LIMERICK — In recognition of their service and sacrifices, St. Matthew Parish in Limerick will honor veterans and active military personnel with a Veterans Day Mass and breakfast.
The Mass on Thursday, Nov. 11, will be celebrated at 8 a.m. at the church on 19 Dora Lane, with the breakfast to follow in the parish hall. All are welcome to attend. The Mass will also be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/StMatthewLimerick.
“A lot of our parishioners are veterans or are related to veterans or have a relative in the service, and they’re part of our community,” said Deacon Paul Lissandrello. “We’re thanking them for their service, not only with the breakfast but with prayers.”
Before and after Masses on the weekend of Nov. 6-7, parishioners will have an opportunity to submit a prayer intention for a veteran, living or deceased, or an active serviceman or women. The names will then be placed on the altar and prayers offered for them during the Veterans Day Mass. Parishioners who enroll a name will also be given a remembrance card to be sent to the person or their family to let them know they are being kept in prayer.
Veterans and active military personnel will also be honored during the breakfast. Those in attendance will be called forward and presented with personalized cards depicting a flag to thank them for the service.
The annual Veterans Day event is organized by the parish’s Armed Services Outreach Group, which was formed several years ago to support veterans in the community.
“It’s a way to connect people with the Church and to hold those people in prayer, so it’s a bonding,” said Deacon Lissandrello.
Members of the outreach group sent letters to veterans in the community, both Catholic and non-Catholic, inviting them to attend the free continental breakfast, which will include a presentation by Kelly Perry, a readjustment counselor from the Sanford Vet Center.
In addition to organizing the Veterans Day tribute, the parish’s Armed Services Outreach Group also provides support to veterans in several other ways, including contributing financially to groups such as Honor Flight Maine, which transports veterans to Washington, D.C., so they can tour the war memorials there, and Paws for Purple Hearts, an organization that uses veterans to train service dogs, which are then given to wounded veterans to aid in their recovery.