Happy Mother’s Day and Updates on Projects
My Dear Parishioners,
We hope that our mothers enjoyed their special day. We also thank anyone who, in any way, contributed to our beautiful May Crowning. Hopefully, this will now become an annual tradition. We are so blessed, and we are so blessed because Jesus is so good to us, and Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph are always watching over us.
After Masses last weekend, I made my way over to Resurrection Cemetery in Bensalem to visit my own mother. She passed in 2006. Both of my grandmothers are also buried in Resurrection, and I visited both of their graves. I never knew my father’s mother. Her name was Frances Pawelko, and she died four years before I was born. Every time I visit her grave; I remind her that I am looking forward to meeting her someday. It will be a glorious reunion.
I thought that this week would be a good week to give some updates on some projects and plans in our parish.
The sale of 31 Popular is complete and the house sold for $267,000. That is more than the $250,000 it was
appraised for and far more than I ever thought we would get for it. We won’t get all of that because of closing costs, but we will be getting a nice “chunk of change” which will be used for some repairs and upgrades on our beautiful campus.
A very faithful parishioner is finishing up the lighting along the path between parking lots. The lampposts are dusk to dawn and so should make moving about the campus at night much safer.
We have signed a contract for repairs and sealing of the upper parking lot and some other spots. Any cracks are to be filled and the parking lots sealed and re-lined. This preventive maintenance should keep our parking lots good for years to come.
We also signed a contract to have the front doors of the church replaced. The new doors will have insulated glass, and most importantly, they will have push/panic bars. These push/panic bars will allow us to exit through the doors even when they are locked. This is a real safety issue which is now being addressed.
Our Pastoral Council is getting very close to picking a firm to install a new electronic sign along 611. A lot of work has gone into planning for this new sign. It will replace the present sign, which is barely noticeable. This will be one of those fancy electronic signs with a message that is always changing. It will also be classy in its design—it is going to look nice. This sign will be a great addition to our campus and will become an indispensable instrument to advertise our parish and our parish activities. It will be well worth the money.
We are looking into new lighting for our parish hall to complement our new kitchen. After the new lighting is installed, we will also be looking into getting the hall painted.
We have signed a contract with Matthew V. Piotrowski, ARCHITECT, LLC on the possibility of adding a ramp to the back door of the church. Hopefully, the designs will be available later this summer. This is something I would like to do. By default, our “back door” is the main door, simply because that is where the parking is. I would like to make this entrance more accessible and more prominent.
Depending on the design of the ramp, we can look at improving the parking situation right behind the church—what a mess! What do you think, do we do away with the bumper-to-bumper parking?
The architectural proposal will also include suggestions for replacing the windows on the “wings” of the church—our original classrooms, and also suggestions on again making those classrooms usable again. The windows are old and shot and are drafty and are ugly to boot. Hopefully, this proposal also includes attic insulation— there isn’t any insulation in the ceilings above those wings—no wonder our oil bills are so high and those rooms are impossible to air-condition and keep cool!
By the way, Matthew Piotrowski is the same architect used in the very beautiful renovation of our church. He is already familiar with our complex, which is a plus.
This summer, we will be asking you to help name our parish hall. Our Pastoral Council has assembled a list of former Pastors and also Mother Superiors of our Convent. We will be having a vote on who should be honored by naming the hall after them. Once a name is established, we will be getting some signage for the hall and to make the hall easier for visitors to find.
Also, in the near future, we will be putting out a survey on the time of our Vigil Mass. Many parishes have moved their Vigil Masses to 4:00, and this move has been very popular in those parishes. So, the survey will see if there is interest in moving our Vigil Mass to 4:00 or keeping it at 5:00. Our Pastoral Council will be conducting the survey. If, and only if, there is enough interest in moving the time for the Vigil Mass, the new time will begin this September. But that is only, only, if there is enough interest in the earlier Vigil Mass time. Otherwise, everything will stay the same. The survey will decide the outcome.
This Fall we are again looking forward to welcoming Kathleen McCarthy for a faith sharing. Also, we are hoping to have Marie Joseph with us to share with us the good work done at a Legacy of Life.
We are planning a parish gathering to celebrate the 75th anniversary of laying of the cornerstone of our church (1950). We are looking forward to another successful CCD year. We are looking forward to Forty Hours in November. We are looking forward to more family bingos. St. Vincent de Paul Society is coming together, which makes us very happy. So many good things are happening and even more will happen.
If you would like to see something in addition, please let us know—of course, as you are sharing the vision of what you would like to see, you may be asked to be that person to make that vision a reality!
This Thursday is the Feast of St. Rita. We are so blessed to have The National Shrine of St. Rita on South Broad Street in Philadelphia. She is known as the Peacemaker Saint and the Saint of Impossible Causes. I am including the Litany of St. Rita with this writing. May her prayers restore peace to our homes, our nation, and our world.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Church, and our Patron, pray for us!
Fr. Michael J Pawelko, Pastor
LITANY of SAINT RITA
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us, Christ hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Immaculate Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of pure love, pray for us.
Holy Mary, Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.
Holy Mary, Queen of all the saints, pray for us. Holy Mary, Model of life for Saint Rita, pray for us.
Saint Rita, our advocate and protectress, pray for us. Saint Rita, beloved by the Lord, pray for us.
Saint Rita, given special grace from heaven, pray for us.
Saint Rita, remarkable in childhood, pray for us.
Saint Rita, model of obedience to God’s Will, pray for us.
Saint Rita, of untiring patience, pray for us.
Saint Rita, model of Christian mothers, pray for us.
Saint Rita, mirror for Christian spouses, pray for us.
Saint Rita, heroic in sacrifice, pray for us.
Saint Rita, generous in forgiving, pray for us.
Saint Rita, martyr in penitence, pray for us.
Saint Rita, embracing humility & poverty, pray for us.
Saint Rita, exemplary as a widow, pray for us.
Saint Rita, prompt to answer the divine call, pray for us.
Saint Rita, patient in suffering, pray for us.
Saint Rita, mirror of religious observance, pray for us.
Saint Rita, mystical rose of every virtue, pray for us.
Saint Rita, enamored of the Passion of Christ, pray for us.
Saint Rita, pierced with a thorn, pray for us.
Saint Rita, in ecstasy before the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us.
Saint Rita, consumed with Divine Love, pray for us.
Saint Rita, received into heaven with joy, pray for us.
Saint Rita, incorrupt in your chaste body, pray for us.
Saint Rita, advocate of impossible cases, pray for us.
Saint Rita, persevering in prayer, pray for us.
Saint Rita, help of those in need, pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Lord, you have signed your servant Rita with the marks of Your love and Passion.
Let us pray. O God, Who bestowed on Saint Rita such grace that she loved her enemies, and bore in her heart and on her forehead the mark of Your love and Passion, grant us, we beseech You, through her merits and intercession, a love for our enemies. Through our contemplation of Your sufferings and Passion, may we merit the reward promised to the meek and the suffering. You live and reign forever.