While I am more than grateful to all of my supporters, there is one particular person/group of people who I really owe much of this to. My church, Palaimintojo Jurgio Matulaicio Lietuviu Kataliku Misija, and their pastor, Tevas Antanas Saulaitis, are some of the most generous and kind-hearted people I have ever met. I have been a parishioner at this church my entire life. It is where I went with my families, where I received almost all my sacraments, and where much of my faith formation occurred.
Aside from the times at my Catholic schools, I did not attend Mass in English until I was a sophomore in college. My church, you see, is conducted entirely in Lithuanian. I love this. I also struggle with this. You may or may not know English is my second language. I used to speak Lithuanian quite well-fluently in fact. Now, I’m a little rusty so going to Mass in English is kind of nice. Because I realized I was spending too much time translating and not enough time truly engaging in Mass, I started going to Mass at school when I was in college, continuing at a different parish when I was home on breaks. I started to fall in love with this English Mass and was leaving my church behind. To many at my home parish, I appeared to be a “Chreaster,” only coming back for special occasions. In reality, I was attending Mass elsewhere.
Why do I bring any of this up? To show that, despite the fact that I didn’t remain dedicated to my parish, they remained dedicated to me. The donation that put me over my fundraising goal was that of the Lemont Jesuit Fathers, a donation Tevas Saulaitis initiated and sent to my father in my name. I have since returned to this parish. I fell in love with the beauty of the Lithuanian Mass again after having been in Lithuania. I remembered just how much I love knowing this language and how much the Lord speaks to me, regardless of whether or not I can remember exactly every word spoken during the homily. These people provide me with a loving home and have more than demonstrated their support. I am thankful beyond words for their prayers and financial support. Aciu Tau Kunigeli. Be taves ir musu parapija tikrai as negaleciau si misija daryt. Nuosirdziai dekoju jums ir melsu uz jus visus. Dar kart, aciu!
