As many of you know that have been reading this column (I cannot believe it has been nearly 3 ½ years since I was gifted this opportunity to serve all of you), the Parish Mission of Saint John the Evangelist, To Know, To Love, and To Serve God in His Church and Our Community, is burned deeply into my heart and soul. From increasing our focus on Faith Formation for all ages, to starting new opportunities for concerts and dances, to developing service programs for us to make meals for thousands of refugees, we have taken tremendous strides to live out that mission. One of the themes for these new efforts is Matthew’s Gospel, “New Wine in New Wineskins”, in which Jesus showcases that our faith is built to be renewed constantly, and that renewal needs to take new forms. The latest version of our New Wineskins is the Gaelic and Garlic Festival, a celebration of Saint Patrick and Saint Joseph, Irish and Italian cultures, all at once, and open to the entire community.
The name is not meant to be derogatory in any way. In fact, there is a deeply personal connection for me to this name. When my wife and I had our youngest daughter, Stella, we had best friends in Virginia, who also had their child, Sèamus. As you can probably guess, my wife and I are Italian. My mother was born in Naples, Italy, and traveled with her family when she was 5 to the United States as an immigrant, which makes me First Generation. Our friends are seriously Irish. So, whenever we had play dates with Stella and Sèamus, we always talked about getting the Gaelic and Garlic together. That is how the name came to be, for two babies, one dark haired and the other fiery red.
When we try new ways, sometimes they can surpass the expectations of previous programs and events. That is the hope with the Gaelic and Garlic Festival. What is more approachable for non-Catholics than St. Patrick’s Day, and the street festival atmosphere of a St. Joseph Feast? It is our responsibility as Catholics to spread the joy and love of our faith to all those around us, and we have the chance to express that to thousands of potential non-practicing Catholics in our area, along with welcoming individuals and families that have never stepped on a Catholic campus before. This is a change from the previous St. Joseph Feast dinner. Hopefully, everyone, from those visitors we will have on campus to those of us that have been here for the previous events for years, will find this new program inclusive, engaging, and most importantly, faithful and fun.
Finally, on a personal note, as the child of an immigrant, I believe it is important now more than ever, to remember and celebrate our cultural heritage in a positive and inclusive way. It was not long ago that the Irish and the Italians were demonized for their ethnicity, much less their religion. Gaelic and Garlic will be a celebration of our cultures and welcome our community to our Church.