July 11, 2021: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
Last month we had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate some of the long-time employees who were retiring from St. Cassian Parish. Included in that group was Mrs. Regina Sammon, our Director of Religious Education (DRE) here at the parish for some 20-plus years. Mrs. Sammon’s departure left a great void in the Parish staff and Religious Ed program, but in the last months I have been searching for her replacement and a few weeks ago I found her. Miss Mary Flanagan will be replacing her and will be the new DRE. I warmly welcome her to the Parish, the program and I introduce her to you all.
Miss Flanagan has vast educational and parochial volunteer experience. She has helped her own parish and its catechetical program before coming to St. Cassian. She also comes with a great technological background, which no doubt will help our Parish office and religious education program. So, welcome Mary Flanagan, and with the Parish's support, I am sure you will do well!
Over the past few weeks, some people have asked me about when we will begin to return to the way we did things “pre-pandemic,” like use the “cry room,” sing from the red Worship hymnals, take up the collection by hand, have the children’s Liturgy of the Word, and return to the regular daily Mass schedule. These are all very good questions. My intention is that come September, we will be back to our regular liturgical and church practices.
During the summer we will continue to use the weekly Mass program for the music, as opposed to our Worship hymnals. The hymnals will be kept in the cry room until then, and the cry room will reopen after Labor Day. Our Mass schedule will remain what it is now, with Masses at 8:15 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturday mornings, also until after Labor Day. The other days of the week, the Church building will be open for quiet prayer from 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. Again, we will return to our regular daily Mass schedule after Labor Day with the one exception: Because it is nearly impossible to have a steady substitute priest for Monday Masses, we will not continue the Monday morning Mass here at our Parish. Many who attend daily Masses now, know the times of daily Masses in the neighboring parishes and I encourage you to attend Mass there. Please know, however, that while the Church has not and will not be open for Mass some of the days of the week, all Mass intentions have been satisfied and will continue to be. Throughout the beginning of the pandemic to now, every Mass intention has been celebrated, even if it was done privately.
Separately, the Parish Council has been working on many events and activities for the full re-opening and return to Church for September and the fall months. These activities will continue throughout the year, but I just want everyone to be aware that we are excited about the great return to Church that we will see come the fall. Stay turned to hear more details about the re-opening and return that we are prepping for; it will be exciting, for sure.
As we get into the full swing of summer and vacations and time away, I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy summertime and may it be a time of relaxing your body and mind and recharging your spirit.
Blessings,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
July 4, 2021: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
I hope everyone is enjoying these beautiful summer days, especially as things wind down, as so many prepare for summer vacation. These past weeks have been wonderful in seeing so many people returning to church. It is very edifying to know that so many are coming now, which certainly raises the expectation of a grand return in September. I’m looking forward to it and we are certainly planning accordingly. As I mentioned in prior messages, we are going to have some great events to look forward to when we all return in September, including the St. Cassian Feast Mass on September 26th, among other great things.
Years ago, when I was a young seminarian, we had a Director of Formation, a priest who prepared seminarians for the priesthood by emphasizing spiritual, academic, and personal, formation (development). Just before we seminarians were going to be leaving for the summer, he would oftentimes use the phrase, “Don’t take a vacation from your vocation.” It always made us chuckle, but his message was clear: just because we were away from the seminary and the rigors of our priestly preparation, it did not mean that we take a break from our responsibilities.
While his words of advice applied to those preparing for the priesthood and priestly vocation, that phrase could translate and apply to all Christians, especially during the summertime. We should never take a vacation from whatever our Christian vocation is (parents, children, spouses, lay and single faithful, and even priests), especially in the summertime. Let’s make sure that we are saying our prayers, attending Mass, showing charity toward one another, taking part in the sacraments, extending ourselves in sacrifice, and doing all the things that Christ asks us to do in order to build the Kingdom of God. This is our common vocation as Christians, and we should never take a break from it.
Lastly, remember that until Labor Day weekend, we are now on our summer Mass schedule. Saturday evening stays the same at 5:30, but the Sunday morning schedule is Mass at 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30.
Together, let’s all be grateful for having made it through the pandemic crisis, by God's grace. Let’s also pray for our Parish and one another. That’s part of living our Christian vocation, too.
Blessings,
Rev. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
June 27, 2021: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
I hope everyone is enjoying these beautiful summer days, especially as things wind down, as so many prepare for summer vacation.
These past weeks have been wonderful in seeing so many people returning to church. It is very edifying to know that so many are coming now, which certainly raises the expectation of a grand return in September. I’m looking forward to it and we are certainly planning accordingly. As I mentioned in prior messages, we are going to have some great events to look forward to when we all return in September, including the St. Cassian Feast Mass on September 26th, among other great things.
Years ago, when I was a young seminarian, we had a Director of Formation, a priest who prepared seminarians for the priesthood by emphasizing spiritual, academic, and personal, formation (development). Just before we seminarians were going to be leaving for the summer, he would oftentimes use the phrase, “Don’t take a vacation from your vocation.” It always made us chuckle, but his message was clear: just because we were away from the seminary and the rigors of our priestly preparation, it did not mean that we take a break from our responsibilities.
