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♦MASS SCHEDULE♦ |
Click above to view live Mass or to select previous broadcasts
♦NEW MASS SCHEDULE♦ FULL DETAILS HERE - Mass Changes and Reconciliation, COVID-19 Message from Bishop UPDATE May 30, 2020 Follow us on:
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A Call to Sanctity
Dear Parish Family,
I am excited to inaugurate a message series on the Saints, on this Solemnity of All Saints. November 1st is a day to commemorate all those holy ones who share in the radiance of the Father’s glory in Heaven. If our loved ones are home with God, then they are saints. Heaven is the eternal home of saints. In Paul’s letters he often refers to Christians as “the holy ones” or “the saints,” depending on the translation. Yet often we do not think of ourselves or our loved ones that way. But so it is.
In fact, tomorrow - All Souls Day - and over the next nine days, a novena of Masses will be offered for all of our beloved dead. We are lifting them up in prayer to the Father, seeking that the grace of Christ purify them of anything that would prevent them from entering the realm of the perfect in Heaven. We offer the holy Mass, our most powerful prayer, that the grace of Christ’s perfect self-offering be applied to their souls. With this novena of Masses we are speeding our loved ones home to Heaven, ensuring they will be named “saints among the saints in the halls of Heaven,” as the priest prays in one of our Eucharistic Prayers.
Forward Together
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
One weekend a year we share the Annual Financial Report. While some may prefer not to speak of money in church, it is valuable to know how our parish is doing, from a fiscal perspective. There are probably even more questions this year, with the school closing and the pandemic. Over the course of this past year, rumors cropped up like dandelions and spread on the winds of uncertainty. Alone I cannot say or do enough to dispel them. The best way to root them out is for our whole parish family to be well-informed. We can weed out the rumors together!
God has been good to our parish. Two surprise gifts really helped us in the middle of the pandemic. First, we received a generous gift of $75,000 from Saint John Parish in Lakehurst NJ. (Fr. Bernie moved to St. John’s from OLPH and then retired from there a few years back. My friend, Fr. Jim O’Neill is the pastor there now. I know he would be happy to hear how grateful we are for his parish’s generosity. Feel free to send him a note: Saint John’s Parish / 619 Chestnut St / Lakehurst, NJ 08733). Second, with guidance from our diocese we applied for and received the PPP loan for $170,000. This loan is NOT reflected in our annual financial report figures. We anticipate that the loan will be fully forgiven. Those two surprise infusions were a real Godsend for us.
Faith in Public Life
Dear Parish Family,
Last week we wrapped up our five-week message series on Home Life. Beginning on November 1st, All Saints Day, we plan to spend a month with the Saints, learning from them some of the secrets of the Christian Life.
We are also already making plans for the Christmas Season. Last year, our Mass schedule was as follows: Christmas Eve: 4pm, 6pm, 8pm and Christmas Day: 10am and 12pm. At the 4pm Mass, 870 people worshipped. We need to prepare to accommodate more of our parish family in person. One possibility this year is 2pm Christmas Eve Mass, for which our Bishop has given special permission. We are also planning for overflow downstairs in Nolan Hall. We may even offer sign-ups for the most popular Masses. At this point these are all possibilities. Please stay-tuned for a survey via FlockNote to get your input! We want to hear from you. If you are not yet on FlockNote, text OLPHMS to 84576.
