Bishop John Noonan of Orlando and Bishop Richard Henning of Providence join with the OLM Pastor, Father Bernard A. Healey, and Associate Pastor, Fr. Daniel Mahoney, following the St. Patrick’s Day Mass, March 17, 2023
We had two great celebrations on St. Patrick's Day and St. Joseph's Day last week. I am grateful to Bishop John Noonan from Orlando for coming to OLM to celebrate the St. Patrick's Day Mass on March 17th. He did a fantastic job, and the Mass was beautiful and joyful. I hope you attended and enjoyed it, as well as the Irish Soda Bread and Coffee with Baileys Irish Cream!
We are grateful to our Coadjutor Bishop Richard G. Henning, who concelebrated the St. Patrick's Day Mass and then came back to celebrate the St. Joseph's Day Mass in Italian. What a great way to welcome our new Bishop with two great celebrations. We thank him for his presence at our parish and look forward to welcoming him to OLM again.
I thank the many people who helped make the celebrations joyful and festive. Our readers, Sinead Campion, who read in Irish on St. Patrick's Day, and Doctors Rocky Ruggerio and Anthony Bruzzese, who read in Italian on St. Joseph's Day. The music at both Masses was beautiful. We thank our OLM Music Director Henri St. Louis and all the musicians who joined him.
These two great celebrations are a mere prelude to the celebrations of Holy Week, which begins next week. Another fantastic event at OLM is our Annual Living Stations of the Cross, performed by our OLM Middle School. It is this Friday, March 31st, at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm. It is a very powerful dramatic presentation of the Stations of the Cross. It is a beautiful way to prepare for Holy Week prayerfully, so mark your calendars and plan on attending.
St. Teresa of Avila said, "Let us look to the cross and be filled with peace, knowing that Christ has walked this road and walks it now with us and all our brothers and sisters."
Next weekend we celebrate Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified. Palm Branches are to be blessed at all Masses. There will be a procession before 10:30 am Mass from Mercy Park. We ask all attending the 10:30 am Mass to gather at Mercy Park before the Mass. Holy Week commences with our celebration of Palm Sunday.
Also, our Mass schedule changes next Saturday as the 4:00 pm Saturday Evening Mass moves to a 5:00 pm start time. Confessions on Saturday afternoon move from a 3:00 pm start time to 4:00 pm. Be sure to plan accordingly.
This weekend we had All-Day Confessions on Saturday from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm with dozens of priests helping hear Confessions. We thank them for their priestly service in helping with this important day. We also thank the many volunteers who assisted the hundreds of people coming to OLM for Confession. If you have not yet made a good Confession, plenty of opportunity is left to do so before Easter.
Saint Pope John XXIII taught: "Doing penance for one's sins is a first step towards obtaining forgiveness and winning eternal salvation. That is the clear and explicit teaching of Christ. No one can fail to see how justified and right the Catholic Church has always been in constantly insisting on this. She is the spokesman for her divine Redeemer. No individual Christian can grow in perfection, nor can Christianity gain in vigor, except on penance."
Ecce homo ( Behold the Man) by Antonio Ciseri, c. 1871
Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday as we prayerfully proclaim the Passion of our Lord at all the Masses. St. Paul of the Cross said: "The remembrance of the most holy Passion of Jesus Christ is the door through which the soul enters into intimate union with God, interior recollection and most sublime contemplation." As we anticipate the holiest time of the year and the celebration of Holy Week, may we do so with a prayerful recollection and contemplation of our Lord's Passion.
Please return your donations for the CRS Rice Bowl Collection on Palms Sunday. It’s always helpful if you strike a check or use bills instead of coins! The Holy Week Schedule is in the bulletin. However, Lent does not officially end until the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday evening. So continue praying, fasting, and giving alms. Hope to see you at the Living Stations of the Cross on Friday. Be well. Stay safe. Do good. God Bless!