Dear Parishioners,
Wow! This is certainly different. Palm Sunday without the usual crowds of
people. Palm Sunday with boxes of unused
palm stored in our garage. Palm Sunday
on the TV, computer, tablet or smartphone and not physically in church. Palm Sunday, nonetheless.
We begin the holiest week of the
Church year. Starting with Jesus’ triumphant
entrance into the city of Jerusalem, commemorating the institution of the Most
Holy Eucharist and the ministerial Priesthood, and finally recalling the
Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord—but you need to watch it all at
home. These are most unusual times.
Please do not waste any
opportunity for spiritual growth and holiness.
As the religious sisters used to instruct us back in Catholic grammar
school: offer it up! Make any inconvenience, sacrifice,
suffering, or hardship an offering to the Lord.
Join your prayers and sacrifices to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being
offered throughout the world. Yes, you
must do it from home. However, this is
what the sick and infirm might have to do continually, week after week.
Since so much of what is going on
with the coronavirus pandemic is fluid, please monitor our web page (holyangelsnj.org)
regularly. Fr. Hugh is very diligent
about updating messages and information.
Typically, I have referred to the livestream broadcast of the Mass
provided by the Diocese of Camden with Bishop Sullivan for people to
watch. Some other sources such as EWTN
have been televising the Holy Mass for years.
Last week, after offering Mass myself, I watched the Mass from the
Dioceses of Camden and Phoenix, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I watched the Mass provided from Word on Fire. I also saw the links to
many of my brother priests offering Mass at their local parishes. Thankfully there are multiple opportunities
to participate in Mass from home using the latest technology.
Somehow for me, it is still not
quite the same. The priests and I are
fortunate to have our private chapel in the rectory for daily and Sunday Mass,
and for prayer time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We are praying and offering Mass for you and
your intentions. My heart suffers with
those who desire but cannot receive Our Lord at this time because of the
pandemic. I am not always happy with,
but I am respectful of both civil and ecclesiastical authorities and their decisions
concerning this pandemic. I would not
want to be in their position.
Thank you to those who mailed us
or dropped off their weekly offerings.
It’s harder to pay the parish bills with diminished income. Please remember we still have to cover the
cost of the utilities and other expenses for our many properties. Like the annual Christmas collection, we
depend on the Easter collection to catch up with many of our bills and
expenses. Thank you for whatever
you can do.
Being in quarantine, I have
obviously had the time to think, pray and write, so I ask that you take a look
at my more-lengthy thoughts on our current situation. My blog entry is entitled The Divine Adjustment and it is linked to our parish website.
Please know that you are
remembered in everything we do this Holy Week.
May Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection give us renewed hope.
God is still in charge.
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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