Join Us For 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:

• Tenebrae (@SJF), Tuesday, March 31st at 8:00pm – a sensory commemoration of Christ’s suffering
• Holy Thursday (@ SJF), April 2nd – 7:00pm Mass followed by Adoration until 9:00pm
• Good Friday, April 3rd – 
  
  • Stations of the Cross – 12:00pm at SJF; 3:00pm at OLC (youth led)
    (Communion is NOT distributed at these services.)
  • Passion of the Lord – 3:00pm at SJF
  • Passion of the Lord – 7:00pm at OLC 
    (Communion will be distributed at these services.)
• Blessing of the Easter Foods, Holy Saturday, April 4th – 9:00am at SJF, 12:00pm at OLC
• Pastorate Easter Vigil (@ OLC), April 4th – 
  8:00pm at Our Lady of the Chesapeake
  (There will be no Confessions and no 4:00pm nor 5:00pm Masses on April 4th)
• Easter Sunday, April 5th – 
  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. Steve will celebrate Masses on Easter Sunday at OLC. Fr. John will be celebrating Easter Sunday Masses at St. Jane Frances. 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, March 30th 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.

The final opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation before Easter will be offered by Fr. Steve on Tuesday, March 31st from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at St. Jane Frances and on Wednesday, April 1st from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Our Lady of the Chesapeake.

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

God Bless,
Fr. Steve

Just Read It!

Dear Friends in Christ,

I invite you to prayerfully read again the moving and amazing story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead we’ve heard this Sunday. Read it again on your own, with your family, your spouse, with a friend – in person or over the phone. Just read it! I believe encountering Jesus in this passage will increase our faith, hope, and love for who He is for us.

Along with hearing this gospel passage, we celebrate the third and final Scrutiny (10am at St. Jane). As I mentioned last week, the scrutinies prepare our catechumens for baptism (and all of us for renewing our baptismal promises at Easter.) The Scrutinies instruct catechumens and the Church to ask the Lord for a spirit of repentance, a deeper sense of sin, and for the true freedom given to God’s children through the waters of baptism.

The raising of Lazarus not only gives us hope for eternal life and the resurrection of our bodies, but it also directs us to adore a more immediate and marvelous miracle. We have been given a new and supernatural life through baptism. That’s a big deal, a game-changer, a life-changer.

The good teachers at the St. Paul Center write, “when Jesus commands Lazarus to be ‘loosed’ and ‘let go,’ he employs the Greek verbs luô—elsewhere used of being loosed from Satan’s power (Luke 13:16; 1 John 3:8), from sin (Rev 1:5), and death (Acts 2:24)—and aphiêmi, which usually means ‘forgiven of sin’ in the Gospels. This resurrection, then, is also a ‘release’ and ‘remission’ of sin, death, and Satan, a further typification of Baptism.”

While we marvel at the physical miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead, we should also ask the Lord to help us experience in a new way the joy of being like Lazarus – raised to new life in Christ, untied and let go.

Lord, help me to be thankful for my baptism that makes me your child. Help me to avoid anything that would lessen or rob me of this supernatural life. Give me childlike trust and humble confidence in your presence and your love for me wherever I am, whatever I’m doing. 

This Wednesday March 25, the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel declared unto Mary and she conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Celebrate this important day! There are traditions that also mark this day as the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. While claiming these are the same date are small ‘t’ traditions, it benefits us to think about the important connections between these things. 03/25 is also the feast of the good thief St. Dismas and, for Lord of the Rings fans, it is the date of the destruction of the One Ring.

May Mary intercede for our Pastorate that we always have hearts always open to the will of God, especially as we draw closer to Holy Week and as we carry our crosses daily.

In Christ,
Father John

Where We’re At

Dear Friends in Christ,

On the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent, we celebrate the Scrutinies. The first Scrutiny was held last Saturday at Our Lady of the Chesapeake at 4pm. The second Scrutiny is this Sunday at OLC at 10:45. The Third is next Sunday at SJF at 10am.

The Scrutinies prepare our catechumens (those not yet baptized) for baptism as they ask for graces of purification and detachment from sin. For those of us who are already baptized, the scrutinies ready us to renew our baptismal promises at Easter. The gospel passage of each Sunday harmonizes with each scrutiny. In each gospel we encounter Christ’s power and desire to restore us to wholeness and communion with God, ourselves, and others.

Last week, we heard the mystery of the Samaritan Woman from John 4. Placing ourselves in the Samaritan Woman’s shoes, we come to realize that Jesus thirsts for us. He meets us “where we’re at.” But, He loves us too much to leave us there – in our sins and our woundedness. His truth purifies us. Lord, I thirst for you!

