Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
A major step in my initiation to the Pastorate took place this past Friday: the St. Patrick’s Day Bazaar! Thank you to the Chair Teresa Sparklin assisted by Melissa Boyle and to so many volunteers who gave of themselves in different ways for the success of this event. Thank you all for so many donations, your presence, and your prayers for the Bazaar.
Speaking of St. Patrick… The memorial of St. Patrick is tomorrow March 17! Consider web-searching and meditating on “The Breastplate of St. Patrick” prayer before you enjoy your corned beef and cabbage! Sláinte!
On another note of initiation, please continue to intercede for our Pastorate’s catechumens and candidates preparing to enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil! If you have never been to the Easter Vigil or if it has been some years, I strongly encourage you to join us this year! In our Catholic tradition, it is called the “mother of all Vigils,” because it is where we celebrate—in word and sacrament while keeping watch in the night—the Resurrection event of Jesus from the dead. In the Exsultet prayer that is chanted at the Vigil, we declare this night as “truly blessed… worthy alone to know the time and hour when Christ rose from the underworld!”
I’m very much looking forward to sharing these holiest days with you all as it will be my first Triduum in a parish setting as a priest. I am especially thankful to all of our new Altar Servers at both churches who have recently joined the ranks! We have also had teens step-up to serve as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and as Lectors – thank you for your generosity and joyful witness to our spiritual family. Thank you parents for your encouragement and support as well.
At St. Jane, we have some newly built/refurbished picnic tables courtesy of parishioner Blake Greenbeck-Marsh. This project not only furnishes the grounds we enjoy at SJF, but also brings Blake near the reception of his Eagle Scout award. Thank you, Blake and congratulations! Blake’s labors are a great segue to mentioning…
The Solemnity of St. Joseph, this Wednesday March 19! He is a model for us in many ways, especially of being faithful during the “ordinary, unspectacular flow of daily life” as they say at Mount St. Joe. In his 2020 apostolic letter Patris Corde, Pope Francis wrote, “Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.” May St. Joseph intercede for you as YOU fulfill YOUR “incomparable role in the history of salvation”—in your prayer, in your home, at work, in all of your daily duties and encounters.
May St. Joseph and St. Patrick, St. Jane and Our Lady of the Chesapeake intercede for us as we follow Jesus in this Lenten season. Let us pray for and encourage one another in Christ.
God bless!
Father John
