Have We Forgotten Love?

Dear Friends, Peace in Christ!

The Pastorate of the Visitation celebrates one of our saint-siblings this week! On Wednesday, October 16, we remember St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690). Margaret Mary was a French religious sister of the Visitation Order, making her a saint-sibling of our Pastorate, the name of which honors both the mystery of the Visitation (Lk 1.39-45) as well as the Visitation sisters who for many years generously served the Catholic Church in Pasadena.

There are many treasures we have inherited from St. Margaret Mary such as (rekindled) devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as the extraordinary revelations she received from the Lord Jesus. This devotion and these revelations came in God’s perfect timing. How so? In Margaret Mary’s historic moment, a spiritual sickness spread broadly which essentially rejected God’s universal love for all humanity. Many people despaired of God’s love for them. The truth of the message of the Sacred Heart – God’s steadfast, merciful love for all; so abundantly clear in Salvation History – proved to be a healing balm for generations to come.

I think we face a similar spiritual struggle today. Can we say with St. John, “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him,” (1 Jn 4:16)? Do we seek to know Him – Love? Have we forgotten Love? Have we given Love a chance? When we look around us, where or in whom do we see what Mother Teresa described: “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat”?

In one revelation, St. Margaret Mary saw the heart of Jesus, pierced and aflame, and heard Jesus say: “Behold the Heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming Itself, in order to testify Its love.” We need only look to the Holy Eucharist where Love has chosen to be present for you and me, day in and day out, begging us to give Him our hearts that He might give us His in exchange. From our communion with Christ, we are strengthened and enlightened to persevere in showing others they are wanted, loved, cared for, known. Jesus, make our hearts like yours; help us love like you.

Please remember me in your prayers as I make a retreat this week. I hope to see you at Trunk or Treat on Saturday evening, 10/19. Don’t forget to sign up! Also, be sure to mark 10/24 for Brian Boru to do the cooking for you – benefits go towards Winter Relief. More details in the bulletin. God bless you!

In Christ,
Fr. John

Respect Life Month

Dear Friends, Peace in Christ!

“The husband and wife should be similar to the hand and the eye. When the hand hurts, the eyes should be crying. And when the eyes cry, the hand should wipe away the tears.” This image given to us by St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) is poignant in light of this Sunday’s readings which place before us the mystery of marriage and family. May our married couples and their families (as well as those dating and engaged!) continue to grow in love that is selfless, faithful, and merciful.

Every October, the Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month. We reflect on the gift of every human life and how to build a culture that defends life from conception to natural death. On a very related note, please be mindful of the guidance given by Archbishop Lori as well as the Maryland Catholic Conference (mdcatholic.org) encouraging Catholics to oppose Question 1 which will appear on our ballots this November. For more information about Respect Life Month, see respectlife.org/celebrate.

October is also devoted to Our Lady of the Rosary. The Rosary is a timeless, simple prayer which helps us meditate on the mysteries of the life of Jesus through the eyes and heart of Mary. The Rosary can be said individually, with family or with friends—whether at the beginning or end of the day, during a car-ride, on a walk; whether it’s a decade or a whole rosary. On the drive from OLC and St. Jane, I can pray one rosary (two if it is between the hours of 4–6pm.) There are many Rosary podcasts available that help me with this beautiful devotion.

For all current and interested altar servers, Saturday October 12 is our Pastorate-wide altar server retreat at Our Lady of the Chesapeake. See the announcement in the bulletin for more information. Please join us!

Please mark October 19 on your calendars for our Pastorate Trunk or Treat event! This is a great event to invite a friend or family to attend, a friend/family who perhaps do not yet have a parish to call home. Ask the Holy Spirit to put that family or friend on your heart whom you can invite. And remember, you’re not inviting them to the dentist, but to fellowship and to joy (fellowship and joy in Jesus and the Church!)

In Christ,
Father John

Are You A Prophet?

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

This weekend, we celebrate the Twenty-Six Sunday in Ordinary Time. Have you ever considered yourself to be a prophet? I don’t know if that is a word many of us would use to describe ourselves, but we hear it mentioned in our first reading from the Book of Numbers. In response to some people “complaining” to Moses about Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp… doing something they have never done before… and maybe challenging others with their words. Moses responds by saying if only “all the people of the Lord were prophets. Would that the Lord might bestow his Spirit on them all.”

