Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Messages”
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I hope you’re all having a happy Easter Octave. After celebrating the Palm Sunday, Sacred Triduum and Easter Octave without the presence of parishioners last year, I’m very grateful that we had a sizable representation of the parish for these celebrations this year. Thank you for your patience and innovation over these past twelve …
Dear Friends in Christ, The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary is Friday, March 19th. I encourage you to make a visit to the side altar of Saint Joseph on that day, and there to pray for all the husbands in our parish. Also, please pray the “Prayer to Saint Joseph for the Diocese of Knoxville” …
Dear Friends in Christ, I thank Dave Duhamel for organizing our Lenten mission: “Conviction, Contrition, Conversion”. Sr. Scholastica, OP, will lead us in exploring how the intellect, emotions and will help us enter into Lent. See details and sign-up on our parish website. The teaching staff in our school is now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and many of …
Dear Friends in Christ, As we make our final preparations for the Lenten journey that leads us to Easter, I invite you to make this year’s journey one that will strengthen our parish by building friendships. There are parishioners you know well, parishioners you’d like to know better, and parishioners you don’t yet know at all. Our Lenten journey together …
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Thank you for your patient cooperation during these unusual months. As you’ll recall, in November Bishop Stika issued a revised decree on the celebration of Mass and other rites during this time of pandemic. That revision provides us an opportunity to evaluate our disease prevention efforts here at Saint Mary’s. After consultation with our …
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 …