Dear Friends of our Pastorate,
On behalf of all of us from our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—I would like to wish all of you a very Blessed and Merry Christmas! This is a great time of the year as we remember the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and celebrate the miraculous events that begin Jesus’ journey from the wood of the manger to the wood of the Cross. Christ is Born! Alleluia! Enjoy this joyous season surrounded by the love of family and friends… and invite them to Mass with you!
Our Christmas Mass Eve schedule is as follows. At Our Lady of the Chesapeake, there will be Masses at 3:30pm (with Fr. Martin Burnham), 5:30pm, and 7:30pm (our Youth and Family Mass with Carols beginning at 7:00pm). At St. Jane Frances, Masses will be at 4:00pm and 6:00pm. Our Pastorate Christmas Eve Mass at Night will begin at 10:00pm at St. Jane Frances, with Carols starting at 9:30pm. This Mass will feature our combined music ministry choirs as well as the return of the Bell Choir, so please come and join Fr. Jim and myself as we celebrate together our Pastorate of the Visitation Christmas Mass. On Christmas morning, there will be a 9:30am Mass at St. Jane Frances and 10:30am Mass at OLC.
Next weekend, will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Holy Family over the weekend (regular weekend Mass schedule) and then the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on January 1st. Since the Solemnity of Mary falls on a Monday, there is no “obligation” to attend Mass; however, you are warmly invited to join us for one of our two Pastorate Masses as we honor our Blessed Mother and start our civil New Year. Our world, our nation, and our families are in need of prayer, so please join us! There will be a vigil Mass for the Solemnity of Mary on Sunday, December 31st at 5:00pm at St. Jane Frances and a Mass on the feast day, January 1st at 10:00am at Our Lady of the Chesapeake.
Finally, as we come to the end of the year, I would like to invite you to consider making an end of year donation to your parish for Christmas or an IRA distribution. At St. Jane Frances, please consider a “Church tax free” gift to the School/Parish Hall roof replacement fund or at OLC, a gift to support our religious education programs. Thank you!
Thank you for keeping our Pastorate in your daily prayers!
Merry Christmas!
Father Steve
