Happy Easter And Happy Mother’s Day!

Dear Friends in Christ,

Happy Easter and Happy Mother’s Day!

Today’s Gospel presents Jesus to us as the Good Shepherd. Ergo, we call it Good Shepherd Sunday! As we pray for our deceased shepherd Francis’s repose and for our new shepherd, and in this month of Mary and on this Mother’s Day, we should pray for a renewal in the Petrine and Marian graces in the life of the Church. What does that mean?

The Church has a Petrine, apostolic principle. We thank the Lord Jesus for entrusting and commissioning Peter and the apostles—the first bishops—and their successors to the present day with special graces to teach, to govern, and to sanctify us. The apostolic, Petrine dimension of the Church makes the living person and voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd knowable and lovable to us in word, sacrament, and mission. May the ministry of Peter continue to bear abundant fruit in our hearts and in the heart of the Church!

Additionally, antecedent, but profoundly united to the Church’s Petrine principle is her Marian principle. In her Marian dimension, the Church “contemplating Mary’s mysterious sanctity, imitating her charity, and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will, becomes herself a mother by accepting God’s word in faith. For by her preaching and by baptism [the Church] brings forth to a new and immortal life, children who are conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of God. The Church herself is a virgin, who keeps whole and pure the fidelity she has pledged to her Spouse. Imitating the Mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, she preserves with virginal purity and integral faith, a firm hope and sincere charity,” (Lumen Gentium 64).

“May attention to Mary and to her example bring us to a greater love, tenderness and docility to the voice of the Spirit, so that each one is more enriched interiorly with that dedication to the ministry of Peter,” (St. John Paul II).

Summertime Adult Confirmation Preparation: Are you a baptized Catholic who is receiving the Eucharist but has not been fully initiated into the Catholic faith through the Sacrament of Confirmation? We want to confirm you this summer! What do you need to do? Open your heart to God the Holy Spirit and join us for three sessions of preparation: June 16, June 30, July 14 at 7pm at St. Jane. Confirmation will be celebrated late in July or early August. Out of town? Do not be afraid. We will find a time that works! Please email Father John to register, john.bilenki@archbalt.org.

Pentecost: During the week leading up to Pentecost (June 8), we will have several opportunities to gather in prayer like Mary and the apostles did in anticipation of the birthday of the Church. Stay tuned for a schedule to be published soon!

Corpus Christi: At St. Jane on June 22 at the end of the 11:30am Mass, we will celebrate Corpus Christi with a Eucharistic procession. If you have never participated in a Eucharistic procession, I encourage as many people as possible to join us. Stay tuned for further communications!

May our Mother Mary intercede for our Pastorate that we may run with haste and love to proclaim Christ as she did at the Visitation—which we will celebrate on May 31 along with Our Lady of the Chesapeake’s 45th anniversary!

God bless you!
Father John

Much To Celebrate!

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

This weekend, we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter. Our Gospel this weekend is from the Gospel of John, and it is part of John’s post Resurrection narratives (John 21:1-19). This week, it appears that the disciples have returned to their former ways of life—they are back on the lake fishing. Jesus appears to them on the shore, but they do not recognize him. He tells them to cast their nets over the right side of the boat, and when they do, they haul in a large catch of fish. Immediately, Peter realizes it is Jesus, and he jumps into the water to swim to shore while the rest bring the boat ashore along with the catch.

This Gospel also contains an exchange between Peter and Jesus that scripture scholar sees as Jesus’ way for Peter to redeem himself after his threefold denial of Jesus during the passion. Jesus asks Peter if he loves him three times. And after each time, Peter responds that he loves him. This declaration of love then comes with a mission from Jesus to Peter to feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep. As Catholics, we also see that this encounter is a commissioning of Peter to lead the Church Jesus has established. There has been a successor to Peter since that day, mostly recently Pope Francis, but soon there will be another successor to Peter once the Cardinals elect a new Roman Pontiff. Please keep the College of Cardinals in your daily prayers as they prepare to enter into conclave to choose our next Pope.

