St. Joseph is remembered as a carpenter who had a low-key ministry. He raised Jesus, teaching Him the value and dignity of a trade, but has startling little presence in the Bible. Like St. Joseph, hundreds of faithful “give us that quiet, but strong example of one who continues to do the work and the will of the Father.”
Over 70 of those dedicated workers and volunteers received recognition with the Lay Award of St. Joseph presented March 9 at, appropriately, St. Joseph Cathedral.
“With gratitude for the generosity and the ministry and the work that you do for our parishes, our pastors, and our people, we honor you this day,” said Bishop Michael W. Fisher, who presided over that day’s Mass.
Father Peter Karalus, vicar general of the diocese, read a citation from the city of Buffalo before the awards presentation:
“Be it hereby publicly acknowledged that the following parish workers and volunteers have been duly selected by the Diocese of Buffalo to receive the Lay Award of St. Joseph the Worker in recognition of outstanding meritorious service rendered to their parish communities and families.”
Thomas O’Shei accepted the award on behalf of his mother, Dorothy, who passed away in February.
“She’s done a little bit of everything. She was Religious Educator of the Year. She did that forever. She was a lector. Mission team. She was a substitute teacher at St. Theresa’s,” O’Shei recounts. “They seem like little things, but she did everything. Anything you can do at the church, she did it. Even if it was having the priests over for breakfast after Mass.”
“Her fingerprints were all over St. Theresa’s,” added Father Bill Quinlivan, pastor of the South Buffalo parish.
O’Shei said his mother would be happy to receive the award, although she may not have felt she deserved it.
“She loved her church, loved God, and loved the community,” he said. “She made friends with everybody at the church. A lot of kids my age considered her as a second mother. She always had an ear and good advice for young people in the community.”
Father Quinlivan recalled filling in the nomination form for Dorothy knowing her health was failing.
“The day I signed the form to nominate her, about an hour later I received a call that she went into hospice care. I kinda had that sense, but we’re going to give it to her anyway,” he said. “If she’s not here, she’ll have the best seat in the house.”
Sally Herzog serves as a lector at St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Elma. She is also president of the Ladies Guild, and a eucharistic minister. She helps with the accounting and the bereavement committee, and runs the raffles as well. Her husband, Paul, serves as her assistant.
“I do it for the parish,” Sally said. “I do it for the parish and I do it because I enjoy doing it. I don’t think of this as work. I enjoy doing it.”
Both the Herzogs received the St. Joseph Medal and a copy of the citation.
“It’s our home away from home, and they treat me that way. I just enjoy doing it,” Sally Herzog said.
Another team presentation went to Elizabeth Green and Regina Rosati of All Saints Parish in Lockport, who facilitate the parish’s bereavement group, Love Never Dies. They have dedicated every Tuesday for the past eight years to helping people deal with the loss of a loved one through open, safe conversation for one simple reason; there’s a need for it.
“It’s a wonderful ministry for us to do,” Green said. “It is my purpose and her purpose to be here to do that.”
Love Never Dies has had such a strong impact within the parish, that it has expanded into the secular community with sessions also taking place at the YMCA.
“It’s for anybody who has had a loss and they don’t know exactly what to do with themselves in a state of grief and pain,” explained Rosati. “It’s kind of like AA for mourners. It’s a group. We sit around and talk about what’s bothering us and confusing us.”
Some of the group members have been coming for the entire eight years of the program’s existence.
“It’s a place where everybody has a common issue and the same problems,” said Rosati. “They have a safe place to talk about what’s going on with them. Grief is a long, long process and it doesn’t go away after the funeral. It doesn’t go away a year later. You need constant help and a place to talk about your feelings.”
Green said volunteering is a way to pay forward the goodness that they have received from the parish community.
“It’s what Jesus told us to do. Go out and love your neighbor. That’s what we’re doing,” she said.
Listen to Michael Mroziak’s report here.