Celebrating a Feb. 19 Mass for people in the Post Cana ministry for widows and widowers, Cardinal Wilton Gregory praised them as “a special community of neighbors and friends (who have) come together in prayer… to seek the Lord’s comfort and to console one another in faith.”

Washington’s archbishop celebrated the Mass at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Leisure World retirement community in Silver Spring, Maryland, joined by 180 people from 28 parishes participating in Post Cana in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Cardinal Gregory said the gathering reflected how Jesus in that day’s Gospel reading from John had asked his followers to “remain in my love.”

“We gather in prayer today with many people who have experienced the loss of a spouse whether recently or in the distant past and who want to recall their loved ones in faith and to praise God for the gifts of joy and happiness that those individuals brought to them and to their children, their families and their grandchildren,” he said.

The cardinal said the Post Cana participants had come together “not only to praise God for the blessings that your marriages engendered in your own lives, but also to pray for those spouses who have gone before you into God’s kingdom.”

In his homily, Cardinal Gregory noted how throughout the Bible, from the story of God creating Eve as a partner for Adam to the story of Jesus’s first miracle at the wedding feast of Cana, “marriage has been a source of many great blessings for people… (and) marriage has frequently provided the context of God’s actions within the human community.”

The cardinal pointed out how there are many scriptural passages about widows. The Mass’s first reading was from the Book of Judith in the Old Testament. Judith’s husband died after being overcome by heat as he supervised his workers in the field harvesting barley. As a widow, Judith lived a devout life marked by her faith in God.

Cardinal Gregory said that while the Bible has fewer accounts of widowers, Abraham – known as the father of faith to Jews, Muslims and Christians – “grieved after the passing of Sarah, his beloved wife, as every man who has lost his cherished life partner understands and does so in response to that bereavement.”

Abraham, “a strong and faithful man,” grieved, “as did our widowers here present,” the cardinal said.

The cardinal then noted how people who experience sorrow after the loss of a spouse can ultimately find hope in Christ.

“We are also here as people of faith who continue to believe even through our tears – and perhaps more intensely because of our tears. We believe that we continue to live in Christ’s love even under the most painful circumstances,” he said. “Furthermore, we also believe that those who have gone before us into eternal life also continue to live in Christ’s love that has no boundaries and no end.”

Concluding his homily, Cardinal Gregory said, “Jesus’s love for His disciples is always secure and it endures forever, and your humble lasting love for a deceased spouse is the reason that you gather with neighbors and friends from more than two dozen of our parishes, and you gather as one family of hope and faith in Jesus’ name and in His love.”

As the Mass began, the cardinal was welcomed by Father James Boccabella, the pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish that hosted the Mass. Other concelebrating priests included Father Mark Hughes, Post Cana’s priest moderator and the pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Kensington; Msgr. Donald Essex, a retired archdiocesan priest who lives and serves at Leisure World; and Msgr. John Enzler, the president and CEO of the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities whose late parents, Deacon Clarence Enzler and Kathleen Enzler, helped lead archdiocesan family ministry and were instrumental in starting marriage programs including Post Cana.

Also at the Mass, Mary Dugan – the president of the archdiocesan Post Cana group and a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace – thanked Cardinal Gregory “for your presence, your pastoral leadership and your smiling optimism to all of us.” The Post Cana leader also thanked Carla Ferrando-Bowling, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Family Life, for her support of the group.

Noting that Post Cana members have different stories and have experienced different losses, Dugan said, “We have a common thread of grief and healing, and we are inspired by listening and learning from each other.”

Speaking of how their faith has been a source of strength and hope for them after losing a spouse, Dugan said, “We are discovering how our lives can change into meaningful journeys through the grace of God… We are finding a renewed purpose in life, like St. Paula, our patron saint.”

That day’s Votive Mass of St. Paula for widows and widowers is named for St. Paula, a wealthy fourth century Roman woman whose husband died when she was 32, leaving her with five children. After a period of personal sorrow and a religious conversion, St. Paula was known for her faith and her service to the poor, and became a follower and supporter of St. Jerome.

At the Mass, Cardinal Gregory prayed for peace in Ukraine, saying, “Today let us join our voices with the voices of people throughout the world for peace in Ukraine, for those who are struggling to make sure that land is blessed with peace and harmony and its people are protected.”

As he ended his homily, the cardinal encouraged the Post Cana members to pray for couples preparing for marriage.

“Let us pray not only for those spouses who have gone before us in faith, but also let us pray today for young couples who are preparing for marriage, that they enter into lasting, loving marriages that bring them great hope and great peace and discover as have you, what a joy and a blessing marriage is,” Cardinal Gregory said, adding, “And may they be as faithful as you have been.”

(A Post Cana Lenten Day of Reflection for widows and widowers will be held March 8 at Our Lady of Grace Church. For information on joining Post Cana, email marydugan12@yahoo.com or call 301-873-3902. The Fraternity of Our Lady of the Resurrection, an international group for Catholic widows, has formed in the United States, and for information, contact Linda Arnold at lma61844@gmail.com .)