September 26, 2023
Lent/Easter
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15 Things You May Know About Easter...A Gift from "the Nuns for Fun"
* In Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus, before being blessed and distributed to congregants.* Most adults prefer milk chocolate to dark. Adults are twice as likely to buy milk chocolate when offered a choice.*Americans will consume more than 16 million jelly beans on Easter, and dentists around the country will cheer when fillings get pulled out. Sixteen million! That's enough jelly beans to circle the globe not once, not twice, but three times, or to fill a plastic egg the size of a nine-story building. According to the website candystore.com, the most popular jelly bean flavor is buttered popcorn. Yuck!* Pretzels are linked to Easter, too. Supposedly, it's because the twists of the pretzel look like arms crossed in prayer. But what does dunking them in mustard stand for?* Buying a new outfit for Easter stems from a superstition. Back in the mid-1800s, people believed that buying new clothes to wear on Easter would bring them good luck for the rest of the year. That was especially true if their family owned a clothing store.* Back in 1933, composer Irving Berlin introduced the Easter bonnet into American pop culture with his ballad "Easter Parade." Today, it's still one of the most popular songs for the holiday.* During medieval times, a very different game was played with eggs. The priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choir boys, then the choir boy would continue to toss it to his peers, and whoever was holding the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and got to keep it. Even if they didn’t want it after all those people touched it!* Congress once outlawed Easter egg rolling. One of the most well-known Easter traditions in America is the annual Easter Egg Roll, which dates back to President Andrew Johnson. By 1876, the game had ripped up the Capitol’s landscaping and they didn’t have enough money in the budget to fix it. Sound familiar? So the following year, instead of appropriating more funding for the gardeners, U.S. Rep. William Steele Holman of Indiana introduced the Turf Protection Act, “to prevent any portion of the Capitol grounds and terraces from being used as play-grounds."* In 1878, little kids and their parents headed over to the White House, to see if they could do an egg rolling game there. Rutherford B. Hayes was the president then and he had a soft spot for Easter. That's how the White House Easter Egg Roll was established in 1878. We didn't need the old, stinky Capitol egg rolling! Now we had the White House south lawn.But it was President Nixon who first included a bunny in the festivities in 1969, with a member of his wife's staff as the lucky person who got to wear the costume. Little known fact: President Trump's former press secretary Sean Spicer was the Easter Bunny during George W. Bush's presidency. Not the whole time, just at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.* Easter is the second biggest candy-consuming holiday. It comes in second only to Halloween.* It used to take more than a day to make a Peep. Back in 1953, when each candy Peep was handmade with a pastry tube, it took 27 hours to make a Peep. Today, machines speeds it up to about six minutes. And that's good since we eat more than 600 million Peeps during Easter.* Peeps are the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. The Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, factory where they’re made makes an impressive one billion Peeps a year, or 4 million a day.* Most Americans bite off the ears of a chocolate bunny first. A whopping 76% say that's where they take their first mouthful, followed by 5% who eat the feet first, and 4% who eat the tail first.* Brits celebrate Easter with fruitcake. The Easter simnel is a fruitcake dessert filled with apricot jam and topped with marzipan balls, which are meant to symbolize Jesus and his 12 apostles.* Easter Island got its name because Dutch explorers in the 18th century found the shores of Easter Island on Easter Sunday. Thank goodness it wasn't on St. Patrick's Day. That would be very confusing. -
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2023 Easter Message from the Pastor:EASTER MESSAGE FROM MONSIGNOR NEVIN
"They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”
The empty tomb, of course, was quite startling to Jesus’ followers. We have to remember that, despite all they had been taught, they “did not yet understand the Scripture that He had to rise from the dead.” They were all, in a very real sense, a work in progress. Ultimately, however, their faith and ours is not based on the phenomenon of the empty tomb. Instead, our Christian faith is rooted in the numerous post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to His followers. The Risen Lord was actually seen by Mary of Magdala. He was seen by the apostles who were hiding in the locked, upper room. Thomas was invited to actually touch Him. He also appeared to the two men walking along the road to Emmaus, and broke bread with them. Remember, no normal person would have willingly sacrificed all they had, including their very lives, to place themselves in danger of arrest and carry on the cult of a dead man. No normal person would have ever been willing to forego a family; a personal career; a more comfortable life style and even undergo persecution and a martyr’s death for the sake of a dead man they once admired and followed. In fact, it would be quite reasonable to imagine that in the face of Jesus’ crucifixion, they would have been distraught, beaten down and ready to run off in different directions. So why did they not go back to their former ways of life as fishermen or laborers or tax collectors? Because they saw and believed! We, the believers of today, base our faith on the eye-witness testimony of these Apostles and other early followers who not only witnessed the empty tomb, but, most importantly, the Risen Christ. Saint Paul made a critical point when he wrote, “If Christ is not risen from the dead, our preaching is empty, your faith is worthless and we are the most wretched of people.”
