The Secret Of Sanctity

Dear Parishioners,

Greetings in Christ! He is truly risen, truly alive! Alleluia!

Happy Mother’s Day to Mary and to our mothers, grandmothers, mother-figures and spiritual mothers!

This Sunday marks a turning point in our Easter season. We set our faces toward the great climax of the Easter Season, Pentecost, which is on May 24. Please put Pentecost on your calendar; write it in red for the Holy Spirit. It’s a big deal; it’s the birthday of the Church! Celebrate birthdays! (And speaking of which, happy birthday, Fr Steve! Thank you for all you do for us!!!)

In Sunday’s Gospel Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the first reading, we see the Holy Spirit given by God through the prayer and the laying on of hands by our first pope, St. Peter, and by his fellow bishop, St. John. In your own heart and daily prayer, I encourage you to begin to prepare yourself for Pentecost. You might find this work of spiritual guidance of Désiré Félicien François Joseph Cardinal Mercier helpful. The 20th century bishop writes: “I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the noises of the world in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctuary of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:

O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your Will.

Mercier goes on: “If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely, and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.”

Holy Mass in honor of St. Dymphna, the patroness of mental health and those who care for the afflicted, will be celebrated on Friday May 15 at 8:30am at St. Jane Frances. Our St. Dymphna Mental Health Ministry extends a special invitation to parishioners of the pastorate to participate in Mass, especially during May which is Mental Health Awareness Month.

June 7 we will celebrate Corpus Christi with a Eucharistic Procession after the 11:30am Mass at St. Jane followed by an afternoon of adoration and evening benediction. All are encouraged to come!

June 12 we will celebrate the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart with evening Mass at St. Jane followed by a cookout and games.

We are thankful to God for the gift of Holy Orders in these weeks, especially of the ordination of Deacon Phil! Congrats to you and to your wife, Cathy. We are proud of you and thankful for you!

May Mary our Mother intercede for our Pastorate in this, her month, and as we approach the Feast of the Visitation on May 31! Like her may we have joyful haste in our love of God and neighbor!

In Christ,
Father John

I AM

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend, we celebrate the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Our Gospel this weekend gives us another example of the seven “I AM” statements that Jesus makes in John’s Gospel. This weekend, Jesus tells us: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Just as last weekend, Jesus told his we was the Gate for the Sheep, today he reminds us once again that we must pass through Jesus in order to enter into eternal life. The Lord desires for us to be with Him in heaven for all eternity so much so that He has prepared a place for us there. We only need to hear His voice and follow Him. How have you heard the voice of the Lord in your life? Are you able to still hear Him call you by name? May the Lord bless us with the grace to know and love and serve Him in this life so that we may dwell with Him in His heavenly kingdom.

Congratulations to everyone who received First Communion last weekend at St. Jane Frances. This weekend, we are celebrating First Communions at the 4:00pm and 10:45am Masses at Our Lady of the Chesapeake. Please continue to pray for all of our young disciples receiving Jesus for the first time in the Eucharist at our Pastorate.

This Sunday, May 3rd after the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane Frances, we will honoring our Blessed Mother with our annual May Crowning. At OLC, our May crowning will take place next Sunday, Mother’s Day, following the 10:45am Mass. The Knights of Columbus at OLC will be hosting a Mother’s Day breakfast following the 8:30am and 10:45am Masses for a nominal fee.

Our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner is scheduled for Friday, June 5th from 5:30pm until 8:00pm at Our Lady of the Chesapeake. Volunteers and their spouses are welcome to join us; however, we are asking for an RSVP so that we can plan accordingly. To RSVP, please contact Tracey at St Jane’s at 410-255-4646. Thank you to all of our volunteers who assist us at our Pastorate.

Phil Snyder, who was with us during his Deacon Pastoral Formation year, will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate this Saturday, May 9th, at 10:00am at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Our Archdiocesan Transitional Deacon Ordination (for men studying to become priests) will be Saturday, May 16th at 10am at the Cathedral. Both Masses should be livestreamed on the Cathedral website if you would like to watch. (You are also invited to attend in person as well.) Please keep all of these men in your prayers as they prepare for ordination over the next couple of weeks.

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

Good Shepherd Sunday

Dear Friends of our Pastorate of the Visitation,

This weekend we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter. This weekend is also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday” because the theme for the readings each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter is based on our understanding of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus refers to himself as “the Gate,” one of the seven I AM statements Jesus uses about himself in John’s Gospel. As the Gate for the sheep, Jesus proclaims that it is through Him that we attain eternal life. There is no other way to come to be saved and to be nourished on our earthly journey that ultimately leads us to heavenly life.

Speaking of nourishment, our pastorate has entered First Communion season! We are excited to be celebrating First Communions this weekend at the 11:30am Mass at St. Jane Frances. Next weekend, we will celebrate First Communions at the 4:00pm and 10:45am Masses at Our Lady of the Chesapeake. Please join me in praying for all of our first communicants as they begin to be nourished by the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ who is truly present to us in the Eucharist.

We are also approaching the month of May when we will be honoring our Blessed Mother with our annual May Crowning celebrations. Please join us on Sunday, May 3rd after the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane’s when we will be crowning the Blessed Mother statue on the lawn next to the Church. At OLC, our May crowning will take place on May 10th, following the 10:45am Mass.

Mother’s Day Spiritual Bouquets are available at both churches as we prepare for Mother’s Day on May 10th. There is a card you can give to your mother as well as a way to have your mom remembered at Masses during the Month of May. At OLC, the Knights of Columbus are hosting a Mother’s Day breakfast on May 10th following the 8:30am and 10:45am Masses for a nominal fee.

