Despite severe weather disruptions, St. Mary Church honored its Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a first-ever Novena of nine Masses leading up to the Solemnity of the Assumption, and a festive outdoor celebration on August 15th.
A Novena is the traditional Catholic practice of repeating prayers for nine straight days, often preceding a holy feast day. In this case, St. Mary began its Novena of Masses on August 6th and ended on August 14th—the day before the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Each night, a different guest priest, many with a connection to St. Mary Parish, celebrated Mass. Among the familiar faces were former Pastor Fr. Dindo Billote, former Parochial Vicar Fr. Sam Conforti, and former seminarians Fr. Brian Geary, Fr. Alex Lorang, and Fr. John Abulag.
Facing the Storm
Disaster struck on August 11th, when severe storms and a tornado moved through Mokena, causing a power outage at the parish. That evening, parish officials were forced to cancel the public celebration of Mass, although Pastor Fr. Joe Gasta celebrated it privately to avoid breaking the Novena.
The following day, despite the persistent outage, St. Mary decided to move forward with a public Mass. The parish sent emails and other communications advising parishioners about the conditions but inviting those willing and able to attend.
“Had we continued to interrupt our Novena observances, we would have made the devil very happy, and I couldn’t allow that,” says Fr. Joe. “We were doing this to honor our Patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I knew she would watch over us.”
The Feast Day
On Saturday, August 15th, St. Mary celebrated the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with morning Mass followed by a Marian procession and light refreshments. This represented the culmination of the Novena and the prelude to the parish’s inaugural Feast Day Celebration.
“In the Solemnity of the Assumption, we celebrate that Mary has been taken body and soul into heavenly glory,” explained Fr. Joe in his homily that morning. “She has reached the destination toward which every one of us is walking. And so when we look at Mary, we are not simply looking at someone we admire; we are looking at a promise. We are looking at the destiny God desires for his children.”
During a special 4 PM Mass later that day, St. Mary initiated its Parish Pastoral Council of 12 members during a special ceremony following the homily. The newly-reformed council serves as an advisory board to the pastor, with an emphasis on furthering the parish mission and overall planning.
“I very much look forward to the Parish Pastoral Council becoming an advisory body to assist me in upholding our mission and plan for the long-term good of our parish,” says Fr. Joe. “I encourage all parishioners to reach out to one of the members if they have something to share that could improve our parish.” He also underscores that although the Parish Pastoral Council is an extra resource for parishioners to voice concerns and ideas to parish leadership, he and Fr. Welbert are always open to direct feedback and communication.
Following Mass, it was time to party at the outdoor feast day celebration! Although rain continued to threaten the event, the parish was prepared with a tent encompassing much of the lower parking lot. Food trucks from Joey’s Red Hots and Taquerias Atotoniclo served free tacos, hot dogs, and burgers, while Nothing Bundt Cakes handed out mouthwatering desserts. Additionally, the Council of Catholic Women (CCW) generously served pizza.
Children flocked to a balloon-animal artist and face painter, who at one point painted an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Fr. Joe’s cheek and a cross on Fr. Welbert’s arm.
As a sign that the Blessed Mother was smiling on the event, the rain held off, and the sun even peeked through the clouds. Although the parish had faced challenges throughout the Novena, it concluded on a bright note with so many people attending the Saturday evening event that food actually began to run out.
“I am extremely grateful to all of the staff and volunteers who made this event possible and to all of the parishioners who came and made this a successful celebration of our Blessed Mother,” says Fr. Joe. “I am already looking forward to next year’s feast day!”
Watch a recap of the event below:
The Mokena Marian 