Letter from the Pastor
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November 19, 2023Last Sunday was a wonderful day here at St. Margaret’s. It began at the 10:30AM Mass. We had guests from Artis Memory Care Community in Chestnut Ridge. Fr. Clarke and I offer Mass there once a month. It is a specialized residence for seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The residents are cared for with great attention and love. It is a beautiful community. The residents wanted to come to Mass at St. Margaret’s. The Altar Rosary Society hosted our guests for breakfast.
After the Mass, offered by Fr. Clarke, we went outside to bless the new Rosary Walk created and executed by Eagle Scout Peter Monaco. Peter and his co-workers created a beautiful Rosary Walk near the Gazebo. It is meditative and a quiet place to walk and pray during the day. We thank Peter for his dedication to his Parish. Peter is a senior at Pearl River High School and is becoming an Eagle Scout. Eagle Scout is the highest rank for the Boy Scouts. Many great Americans are Eagle Scouts. It takes many hard-working years to accomplish such a great honor. We, your Parish Family is so proud of you, Peter. Job well done and thank you for adding such a prayerful beauty to our parish grounds.
Then to top off the day, we had the inaugural concert at 3:00PM, the Fauré Requiem and other music suited for the remembrance of our beloved dead during this month of November. It was a wonderful experience, with organ and orchestra and the voices of angels. Over 100 people attended and were treated to a beautiful, peaceful and heavenly afternoon. Those who didn’t attend missed a wonderful experience. Next time for sure…
I would like to thank Mark LaRosa, our Music Director, Skyler Klein, the conductor and our new concert choir, “Qara”. Qara is a Hebrew word which means, “to cry out to call unto, to proclaim”. It is used many times in the Old Testament, calling out to God, especially in the Book of Genesis. Our next concert will be Lessons and Carols, a parish tradition on December 17th at 3:00PM. Mark your calendars!
This Thursday is Thanksgiving (I still can’t believe it’s here). We will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving this Thursday morning at 9:00AM. The blessing of food will take place at the Mass. Bring something from your table to be blessed, as the blessing will be carried back to your family table. The choir will sing at the Mass.Next Sunday is the Last Sunday of the Church’s Year, the Solemnity of Christ the King. As the Year of Grace 2023 concludes, we look back and are grateful for the many blessings we received as an individual, family, parish, country and Church.
At 4:00PM, we will pray Vespers or Evening Prayer of the Church in celebration of God’s favor to us concluding with Benediction and the singing of the ancient hymn, the Te Deum. St. Ambrose and St. Augustine wrote the Te Deum. It is always prayed as a hymn of praise and thanksgiving to God. So come and pray with us, and let us as a parish family “qara”:
Thanks be to God.
