Dear Parishioners:
I pray that this finds you all well and I want to wish all our fathers a very happy Father’s Day. May God bless our dads both living and deceased as we pray for all of them and hopefully, it will be an enjoyable day for all.
Last week was such a wonderful weekend here at the church and I want to make sure that all of you are aware of it. The number of Parishioners who have returned to church is astounding. Other than the 9:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday, it felt like we were almost back to normal. At the 9:00 Mass, however, when we honored our four retirees who gave us so many years of service, the Mass was as crowded as during the holidays.
Mr. Mike Sammon, Mrs. Eileen Ziegler, Mrs. Rose Mizeski (“Ms. M”), and Mrs. Regina Sammon were all honored at the Mass. It was good to see so many Parishioners, especially those who have been involved in the Parish for years as well as those who came back just for the celebration and honor to be there. It was inspiring not only to see such a good crowd at all the Masses, especially at the 9:00, but it was edifying to know that so many of our Parishioners went out of their way to show their appreciate to our long-time employees of the School and Parish. I think the four who were honored “got the message!”
At the same time, since schools are graduating and summer is just about here, I want to make sure you are aware of a few things before we disperse for the summer. Please mark your calendars: the celebration of the Feast Day of Saint Cassian, our patron saint, will take place in the church at the 12:00 noon Mass on September 26th. In the past, we have had the big celebration and picnic after the Mass, but with unknown restrictions and the amount of time that we need to plan, we will not be having the picnic, food, and games/events as we had two years ago and prior. Hopefully, instead we will be able to have something small in the lower Church and in the back patio. Also, the presider and homilist of the Feast Day Mass will be Fr. Tom Nicastro, the administrator of St. Mary’s Church, Nutley, and is an aficionado on the history of saints in the Catholic Church.
Secondly, our reopening teams are already planning for our return to Church and some spiritual, social, and fundraising ideas. It looks like we will spend the month of October as a “reopening month.” It will certainly be a joyful time of celebrating our return as well as to encourage all to come back to their Parish church. It will also be a great time to have those who have not been to church in a long time to come back as well and make Sunday Mass an important part of their lives.
Lastly, one of the initiatives that we are working on will be a 50/50 raffle fundraiser that will take place a few weeks after we come back from the summer. It will be a big one, so I want you to be aware and please look for it.
It is great seeing so many new faces as well as familiar faces coming back, especially without the masks. Please remember that this time last year we were praying for an end of the pandemic as well as for our own health and safety and to be able to come back to church. We cannot forget to thank God for having answered our prayers, especially for our Parish and families. God is good all the time!
Blessings,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor