Cardinal Hails Elementary Grads at End-of-Year Mass

Posted

More than 300 prayerful eighth-graders recently gathered for Mass with Cardinal Dolan at St. Mary’s Church in Wappingers Falls.

The students were from Catholic schools in the Dutchess and Northern Westchester/Putnam regions of the archdiocese. The mid-morning liturgy on May 14 marked the second time the cardinal celebrated a regional Mass for the future eighth-grade graduates. The first was offered last year for the Central Westchester region.

A joyful Cardinal Dolan, who served as the principal celebrant and homilist, thanked the principals, teachers, pastors, parents and all others for their efforts in ensuring the children receive a Catholic education.

“He said Catholic education is really important,” said eighth-grader Laura Soto of St. Columbanus School in Cortlandt Manor. She was thankful for all the people who made it possible for her to attend a Catholic school.

The advantages of a Catholic education were evident in the students who served as lectors, altar servers and gift bearers.

Laura Soto read the responsorial psalm. “To read in front of the cardinal was an honor,” she said. “To read in front of 300 kids was nerve-wracking,” she added with a laugh.

References in the homily that personally moved her, she said, included knowing that God is with her every moment of every day, and how it is important to teach others that fact. “Sometimes I’m struggling and I turn to God and I find closure,” she said. “Not many people know how wonderful He is.”

Her classmate, Eric Quarato, said the large number of eighth-graders made the Mass memorable. “It was a real honor to share the Mass” with them, he said.

He considered it a privilege to be in the presence of the cardinal and was grateful for the thought-provoking homily. “He talked about the responsibilities of being a Catholic.” In addition, Eric is grateful for his Catholic education which, he said, has given him guidelines for how to live a moral life. “I think it will help in high school because it can help to determine right and wrong.” That, he added, will be particularly important when situations arise that involve peer pressure.

Students from other schools agreed that their Catholic education has prepared them well for high school. Among them was Natalia Pazos of St. Patrick’s in Bedford, who served as a gift-bearer at the Mass. Catholic school, she told CNY, “teaches us great values.”

Cardinal Dolan, during his homily, asked if Catholic education is worth it, she said, adding he answered throughout it that they, the students, make it so.

Her classmate, Matthew Kilduff, agreed, saying, “Catholic schools help create a good person and we need more good people in the world.”

Other schools in attendance at the Mass were: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak; St. Patrick’s, Yorktown Heights; St. James the Apostle, Carmel; Regina Coeli, Hyde Park; St. Denis-St. Columba, Hopewell Junction; St. Mary, Mother of the Church, Fishkill; St. Mary’s, Wappingers Falls; and Holy Trinity, St. Martin de Porres, and St. Peter’s, all of Poughkeepsie.