Today on the fourth Sunday, we hear the story of the man born blind from John 9. Jesus gives vision to the blind. More importantly, Jesus is able to give new sight to those blinded by sin. But those who do not admit their sin and need of the Savior remain blind. Lord, I want to see!

Next week we will hear the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, has come to raise the dead to new life in the Spirit. Lord, I believe you can heal and restore me, that you can elevate me to a new life. Lord, raise me to new life!

Thank you so much to Teresa Sparklin, Melissa Boyle, volunteers, Knights—all who contributed to make the St. Patrick’s Day Bazaar a success!

We look forward to a good turnout this week for our parish mission! Please join us Monday at 7pm at St. Jane Frances for a talk on Reconciliation along with Eucharistic adoration and opportunities for Confession; Tuesday evening, 7pm at OLC for a talk on Anointing of the Sick with Adoration and Confessions; and Wednesday evening at 7pm at OLC for a Mass of Healing and opportunity to receive the Anointing of the Sick. Please invite friends and family to these powerful nights of prayer for our spiritual family of our Pastorate.

May St. Patrick and St. Joseph defend and intercede for us on his their feast days this week (Tuesday and Thursday)!

God bless!
Fr. John

What Are You Thirsting For?

Brothers and Sisters,

What are you thirsting for? Is your heart thirsting for things that leave you spiritually dry? We often look to satisfy our thirst with water that doesn’t satisfy. The human heart has a deep, insatiable thirst for love and meaning. This thirst can only be satisfied by the living water that Jesus gives as the woman at the well in the gospel reading discovered (John 4:5–42).

She went every day to the well to draw water. Yes, this was a physical necessity. But again, there is something deeper here. The woman had many disappointments in her life. Like all of us, she was thirsty for meaning in her life. She was thirsty for love. Jesus pointed out to her that she was looking in all of the wrong places. Her life-thirst was not being satisfied. She was unhappy. She wasn’t finding authentic love. She didn’t find anyone or anything to satisfy the deep longing of her heart until she met Jesus. Our Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman about the living water He would give, the water that would truly quench her thirst and become in her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This is the water we all thirst for, the living water of the Holy Spirit, the water that satisfies our infinite thirst.

Lent is a time for us to quench our thirst, to rediscover the meaning of our life in Christ. This is a special time to encounter Jesus like the Samaritan woman at the well, and to be transformed by our encounter with Jesus. Jesus is calling us to let Him satisfy our deepest thirst. Are we drinking from the never ending wellspring of life?

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Transfiguration Of Jesus

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend, we celebrate the Second Sunday of Lent. Our Gospel reading for this Sunday is the Transfiguration of Jesus. You will recall that Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and was transfigured before them. The scriptures say his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Also appearing with him are Moses and Elijah, representative of the law and the prophets. In the transfiguration, Jesus is offering us a glimpse into the glorification of the body that comes from the resurrection. He is trying to strengthen the faith of his apostles whose faith will be shaken after the crucifixion. This offers us encouragement as well, knowing that just as with Jesus, our earthly death will ultimately lead to resurrected glory, for we, too, will experience this transfiguration of the body on the last day.

Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate Mardi Gras a couple of weeks ago at one of our two fundraisers. The proceeds from both fundraisers will go to support our youth ministry programs. Our Pancake Dinner at St. Jane Frances raised about $700, and our Rumor Meal event raised $1,175. Special thanks to all who helped to make these fundraisers successful, especially the “chefs” at St. Jane Frances and Terri and Carl at the Rumor Meal. Our next fundraiser will be at Brian Boru on Thursday, March 26th, so mark your calendars!

Ministry Opportunities 

We have some wonderful liturgical ministry opportunities available for you, especially at St. Jane Frances. We are in need of volunteers to assist us at Mass as lectors, extraordinary ministers, and altar servers. Our needs are greatest for the 5:00pm, 10:00am, and 10:45am Masses. If you would like to volunteer, please reach out to either myself or Fr. John.

Stations of the Cross 

As we continue our Lenten journey, don’t forget to join us for Stations of the Cross on Fridays at 12:00pm at OLC and 7:00pm at SJF. The Knight of Columbus host the Lenten Fish Frys at St. Jane’s on Fridays from 4pm to 7pm in the parish hall. Our Lenten Mission is March 16–18 entitled “Restored in Christ – Sacraments of Healing.” In addition to a talk on the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick, we also will have adoration, confessions, and a Mass of Healing, so please plan to join us!

Organ Rebuild Project

The organ rebuild project at St. Jane Frances is proceeding smoothly. We are anticipating the re-installation of the organ in May. Thank you to everyone who has made a donation to the project. To date, we have raised $24,580 toward our total cost of $106,000.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the 2026 Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries. The theme for this year’s appeal is “Lift Up Your Hearts.” This theme calls us to “Lift Up Our Hearts to God, Unite in Hope as a faith community, and embrace our shared mission of Service.” Please offer what you can to assist our Church in our corporal works of mercy by making a gift to the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries. Thanks!