Well guess what? The Lord has bestowed his Spirit upon all of us! We have all received the Spirit of the Lord beginning with our baptisms, when we were anointed prophets. Therefore we have been entrusted with a participation in the prophetic mission of Christ AND His Church. As Jesus says in the Gospel today, all of us who call ourselves Christians are given the grace to perform mighty deeds in the name of Jesus—to speak his prophetic words and perform his mighty deeds.

The Maryland Catholic Conference has published information concerning Question 1—“The Right to Reproductive Freedom” constitutional amendment that will appear on the November ballot. Catholics are encouraged to vote “No” to this amendment. Information published by the Maryland Catholic Conference which explains the reasons for this decision can be found in this weekend’s bulletin, or by going to www.mdcatholic.org.

As the November election approaches, please take time to review the U.S. Bishops’ teaching document called: “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” The purpose of this document is to help all of us understand the Church’s positions on key moral issues. The Church does not endorse one candidate over another, and no candidate embraces 100% of the Church’s teachings; therefore, we are asked to understand what the Church teaches so that we can make informed decisions on election day. A link to the document can be found at www.archbalt.org/faithful-citizenship.

In the coming weeks, our Pastorate will be launching our Fall stewardship program called “Forward in Faith.” Your contributions to our parishes are essential in order for us to maintain our worship, our programs, and our outreach ministries. Thank you in advance for your weekly financial support!

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve

Passions

Dear Friends of Pastorate of the Visitation,

“Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?” This question, raised by St. James in our second reading this Sunday (James 3:16–4:3), strikes a sorrowful chord in our hearts. In our own ways, we are all troubled by fears or doubts or anger related to the world around us; and closer to home, our hearts that suffer from conflict and other difficulties with family, friends, and so on. Where is all this coming from?

St. James counsels that all this comes down to our “passions,” that is, to our fallen humanity that “makes war within [our] members.” It is that simple. But, the call of every disciple is that it no longer be our passions that rule us but the Passion of Jesus. Not just His suffering and death but the entirety of his beautiful, wonderful, truly passionate life! It is the passionate love of Jesus that raises up what is fallen, that makes all things new; that gives hope, light, and wisdom for resolving the “wars,” “conflicts,” “jealousy,” “selfish ambition,” and so on.

Christ’s passionate love proves to us the power of the words “I forgive you,” spoken readily and sincerely. His passionate love impels us to say “I’m sorry” often. His passion teaches us to extend an open hand to help or console rather than a fist; to pray rather than to curse; to become “last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

And so we pray: Jesus, thank You for all the ways you teach me and strengthen me with Your passionate love through Your words, example, and Your very Body and Blood. Help me to be a vessel and instrument of Your passionate love in my thoughts, words, and actions this week.

The pastorate’s Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) program begins this week! Please pray for those taking part as well as the pastorate’s OCIA team. We are delighted to have a good number of people signed up, thanks be to God, but it is not too late if you or someone you know might be interested. Please invite them to reach out to me (john.bilenki@archbalt.org).

Our first meeting this week will give our “inquirers” and our team the chance to get acquainted. As the year goes on, we will advertise some of the sessions that can be more broadly attended by parishioners, so stay tuned for that!

Let us remain united in prayer and in the Eucharist.

Fr. John

Who Are You?

Brothers and Sisters,

How important is it for people to know you? Do you believe people really know who you are? Do you ever ask what kind of person other people think you are? When you answer the question “Who are you?” it will reveal a lot about how you see yourself, your purpose, your relationship with God, and how you see others. We will answer this question either by what the world tells us, or by what God tells us.

But the first question we must answer is “Who is Jesus?” This is the question that Jesus confronts the disciples with and confronts us with (Mk 8:27-35). The way you answer this question reveals a lot about you and determines your eternity, your identity, and your purpose in life. How you answer this question reveals how you make decisions, what is important to you, how you invest your time and money, and why you do or don’t do certain things. Your answer determines who or what authority you submit to. You truly cannot discover who you are until you discover who Jesus is to you. Who is Jesus to you when you are the only believer at work? Who is Jesus to you when you feel like you are one of the few Christians at school? Who is Jesus to you when you are married to an unbeliever? Who is Jesus to you when your family does not follow Jesus? Who is Jesus to you when you live in a city or country that does not honor Jesus? Who is Jesus to you in your everyday life?

If you answer, “You are the Christ” as Peter did, we must believe and follow Jesus in a world where most of the people do not hold your beliefs. But these are also the same people who you must love and share the gospel with. Yes, this will reveal a lot about who you are.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Ephphatha! Be Opened!

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

This weekend, we celebrate the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel this weekend (Mk 7:31-37) recalls the healing by Jesus of the man unable to hear and had a speech impediment. By a strange ritual documented in Mark’s Gospel, the man regains his hearing and speech. The Church actually celebrates a similar ritual when we celebrate Baptisms. It is actually called the “Ephphatha Rite” and is prayed over the newly baptized, asking the Lord God to open their ears to hear God’s word and open their lips to profess the faith. Might I suggest that it is a prayer that all of us should consider praying, so that we may be opened to hearing the word of God in our hearts and living out our faith in God in our daily lives.

Ephphetha: that is, be opened,
that you may profess the faith you hear,
to the praise and glory of God.

In this weekend’s bulletin, you will find a Statement of Income and Expenses for our Pastorate parishes. This is for the fiscal year which ran from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. There are separate columns for St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake, as well as a “Total” column. I wanted to note that the “Total” column is for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to imply that our parishes have any shared bank accounts, however we do have some shared expenses. Each parish maintains its own separate financial systems and operating bank accounts. Although Total Income was higher at St. Jane Frances, Offertory Collections were slightly higher at OLC. Rental Income from leasing the SJF School and Parish Center drives much of the higher income and expense levels at St. Jane’s. Overall, both parishes are in good financial shape, so THANK YOU for your ongoing support to our Pastorate of the Visitation parishes!

Our faith formation program at St. Jane Frances starts this Sunday. We are grateful for all of our volunteers who assist us with our program. Next Sunday, September 15th, is Catechetical or Good News Sunday. We will be offering a special prayer of blessing upon our teachers/catechists, students, parents and others who support our faith formation programs. The blessing will take base at the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane Frances and at the 10:45am Mass at OLC.

On Sunday, September 22nd, at the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane Frances, we will be celebrating our Pastorate’s Rite of Enrollment for our students who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this Fall. Our program includes students from both parishes and will be taking place at St. Jane Frances on Wednesday, November 20th at 5:30pm with Bishop Adam Parker presiding. Please keep our confirmandi in your prayers as they complete their preparation.

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve

Change Is In The Air!

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

Welcome to Labor Day weekend… and to the unofficial end of summer! I cannot believe how fast this
summer has gone. We have experienced some changes over this summer as well. We said farewell to Fr. Jim and thanked him for his two years of untiring service to our pastorate. We said goodbye to Melissa Boyle who moved onto a teaching position at Archbishop Spalding. And now we must say farewell to Diana Healy, who is stepping down in order to dedicate more time to family needs.

But we also have welcomed some new additions to our pastorate. First, we welcomed Fr. John Bilenki as our new associate pastor. Fr. John has hit the ground running as he has been getting settled here as well as preparing for our pastorate’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults program (formerly RCIA), which starts up in a couple of weeks. As we know, Fr. John is also the part time chaplain at Mount St. Joseph High School, which will mean he will be at the school one day a week. We also welcomed Carrie Hilmer as our new Associate Youth Minister, being responsible for our Middle School and High School Youth Ministry programs. Carrie will be working closely with Tim Janiszewski, our Pastoral Associate/Youth Minister from OLC, as we coordinate and share our High School Youth Ministry and Confirmation programs. We also recently hired Marie Griffiths as St. Jane’s Religious Education Coordinator. Marie is well known at St Jane’s as one of our cantors and an active volunteer. She will be overseeing our Pre-K through 5th grade religious education classes as well as the First Reconciliation and First Communion sacramental prep programs and VBS. Her position at St. Jane’s overlaps with Michaela Stanton’s position at OLC—and thankfully Marie and Michaela know each other because their children attend Lake Shore Elementary, so it is my hope that they can be a support for each other during the year. I feel confident that our faith formation programs are moving in a positive direction and are being set up to flourish in the coming years!

Now is the time to sign your kids up for faith formation at both parishes. All of our youth are invited to participate in our programs, even if they attend Catholic Schools. We especially invite all high school kids who have been confirmed to join our programs as peer ministers. Also, anyone who is preparing for a sacrament (First Reconciliation, First Communion, or Confirmation) should be signed up at the parish, even if they attend a Catholic school. This year, our High School Youth Ministry and Confirmation preparation programs are being merged and sessions shared between St. Jane Frances and OLC, and will occur on Sunday evenings. There have been some changes for sure this summer, but I feel certain that the Lord is blessing our pastorate with opportunities for growth and renewal!

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers!

God Bless,
Father Steve