Dear Parishioners:

Hopefully these seasons of Advent and Christmas have been and will be a great time of grace for all of you. What a difficult year this has been and so many have expressed how we all cannot wait until 2020 ends. 2021 will certainly be a better year.

As we bring this year to a close, I think that it is important that we reflect on these Church celebrations and how in some ways we ourselves have entered into the Christmas story. The fourth week of Advent continues to be a time of prayer and anticipation for something greater. In the Scriptures everyone is anticipating the Savior to make their lives better because of the gift of the promise of salvation. Mary and Joseph, while going through very difficult times, trusted completely in the Lord that everything will be alright. For them, just like us during this year, life threw them many “curveballs,” but for them, just like for us, when we trust in God, even though we don’t we always understand His will, we know we can anticipate the joy to come. This was the attitude of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph and during Advent, undoubtedly, it has been our attitude as well

And the joy only gets greater on Christmas when Jesus, the cause of our joy is given to us as a gift. Not an ordinary Christmas gift, but God in the form of man, as a gift to us for our salvation.  Mary and Joseph were overjoyed because they had a newborn son and we are overjoyed because the means of our salvation has entered into the world. If Jesus had not been born, then he could have never been offered on a cross for us and Heaven would never have been in our grasp.

Just a few days after Christmas we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. What a beautiful celebration that is, especially this year, with so many families having difficult times, particularly because of the pandemic, and the various situations we find ourselves in as families. Just days after Christmas is certainly an appropriate time for families to be grateful not only for each other, but for persevering and enduring together during this tough time. Hopefully, this Feast of the Holy Family will give us a respite from our family struggles as we anticipate the New Year.

Of course how excited we are for the New Year and the new hope that is given to all of us in our Parish, at home, in our nation and all throughout the world,. This dark year, this dark winter will give way to the light of a bright, blessed and grace-filled and healthy New Year!  These days, we very much enter into the historical events of 2,000 years ago, and like then, we struggle now, only to come to know the glory and joy of the Incarnation: God becoming flesh.   May God continue to bless all of us and all our loved ones as we joyfully look forward to not only the celebrations of our salvation, but a fresh start in the year 2021!

I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your patience throughout the pandemic and all the restrictions that we have had to abide by. Rest assured, as soon as we can go back to “normal,” we will. In the meantime, though, I ask everyone to continue to follow all of our guidelines, especially in the church. You must sign up for Mass for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and the weeks after, as we are expecting an influx as we do each year. The “Signup Genius” on the Parish website will not accept more registrants than have been allotted, so if you attempt to sign up for a Mass that is already full it won’t allow you. If that is the case, simply sign up for a different Mass. I just need you to be a little more flexible than usual, especially this holiday season, and at the same time, please realize that my biggest fear is that we will have to tell people who have not signed up, but come to church, that we do not have safe space for them. So, please either call the Parish Office or sign up online. At the same time, remember that you must have a mask to be in church, please be sure to social distance, bring your own hand sanitizer and be attentive to the instructions during the celebrations.

These next few weeks will be different than we’ve ever experienced, but they should not be any less joy-filled than before.  Be assured of my prayers for you and your loved ones all throughout these next beautiful weeks.

Christmas blessings to all,

Fr. Marc
Rev. Marc A. Vicari, Pastor

Dear Parishioners:

Happy Advent!  May this time of waiting, preparing and being watchful for the coming of the Lord be grace-filled and joyful for you and your loved ones.  This season of anticipation is time for us to get ready to meet Jesus when he comes again at the “Second Coming,” but, also, to fully celebrate the birth of Our Lord on Christmas.  May we be found ready.

One way that people traditionally prepare during Advent is to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession and receive God’s grace and forgiveness sacramentally.  Please be aware that we have Confession available each Saturday in the open church from 4:15 to 5:00 pm.  Additionally, on Wednesday, December 16^th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm there will be an extra opportunity, as the church will be open for Confessions then, too.  Come to Confession, especially if it has been a while.

St. Cassian Church will continue with its regular Christmas schedule: 4:00 pm, 6:00 pm and 10:30 pm Christmas Eve Masses, as well as 7:30 am, 10:30 am and 12:00 noon Masses on Christmas Day.  Please be aware of this schedule as well as the fact that you must “sign up” for the Mass that you will be attending, as there is limited seating for each Mass and we do not want to have to turn anyone away because the church is full and there is no more space.  We will also have a few additional seats downstairs in Larkin Hall with the Mass being broadcast there and someone will bring Holy Communion downstairs as we usually do for the holidays.  As I keep reminding everyone: the obligation to attend Mass on Christmas (and all Sundays and holy days) is still suspended.  Furthermore, if you are either a little “under the weather” or part of the “at-risk” population, please be cautious and stay home and view the Mass on livestream.

The next few weeks someone will be selling our beautiful 125^th Anniversary commemorative Christmas tree ornaments in the church vestibule.  They would look great on your tree and it is a nice way to not only remember our special year, but it was originally intended to be a fundraiser for our Parish.