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

God Bless,
Father Steve

Fast. Pray. Give.

Dear Friends in Christ,

I hope your Lent is off to a good start! If it snuck up on you, then let’s engage! The readings this Sunday plunge us into the heart of Lent’s drama. In the gospel, we hear of how Jesus goes to battle for us in the desert. He will do just the same in His Passion. Lent draws us into the desert with Christ to be won over by Him, won over to His open Heart of love.

The Catechism #539 explains the temptations in the desert: “Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. Jesus fulfills Israel’s vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God’s Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the devil’s conqueror: he ‘binds the strong man’ to take back his plunder. Jesus’ victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father.”

In Lent, we are in the desert with Christ. When we humbly and sincerely call upon Jesus, He is actively working to restore us. He is healing us, bringing us to encounter God’s love and truth which brings us into communion and wholeness.

In the desert with Christ, we come to understand the truth of who God is: merciful and trustworthy; the truth of who we are: a beloved son/daughter, loved more than we can imagine; the truth of who our neighbor is: a gift! In this Lenten season, with the timeless means of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we let go of distractions, fast from pleasures and entertainments, and say yes to deeper communion with God and more sincere, generous service of our neighbor. Lord, help us persevere!

Thank you to all those who helped organize as well as those who supported our various youth ministries with dinner at the Rumor Meal and/or the Pancake Dinner.

Please see our Lenten schedule for the many good things we have going on to enrich our community and deepen our faith this Lent. There are the Friday Lenten Fish Frys at St. Jane. (You may see me serenading/busking once again.) The weekly Stations of the Cross; the Catholic Men’s Fellowship Conference March 14th; the Lent Mission March 16-18.

In addition to your prayers for our Pastorate family, please say a special prayer for the participants in OCIA as they journey to the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen to participate in the Rite of Enrollment/Call to Continued Conversion, presided by Archbishop Lori.

God bless you!
Fr. John

Mardi Gras & Ash Wednesday This Week!

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend, we celebrate the final Sunday in Ordinary Time before we begin our Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday. In our Gospel this weekend, Jesus reminds us that he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. The law and the prophets were given to the people as a sign of their covenantal relationship with God as well as to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. They gave guidance on how the people were called to live with one another. Those who follow the teachings are drawn into a deeper relationship with the Lord, while those who break them are distancing themselves from the Lord. Jesus goes on to interpret the law by stating: “you have heard that it was said… but I say to you…” This is not a change in the law but instead a deepening of its meaning, which includes a call to us for a change in heart so that we are not just living up to the “letter of the law,” but allowing it to change us and conform us more closely to Christ. As we prepare this week for the season of Lent, may the message from this weekend’s scripture readings begin this process of conversion within each one of us.

This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. Masses will be offered at the following times: 

• St. Jane Frances: 8:30am, 12:00pm and 7:00pm
• Our Lady of the Chesapeake: 8:30am and 7:00pm

Please come and join us for Mass as you begin your Lenten journey. Stations of the Cross will be offered on Fridays during Lent: 12:00pm at OLC and 7:00pm at St. Jane. We are also beginning our Lenten group study based on the book Restore: A Guided Journal for Prayer and Meditation. Please keep our pastorate in your prayers as we take these early steps toward preparing ourselves for the celebration of our Lord’s Passion and Resurrection at Easter (which is April 5th).

On Mardi Gras, Tuesday, Feb. 17th, we will be offering two opportunities to celebrate before the start of Lent. One is our annual Mardi Gras celebration at the Rumor Meal (Mountain Road). Dine in or Carry Out (no delivery) and tell them you are with OLC and we will receive a portion of your proceeds for our Youth Ministry Program. Fr. Steve will again be guest bartending from 6:00pm to 8:00pm that evening. We also have our Pancake Dinner in the St. Jane Parish Hall from 4:30pm to 7:00pm. Tickets are $10/ adults, $8 for kids 3–12, or $30 for the entire family. This will also support Youth Ministry. We hope you can join us!

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the 2026 Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries. The theme for this year’s appeal is “Lift Up Your Hearts.” This theme calls us to “Lift Up Our Hearts to God, Unite in Hope as a faith community, and embrace our shared mission of Service.” There is still time for you to make your donation to the Appeal which supports many social ministries programs throughout the Archdiocese. The Catholic Church is the largest private provider of services to people in need in the state of Maryland. Please offer what you can to assist our Church in this corporal work of mercy by making a gift to the Annual Appeal for Catholic Ministries. Thanks! 

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

God Bless,
Father Steve