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Worship with us via LIVE STREAM or watch on your own time on YouTube We encourage all of our parishioners to live their spiritual lives the best they can from home. MASS CARDS - Available upon request, please call the Rectory at 856-667-8850.
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Mother Knows Best
Dear Parish Family,
Today we inaugurate a new Message Series: Mother Knows Best. How many times have we come to acknowledge, if reluctantly, “Yes, mom...you were right!” While we may not like to admit it sometimes, our mothers have imparted to us (and to all of humanity) a rich treasure of human wisdom.
Truth is truth, no matter where we find it. If it is true, it is true. Much of the wisdom we find in the scriptures, exists in other faith traditions. And some of it smacks strongly of things our mothers’ used to say. Deep parallels exist between maternal wisdom and wisdom passed on through the Church. It is no small truth that the Church is our spiritual mother, nor is it coincidental that our mothers - who were largely raised in the Faith - have a treasure of advice to hand on to us that echoes wisdom of the Gospel. So, from today to Mother’s Day (May 9th) we will be spending some time relishing the wisdom of our mothers, mother figures, Mother Mary, our patroness and protectress, and the Church our Mother.
What a Difference a Year Makes
What a Difference a Year Makes
My Dear Spiritual Family,
Happy Easter to you! Alleluia, He is Risen! … He is Risen, indeed, Alleluia! New Life in Christ is upon us. What a difference a year makes! Last year, we could not gather for the high holy days. At OLPH, we recorded the Masses and uploaded them to YouTube. I sang the Exultet to an empty church. We had to finish out the year with remote education as our school closed. Since then, about a year of milestones and hard work have passed.
Since June 8th, 2020, we have been celebrating Mass again in our beautiful church. We now have live streaming and simulcasting. We celebrated our first wedding during the pandemic, and formulated a new plan for pre-Baptismal formation. I had the honor to confirm our teens on my birthday (and will have that honor again on May 7th!) We have spent a year of remote learning for our PREP (Parish Religious Education Program). We began small groups to assist members to grow in faith and friendship. Our Pastoral Council has undertaken to prayerfully update our parish mission (unattended to since 1991). Our Finance Council has guided us through some tough times. We secured two rounds of the PPP Loan. We have faced so many challenges together. Yet our parish life is a work in progress. Our life in Christ, as a parish family moves along. We have a lot for which to be grateful. But...What a difference a year makes! Alleluia, Christ is Risen. And life in, with, and through Him is the life that awaits us.
Layers of the Passion
Layers of the Passion
My dear spiritual family,
Today is a unique day. We begin with Palms and we end with the Passion. A whole week compacted into one liturgy. We will spend more time with the Passion on Good Friday, but for those unable to attend the Good Friday liturgy (at 3pm), today is the only Sunday to spend with the Passion of Our Lord. Next Sunday, Easter, already finds us keeping vigil at the empty tomb. Today we keep vigil at the foot of the Cross. But today also finds us welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem as the Son of David. “Hosanna! .... Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mk 11:10). From palms to passion in one day.
This complex liturgical reality helps us to notice that in reality, many layers of the Passion exist in our Faith. Every Friday is a day of penance. Before 1966 it was universal practice for Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays throughout the year, a type of little Good Friday. In 1966, Saint Pope Paul VI permitted other forms of penance on Fridays. It seems most people heard: “Oh, now we can eat meat on Fridays!” Well… yes. Lobster, crabs, scallops, mussels, and fish on Fridays is hardly a penance, at least for me! But Fridays are still a day of penance, a day to be united to the sufferings of the Lord in order to be united with him in the Resurrection, celebrated each Sunday! That is one layer.
