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Wesley and Michelle Jones, along with their daughter Jailynn Ryan, participate in the Mother\u2019s Day Adoption Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on May 10, 2026. (Photo\/Mike Melisky)<\/p>\nSCRANTON \u2013 Families whose lives have been touched by adoption gathered at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on Mother\u2019s Day to celebrate the Diocese of Scranton\u2019s annual Adoption Mass, celebrating the gift of life, the love of mothers, and the joy of families formed through adoption. <\/p>\n
The 10:00 a.m. Mass on May 10, 2026, was celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, who reflected in his homily on the selfless and sacrificial love that lies at the heart of motherhood and adoption alike.<\/p>\n
Wesley and Michelle Jones, along with their daughter Jailynn Ryan, participate in the Mother\u2019s Day Adoption Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton on May 10, 2026. (Photo\/Mike Melisky)<\/p>\n
Focusing on the Gospel of Saint John, Bishop Bambera reminded the faithful that Jesus promised His disciples they would never be abandoned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not leave you orphans,\u201d Jesus says in the Gospel passage proclaimed during the liturgy. The Bishop said that promise of hope is lived out through the love people share with one another \u2013 especially within families.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Christians, we exist for a purpose: to proclaim the Good News of Jesus,\u201d Bishop Bambera stated. \u201cWe exist to proclaim love, not war and division \u2026 We exist to nurture respect for all of creation \u2026 We exist to love, to forgive and to work for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
On a day dedicated to honoring mothers, the Bishop reflected on the profound witness offered by birth mothers, adoptive mothers, foster mothers, grandmothers, and all mother figures.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe honor mothers because our first encounter with love comes from our mother,\u201d Bishop Bambera said. \u201cThat love is hardly a sentimental love \u2013 but rather, a sacred love \u2013 a selfless, sacrificial, forgiving love that mirrors the very love of Jesus Himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The annual liturgy, coordinated in partnership with Saint Joseph\u2019s Center, brought together adoptive families from throughout the Diocese of Scranton. The Mass featured joyful music from the Cathedral choir and the sound of young children filled the pews.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdoption is really a beautiful choice for a mother, or for parents, who acknowledge that they\u2019re unable to provide the care that their child needs,\u201d Sister Maryalice Jacquinot, I.H.M., President\/CEO of Saint Joseph\u2019s Center, said. \u201cIt really is an act of love and a great gift.<\/p>\n
Sister Maryalice noted that Saint Joseph\u2019s Center has participated in adoption ministry for more than a century and continues to witness the blessings that come through the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes people think of adoption only in the negative connotation,\u201d she added. \u201cBut we have to think of the sacrifice that is given out of love and the gift of life that enables that child to live and create a family and to be part of that family forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among those attending the Mass was Jennifer Daniels, a parishioner of Saint Jude Parish in Mountain Top, who attended with her husband and son. Daniels explained that after being unable to have children, the couple turned to adoption through Saint Joseph\u2019s Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always wanted to adopt a child,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cEveryone at Saint Joseph\u2019s Center has become like family to us. It is not their job of what they do \u2013 it is their passion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels added that returning each year to the Mother\u2019s Day Mass is incredibly special.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo come back and to celebrate what God has given us and see all the people who made it possible for us to have our family, is very meaningful,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Michelle Jones of Taylor, who participated in the offertory procession alongside her husband, Wesley, and daughter, Jailynn, described adoption as an immeasurable blessing for her family.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really hard to put it into words,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt is something that give us so much joy \u2013 being able to share our love and being able to give someone so much love that might not have had it otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said the Mass also serves as an important reminder that many families share similar experiences and journeys.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust to be able to have a network of other people that have also went through the adoption process or have given their children up for adoption, it really puts into perspective how many families are willing to go above and beyond for that,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCRANTON \u2013 Families whose lives have been touched by adoption gathered at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-198869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}