Bishop Celebrates Mass for Expectant Parents

By Alfonso Aguilar
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 3/21/02)

In a special Mass on March 17, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde blessed several hundred families awaiting the birth of a new baby or that were just blessed with a recent one. The Mass was celebrated at St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington last Sunday and is an annual event sponsored by the Office for Family Life.

"Parents teach by the way they live," said Bishop Loverde. "The home is the first school. Prayer takes place at home alone and with our families. The family that prays together stays together."

In another part of his homily the bishop said that there is no greater gift parents can give to their children than the knowledge of Jesus, the truth of Christ. "He helps us cope with life’s struggles, He has the power to raise up the dead in the next life," the bishop said.

"The Mass was wonderful, really wonderful," said Stephanie Troup of Springfield, mother of two boys and two girls, who is expecting a new baby.

Maurice Ortega and his wife Thu-nga also attended the Mass to be blessed for the upcoming arrival of their second child. "When are you expecting to have your baby?" Bishop Loverde asked them as they chattered in the social room, where parishioners shared coffee and cake. "Very soon, very soon," responded Thu-nga, a native of Vietnam.

Maurice told the bishop that they are parishioners of St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax, but decided to attend this special Mass to listen to his message and receive a blessing for their new offspring.

Joann Graves of Annandale was not among the women expecting a new baby, but said that their children, three girls and a boy, frequently ask her for one more. "My husband and I are seriously considering that petition," she said laughing while asking her family to get ready for a picture with the bishop. 

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