Please join us on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, for a Memorial Mass for Dominik on the 8th anniversary of his passing into eternal life. Mass will be celebrated by Father Brad Elliott, O.P., at 4PM at the gravesite in Section 24 at Gate of Heaven cemetery. All are welcome to come and pray.
The Petteys are grateful to all who attended Dominik’s birthday Mass on Aug. 5, 2022, celebrated by Fr. Greg Okulewicz.
“We are here to reflect upon death and life….each one of us has a cross; it’s the thing that makes us experience death every day…the thing that we don’t accept, the thing that destroys us so to speak. Having the Memorial [Mass] of Dominik’s life and death helps us to reflect on how we experience death. And to see that those crosses are there to remind us the we are all going to die. And that all of us have to be ready because we don’t know the moment…We have an immortal soul. How do we know it? Because we have a desire for eternity. That’s why the cross, that suffering hurts us so much because it makes us see we are limited, we have no answer and the only answer is Jesus Christ, the only answer is eternal life…that we are invited to participate right now in this Eucharist, and to ask for the grace that we may be ready to meet Dominik in heaven as we pray that he will be there waiting for us, Amen.” (Homily)
All are welcome to attend this year’s Holy Mass to celebrate Dominik’s 25th birthday on Friday, August 5, 2022.
The celebrant will be Father Vincent Woo. The outdoor 4:00 P.M. Mass will take place at the gravesite in Section 24 at Gate of Heaven cemetery.
“It is good for us to nurture our memory with those who have loved us, taken care of us, lifted us up….To remember means to return with the heart.” -Pope Francis
Chat between Ian and another Gonzaga alumni on Nov. 1, 2021
Ian experienced a mystery on Nov. 1, 2021. He wrote to the Petteys:
“I wanted to share something. God has truly changed my life around this year. It’s a whole story that can’t be told over text, but our relationship has finally become two sided if you know what I mean. 🙂
As I was driving, on this November 1st, I was talking to our Lord and trying to surrender to our Father my feelings and thoughts, in general and even related to Dominik’s passing. Just a moment after I told the Lord something like, ‘I trust you and your righteousness judgement in everything’ I looked up and saw a car with this license plate.”
The Petteys are so grateful to the young men of Gonzaga like Ian who keep in touch and share their stories of God’s work and wonder in their lives.
“We’re celebrating all Saints Day. We are celebrating the memory of Dominik….We truly believe, we truly hope that as the opening pair of today’s Mass [readings] talked about–that in the whole great colony, new multitude of intercessors, we now include Dominik. One of those intercessors in our heart.
We really believe that God has taken him there to be one of the intercessors here.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux had a great reflection on today’s feast. He says, when we commemorate all the saints, it’s not so much for the saints because they’re already enjoying the blessed life of Heaven. It’s actually for us. So let’s thank God of course, for the life of Dominik and in a very paradoxical way, thank him for the death of Dominik, because it’s through that death that God has actually willed to reveal his life present among us on this earth.
And let’s never forget that as painful as these moments can be, we know that death never has the last word. And Dominik is proof of that. We thank our Lord Jesus Christ, who in a few moments will be made present here, once again, body blood, soul, and divinity. So again, He reminds us of his presence, enduring presence, and that presence will last.
And may we always hope…with that longing of sincere, pure desire, that we too will share the banquet of all the saints in Heaven with Dominik.”
– Homily of Fr. Daniel Pajerski, L.C. , November 1, 2021
All are invited to Holy Mass at the cemetery to remember Dominik on November 1, 2021.
The celebrant will be Rev. Daniel Pajerski, L.C. The outdoor 3:30 P.M. Mass will take place at the gravesite in Section 24 at Gate of Heaven cemetery.
Those who can’t attend in person are invited to pray in place for Dominik and all the souls of the faithful departed…. May they rest in peace!
Last year’s Mass at the cemetery, Nov. 1, 2020
“In the resurrection, the body will return to perfect unity and harmony with the spirit. Man will no longer experience the opposition between what is spiritual and what is physical to him.” -St. John Paul II, General Audience, Dec. 9, 1981
Note: once you download the PDF file, you can make the prayer card size smaller for printing by using the magnifying glass icon with the minus sign in the upper left corner.
Thanks to all who were able to join the Petteys for Dominik’s 24th birthday Mass at Gate of Heaven.
Special thanks to Fr. Bill Garrot, O.P., for celebrating. The Petteys are especially grateful for those who reached out to the family that day and all who prayed in place for Dominik and all the intentions of their own hearts.
“The Eucharist is truly a glimpse of heaven appearing on earth. It is a glorious ray of the heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of our history and lights up our journey.” -St. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 19
All are welcome to attend this year’s Holy Mass to celebrate Dominik’s birthday on August 5, 2021.
The celebrant will be Father Bill Garrot, O.P. The outdoor 4:00 P.M. Mass will take place at the gravesite in Section 24 at Gate of Heaven cemetery.
“Today, thinking of so many brothers and sisters who have passed away, it will be good for us to visit cemeteries and look up. And repeat, as Job: ‘I know that my Redeemer lives, and I will see him, myself, my eyes will gaze upon him and not another.’ And this is the strength that gives us hope, this free gift that is the virtue of hope. May the Lord give it to each one of us’.” -Pope Francis