Having just completed Holy Week, it might surprise some of you to know that the last three days of Holy Week, the Triduum, were considered as one. It might be even more surprising to note that today and the next six weeks are also considered as one, as Easter.
Today, in fact every Sunday, we gather to celebrate the glory of the Risen Christ. The cross public shame and unspeakable suffering and death has now been transformed into the triumphant cross. It is our constant reminder of Christ’s great love for us and of His total victory over sin and death and His promise to, one day, lift up all of His faithful ones from the darkness of the grave into His own wonderful light.
In his writings, Saint Paul so eloquently describes to us Jesus’ loving obedience to death on the cross. He hinted at what we celebrate today for “…when He was made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.” Because of Jesus’ perfect obedience to the Father’s will, “God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father.”
Through our baptism, we have all shared in the suffering and death of Christ and were transformed into sons and daughters of God. As Christians, it is our firm belief that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we who are also sons and daughters of God, will one day be raised from our graves and experience the newness of life promised by Christ to all who believe in Him, are obedient to His teaching and faithfully take up the cross and follow in His footsteps.
Today, we gather as an Easter people to celebrate our belief not just in an empty tomb, but rather, in the Risen Jesus who is Lord and Savior. Because we have been blessed with the gift of faith, we not only believe but boldly proclaim to our community and to the whole world our Easter proclamation “Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!” “We proclaim Your Death, O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection until You come again" -
2023 Holy Week Schedule
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2023 Palm Sunday Message from the Pastor:
“If anyone should say to you, “Why are you doing this?" reply, ‘The Master has need of it …’ ….Rather He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness, and found human in appearance, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The Church has named this Holy Week. It is holy because of what we pause to recall, the unfolding of God’s plan for our salvation. The whole purpose of Holy Week, therefore, is the remembrance of Christ’s passion and death which led up to the glory of His Resurrection. For Catholics, this is, indeed, the most holy as well as unique week of the entire Church year. It begins with the gracious invitation to re-enter the Holy City with Jesus and share in the Pascal Mystery of His suffering, dying and rising from the dead. To accomplish this end, Jesus instructs all “the Master has need of it.” As we hold the blessed palm branch, may we see it as our ticket or pass to enter all the events, which Jesus experienced, and which we will remember and celebrate this week.
This week is holy, because we will respond through our prayers, fast and abstinence and our participation, in the ritual of walking with Jesus, dining with Him at the supper, and being with Him on Calvary and, later on, in the quiet of His tomb. Each event, every moment is directed by the Lord at the will of His Father. The chalice will not pass Him by. He will indeed drink of it. He requires us to respond to His saving actions and not simply remember. We are not to be detached observers...we are to try our best to be caught up into the joy and rapture of the Sacred Mysteries, which bring us ever closer to salvation.
As we now begin this holy week, let us commit ourselves to do our best to immerse ourselves in the Triduum for two reasons. “The Master has need of it,” and because we have need of Him. The sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist and the institution of the holy priesthood, all have a special significance for us this Holy Week. We ask all to join in prayer for the Church and for our parish. “The Master has need of you.”“He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
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The "Rules"
LENTEN REGULATIONS FOR CATHOLICS
Time for us to prayerfully consider our spiritual preparations for the season of Lent is upon us. The Lenten Season begins with Ash Wednesday, this year [2023] that is February 21st.
ABSTINENCE forbids the eating of meat. Abstinence obliges from the 14th birthday throughout one’s life. All Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat.
