Memorial Plaques and Christmas Schedule

My Dear Parishioners,

We hope to have the images for review of the dedication and memorial plaques for the church renovation posted in back hallway this weekend.  Please take the time to review the wording and the spelling.  This is the final opportunity for edits.  All changes must be submitted to me in writing.  I will also post images of the plaques on our website for those who are not local, or are not back to church yet.

As we continue to make adjustments to our schedule because of the coronavirus, please note the following:  confessions are offered on Saturday, Dec. 20^th from 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. and later that same evening from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  We will not have a communal penance opportunity this year.  I am however adding two additional evenings for confession.  I will be in the sacristy hearing confessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 22^nd and 23^rd at 7:00 p.m. As of this printing, it will only be myself as the Regina Coeli priests are not permitted to assist yet.  We will celebrate 4 Vigil Masses on Thursday, Dec. 24^th, Christmas Eve:  2:30, 4:30, 6:30 p.m. & 12:00 Midnight.  Please note that the mailing you received at home did not include the 2:30 p.m. vigil because the Archdiocese only granted permission after the mailing was sent.  Masses on Friday, Christmas Day will be 7:30, 9:30, & 11:30 a.m.  I am asking for your cooperation in trying to stay socially distant at Mass, and also in working with one another in the parking lot. Consideration for others is always greatly appreciated but this year, more than ever, we should ask God for a generous and loving heart towards all.

The US Bishops have prepared a brief examination of conscience.  I have copied it below from their website. The first reflection is based on the 10 Commandments.

#I – I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me: Have I treated people, events, or things as more important than God? # II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have my words, actively or passively, put down God, the Church, or people?
#III Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.  Do I go to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday Vigil) and on Holy Days of Obligation? Do I avoid, when possible, work that impedes worship to God, joy for the Lord’s Day, and proper relaxation of mind and body? Do I look for ways to spend time with family or in service on Sunday?
#IV Honor your father and your mother.  Do I show my parents due respect? Do I seek to maintain good communication with my parents where possible? Do I criticize them for lacking skills I think they should have?
#V.  You shall not kill.  Have I harmed another through physical, verbal, or emotional means, including gossip or manipulation of any kind?
#VI.  You shall not commit adultery.  Have I respected the physical and sexual dignity of others and of myself?
#VII. You shall not steal.  Have I taken or wasted time or resources that belonged to another?
#VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  Have I gossiped, told lies, or embellished stories at the expense of another?
#IX. You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.  Have I honored my spouse with my full affection and exclusive love?
#X. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.  Am I content with my own means and needs, or do I compare myself to others unnecessarily?

This second examination comes from Jesus’ identification of the two greatest commandments.

How well do we love God and others? Do we love as Christ calls us to? In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ gives us Two Commandments: “He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments’” (Mt 22:37-40).

Not sure what love is? St. Paul describes it for us in his Letter to the Corinthians. Is this how you love God and others? “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Cor 13:4-8).  Copyright © 2013, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, DC.

May God Bless You,
Fr. Bordonaro