Bishop Solis celebrates Memorial Day Mass

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrates the Memorial Day Mass at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of people gathered May 28 at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery for the annual Memorial Day Mass. Bishop Oscar A. Solis was the primary celebrant. Con-celebrants were Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; Father Andrzej Skrzypiec, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish; Father Dominic Thuy Dang Ha, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish; a visiting priest from Vietnam; and Msgr. Joseph M. Mayo and Father Patrick Elliott, retired priests of the diocese.

Deacon George Reade was Deacon of the Mass and Deacon John Kranz was Master of Ceremonies.

“Memorial Day is a very special moment in the life of this country,” Bishop Solis said in his homily. “We gather today as a nation, taking a day off, to remember those men and women in the military who fought for our country and gave up their lives that we may enjoy freedom and peace. So we are here to honor our fallen heroes, pay respect and pray for our beloved dead. … We also remember their families for sharing their loved ones in this act of heroism.”

Bishop Solis also acknowledged those members of the armed forces who survived military combat, and he asked those present to stand. As they did, the congregation applauded. Bishop Solis thanked the veterans of foreign wars for their sacrifices.

“We thank you and we honor you for your courage and for your spirit of sacrifice, and we thank God, too, that you are with us, in order to hear and to know our sincere appreciation and gratitude for your sacrifices,” he said.

The celebration also highlighted the spiritual bond of the communion of saints, the bishop said. In addition, it was a reminder of the fundamental principles of courage, dedication, commitment and service for the good of others. “Our society will be better if we can live and uphold such important values,” he said.

Those who fell in military combat “teach us generosity of spirit, selflessness and sacrifice that are essential in making our world a better place to live,” Bishop Solis said.

Those who have fallen in combat “passed on to us the responsibility to carry on the mission to safeguard the freedom and peace they fought and died for,” he said, adding that, as Christian believers, “We are called to be peacemakers. … As God’s children, let us always seek peace, live in harmony with one another and build a nation where justice reigns. We can give justice to the sacrifice of the men and women in the military service who gave up their lives for all us if we protect human dignity and learn to live in mutual respect and harmony as brothers and sisters in spite of our differences in race, language and cultures. Only then can we fittingly celebrate Memorial Day.”

At the conclusion of the Mass, Bishop Solis blessed a new statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that had been installed over the weekend. The new statue, which stands on the east side of the cemetery’s Holy Plat, replaces one that had been vandalized.

The new statue is from Italy and is of hand-carved  marble composite, said John Curtice, the director of Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

“This image honors, above all, the truth that Christ is the visible image of the invisible God,” Bishop Solis said before blessing the statue with holy water. “As Christ himself said, ‘He who sees me sees the Father.’ Therefore, when we honor this image, let us lift up our eyes to Christ, who reigns forever with the Father and the Holy Spirit.”