Let’s keep praying for an end of this pandemic and that the new season and the New Year will be a time of good health and renewed joy.  Please be assured of my prayers for all as we journey through this holy Season of Advent.

Blessings,

Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor

Dear Parishioners:

Since November is the month that we emphasize a sense of thankfulness and gratitude, I wanted to use this week’s message as an opportunity to say thank you to all of you, who, one way or another, have kept this Parish running, and even thriving during this difficult year of 2020.  On September 13, 2020, I stressed my gratitude for all the Parishioners who have made the Parish what is over the past 125 years.  This time, I want to express my gratitude specifically for those of you who have helped keep the Parish and School going these past arduous months.

I am grateful for:

Those who have prayed for the health of all our Parishioners.

Those who have worked to keep our Parishioners safe, especially on the frontlines.

Those who have worked in the Parish Office, keeping the Parish operating.

Those who have supported the Parish with their prayers and notes of concern.

Those whose generosity have kept the Parish open and operating.

Those who have volunteered to clean the church in between Masses to keep it safe.

Those who have closely followed the directives so that we all remain safe.

Those who sign-up for Masses, even though it might seem so formal.

Those who have enabled us to get the live stream up and running.

Those who have kept the Parish’s programs running, even from a distance.

Those who work in the school under the most difficult conditions.

Those who have been so patient and understanding with changes that suddenly occur.

Those who continue to serve at the liturgies in different capacities.

Those who have continued teaching CCD under less-than-perfect conditions.

Those who had kept the church and school neat and clean and ready for reopening.

Those volunteers who reached out to the homebound to help with their needs.

Those who have continued to actively be part of the Parish even from a distance.

Those who helped completely fund the St. Cassian Pediatric Nutrition Center in just 2 months.

Those who continue to desire the Eucharist and look forward to when we can gather again as a Parish and celebrate having overcome this pandemic.

I am grateful to all of you and your witness to faith, endurance, hope, trust in the Lord and your dedication to St. Cassian Parish and School, even during these tough times.

I am grateful to all of you, St. Cassian Parishioners!

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to all.

Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor

St. Cassian Parishioners:

It was so good to see many of you returning to Masses these past weeks, especially this past Sunday. I’m impressed, also, with so many of your stylish masks!

The last few weeks I have been repeating the fact that I need everyone to be signing up or calling in to the Parish office to register for Sunday Masses now and especially for the approaching holiday celebrations. The Christmas schedule will be available for signing up starting Monday. Each Mass is going to have a limit of 110 persons. If the Mass that you would like to attend can accommodate you, then sign up for it with your family.  However, if that Mass is full, please sign up for a different Mass that will accommodate you and your family, even if it is not your first choice.

I cannot reinforce enough how important it is to sign up or call in because I think there is nothing worse than us having to tell people on Christmas Eve/Day that there are no seats available for them in the church.  To avoid that, please make sure that you reserve your spot. Persons who live in the same household may sit together, as has been the policy. Those who do not live in the same household are still required to distance themselves from others.  All the while, I encourage people to continue to bring their own hand sanitizer, wear masks and be certain to distance from each other in the church, as well as elsewhere on the church property, with no congregating for everyone’s safety.  Finally, for everyone safety, please stay home if you are not feeling well. Even those we will all do the best we can to follow all of the protocols set forth, everyone must realize that there is always a chance that some can become sick.  I know that everyone has heard this before, but I think it is important that everyone be reminded of it.

Recall that the obligation for Sunday Masses and Christmas as well as other holidays, has been suspended still. You are able to take part in the Mass from your home, watching the live stream. For Christmas, the live streamed Masses will be at 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve as well as 10:30 a.m. on Christmas morning. If it is best for you to stay home, and enjoy the Mass there.  It very well may be that we are all celebrating the Nativity of the Lord together, but in different places.  We will do this to stay safe.

This Sunday, we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ, the Universal King.  It is also known simply as “Christ the King.”  The history of the solemnity is interesting in that in 1925. Pope Pius XI realized that there were many countries at the time, especially in Europe, where the faith was decreasing and there was an increased attention and even devotion to certain political movements and charismatic leaders.   Communism, Fascism and Nazism were on the rise and the Pope recognized them as threats to the dignity of the human person as well as a misguided alliance to a movement that was often headed by despots hungry for power without humanity’s interest foremost in their policies.

Pope Pius recognized this so he instituted the Solemnity that reinforces our very simple Catholic Christian belief that Jesus is our King.  He is the King of the Kingdom of God and our allegiance first and foremost needs to be to him.   At the same time, after months of reading scriptures and saying prayers within the Mass about the future coming of the Kingdom of God, we culminate the season of Ordinary Time with the great celebration of Jesus Christ, Our Universal King.   All of our Ordinary Time lessons pointed toward the building of Christ’s Kingdom and specifically to this Solemnity. It is a good way for us to remember Christ’s work on earth was to build the Kingdom and we share in His work.  We are his workers and He is the King.  This is a good way for us to annually reorient ourselves to him who is our authentic, divine leader, concerned for each of us, His subjects.

Enjoy this last week of Ordinary Time and be ready for Advent to follow.  It is the season of being prepared and waiting for the Lord.

