the voice of God, the eternal Word of God.”

The bishop told those gathered that, even in older age, they are still a part of the Church. 

“Yes, you might be senior citizens, but we are all on a road to that place, the new and eternal Jerusalem, where you have true citizenship, where God is, and Jesus, His only begotten Son, sits at His right hand,” Bishop Fernandes said.

The bishop also offered words during the luncheon following the Mass. He reflected on human dignity, one of the principles of Catholic social teaching.

“Sometimes when we get older, and we get sick, we think, ‘I’m useless. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone,’” Bishop Fernandes said. “I simply want to say, you are never a burden. Every person on the face of the earth is a gift to us, a gift from God.

“Never lose courage; never lose heart. You are unique and unrepeatable and irreplaceable, and you are a great part of our Church.” 

Following the bishop’s remarks, Jerry Freewalt, the director of the Office for Social Concerns, and Mark Huddy, the director of the diocese’s Catholic Charities, hosted a game of superlatives and distributed prizes.

Leo Dauer won a prize for being the oldest individual at the celebration. Dauer, who is a parishioner at Reynoldsburg St. Pius X Church, turned 97 on June 5. 

Women from Portsmouth received a prize for having driven the farthest to attend the event. Prizes were also given to individuals with the most recent birthday, as well as to Campbell Smith, 23, who participated in the Mass and luncheon, for being the youngest person at the celebration.

“I loved every bit of it – this beautiful place, everything,” said Joann Pelino, a parishioner at Columbus Our Lady of Peace Church, who was attending the Diocesan Senior Citizens Day Celebration for the first time.

Adele Weaver said she enjoyed the day, particularly spending it with the bishop and celebrating Mass with him.

“I’ve met him before, and I find that he has a lot of energy, and I like that about him,” she said. 

Mary Darnieder, a parishioner at Our Lady of Peace, said she could relate to Bishop Fernandes’ words on “human dignity and talking about, ‘You don’t lose your dignity when you’re not productive.’ 

“One of the things my mother used to say, when she was up in her hundreds, was, ‘I wish I could just be more productive,’” Darnieder said. “We used to say, ‘Mom, it’s OK,’ but that was something she worried about, and I think anybody who gets to be an advanced age has that kind of thought, so it was nice to hear that.”

Bunny Hetterscheidt also enjoyed the words from Bishop Fernandes.

“I loved the bishop’s homily,” she said. “It was so good, right down to earth, right down our level, and I enjoyed that the most. 

“He talked about how much trouble the world is in right now and our generation. It was wonderful that he acknowledges that and tells us how to get over it – to pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”