Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Messages”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, For American Catholics, January 22nd is a day of reparation for unborn children whose lives have no legal protection. It is a day of prayer for the restoration of the legal right to life, and of penance for violations to human dignity committed through acts of abortion. The tens of millions of lives lost …
A Thanksgiving Day message from Father Shelton: Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Happy Thanksgiving! We all have many reasons to be thankful today. God gives us the gift of life, and he surrounds us with the lives of others who care for us as family, friends and neighbors. I’m especially grateful for the members of Saint Mary Parish, and …
“Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ. It will call to their minds the thought of the last judgment, wherein Christ, who has been cast out of public life, despised, neglected and ignored, will most severely …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, In a canonical decree issued on November 9th, Bishop Stika altered his earlier decree pertaining to the distribution of Holy Communion during the present pandemic. The alteration permits the distribution of Holy Communion onto the tongues of communicants, in the manner traditional to the Roman Rite. This alteration takes effect on the First Sunday …
The following is a message from the Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, an organization of laity, religious, and clergy working together to promote best practices and accountability in the management, finances, communications, and human resource development of the Catholic Church in the U.S., including greater incorporation of the expertise of the laity. The Leadership Roundtable brings together leaders from the …
DECREE issued Friday by the Holy See: This year, in the current circumstances due to the “Covid-19” pandemic, the Plenary Indulgences for the deceased faithful will be extended throughout the entire month of November, with adaptation of works and conditions to guarantee the safety of the faithful. This Apostolic Penitentiary has received many petitions from holy Pastors who have asked …
Dear Clergy, Religious and Lay Faithful of Saint Mary Parish, The year of Our Lord 2020 has given us much to think about, much to worry about, and much to do to preserve our health, our security and our patriotic fraternity. But 2020 should be for us more than just a year of reacting and conserving. It should also be …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Please allow me to update you on our ongoing consideration of modifying our Sunday Mass schedule. First, let’s review the progress up to this point. During our parish Open Forums held in October and November of 2015, several parishioners discussed the desirability of converting the three English Masses on Sundays into two Masses, especially …
God expects every Christian to engage in private works of penance, each in our own way. In addition to these private works of penance, the Church prescribes some public occasions when we all do penance together. There are public days of penance, and there is also a public time of penance. The public time of penance is the season of …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are now moving into a new stage in the ongoing consideration of modifying our Sunday Mass schedule. First, let’s review the progress up to this point. During our parish Open Forums held in October and November of 2015, several parishioners discussed the desirability of converting the three English Masses on Sundays into two …
To conclude our 75th anniversary celebration, Father Shelton is asking key groups in our parish to write messages for parishioners to read during our 100th anniversary. The signed messages from these groups will then be placed into a time capsule to be opened in 2043. Each group will describe how they experience life in our parish today, and how they …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It was great to see so many of you gathered together for our Mass and Parish Picnic. Preparing for this 75th anniversary event was a major undertaking, involving months of planning and a lot of hard work by generous volunteers. In a special way, I thank Diane Wright and her special events committee for …