September 19, 2021: 25th Sunday In Ordinary Time

Dear Parishioners:

I hope this finds everyone well during these most beautiful days of the year.

What a great experience it was last week with seeing so many returning parishioners and new parishioners at Mass. So great to see!  And it was nice that everyone was careful and courteous towards each other, making sure to distance a bit and sanitize your hands. From the altar, I can see everyone doing that.  While we are seeing an increase in attendance which is great, please realize that we are not letting our guard down against the virus. We continue to sanitize often and keep the church extra clean.

And speaking of the church, I hope everyone recognized the great condition that the church is in. The pews have all been polished, the windows cleaned, and the floor is extra shiny.  A special “thank you” to our great maintenance staff.

This week we celebrate Catechetical Sunday. It is an opportunity for us to bless and commission all our volunteer CCD teachers. It is also an opportunity to thank them for their promise of service in teaching our young people throughout the year from first grade through 8th. It is a great task and responsibility that they are undertaking to assure that the Faith of Jesus Christ and His Church are passed on.  The kids will learn about the faith and hopefully incorporate it into their daily lives as well as increase their participation in Mass and the sacraments, ultimately to grow in holiness throughout their lives.

I want to offer a very special “thank you” to Miss Mary Flanagan, our new Director of Religious Education (DRE), and all the hard work that she and Mrs. Judy Nash, her assistant, have been doing in preparation for this weekend and the school year. They have been fastidious in preparing for what will be a fantastic CCD school year by recruiting and training our CCD teachers, preparing the class rolls, and organizing the schedules. If you have any questions, especially regarding safety practices that will be incorporated into the school year, please feel free to call Miss Flanagan at the parish Office.

Next week is one of the most special Masses of the year at St. Cassian Parish. At the 12:00 noon Mass, we will be celebrating the Solemn Mass of Saint Cassian, our Patron feast saint.  Our choir will be singing at that Mass (instead of the regular 10:30 am).  Hopefully, you will be able to attend the Mass to honor, St. Cassian, thank him for his intercession, especially in helping us get through the pandemic safely, and we can continue to ask for his intercession. He is our patron; it is good that we pray for his favorable intercession for us.  I always joke that since we are the only parish under the patronage of him outside of Europe, he can spend all of his time taking care of the needs of the only church in the Americas named after him. With the many miracles that I believe are attributed to him, especially since we've received his first-class relic almost 5 years ago, I am certain that he is looking out for all of us, whispering our prayers into Jesus’ ear in heaven.  Please make a special effort to come to the noon Mass on September 26th.

At the same time, I want to wish all our school children in St. Cassian School and all other schools a great school year. Hopefully it will be a fruitful time of learning, as well as building the kingdom of God here on Earth. God bless all students.

Finally, please be aware that we will be having a Saint Cassian raffle starting in the next few weeks. This will be a major and much needed fundraiser for our Parish. We will only be selling 300 tickets at $100 per ticket. While the license is still caught up in the office where it is being processed, we are certain that we will officially announce the raffle and proceed in selling tickets. Please just keep a lookout for it.

Please, everyone, continue to return to Mass as it is quite edifying not just for me, but for all the other parishioners to see this great return. Also, enjoy these beautiful days of late summer.

Prayerfully,

Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor