I am delighted to welcome you to this night as we honor our most generous Benefactors and all who have done so much to support this holy house by their generous financial and spiritual support. This is our fifth annual Benefactors’ Banquet, and we have come so far since the beginning of this program and creation of our Leadership Circle.
Your gifts of nearly half a million dollars in this past year have made the formation of one hundred and thirty two seminarians possible. I am deeply greatly to each and every one of you, whose sacrifices have made possible this holy work, as I am grateful to God for Sandy Barry, our Director of Annual Giving, Dick Bass, our Data Manager, Craig Gibson, Bonnie Rogers and all the members of our Development Committee.
But as important as your monetary support is, we depend even more on your generous prayers. Without prayer we are just an educational institution. As noble as education is, it is but one of the four pillars of our life here at Saint John’s, as we seek to form men to be the best pastors, the best spiritual leaders, and the best human beings: effective disciples of the Gospel of Joy so needed as we form the Roman Catholic Church in New England for the twenty-first century.
So welcome! I promise no long speeches, just this brief and heart-felt expression of gratitude, which now takes concrete form in the presentation of two Medals to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the support of this holy work: the Saint John the Evangelist Medal given in recognition of an individual or family's contributions to the spiritual support of the Seminary and the Archbishop John J. Williams Medal given in recognition of contributions to the temporal life of the Seminary.
We have several prior recipients to these honors present this evening:
Your gifts of nearly half a million dollars in this past year have made the formation of one hundred and thirty two seminarians possible. I am deeply greatly to each and every one of you, whose sacrifices have made possible this holy work, as I am grateful to God for Sandy Barry, our Director of Annual Giving, Dick Bass, our Data Manager, Craig Gibson, Bonnie Rogers and all the members of our Development Committee.
But as important as your monetary support is, we depend even more on your generous prayers. Without prayer we are just an educational institution. As noble as education is, it is but one of the four pillars of our life here at Saint John’s, as we seek to form men to be the best pastors, the best spiritual leaders, and the best human beings: effective disciples of the Gospel of Joy so needed as we form the Roman Catholic Church in New England for the twenty-first century.
So welcome! I promise no long speeches, just this brief and heart-felt expression of gratitude, which now takes concrete form in the presentation of two Medals to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the support of this holy work: the Saint John the Evangelist Medal given in recognition of an individual or family's contributions to the spiritual support of the Seminary and the Archbishop John J. Williams Medal given in recognition of contributions to the temporal life of the Seminary.
We have several prior recipients to these honors present this evening:
Jim & Pattie Brett (‘15), Dr Crotty (‘16), Craig & Nancy Gibson (‘16), and Ann LaRosee (‘17). We are grateful to them and to each one of you for your continuing support of Saint John’s Seminary.
In honor of these last four years’ of recipients, plus our new ones tonight, we’d also like to now unveil two brand-new plaques which will henceforth hang in the halls of SJS to remind everyone daily of the blessings we receive from our benefactors. Bishop Libasci, would please bless them for us?
In honor of these last four years’ of recipients, plus our new ones tonight, we’d also like to now unveil two brand-new plaques which will henceforth hang in the halls of SJS to remind everyone daily of the blessings we receive from our benefactors. Bishop Libasci, would please bless them for us?
We give you thanks, O Lord,
for these good men and women
who through their generosity
have blessed this holy house. Send your blessing upon this plaque (+) which will stand as a memorial to their goodness and the kindness of all who support this holy work. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
This year we have three worthy recipients who will be added to these plaques as well.
Our first award recipients are Deacon Jim and Vivian Leo, whom I ask to come forward now to receive the Saint John the Evangelist Medals.
for these good men and women
who through their generosity
have blessed this holy house. Send your blessing upon this plaque (+) which will stand as a memorial to their goodness and the kindness of all who support this holy work. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
PRESENTATIONS
This year we have three worthy recipients who will be added to these plaques as well.
Our first award recipients are Deacon Jim and Vivian Leo, whom I ask to come forward now to receive the Saint John the Evangelist Medals.
Since my first golf tournament, you two have been an omnipresent source of support to this holy house. Indeed, your whole lives have been those of service to the the Church and the City of Boston. Forty-two years of living the Sacrament of Marriage, sixteen years of diaconal service, and endless dishes of pasta served to seminarians (sometimes eighteen at a time!) are what mark this selfless couple’s life. Few can say they have done as much for this Seminary.
Their wise counsel, their dedication to the golf tournament (I think half the silent auction items have come through them) and their generosity to Saint John’s is almost as good as their golf scores!
And so, with profound gratitude, I am honored to ask Bishop Libasci to present each of you with the Saint John the Evangelist medal in recognition of the extraordinary generosity by which you have supported the work of this holy house.
Deacon Jim, Vivian, would you like to say a few words?
Vivian Leo
Their wise counsel, their dedication to the golf tournament (I think half the silent auction items have come through them) and their generosity to Saint John’s is almost as good as their golf scores!
And so, with profound gratitude, I am honored to ask Bishop Libasci to present each of you with the Saint John the Evangelist medal in recognition of the extraordinary generosity by which you have supported the work of this holy house.
Deacon Jim, Vivian, would you like to say a few words?
Vivian Leo
Bishop Libasci, Monsignor Moroney, and Fr. Chris, I want to thank you for this recognition. Above all I want to give thanks to God for calling these men to the priesthood, so that we may receive Him in the Eucharist. I’m the quiet one in the family, so I’m sure my husband Jim will have more to say. So I just want to say thank you again for this recognition.
Deacon Jim Leo
Deacon Jim Leo
Bishop Libasci, Monsignor Moroney, Seminary Staff, and invited guests: Thank God this is a bye week, no football; my guess is that I might be standing here by myself!
In all seriousness, Vivian and I would like to thank the entire staff, priestly and lay, here at Saint John’s Seminary. In our receiving the Saint John the Evangelist Medal, we are humbled and delighted in accepting this award. It was Fr. Chris who had asked me if I could give a little time to some of the Seminary activities; for me, most notable the golf tournament, which is right up my alley!
But as Bill Belichick would say, there is no “I” in team. So, I would like to say thank you to the golf committee here at Saint John’s in allowing me to express my ideas, and their acceptance of them. It is something that Vivian always talks about with me that makes us strive for the students of this Seminary, because without our priests, and these students that will one day become priests, we have no Christ! No Eucharist!
As we all know, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives. Our lives would be incomplete without it. So we say thank you for the opportunity to help and to “serve” here at Saint John’s.
As Fr. Chris always tells the youngsters in our parish at Saint John’s in Winthrop, God has given us many talents. Vivian and I are thankful we can express our “talents” here at Saint John’s.
In closing I would like to say that God always speaks to us in whispers - not in thunders! We need to be attentive to those whispers. Thank You & God Bless.
Our second award recipient is Dan Kennedy. Would you please come forward, Dan?
In all seriousness, Vivian and I would like to thank the entire staff, priestly and lay, here at Saint John’s Seminary. In our receiving the Saint John the Evangelist Medal, we are humbled and delighted in accepting this award. It was Fr. Chris who had asked me if I could give a little time to some of the Seminary activities; for me, most notable the golf tournament, which is right up my alley!
But as Bill Belichick would say, there is no “I” in team. So, I would like to say thank you to the golf committee here at Saint John’s in allowing me to express my ideas, and their acceptance of them. It is something that Vivian always talks about with me that makes us strive for the students of this Seminary, because without our priests, and these students that will one day become priests, we have no Christ! No Eucharist!
As we all know, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our lives. Our lives would be incomplete without it. So we say thank you for the opportunity to help and to “serve” here at Saint John’s.
As Fr. Chris always tells the youngsters in our parish at Saint John’s in Winthrop, God has given us many talents. Vivian and I are thankful we can express our “talents” here at Saint John’s.
In closing I would like to say that God always speaks to us in whispers - not in thunders! We need to be attentive to those whispers. Thank You & God Bless.
Our second award recipient is Dan Kennedy. Would you please come forward, Dan?
Dan, tonight, you are the recipient of the Seminary’s Archbishop John J. Williams Medal, in recognition of your extraordinary contributions to the support of this holy house.
Dan, if Alice were speaking to us from heaven, she would want us to know what a good father you have been to Katie and Patti, Anne Marie and Jack; and Father Dan would want me to extol your dedication to preserving the memory of his Priesthood over these past ten years through your dedication to Saint John’s Seminary: the hours you spend interceding for us before the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph's in Needham (I hear you’re the only one they can always call on for the 2am shift) by the publication of 247 Days on our behalf, your tireless promotion of vocations through the Father Dan Kennedy Chapter of our dearest friends, the Knights of Columbus and your constant efforts to remind young men to listen for the voice of God in their hearts.
You are an extraordinary man of determination and perduring faith, whose love for the Church, your family and this Seminary is apparent to everyone who meets you.
And so, with profound gratitude, I am honored to ask Bishop Libasci to present you with the Saint John the Evangelist medal in recognition of your extraordinary contributions to the support of this holy house.
Dan, would you like to say a few words?
Dan, if Alice were speaking to us from heaven, she would want us to know what a good father you have been to Katie and Patti, Anne Marie and Jack; and Father Dan would want me to extol your dedication to preserving the memory of his Priesthood over these past ten years through your dedication to Saint John’s Seminary: the hours you spend interceding for us before the Blessed Sacrament at St. Joseph's in Needham (I hear you’re the only one they can always call on for the 2am shift) by the publication of 247 Days on our behalf, your tireless promotion of vocations through the Father Dan Kennedy Chapter of our dearest friends, the Knights of Columbus and your constant efforts to remind young men to listen for the voice of God in their hearts.
You are an extraordinary man of determination and perduring faith, whose love for the Church, your family and this Seminary is apparent to everyone who meets you.
And so, with profound gratitude, I am honored to ask Bishop Libasci to present you with the Saint John the Evangelist medal in recognition of your extraordinary contributions to the support of this holy house.
Dan, would you like to say a few words?
Dan Kennedy
Thank you Bishop Libasci and Msgr Moroney for bestowing this prestigious medal on a member of our family.
It is particularly meaningful to receive this recognition on the 10th Anniversary weekend of my son, Fr Dan, entrance into Eternal Life. He was indefatigable in his determination to promote vocations to the priesthood and he would be pleased that SJS is once again at full capacity.
It is also fitting that, in attendance this evening, are parishioners from the the three most significant parishes critical to his formation; St Joseph’s in Needham where he received his First Holy Communion and where he said his First Mass of Thanksgiving; St Mary of the Nativity on Scituate where he served as a Deacon and St John the Evangelist in Winthrop where he served his entire 247 Days of priesthood.
Thank you again for this honor and please join me in thanking the Blessed Mother for continuing to protect SJS. Hail Mary….
