First Holy Communion

My Dear Parishioners,

Please keep our young 3^rd graders in your prayers. This Saturday, May 6, 2023 they will be making their First Holy Communion. This is a special time in the spiritual life of a Catholic. We ask that Jesus will stay close to these 11 young people as they take Him into their hearts and souls. Please pray for their families too, that they will facilitate these relationships by bringing them to Mass regularly. If you see one of them at Sunday Mass (they should be easy to spot because we ask them to wear their First Communion outfits), please be sure to congratulate them.

May is also the month of Mary and a time when we reflect on Our Blessed Mother’s willingness to make a home for Jesus within her. We too are called to make a home for Jesus in our hearts and Mary will help us do that. We honor Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth in a special way with our May Procession on Monday, May 8^th. The procession begins at 7:20 pm in the grassy area between the two back parking lots (weather permitting). We invite all members of the 2023 Confirmation class and 2023 First Communion class to take a place of honor in the procession. Please wear your First Communion attire or your Confirmation robes. We also ask parishioners to bring flowers from your gardens. The flowers are carried in procession along with a statue of Mary and then placed in front of the statue as a tribute to the Blessed Virgin. After the procession we will pray the Rosary. The night closes with Benediction. It is a beautiful devotion and I hope to see you there.

If you are interested in joining us for a Marian Bible Study, please contact the rectory. We will meet on the Wednesdays of May in classroom 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Archbishop Pérez asked that the following letter be communicated to you this weekend.

God Bless You! Fr.
Bordonaro

May 2023

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The Church in the United States needs to be strengthened through the pure love of Christ and the promise that His resurrection holds for everyone. While that goal is a simple one, there are obstacles to evangelization in many places due to a lack of resources.

Soon, our local Church will take up the Catholic Home Missions Appeal (CHMA). This annual collection is an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and supports dioceses throughout the country where financial hardship and poverty are severe. Funding from this appeal provides for faith formation programs in communities where our brothers and sisters are struggling.

Home mission dioceses are found in every section of the United States and its territories. Often, their Catholic populations are a minority and spread over large areas with very few priests to serve them. The situation in the Diocese of Owensboro, located in Western Kentucky, represents many others. There, Catholics make up only 6% of the population in a rural region spanning 12,500 square miles. In an effort to serve the faithful, priests are assigned to multiple parishes at the same time that are over 25 miles apart. Owensboro also has a large and growing Hispanic Catholic population with unique liturgical, sacramental, and pastoral needs.

Thanks to you, CHMA is making a positive impact. In Owensboro alone, the Hispanic Ministry Program now has 31 bilingual priests who celebrate more than 900 Masses in Spanish each year, along with baptisms, weddings, and confirmations. Your continued support of CHMA will make a tremendous difference in the lives of our brothers and sisters in need here in the United States. To learn more about the appeal and its beneficiaries, please visit www.usccb.org/home-missions.

I am grateful for your consideration and your generosity. Please be assured of a remembrance in my prayers and join me in praying for all those working to spread the Good News. May God bless you.

Sincerely in Christ,

+Most Reverend Nelson J. Pérez, D.D.
Archbishop of Philadelphia