Congratulations to all of the young members of our pastorate who have received or will be receiving their First Holy Communion. St Jane’s celebrated 1st Communions last weekend, and OLC will be celebrating this weekend.

Please join us this Sunday, May 4th, at the 11:30am Mass as we celebrate Fr. Bill Spacek’s 30th anniversary of Priesthood Ordination. There will be a reception for Fr. Bill in the parish hall following Mass. I met Fr. Bill when I was a seminarian at my first summer assignment at St. Paul’s in Ellicott City in 1998. Fr. Bill and I also share a birthday—same month, same day, same year! Congratulations Fr. Bill (and happy early birthday)!

Mother’s Day Spiritual Bouquets are available at both parishes as we prepare to celebrate Mother’s Day. Please return your offering as soon as possible. May is also the month of Mary. Our May Crowning at St. Jane’s will take place this Sunday (May 4th) after the 10:00am Mass. OLC will celebrate the May Crowning on Mother’s Day (May 11), after the 10:45am Mass. There is also a Mother’s Day breakfast being held at OLC on Mother’s day from 8:30am–1:00pm sponsored by the Knights of Columbus 10881. The breakfast is FREE, so come and join us after Mass.

Don’t forget to purchase your raffle tickets for OLC’s 45th anniversary raffle. Tickets are available online or by stopping by the parish offices at either Church. OLC’s anniversary Mass with Archbishop Lori (and Fr. Jim) will be on Saturday, May 31st at 4:00pm followed by a light reception in the Gathering Place. We will also be drawing the 20 winning numbers for the raffle. Please join us!

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

God Bless,
Father Steve

Fear and Faith

Brothers and Sisters,

What is it that tempts you to fear in life? What is it that tempts you to lose your hope? Perhaps you struggle with the loss of a loved one, or your fear comes from something small and is only minor right now, but our human nature causes us to dwell on the fear and we perceive it to be larger than it really is. The truth is that all of us will experience temptations to fear and lose hope at one time or another. For this reason, we must all constantly listen to Jesus’ words and welcome His risen presence to dispel every fear in life, as we invite Jesus to bestow upon us the gift of His peace that comes from unwavering faith in His plan for our lives. 

In the Gospel reading this week, Jesus comes to his disciples right in the midst of their fear, pain, doubt, and confusion. He comes speaking peace, bringing faith into their anxious lives and driving out fear and doubt by His presence.

Reflect, today, upon any struggles you have with despair, fear or anxiety in life. As you do, know that all things are possible when you turn to Jesus with faith. Faith does not necessarily remove the hardships of life; it does something even better. It transforms hardships so that you can endure them with grace, joy and supernatural hope. When this happens, everything in life has the potential to be used by God for our good. All we need to do is continually reject fear and “just have faith.” Fear destroys faith, but faith drives out fear.

Instead of worrying and dwelling on your fear, ask Jesus to help you by speaking His peace into your situation. Believing that you have an opportunity to strengthen your faith and trust in the Lord even more deeply. Doing so will bring you great peace!

May the Lord’s Divine Mercy and Peace reign in our hearts.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

On behalf of all of us at our Pastorate of the Visitation, I would like to wish everyone a very Blessed and Joyous Easter! Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Today is the most important day in the Christian year, even more important than Christmas. For today, we celebrate Jesus’ triumph over sin and death, offering to us the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life in the heavenly kingdom. Jesus’ Resurrection also ushers in a new era in human history, where we have been invited into a deeper union with God and sent forth into the world to share our witness and testimony concerning the saving power of Christ. So go forth today, and every day to proclaim that Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

The celebration of Easter is so important that the Church celebrates it as an Octave, meaning eight days. The Octave of Easter concludes next Sunday with the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Because Easter is late this year, we will also begin celebrating First Communions next weekend. St. Jane Frances will be celebrating at the 11:30am Mass on April 27th, and OLC will be celebrating the weekend of May 3–4 at several Masses. We also celebrate on Easter the Sacraments of Initiation for those entering into the Church at the Easter Vigil. We congratulate all who have joined or have been confirmed in the Church this year! The next couple of weeks are very busy, but busy with joyous and celebratory encounters with the Risen Christ.

