Good Shepherd Sunday

MENDHAM  On Good Shepherd Sunday, May 3, some parishioners of St. Joseph Parish here got a personal visit from Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

Father Andrew Burns, parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s, brought the Blessed Sacrament to parishioners’ homes and, maintaining social distancing by staying in the street, blessed families on porches, driveways, and front yards.

At a time when Catholics are unable to attend Mass in person and receive the Eucharist, Father Burns said the traveling Benediction was a “witness that the Lord does not abandon his sheep, nor is there anything that can separate us from his love.”

The day began after the parish’s live-streamed Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, which is also Good Shepherd Sunday.

Following the Mass, Father Burns brought the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance to the Mendham Borough First Aid Squad, whose volunteers have been risking their health and safety to serve the community throughout the pandemic. After blessing the first responders, the procession moved to the Holly Manor nursing home in town where Father Burns blessed the patients through their windows. He spent more than six hours traveling to more than 100 parishioners’ homes in perfect weather on Sunday, driven in a white Audi SUV, dubbed the “priest mobile,” with a moonroof that allowed him to bless the faithful and the town while in motion.

Barbara Pieroni, a parishioner, awaited the visit with her husband, Joe. “I was excited all day, like expecting company,” she said, “and what better company than Our Lord, the Good Shepherd, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Away from church life all these weeks has brought a real longing for togetherness and group prayer. Somehow, I felt connected not only to Jesus but also to all the other parishioners visited today.”

Father Burns said, “I am grateful to our pastor, Msgr. Joseph Anginoli, for his support of the outreach.”

At the end of the day, Father Burns said, “A final word of thanksgiving goes to Our Lord — for the beauty of his creation and the perfect spring day; for the gift of our community; the gift we have in each other; but above all for his undying love for each one of us that is uniquely present in the Eucharist. He died to be with us, he died to give us the Eucharist! He is the Good Shepherd who never abandons his flock, but freely offers his life so that we might have life and have it to the full!”