Passions

Dear Friends of Pastorate of the Visitation,

“Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from?” This question, raised by St. James in our second reading this Sunday (James 3:16–4:3), strikes a sorrowful chord in our hearts. In our own ways, we are all troubled by fears or doubts or anger related to the world around us; and closer to home, our hearts that suffer from conflict and other difficulties with family, friends, and so on. Where is all this coming from?

St. James counsels that all this comes down to our “passions,” that is, to our fallen humanity that “makes war within [our] members.” It is that simple. But, the call of every disciple is that it no longer be our passions that rule us but the Passion of Jesus. Not just His suffering and death but the entirety of his beautiful, wonderful, truly passionate life! It is the passionate love of Jesus that raises up what is fallen, that makes all things new; that gives hope, light, and wisdom for resolving the “wars,” “conflicts,” “jealousy,” “selfish ambition,” and so on.

Christ’s passionate love proves to us the power of the words “I forgive you,” spoken readily and sincerely. His passionate love impels us to say “I’m sorry” often. His passion teaches us to extend an open hand to help or console rather than a fist; to pray rather than to curse; to become “last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

And so we pray: Jesus, thank You for all the ways you teach me and strengthen me with Your passionate love through Your words, example, and Your very Body and Blood. Help me to be a vessel and instrument of Your passionate love in my thoughts, words, and actions this week.

The pastorate’s Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) program begins this week! Please pray for those taking part as well as the pastorate’s OCIA team. We are delighted to have a good number of people signed up, thanks be to God, but it is not too late if you or someone you know might be interested. Please invite them to reach out to me (john.bilenki@archbalt.org).

Our first meeting this week will give our “inquirers” and our team the chance to get acquainted. As the year goes on, we will advertise some of the sessions that can be more broadly attended by parishioners, so stay tuned for that!

Let us remain united in prayer and in the Eucharist.

Fr. John

Who Are You?

Brothers and Sisters,

How important is it for people to know you? Do you believe people really know who you are? Do you ever ask what kind of person other people think you are? When you answer the question “Who are you?” it will reveal a lot about how you see yourself, your purpose, your relationship with God, and how you see others. We will answer this question either by what the world tells us, or by what God tells us.

But the first question we must answer is “Who is Jesus?” This is the question that Jesus confronts the disciples with and confronts us with (Mk 8:27-35). The way you answer this question reveals a lot about you and determines your eternity, your identity, and your purpose in life. How you answer this question reveals how you make decisions, what is important to you, how you invest your time and money, and why you do or don’t do certain things. Your answer determines who or what authority you submit to. You truly cannot discover who you are until you discover who Jesus is to you. Who is Jesus to you when you are the only believer at work? Who is Jesus to you when you feel like you are one of the few Christians at school? Who is Jesus to you when you are married to an unbeliever? Who is Jesus to you when your family does not follow Jesus? Who is Jesus to you when you live in a city or country that does not honor Jesus? Who is Jesus to you in your everyday life?

If you answer, “You are the Christ” as Peter did, we must believe and follow Jesus in a world where most of the people do not hold your beliefs. But these are also the same people who you must love and share the gospel with. Yes, this will reveal a lot about who you are.

God Bless,
Deacon Howard

Ephphatha! Be Opened!

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

Change Is In The Air!

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

Welcome to Labor Day weekend… and to the unofficial end of summer! I cannot believe how fast this
summer has gone. We have experienced some changes over this summer as well. We said farewell to Fr. Jim and thanked him for his two years of untiring service to our pastorate. We said goodbye to Melissa Boyle who moved onto a teaching position at Archbishop Spalding. And now we must say farewell to Diana Healy, who is stepping down in order to dedicate more time to family needs.

But we also have welcomed some new additions to our pastorate. First, we welcomed Fr. John Bilenki as our new associate pastor. Fr. John has hit the ground running as he has been getting settled here as well as preparing for our pastorate’s Order of Christian Initiation of Adults program (formerly RCIA), which starts up in a couple of weeks. As we know, Fr. John is also the part time chaplain at Mount St. Joseph High School, which will mean he will be at the school one day a week. We also welcomed Carrie Hilmer as our new Associate Youth Minister, being responsible for our Middle School and High School Youth Ministry programs. Carrie will be working closely with Tim Janiszewski, our Pastoral Associate/Youth Minister from OLC, as we coordinate and share our High School Youth Ministry and Confirmation programs. We also recently hired Marie Griffiths as St. Jane’s Religious Education Coordinator. Marie is well known at St Jane’s as one of our cantors and an active volunteer. She will be overseeing our Pre-K through 5th grade religious education classes as well as the First Reconciliation and First Communion sacramental prep programs and VBS. Her position at St. Jane’s overlaps with Michaela Stanton’s position at OLC—and thankfully Marie and Michaela know each other because their children attend Lake Shore Elementary, so it is my hope that they can be a support for each other during the year. I feel confident that our faith formation programs are moving in a positive direction and are being set up to flourish in the coming years!

Now is the time to sign your kids up for faith formation at both parishes. All of our youth are invited to participate in our programs, even if they attend Catholic Schools. We especially invite all high school kids who have been confirmed to join our programs as peer ministers. Also, anyone who is preparing for a sacrament (First Reconciliation, First Communion, or Confirmation) should be signed up at the parish, even if they attend a Catholic school. This year, our High School Youth Ministry and Confirmation preparation programs are being merged and sessions shared between St. Jane Frances and OLC, and will occur on Sunday evenings. There have been some changes for sure this summer, but I feel certain that the Lord is blessing our pastorate with opportunities for growth and renewal!

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

Master, To Whom Shall We Go?

Peace in Christ!

This weekend, the universal Church concludes five Sundays of meditating on the Bread of Life Discourse from Chapter 6 of St. John’s Gospel. In the closing verses of this epic and eminent chapter, we hear, what I think, is one of the most inspiring professions of faith in all of Sacred Scripture. It comes from the heart of St. Peter.

After many of Jesus’ disciples leave him because of his teaching about eating His flesh and drinking His blood, Jesus turns to his friends, who have become like brothers at this point, and says, “Do you also want to leave?” (My heart sinks when I imagine Jesus asking me this.) And Peter responds, for himself and the others, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

Peter’s anointed words should be a memory-verse for us all. I have found these words consoling in times of uncertainty, sorrow, and confusion. When things don’t make sense, when the future seems unclear, when things aren’t going how you thought they should be: “Master, to whom shall we go? You are the Holy One of God.” I would encourage us to keep these words close. Jesus is with us.

I think these words are especially important as our relationship with our Eucharistic Lord deepens. Love always chooses to be present. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love. Jesus, our Eucharistic Love, promises to be with us always until the end of time, and He is. No amount of reading, writing, or preaching will ever fully reveal or explain this sacred mystery of the Lord’s Body and Blood to us. It brings us to our knees and leaves us speechless, full of awe, maybe confused sometimes, but also desiring more—all of this is appropriate. Jesus, we want more. You have the words of eternal life; You are eternal life. Thank You, Jesus, for always remaining with us and nourishing us.

Most are back to morning routines, morning traffic, and school starting this week. I am right there with you as I begin my part-time ministry at Mount St. Joe. Solidarity! Young people, please be assured of my prayers for you! The Lord has prepared the path before you this school year. Parents and loved ones of our young people, your generosity and sacrifices are known to the Lord. May His peace be yours. May we all begin this new school year with joyful hope and expectation of all we will learn, with gratitude for friends old and new, and all the many signs of God’s goodness to us along the way. God bless you!

In Christ,
Fr. John

Bread Of Life Discourse

Dear Friends of our Pastorate,

We are continuing our liturgical journey through the 6th Chapter of John’s Gospel – also know as the Bread of Life Discourse. Jesus tells us that He is the “living bread that came down from heaven and whoever eats this bread will live forever” and that “this bread is [His] flesh for the life of the world.” As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ—His flesh that He gives us to eat. John’s Gospel tells us that there were quarrels about this, but Jesus continues to reinforce that His flesh is true food and His blood is true drink. From the early days of the Church, this has been the understanding of the Eucharist, and we continue to proclaim this truth to the world AND invite all to join us at this great feast by joining the Catholic Church. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord here at our Pastorate parishes.

Speaking of joining the Catholic Church, our Pastorate is preparing to launch our Order of Christian Initiation of Adults in September. This program has been known as R.C.I.A. (Rite vs. Order) but the terminology has been changed with the release of the new transition of the ritual. This program is open to anyone who wishes to become a member of the Catholic Church, either through being baptized or if already baptized, then being received and confirmed into the faith. If you or a loved one has never been baptized, or been baptized in a non-Catholic faith, or have been baptized Catholic but never received the Sacrament of Confirmation, this is the program for you! Fr. John Bilenki will be overseeing our RCIA program which will be held on Monday evenings at St. Jane Frances School. For more information, or to sign up for RCIA this year, please contact Fr. John at john.bilenki@archbalt.org or call either of the parish offices.

Next weekend we will be offering a blessing of book bags, as our youth prepare to return to school. All of our school aged youth are invited to bring their book bags to Mass next weekend for a special blessing. Please keep our youth, their families, and all teachers in your prayers as we begin another school year.

Our September marriage anniversary blessings will take place on Sunday, September 1st at the 8:30am Mass at OLC and the 10:00am Mass at St Jane Frances. All couples married in the month of September are invited to join us at either Mass and receive a special blessing upon their marriage.

Thanks to everyone who has donated to our roof replacement projects. As of 8/12/24, we have raised over $75,000 each at both OLC and at SJF. Tax-free donations (nothing will go to the Archdiocese) are still being accepted for both projects.

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

Hunger

Brothers and Sisters,

How many of us are facing difficulties, and we feel like we just can’t go on anymore? When we face these feelings, we understand how Elijah felt. We can resonate with his words: “This is enough… take my life.” I’ve had it. I am literally at the end of my rope. I want to run away. Welcome to the world of the prophet Elijah. Better yet, welcome to our world. How many of us have experienced or are experiencing all the feelings that come with “I’ve had enough?”

We need to know that we are not alone in our suffering. We come together each Sunday, not because we have our act together, but just the opposite. We come together each week precisely because we are broken or suffering, anxious, oppressed, in need, or in pain. We come together, because we are human and because all of us carry within ourselves a little bit (or maybe a lot) of Elijah. We come together because life is fragile, and some days we just don’t know how we are going to go from one moment to the next.

The good news today is that Christ draws us to himself every day through the Eucharist to nourish and strengthen us for our journey. He is the Living Bread that satisfies our spiritual hunger. He equally fills us with His Spirit, who directs us on the right path on our journey. So today, God is saying to us as he spoke to Elijah in the desert, “arise, eat, drink,” and continue your journey with a new hope, a new passion, and a new strength. We can go on because our Lord sustains us and cares for us. Jesus offers us life giving food—His body and blood, soul and divinity—for the journey unto eternal life. What is your soul hungering for?

God Bless,
Deacon Howard