Focusing on marriage, families and God’s “special angels,”
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde celebrated the annual Mass
for Persons with Disabilities at Our Lady of Good Counsel
Church in Vienna Oct. 4.
In his homily, Bishop Loverde reflected on the two dominant
themes found in Sunday’s Scripture readings: marriage and the
dignity of children.
The Gospel passage in which people brought their children to
Jesus so they could be touched by Him reminded the bishop of
the recent scene in Philadelphia when Pope Francis got out of
his car and walked toward a young man in a wheelchair,
embraced him and spoke to him.
“The man’s family was in tears, and so was I,” the bishop
said.
Disabilities Awareness Month, which is celebrated every
October, brings a heightened awareness of the “special angels
of God in our midst,” he said. It invites us to “hold them in
prayer and to embrace them with the love of Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Loverde thanked the officers of Porto Caravan No. 104
of the Order of Alhambra, especially Grand Commander Bill
Mundy, and Leo Alonso, president of Porto Charities, Inc. The
organization provides financial support to programs that
assist young adults with intellectual disabilities such as
the Options programs at Paul VI and Saint John Paul the Great
Catholic High Schools.
The bishop also reflected on marriage as God intended from
the beginning of creation – the union of a man and a woman.
“Jesus defines what we His followers hold dear about
marriage,” he said. “It is an essential part of His plan for
humanity. The marriage between man and woman is the
cornerstone of society.
“Within marriage, man and woman learn to live with each other
and to offer themselves up for each other,” the bishop said.
The permanence of marriage provides a stable foundation for
children, he said.
During the recent World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia,
Pope Francis spoke from the heart about the beauty and
struggles of families.
“This love is truly life-giving and life-sustaining,” Bishop
Loverde said.
As Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me. The kingdom of
God belongs to such as these.”