There are many other great events happening at our Pastorate this Spring including our Sight and Sound Bus trip to see Joshua, our “How to be His” Book Study, a 33-Day Dedication to the Eucharist, our OLC 2026 Spring Raffle, the Mother’s Day Basket of Love Raffle run by the Sodality at SJF, and the Co-ed Church Softball League. Information on these and many other activities are in the bulletin. I hope you will be able to join us for some, or all of them!

Many events are happening for our youth as well. Our high school youth are on their spring retreat this weekend, so please keep them in your prayers. We are also still accepting reservations for the Middle School Summer Mission service weeks taking place this summer and Vacation Bible Camp (School) registrations are open for both parishes. VBS is scheduled for July 13-17 at SJF (evening), and July 20-24 at OLC (daytime).

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

Walking With Jesus

Brothers and Sisters,

Have you ever been disappointed in God’s plan for you? Have you ever found yourself walking away from God? When you are confused and afraid, is your tendency to run toward God or away from Him?

The two disciples in the gospel this week are on a journey away from where Jesus was; full of grief, of dashed hopes, of disappointment (Luke 24:13-35). All of their ideals and dreams, defeated, collapsed, and gone. In a sense, these two sad, downcast, depressed men represent all of us without Jesus. In this way, all of humanity is in this same situation. And we come to realize, God is never absent from us, but we were absent from God. We haven’t really been seeking God in our life, although we like to imagine we were. In reality, we have been walking in the opposite direction, like the two disciples, going away from our fears and despair. But God in Christ is truly seeking us, and He will find us, and bring us home, and fill us with joy if we let Him.

God yearns to draw near to us. Even when we don’t yearn to draw nearer to Him, He’s constantly drawing nearer to us. Even when we are full of uncertainty, disappointment, frustration and fear, God comes to walk alongside us. God is with us. That is the message of this powerful story. God is with us. He’s there walking alongside us in the moments and circumstances of our day. He’s there in the scriptures, speaking to our hearts. And He’s there in the Eucharist, waiting to enter our souls. We just have to welcome Him to stay with us. Are we walking with Jesus or are we walking away?

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Risen Indeed, Alleluia!

Christus surréxit! - Surréxit vere, alleluia! 
Christ is risen! - Risen indeed, alleluia!

This Sunday, April 12, is the eighth day of Easter. This second Sunday of Easter is celebrated as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” The Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception at the thedivinemercy.org explain this special feast in their article entitled “What is Divine Mercy Sunday?” I share some of the article here:

“In a series of revelations to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s, our Lord called for a special feast day to be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. Today, we know that feast as Divine Mercy Sunday, named by Pope St. John Paul II at the canonization of St. Faustina on April 30, 2000…

“[Jesus says to St. Faustina] in her Diary entry #699: …Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.”

I just want to highlight that strong, timely, sobering word of Jesus to Sister Faustina: “Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My mercy.”

There are many and various situations and circumstances near and far, personally and globally that weigh on us. But the daily invitation of our Faith, especially in this Easter season, is to open our hearts to the truth that Jesus the Divine Mercy can bring about many triumphs of mercy—giving peace and new life to our situations. Big or small, the triumphs matter. They will bring peace to our hearts and slowly to the world around us.

These triumphs are brought about as we continually encounter Jesus the Divine Mercy in the Eucharist and in reconciliation and daily prayer.

Triumphs of mercy happen when we allow our attitudes, dispositions, and habits to be healed, elevated, and matured; when we welcome and live Divine Mercy in marriages and families and friendships; in how we love and serve one another. It all matters. As a pastorate, let’s generously welcome Divine Mercy, the Risen Jesus into our lives.

Hallelujah! God bless!
Fr. John

Christ is Risen!

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 on the Christian calendar! 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. We also celebrate on Easter the Sacraments of Initiation for those becoming members of the Church. These men and women of our pastorate have been preparing for the Easter Vigil by their participation in our O.C.I.A program (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults). I especially would like to thank Fr. John and all of the volunteers from both parishes who have walked this journey with our catechumens and candidates. We congratulate all who were baptized and/or have been confirmed in the Church this Easter Season!

Our scripture readings for the Easter Season focus on the Acts of the Apostles, the book of the Bible that gives us a glimpse into the experiences of the early Church enflamed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost. Our Easter Season will conclude with the celebration of the Solemnity of Pentecost on May 24th.

Also during the Easter Season, our pastorate will be celebrating First Holy Communion for those who have been preparing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. St. Jane’s celebration will be on Sunday, April 26th, and OLC will be celebrating the weekend of May 2nd–3rd.

There is still time for our 8th graders and high school youth to sign up for our Spring Retreat which is being held the weekend of April 24-26. The theme for the retreat is “I Believe.” Our retreats are awesome experiences for our youth, so I would highly recommend for you to encourage your 8th–12th graders to join us this year. Scholarships are available for those who may need the assistance to attend.

I would like to thank everyone who made our Lenten Journey and Easter celebrations so meaningful and spiritually uplifting. Special thanks to our Walking with Purpose leaders who spearheaded our Restore Lenten Journey. I have heard many testimonials from people who participated in the study of how the Holy Spirit moved them to deepen their faith and relationship with the Lord. Also, I would like to thank our music ministry from both parishes under the direction of Rob Henry (SJF) and Kevin Garner (OLC) who worked hard to prepare for our Holy Week and Easter liturgies. Thank you!

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

God Bless,
Fr. Steve, Fr. John & the Pastorate Staff

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