All Souls Day Mass at Spiritual Center Due to Close
In one of the last celebrations to take place, a Mass and gathering for All Souls Day was held on Saturday, November 8, 2025, in the Chapel of Incarnate Wisdom at the Montfort Spiritual Center in Bay Shore, NY. The Mass commemorated the deceased members of the Saint Montfort Missionaries (SMM) and the Daughters of Wisdom (DW) as the Montfortian family prepares to leave the Montfort Residence, its home for nearly 100 years. It was also to honor and recognize those who have contributed to the minor seminary and retreat house.
The entrance to the Chapel of Incarnate Wisdom showcased artifacts and memorabilia, and a listing of names was placed behind the altar in the Chapel to remember and honor 72 Montfort Missionaries and 323 Daughters of Wisdom.
Fr. Tom Poth, US Provincial Superior of the Montfort Missionaries, emphasized the blessings and the guidance of their founders in his invitation to this special gathering, he wrote, "We have been blessed as a community under the guidance of the Blessed Mother with our founders St. Louis Marie de Montfort and Blessed Marie Louise of Jesus who lead us towards Eternal Wisdom, Jesus Christ. May God strengthen us as we continue to be ministers to the people of God in the years ahead."
The Mass was led by Fr. Tom Poth, SMM, with Fr. Donald LaSalle, SMM, Fr. Felix Phiri, SMM, and Fr. Bill Considine, SMM, also participating as celebrants. The music was soulfully performed by guitarist Sr. Catherine Kugler, CSJ, who serves as the Vicar of the Maria Regina Residence in Brentwood, NY. Daughters of Wisdom Delegation Leader Sr. Catherine Sheehan gave the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, and Canonical Treasurer Sr. Evelyn Eckardt offered the Prayers of the Faithful.
In his Homily, Fr. Bill Considine, SMM, reflected on the 100-year celebration of Montfortian presence in Bay Shore, NY, highlighting the rich history of the Montfortian Family's mission over the past 122 years. He recalled the journey of the first members who ministered across the U.S. and beyond, emphasizing their dedication and the diverse backgrounds of those involved. Fr. Bill underscored the theme of Wisdom and love, suggesting that the commitments made at first profession are like seeds planted for spiritual growth. The Homily celebrated the sharing of the Spirit and Wisdom of Love among the Montfortian family. Fr. Bill concluded with a call to remember and honor the legacy of those who served, encouraging a recommitment to the values and teachings of Montfort.
Sharing history and hope for the future, he said, "Next year, in 2026, it will be 100 Years of Montfortian presence here on this property in Bay Shore. And it is already 122 years since the arrival of the first of the family at Infant Jesus in Port Jefferson, and then in Maine, and Ozone Park. Marvelously, there are a good number of us who knew some of those pioneers. Some of those earliest sisters, fathers, and brothers who crossed the Ocean, who came down from Canada. Who ministered and taught and nursed—with Dutch and French accents, with horse and buggies, and penny-pinching, money-saving ways to build beautiful Churches, hospitals, and schools in the then-Diocese of Brooklyn, and in Maine, and in Virginia, and eventually in many other cities and states. And, of course, there were the members of the family who crossed back over the oceans again to Malawi, Colombia, Congo, Borneo, Haiti, Papua, Nicaragua, and even Rome!
And the tides and the winds blew back again—with sisters and brothers coming to this country, from Peru, Haiti, India, Zambia, and Malawi. So many different personalities, different gifts, different quirks!
Yet, each one, in the depth of his or her heart, was fascinated and captivated by the Wisdom of Love. Perhaps experienced or expressed in varied ways over those 120 years, as culture and society and church evolved and transformed. But always, deep down, with a choice of Wisdom, of Jesus Wisdom, above all else. "I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her… Beyond health and beauty I loved her…."
The words we say, the commitments we make at our first profession, I think, are like seeds planted, not much more. Seeds freely planted, to which God will provide the growth, if that is truly to become the path of our lives. Growth in knowledge and love, in being known and in being loved, that joyfully pushes to a perpetual commitment. Because, this is who I am. This is how God loves me, and how I am to love God, His creation, and all the children of the Earth. I offer all I am to the Wisdom of Love. "Yet all good things together came to me with her…. I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom was their leader, though I had not known she was their mother…"
And just as the Lord Jesus poured out his spirit as he died for us on the Cross, so too we members of the Montfort- Wisdom family cannot help but freely share the gift of the spirit, the gift of Wisdom that we have received. "Sincerely I learned about her, and ungrudgingly do I share –her riches I do not hide away…" To preach, to teach, to nurse, to nourish, to feed, to build – countless ways that these sisters, fathers, and brothers have shared, as best they could, the Wisdom of Love, sharing with the Lord Jesus in his death and resurrection. And I think there was a special circle, a special chain of sharing, that came through the schools, where one generation of sisters influenced young men to become Montforts and young women to become Daughters of Wisdom—a special sharing of this Gift of the Spirit. And they did so with a tenderness and gentleness that is the true sign of a child of Mary—like mother, like daughter, like son. All our dearly departed took Mary into their homes, into their hearts.
So, we are really blessed to celebrate them today in this Chapel, in this seminary and retreat house, where so many of these women and men lived, worked, and died. Remember them, hold their faces, and their stories before your eyes. And with them, let us offer ourselves once more, in the words of Montfort's consecration: "Virgin most faithful, make me in everything so committed a disciple, imitator, and slave of Jesus, your Son, Incarnate Wisdom, that I may become, through your intercession and example, fully mature with the fullness which Jesus possessed on Earth, and with the fullness of his glory in heaven. Amen."
The afternoon concluded with a generous banquet filled with camaraderie, gratitude for those who came before, and optimism for the journey ahead.