FASTING prescribes that only one full meal be taken a day. Two smaller meals may be taken to maintain strength, but these taken together should not equal another full meal. Fasting obliges from the 18th to the 59th birthday.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are the two days of Fast AND Abstinence from meat.
There is a serious obligation for Catholics to observe these penitential practices in a substantial way. Those whose work or health would be impaired are excused from fast and abstinence. Individual conscience should decide proper cause for excuse.
Lent, in a very special way, points out that we are pilgrims. For seven weeks we walk with Christ, in response to His invitation, “Let us go up to Jerusalem.” The penances, the fasting and all the other aspects of Lent are the hardships of the journey. -
Stations of the Cross - Every Friday during Lent
Via Delorosa – Way of Sorrows
Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him to a tree? Were you there when they laid him in a tomb? Please try and make this traditional and very beautiful form of worship a part of your Lenten practice.
(Streamed recordings.) -
Mite BoxesTHE HOLY SEASON OF LENT ALMS GIVING
AND MITE BOXES
Over the forty days and forty nights of Lent, please consider depositing some coins and/or cash into the box as an ongoing, conscious Act of Charity on behalf of our needy brothers and sisters right here in Rockland. When you are ready, please bring the box to Mass with you and deposit it into the receptacle located in the lobby of the Church.
“Whatsoever you do for one of these least ones, that you do unto me.”
Please consider incorporating the “Mite Box” into your Lenten Alms giving efforts. All of the parishes in our county have been asked to join together in support of the charitable efforts of Catholic Charities Community Services of Rockland (CCCSR). -
Lent, can I get it right this year?Here we go again! Another Lent, another “that time of the year,” where we strive to convert our hearts to God in a deeper way than the Lent before. “Can I get it right this year?” might be question many of us will be asking. And as much as this question denotes a high sense of commitment to this season, it is worth clarifying that Lent is not a solo trip to the desert. Jesus was never alone during his 40 days in the desert. The Father and the Holy Spirit were with him at all times, and the angels as well when the enemy tempted him. This Lent let us invite the three persons of the Trinity to accompany us on this journey. Let’s also spend time in community with our brothers and sister of the Faith, encouraging each other.Perhaps we must reflect on why we are even going into the desert in the first place. What are our Lenten goals? What indulgences are we giving up? Our Lenten sacrifice is meant to sanctify us, to help us break free of what may be keeping us from growing closer to Jesus, and from relying entirely on Him. We must do our best to focus not on ourselves, and our Lenten sacrifice, but on Jesus, whom we are preparing for. In this recognition we will find it is easier to distinguish between giving something up and surrendering something, which by all means requires the grace of God to be accomplished. God sees our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and sheds His grace on us, transforming us. Every Lenten “transformation”, every Lenten conversion is a success. So let’s pray, fast and give alms. Let’s get Lent right this year.
---Archdiocese flocknote 2021 -
from the Office of Adult Faith Formation - March 2nd
“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Cor 5:20-21
A blessed Ash Wednesday to you. As we enter this season of Lent, let us reflect on the gift of reconciliation, and the love of the Lord that is poured out in each reconciliation. Whether it is reconciliation between each other or the Sacrament of Reconciliation in which our relationship with the Lord is mended, the Lord is present. In the Sacrament, the priest acts “in persona Christi” or “in the person of Christ,” through which Jesus forgives us of our sins. In our relationships with each other, we all know how challenging it can be to forgive each other. It is only with the grace of the Holy Spirit that we can truly forgive.
With thanks to the Lord for all the ways He works, let us thank the Lord for our priests, and let us pray for each other that this Lenten season may be a time where we open our hearts more fully to the Lord. Let us also keep our brothers and sisters in Ukraine in prayer.
Here are some resources for our Lenten journey:
Watch: Ready Reasons: What’s the Deal with Ashes on Ash Wednesday
Listen: My Beloved Son: Meditations for Lent
Watch: Ready Reasons: Was Jesus’ Sacrifice Enough?
Listen: https://watch.formed.org/meditations-for-lent-by-jacques-benigne-bossuet
USCCB Daily Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/
To read more about the sacrament of Reconciliation:
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm