‘Seniors’ are special guests at high school’s liturgy

Grandparents of students at Immaculata High School, Somerville, gathered with the school community for a First Friday Grandparents Day Mass and reception Jan. 6.

Msgr. Joseph G. Celano, pastor and director for schools, presided at the liturgy, which was celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church, and gave the homily.

In his homily, Msgr Celano reminded the students and their grandparents that “faith is not something that is simply received, it is something that is passed on and nurtured in family. And with a long line of family, of people who hoped and trusted and believed, that is what nurtured faith; that is the context in which Christ came.”

Recalling his own family lineage, Msgr. Celano said he often recalls the faith passed on by his grandparents and parents.

“Faith and service are what define us,” he said, offering that the gifts of faith and service were passed to him through the example set by his mother and father, respectively, “and they are formed within the context of community and family,” he continued.