Homily for Saint Camillus Reunion Mass

Given on September 7, 2025, at St. Camillus Church, Rockaway Beach, NY
*** Updated November 24, 2025

Today, I’m praying for all of you gathered here for the Saint Camillus Reunion Mass. Some of you still live in the area, but many of you have traveled from a distance to be here. Thank you to all of you. Your presence is so very important to mark the special occasion: the coming together of people who love this parish, people who are connected to this parish, people who have an attachment to this parish. The four priests at the altar today have shared the privilege of serving you and your spiritual needs. Father Bill for the longest amount of time. Monsignor Lo Pinto for probably one of his shortest assignments, myself for four years, and Father James Rodriguez for these past few years. The saying goes: “The priests come and go, but the people stay!”

One thing we all have in common – something everyone in this church shares today – is that Saint Camillus Parish and School have been a very significant part of our spiritual journey. Today, all of us are here – reunited around the altar that has nourished our spiritual life – all these many years! Thank you, especially, to the committee that worked so hard to make this event happen, and thank you, Jesus, for this wonderful invitation to the Eucharist – a word that means “Thanksgiving.” Yes – we have so much to be grateful for today!

If you were baptized here – your spiritual journey began here. If you were confirmed here – this is where the Holy Spirit gave you His gifts! If you received your First Holy Communion here – this is where you began to appreciate the real presence of Christ – at the Mass! If you went to Confession in this Church, then here is where God‘s pardon and God‘s peace became tangible for you! If you received the Anointing of the Sick here – you came to appreciate God‘s healing power! If you received the Sacrament of Matrimony here, then the Church is very special because here you came to appreciate how much Christ loves His Church – as you committed yourself to your spouse. If you had the privilege of using the gifts and graces of Holy Orders in this parish church as the four of us have done, and so many other Priests since the parish was founded in 1908 – then we thank God for all the Priestly ministry and service given here for 117 years! If you buried a family member or friend at Saint Camillus Church – then here is where you received God’s comfort and consolation! The Sacramental life is the heart of Parish life, and God’s graces and blessings have been received over and over again. Wow!

If you went to Saint Camillus School – you are blessed to know the dedication of the Sisters of Saint Joseph and the wonderful group of teachers who taught you. Mrs. Margaret Dwyer is still alive – just recently turned 100 years of age – what a wonderful teacher – what a wonderful person. If you were in the Saint Camillus Band, you were mentored by the one and only Father – later Monsignor- William F. Burke! You can still picture him at the Friday night practices and marching alongside his band. If you were a part of the Religious Education Program, then you will recall the many generous and dedicated catechists who volunteered to teach religion classes, and to help prepare children for the reception of the sacrament. If you were part of the Rosary Society or the Holy Name Society, you will remember the meetings in the “Power House” and the communion breakfast at the Westrich Restaurant on Beach 116th Street. If you were a summer visitor and rented a bungalow – you remember that we needed to add on extra Masses to the summer schedule to accommodate the Mass going crowds– many Irish Catholics from the Bronx were in their number. Some of you may remember the shrine chapel overflowing with people for the novenas to Saint Anne and Our Blessed Mother. If you performed in one of the shows in the 1970s, you helped create a sense of community. If you worked at the bazaar, you helped raise money, or if you were a person who just went to Sunday Mass, this is the place where you heard God‘s word proclaimed, and preached, and where you reverently came to his altar to share the Eucharist – the promise and the pledge of the Heavenly Banquet.

Yes, this parish of Saint Camillus has been such a great blessing for us, and it is very good that we are here to thank God and praise God for his goodness!

When I heard the news that our beloved Saint Camillus would be closing at the end of the year, all kinds of emotions came to me, and I’m sure to you too! (*** I have since heard that Bishop Brennan is still discerning the future of Saint Camillus Parish.) Sadness, disappointment, and a period of mourning and grieving began very similar to what happens when a family member is dying or has died! We are all human, and we get attached! That process is happening now and will continue to happen as the months and years unfold. However, today is really not a day for mourning or grieving, but rather a day to celebrate what Saint Camillus Parish has meant to us. Today is not a day to complain or blame, but rather it is a day to unite our prayers in deep gratitude to a God who is faithful. Today is not just about preparing to lose a building, but rather a day to remember how these buildings made us better people: more faithful to Christ and heirs of eternal life. Today is a day to remember the past with great respect, great pride, and great appreciation.

Each of us is filled with memories as we come here today. And there is a saying that can help us in a practical way today and in the days ahead: “memories are stories waiting to be told.” So let’s share the stories with each other as we remember the priests, sisters, deacons and lay people of Saint Camillus, who helped to form us, who helped to believe, who helped to know, love and serve God in this world so that we can be happy with him in the next world – to borrow a phrase from the old Baltimore catechism, which some of us are old enough to remember! So then –TELL THE STORIES – SHARE THE MEMORIES; spend time with each other this afternoon at the reception, reminding each other of the great people you met here and how they influenced your life! How they brought you closer to God! Good memories can heal us and help us to move forward into the future. Closings are not easy, but they have to happen and continue to happen. In my own experience, I’ve witnessed the closing of my grade school, my high school and college, my seminary, and now my first parish as a priest. It is said that a priest’s first assignment is his first love! What consoles me are the memories of the people I met here – some of whom became my closest friends in life – what consoles me is that even though a building may be torn down, even a sacred building like this one –NO ONE can eliminate those memories from our minds; NO ONE can stop us from sharing the stories with anyone who is interested or with anyone who will listen! So, let’s enjoy this day – let’s share the stories – renew the acquaintances – recall the great history – pass on the memories! May God bless us and our families who have been part of the history of Saint Camillus Parish in Rockaway Beach – and may the intercession of this, our saint, who is patron of the sick, help us, heal us in our illness and may the intercession of Saint Carlo and Saint Giorgio – canonized by Pope Leo this morning in Rome- help our young people to cling to Jesus and to their faith. Jesus has told us in this Gospel that to be his disciples, we have to carry our crosses. With faith, it’s difficult; without faith, it’s impossible. May we and God’s faithful people who have come here today to celebrate the Eucharist together on this “Reunion Day” one day be reunited in the eternal banquet promised us by Jesus Himself! Praised be Jesus Christ, yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever and ever. Amen