Prayer Service for Fr. Frank McManus 

March 25, 2002

by Very Rev. Edward Correia

I would like to welcome all of you today to this time when we want to remember and pray for Fr. Frank McManus.

On Thursday of this week, Jewish homes will gather together for the Passover. On their family table there will radish which symbolizes the bitterness of the suffering that the Jewish people endured in the their slavery of Egypt. There will be water and salt that symbolizes the tears that were shed.

These could be the symbols for us today and for Fr. Frank as we go through this bitter suffering and we cry so many tears.

On Passover night the son will ask the father, "Why is this night different from all other nights?".

The father will explain that it is on Passover night that they remember God saving the Israelite people.

For us Christians we look at the Cross this week and we remember that we have been saved by God from sin and darkness.

Remembering for us is not just a recalling of a past event. The eternal moment of the Exodus and of the death and resurrection of Christ is an event that is still happening.

God is saving us now. God is redeeming us now. We can’t see it. We may not even see or feel God. God is still with us. God will bring much good out of all of this.