Also during the Easter Season, we will be reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which documents the growth of the early Church, empowered by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Easter Season concludes with the Solemnity of Pentecost, which we will celebrate on June 8th. This year we are also planning to prepare for Pentecost by celebrating the Pentecost Novena beginning on May 30th. Stay tuned for more details.

There are many great events and celebrations planned for the coming weeks and months for our Pastorate. Many of them are included in this weekend’s bulletin. Please take a moment to review them and mark your calendars so that you can join us. I would like to highlight a few of them:

• We will be honoring the Blessed Mother with our annual May Crowning on Sunday, May 4th after the 10am Mass at St Jane Frances, and Sunday, May 11th after the 10:45am Mass at OLC.
• The Knights of Columbus at OLC will be hosting a Mother’s Day breakfast on May 11th in the Gathering Place. Come and celebrate Mom’s special day! 
• Our Lady of the Chesapeake is celebrating our 45th anniversary this year. Archbishop Lori will be celebrating the 4:00pm Mass on Saturday, May 31st followed by a celebratory toast in the Gathering Place. Fr. Jim will be with him as well. 
• We are also selling raffle tickets for our Forty-Five Fantastic Years of Faith Raffle. Tickets are $20 each and there are 21 chances to win a prize. The drawing will take place after the 4:00 p.m. Mass on May 31st. Raffle tickets can be purchased online at GiveCentral.org, after Masses, or by emailing OLCanniversary@olchesapeake.org.

Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances de Chantal and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers! We certainly remember all of you in my daily prayers as well!

God Bless,
Father Steve & Father John

Holy Week

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend begins our journey through the holiest week of the year with the celebration of the Passion of the Lord on Palm Sunday. Holy Week offers us many opportunities to experience Jesus’ journey from the Last Supper, to his Cross, and to his Resurrection. I encourage you to take some time this week to enter into these solemn days of prayer and fasting with a sense of reverence and reflection upon what our Savior Jesus Christ accomplished for us by his Passion. I invite you and encourage you to join us as we celebrate these liturgies together as one Pastorate Community. They are very powerful experiences of the Lord’s overwhelming love for us… a love that led him to freely take up His Cross. Here are the Holy Week and Triduum schedules for the Pastorate:

Holy Thursday (@ OLC), April 17th – 7:00pm Mass followed by Adoration until 9:00pm

Good Friday, April 18th – Passion of the Lord – 3:00pm at SJF, 7:00pm at OLC
(Communion will be distributed at these services.)

Good Friday, Stations of the Cross – 12:00pm at SJF, 3:00pm at OLC (youth led)
(Communion is NOT distributed at these services.)

Blessing of the Easter Foods, April 19th – 9:00am at SJF, 12:00pm at OLC

Pastorate Easter Vigil (@ SJF), April 19th – 8:00pm at SJF
(There will be no Confessions and no 4:00pm nor 5:00pm Masses on April 19th)

Easter Sunday, April 20th

• SJF: 8:00am, 10am, 12:00pm (Note time change).
• OLC: 8:00am, 9:30am, 11am (Note time changes).

Fr. Steve and Fr. John will be at the Triduum liturgies as well as the Easter Vigil. Fr. John will celebrate Masses on Easter Sunday at SJF. Fr. Steve will be celebrating Easter Sunday Masses at OLC. The 10:00am Mass at SJF and the 11:00am Mass at OLC will offer homilies geared toward the children of the pastorate.

In addition to the events listed above, the Archdiocesan Chrism Mass will take place on Monday, April 14th at 7:00pm at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. At this Mass, the Archbishop will bless the holy oils to be used for Anointing of the Sick and the catechumens, as well as consecrate the Sacred Chrism that will be used for Baptisms, Confirmations, and Holy Orders during the coming year. The priests of the Archdiocese will also renew the promises we made at our ordinations. This celebration is open to the public, and all are invited to attend. As a priest, I know I am always thankful to see current (and former) parishioners in attendance. Please consider joining us.