While his words of advice applied to those preparing for the priesthood and priestly vocation, that phrase could translate and apply to all Christians, especially during the summertime. We should never take a vacation from whatever our Christian vocation is (parents, children, spouses, lay and single faithful, and even priests), especially in the summertime. Let’s make sure that we are saying our prayers, attending Mass, showing charity toward one another, taking part in the sacraments, extending ourselves in sacrifice, and doing all the things that Christ asks us to do in order to build the Kingdom of God. This is our common vocation as Christians, and we should never take a break from it.
Lastly, remember that starting this Sunday and lasting throughout the summer until Labor Day weekend, we begin our summer Mass schedule. Saturday evening stays the same at 5:30, but the Sunday morning schedule is Mass at 7:30, 9:30, and 11:30.
Together, let’s all be grateful for having made it through the pandemic crisis, by God's grace. Let’s also pray for our Parish and one another. That’s part of living our Christian vocation, too.
Blessings,
Rev. Marc A. Vicari
Pastor
June 20, 2021: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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
June 13, 2021: 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
This week for the first time in several months, we are celebrating an Ordinary Time Sunday Mass. You have probably noticed that some of the accents in the Church have become green. This, obviously, is the color that we use during the season of Ordinary Time. Just a reminder, this season does not mean there is nothing special going on. Instead, it reminds us that the weeks of our liturgical year are “ordered,” numbered from the first week to the thirty-fourth week of Ordinary Time.
While other seasons highlight particular solemnities or events such as Christmas Season or Easter Season, Ordinary Time emphasizes the manifestation and building of the Kingdom of God on earth. That is why we read many of Jesus’ sermons and teachings during these weeks, as they are instruction for us to build the church, the Kingdom of God here on earth. There really is nothing ordinary about Ordinary Time.
This Sunday, June 13th at the 9:00 Mass, we will be honoring four extraordinary members of our Parish and School staff who are retiring after many years of service. Mrs. Rose Miseski (“Mrs. M”) has been a kindergarten aid for 25 years at St Cassian School. She has decided to retire at the end of this school year, and we thank her for her many years of dedicated service to our youngest school children. Along with Mrs. Regina Sammon, she has been one of the first to instruct and teach our School students over the years.
Mrs. Regina Sammon, our long-time school kindergarten teacher and Director of Religious Education is retiring this year as well. Just about every child who has received the Sacraments at St. Cassian Church for the last quarter century, has been guided by Mrs. Sammon and her sacramental preparation. The same can be said about all our School’s kindergarten children as well. She has served both the School and the Parish very well for very long.
Mr. Mike Sammon, a St. Cassian School alumnus himself, began teaching Gym at St Cassian’s School forty-four years ago. Mr. Sammon has been influential for every child who has come through our School for that long. There is no question that Mr. Sammon’s lovable, fatherly, friendly demeanor will be missed at St Cassian School.
Finally, many of you are aware that Mrs. Eileen Ziegler, the long-time Parish secretary retired at the end of last calendar year. Because of the pandemic, until now there was really no other time to honor her for her Parish service and also the way she acted as a bridge from the Parish to the School. Eileen served as Secretary for twenty-three years during Msgr. Jack Judge’s pastorate as well as ten years of mine. Anyone who has called the Parish office during that time for a question, or arranged a funeral or a wedding, probably talked with Eileen. We are all grateful for her service to the Parish and are happy that she will remain an active Parishioner. We are very happy for all our retirees and thank them for their many years of service the Parish.
Before people start leaving for the summer, I want you to be aware of what will be happening in September when we all return from summer vacation. In mid-October to November, there will be an Archdiocesan-wide unified welcome back and return to church. The Archdiocese is asking all Parishes to prepare in different ways for our Parishioners to return comfortably and to “hit the ground running” with different programs and events to welcome returning, as well as new members. This initiative is called “Vine and Branches.”
The Parish Council here at St. Cassian has already begun forming Vine and Branches teams with different purposes: to prepare socially, spiritually, and pastorally for everyone’s return to the Parish. There will be four separate groups that will be brainstorming and coordinating events for not only the beginning of our return but going forward. The teams are Social, Evangelization, Spiritual, and Digital (Social Advertising). While we already have Parish Council President Tom Higgins and members of our Parish Council working on these four different areas of preparation and reintegration into the Parish, we need volunteers who are enthusiastic and willing to help St. Cassian Parish return to the way it was pre-pandemic. I would ask you to prayerfully consider if you can help with any of those four teams, and then contact the Parish office to be put in that specific group. The group leader will contact you for further details. This Vine and Branches initiative will be a wonderful way for us to not only get back to where we were before the pandemic, but to move forward as a Parish in building the Kingdom of God. Please consider helping, then contact the Parish office.
Finally, our summer weekday Mass schedule, meaning Monday through Saturday, will remain unchanged throughout the summer. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings, will continue to have 8:15 a.m. live-streamed Masses that are open to the public. There will continue to be no public Mass on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. In September, after Labor Day, we will continue again with daily Masses Tuesday through Saturday a.m., however, there will not be Mass at St. Cassian on Monday mornings. Those who regularly come to daily Mass have become acquainted with the nearby Catholic churches that offer Mass on Monday and I would encourage those interested in Monday Mass to be mindful of the other Parishes’ Monday schedules.
I want to thank you for being Parishioners here at St. Cassian Parish. At the same time, I thank you for your patience, endurance, and prayers throughout the past year and a half. Thanks, also, for your collective excitement and anticipation about the Parish not only reopening but being greater than ever.
Blessings,
Rev. Marc A. Vicari,
Pastor
