Dear Friends of our Pastorate,
This weekend, we celebrate the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our Gospel this weekend (Mk 7:31-37) recalls the healing by Jesus of the man unable to hear and had a speech impediment. By a strange ritual documented in Mark’s Gospel, the man regains his hearing and speech. The Church actually celebrates a similar ritual when we celebrate Baptisms. It is actually called the “Ephphatha Rite” and is prayed over the newly baptized, asking the Lord God to open their ears to hear God’s word and open their lips to profess the faith. Might I suggest that it is a prayer that all of us should consider praying, so that we may be opened to hearing the word of God in our hearts and living out our faith in God in our daily lives.
Ephphetha: that is, be opened,
that you may profess the faith you hear,
to the praise and glory of God.
In this weekend’s bulletin, you will find a Statement of Income and Expenses for our Pastorate parishes. This is for the fiscal year which ran from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. There are separate columns for St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake, as well as a “Total” column. I wanted to note that the “Total” column is for illustrative purposes only and is not meant to imply that our parishes have any shared bank accounts, however we do have some shared expenses. Each parish maintains its own separate financial systems and operating bank accounts. Although Total Income was higher at St. Jane Frances, Offertory Collections were slightly higher at OLC. Rental Income from leasing the SJF School and Parish Center drives much of the higher income and expense levels at St. Jane’s. Overall, both parishes are in good financial shape, so THANK YOU for your ongoing support to our Pastorate of the Visitation parishes!
Our faith formation program at St. Jane Frances starts this Sunday. We are grateful for all of our volunteers who assist us with our program. Next Sunday, September 15th, is Catechetical or Good News Sunday. We will be offering a special prayer of blessing upon our teachers/catechists, students, parents and others who support our faith formation programs. The blessing will take base at the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane Frances and at the 10:45am Mass at OLC.
On Sunday, September 22nd, at the 10:00am Mass at St. Jane Frances, we will be celebrating our Pastorate’s Rite of Enrollment for our students who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation this Fall. Our program includes students from both parishes and will be taking place at St. Jane Frances on Wednesday, November 20th at 5:30pm with Bishop Adam Parker presiding. Please keep our confirmandi in your prayers as they complete their preparation.
Thank you for keeping our Pastorate of the Visitation—St. Jane Frances and Our Lady of the Chesapeake—in your daily prayers!
God Bless,
Father Steve