Fr. John and I will be offering the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Tuesday, April 15th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at St Jane Frances. Tenebrae will be celebrated at St Jane Frances at 8:00pm that evening.

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

God Bless,
Fr. Steve

Mission Accomplished!

Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,

We are gaining momentum in our Lenten pilgrimage! Stay close to Jesus and the disciples by following the daily Mass readings. The daily readings are capturing the stage being set for Jesus’ Passion. Find the daily Mass readings at https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading. Perhaps even find one additional time when you are able to participate in Mass during the week! Jesus awaits you!

There has been much going on! Our Lenten mission with Father Brian Nolan was especially anointed and hope-filled! The talks were livestreamed, so you can still access them via Facebook on each church’s page online. Fr. Brian provided us with a lot of food for prayer. If anything from his reflections inspired you or resonated with you—especially that might be beneficial to our mission—continue praying about those things and connect with us!

On the note of initiatives, thank you to those who helped organize and who participated in our Pastorate 24-Hour Eucharistic adoration. We had around 50 adorers who signed up and even more who spent time praying before the living Jesus throughout the day. May this time of adoration bear fruit in our souls and in our pastorate as we seek to love the Lord and make him loved!

Mrs. Carrie, Mrs. Sam Urban, and our middle schoolers have spent several Sundays preparing for the pastorate’s Passion Play on April 11 at 7pm. Please join us for this moving meditation!

We have had MANY people asking about entering the Catholic faith as well as adult Catholics desiring to receive Confirmation along with further formation in their Catholic faith. This is so moving and inspiring! If this is you or someone you know, please write to me john.bilenki@archbalt.org and I would be delighted to connect and discuss how we can best serve you.

Do you know when you’re going to Mass on Easter?? Who is the Holy Spirit asking you to invite?? Please note the following!

The Pastorate Easter Vigil is at St. Jane Frances at 8pm on April 19.

On Easter Sunday, April 20, Masses at St. Jane Frances will be celebrated at 8am, 10am, and 12 noon. Please note this slight adjustment from our usual Sunday schedule.

Easter Sunday Masses at Our Lady of the Chesapeake will be celebrated at 8am, 9:30am, and 11am (youth ministry Mass). Please note these adjustments from our usual Sunday schedule.

But, before we get to Easter, there is much of Lent left to live. “Live and let Lent,” you might sing. Persevere in remaining open to the graces of this season as the Lord continues to reveal the depth of his love to us. Thank you for keeping the Pastorate of the Visitation in your daily prayers!

God bless you!
Father John

The Prodigal Son

Brothers and Sisters,

We’ve heard the parable of the prodigal son many times. We know this parable speaks to us about repentance and reconciliation but also about the extravagant love and mercy of the father. From the first action of the father to the throwing of an elaborate party in the end, this story contains many twists and turns all of which make the point that God’s love overcomes the reckless, despairing wanderings of His children. In the end, love conquers all. The parable has two major points. First, repentance means an absolute reversal of our broken status. The lost son has become a family member again. He is fully restored. The father’s acceptance of the penitent son is total. This is God’s grace. This is why God pursues sinners. Second, all of us should have joy when the penitent returns. Reconciliation involves not only God and the individual but also the individual and the community.

Today is a good day to place ourselves in the shoes of the prodigal son or the prodigal daughter. At times in our lives, we also have left the home of our God. We have wandered away to a distant place and perhaps we also have squandered what little we had. How long will we keep our distance from God? Are we afraid that God will never forgive us? Perhaps we think we do not deserve to be forgiven. And yet, God is always on the lookout for us, yearning for us, waiting for us to return home. God will never stop loving us! He longs to restore that loving relationship with Him. He shows us that restoring broken relationships involves profound actions. Strong, loving relationships always require reaching out to the other.

Where is our Lord calling us to mend broken relationships in our own life?

God Bless,
Deacon Howard