Blessings,

Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor

Dear Parishioners:

These past few days have certainly been a wonderful respite from the rainy and chilly weather we have had, so I hope everyone enjoyed the past week and was able to be outside, especially before the cold winter months are upon us.

I just wanted to take a moment to give everyone a heads up about a few things. At Mass I have been reminding everyone to make sure that you sign up for Mass either online or by calling into the Parish Office by Friday afternoon. I know right now the Masses are not at capacity, but I need for everyone to be in the habit of registering, especially as the holidays approach. I am not sure yet what the Christmas schedule will hold, as we are uncertain if we will have an increase in attendance or if it will remain sparse. Nonetheless, I want to make sure that no one is turned away on Christmas because of a lack of space in the church or there are unexpectedly too many.

We will continue to use the lower Church, Larkin Hall, for overflow, as we have in the past. Recall, though, we are only permitted to have up to about 100 persons in the upstairs Church, 25% of our capacity, according to Archdiocesan restrictions.  I am not sure if we will add any Masses, but please realize that some of the Masses will be live streamed and can be viewed at home.  Recall, the faithful are still not obligated, because of the pandemic, to attend Mass in person.

Sadly, this week, the “McCarrick Report” was published by the Vatican documenting the accusations and investigative findings against former-Cardinal of Washington DC and our Archbishop of Newark, Theodore McCarrick.  Obviously, these are grievous accusations and findings against him, which no one would condone, especially me.  For Cardinal Tobin’s statement as well as the full text of the Report, please find them included in the bulletin.

I want to use this as an opportunity to sadly announce that after 23 years of working in our Parish Office, Mrs. Eileen Ziegler will be retiring at the end of the calendar year. Eileen started all those years ago as part-time help and when Monsignor Jack Judge needed a secretary, Eileen took over as Parish secretary then. Since, Eileen has helped with almost every aspect of the Parish’s operation and is truly irreplaceable. While she will not be working in the office anymore, she will remain a Parishioner of Saint Cassian and you will still see her.   We all thank Eileen for not only her service to our Parish, but by her service, she helped to build the Kingdom of God  Perhaps, when restriction for gathering are lifted, we can have a gathering to rightly show our appreciation for her.  At the same time, please know that I am very much in the interviewing process right now and will have someone in place for when she leaves.

November is the month that we emphasize our practice of praying for the dead.  It is a particularly “Catholic” practice to pray for the dead, especially by the offering of Mass for them, that their souls will be purified and that they will “rest in peace” until the Lord comes again.  This is why November begins with All Saints Day (Nov. 1), where we remember the saints whom we know are with God in Heaven and the next day, All Souls Day (Nov. 2), we pray for the souls that might still be in need of prayers.

Usually, we have reminders of All Souls Day around the altar, however, this year is different.  Regardless, we still offered Mass for nine days (“novena”) praying that our loved ones will become saints, if they are not already.  One of the Biblical references from which our theological practice is derived comes from the 2^nd Book of Maccabees (12:38-46) from the Old Testament, and says:

Judas Maccabee rallied his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was approaching, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath there.

On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his companions went to gather up the bodies of the fallen and bury them with their kindred in their ancestral tombs. But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden.  Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.  He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.  But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin. (NAB)

We continue to pray for all our loved ones, especially as we begin to prepare for our next church season, Advent, which prepares us for the return of the Lord.

Blessings,

Rev. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor

Dear Parishioners:

I pray this finds everyone well and healthy.

This past Tuesday, at the end of Mass, a nice thing happened, as the congregation spontaneously broke out in “God Bless America.”   It was clearly our way of asking the Lord to bless our country during these difficult days with Covid-19 still among us as well as during these heated political days and particularly on the day of our presidential election.   Obviously, I share in their sentiment and prayer, that God will bless our country and bestow his grace upon all.

As of the time of this message, the results of the election are still unknown. Hopefully by this weekend, we will have a clear winner.  Certainly, we all hope that there will not be any unrest and that civility will prevail.  At the same time, I pray that the level of anxiety caused by all the stressors we have been experiencing, paired with the tension of the election, will go away and we can return to some normalcy.

At the beginning of the school year, our year’s “theme” was very simple: Love your neighbor.   This is the message that we are emphasizing throughout the school year so that it will carry over into everyone’s daily lives.  It is a good reminder to all.  As an entire Parish, town, state and nation, I think we would do well to revisit this simple Judeo-Christian message of loving those around us, both those we agree with as well as those whom we don’t.  With all the anxiety of what we are all going through right now in so many ways, I think it is good to remember how important loving our neighbor is and how it is a fundamental Christian command.

My prayer is that whomever is ultimately elected as our leader, God will bless him, fill him with wisdom and make him a good leader of our nation in God’s eyes. I also pray that the toxic attitude of our nation may dissipate and be replaced with love for each other.

Finally, next Wednesday is Veterans Day and I am very aware that this Parish has many veterans among us.  We all thank them for their sacrifice and their example and willingness to love their neighbors through their service to the nation.

May God bless our Veterans and our nation.

In Christ,

Rev. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor