Letter from the Pastor
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March 14, 2021Today is Laetare (=rejoice) Sunday. We have reached the halfway point in Lent.
The Church tells us to relax for one day from our strict Lenten practices. The dark purple vestments of penance give way to the lighter shade of rose, flowers are allowed in Church and the music is more festive. The Church, in her wisdom, knows that during the penitential seasons of the year, we may need a break, so there is always a “day off”. So enjoy today, give yourself a rest and a treat so as to finish the Holy Season of Lent strong. And if you haven’t started yet, now is the time, you have a few weeks left.
Today is also the one-year anniversary when we began the shutdown of public Masses in the Archdiocese. I’ll never forget that Saturday afternoon, when we got word from the Cardinal that all public Masses had to be suspended until further notice. To be honest, I thought maybe a few weeks. It wasn’t until June 13th that the Churches were reopened for public worship. We have certainly lived through an historical moment, a life altering moment. It will be years for us to see the long-term and even the short-term effects of these months when the obligation to attend Mass has been suspended. There is hope as more people are getting vaccinated and feel a bit more comfortable in coming to Church, once again. Each week, the numbers are increasing at Mass.
Year of Saint Joseph
In Apostolic Letter Patris corde (“With a Father’s Heart”), Pope Francis describes Saint Joseph as a beloved father, tender and loving, obedient to God; a father who is courageous, strong and stands in the background to his Immaculate wife and Divine Son to protect and provide for his holy family, a man who loves and defends his wife and child.
The Letter was written to mark the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. To celebrate the anniversary, Pope Francis proclaimed a special “Year of St Joseph,” beginning on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception 2020 and extending to the same feast this year.
This Friday, March 19th is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph; because of the Solemnity falling on a Friday during Lent, a dispensation (relaxation of the law) has been granted by Cardinal Dolan from abstaining from meat to all within the Archdiocese. So you can enjoy a festive meal of meat this Friday and desert as well!
Also on Friday, Cardinal Dolan will consecrate the Archdiocese to the special care and protection of St. Joseph. Each parish and school is encouraged to do the same. So after the 9:00 AM Mass on Friday, I will consecrate our parish and school to St. Joseph. Normally, we bless and give you St. Joseph’s Bread; unfortunately, this year we cannot give out the bread. Enjoy the Solemnity!St. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland and the Archdiocese of New York
On Wednesday, March 17th is the Solemnity of Saint Patrick. Since the Saint is the patron of the Church in New York, we celebrate the Mass as a Sunday, with the Gloria and Creed and music. Once again this year, we are happy to have Dan Gurniak to sing Our Lady of Knock at the Mass. Sadly, we cannot have the social afterwards, but we look forward to next year to celebrate the Saint with soda bread and a bit of the mist!
Holy Week 2021
We are so grateful to God that this year we can gather for Holy Week Masses and Services. There will be a few changes in how we celebrate the Sacred Liturgies this year, including Palm Sunday and Easter. The schedule is published in this week’s bulletin page four.
I will let you know the procedures in next week’s column. Stay tuned!
