This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The readings speak to us of the “divine judgment” anticipated at the end of time. For many of us, the word “judgment” may stir up feelings of uneasiness or discomfort, for who likes to be judged? Even Jesus tells us not to judge one another, BUT the Church has always professed our belief that Jesus “will come again to judge the living and dead” as we profess each week in our Creed. Therefore, we are already anticipating this, and since we know that, we are able to prepare ourselves. We can walk the path of conversion and repentance each and every day so that, when Jesus comes again, we can be ready to welcome him with joy in our hearts, for our salvation is at hand. So don’t be discouraged, but instead prepare today and everyday by turning to the Lord with trust in God’s loving mercy, compassion and forgiveness for us.
Over the past month, we have been conducting a poll of the people who regularly attend the 5:00pm Mass at OLC concerning a change to the start time for the Mass. This request was made of me by several parishioners at OLC who would like to have the option to attend an earlier Mass in the wintertime because of not wanting to drive in the dark. After taking several polls, including one during Mass, we have received overwhelming support for changing the Mass start time to 4:00pm (initially during the winter months). Therefore, starting next weekend, Saturday, December 2, 2023, Our Lady of the Chesapeake will be starting the Saturday Vigil Mass at 4:00pm (with Confessions being offered at 3:00pm). I know this change may impact some people who wish to keep the Mass time at 5:00pm, so I apologize for that. As we continue down the road of our pastorate planning process, we will need to take into account the Mass schedules for both parishes in order to offer options to all parishioners. To that end, for those who prefer the 5:00pm time, St. Jane Frances will continue to offer the Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00pm.
Also starting next week, we will be rolling out our new title for our Pastorate: “Pastorate of the Visitation” with the subtitle of “Catholic Churches of Pasadena.” This title will begin appearing on our bulletin covers for both parishes and will make its way into all of our communications, including Flocknote, Facebook, and our websites. This additional identification will have no impact on our two parishes, which will continue to exist, thrive, and be called Our Lady of the Chesapeake and St. Jane Frances. Visitation is only meant to be a label to unite our Pastorate community parishes in one extended family of faith. So…Welcome to the Pastorate of the Visitation!
Thank you for keeping our Pastorate in your daily prayers!
God Bless,
Father Steve
