January 17, 2021: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dear Parishioners:
Since this past Sunday when we celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord and brought the Christmas season to its completion, now we begin the liturgical season of Ordinary Time.
When we think of Ordinary Time, we often times think of the green investments that the clergy wear and a toneddown sense of solemnity that we have in the church. For many people it just seems like an “ordinary” time of year, where there is nothing special going on. That’s not the truth, however.
There are two significant items about this season that are particularly worth knowing. The first is that the reason why it is called “ordinary” is because the year is ordered by weeks: from the First Sunday and week to the 34th week of Ordinary Time. It gives us a sequence, an order to our church calendar. It is practical like that.
Secondly, and probably more importantly, though, is that Ordinary Time is when we focus on many of the teachings of our Lord. It’s when at Mass we read and study things like the parables and the miracles and the lessons that our Lord taught to his disciples and to us. All of these point toward the Kingdom of God that Jesus began forming when He began his public ministry that began after His baptism.
Think of this: What Solemnity concludes the season of ordinary time? It is the Solemnity of Christ the King, the King of the Universe. This may seem so far away, but we simply focus on Jesus’ teachings in order to learn the lessons again on how to build the Kingdom of God and we conclude it with recognizing him as the King of the Kingdom of God on earth universally, as well as in heaven. We would do well, to keep this in mind as we go through Ordinary Time both now and then again after the Easter Season. Through it all we are focusing on a primary responsibility as Christians: to build the Kingdom and to serve Christ the King!
I want to take a moment to say what a beautiful Christmas Season we just concluded. It was wonderful to see so many people at Mass (as permitted by the restrictions), both new parishioners and regulars, as well as faces I have not seen in a while. Thank you for your generosity as well as your participation in the church as well as at home. I am looking forward to each week when I see more and more coming. Thanks so making Christmas so wonderful even in trying times.
Finally, it is that time of year that we will be showing the video at Mass this week for the Annual Appeal. I will say a few words about how the Appeal is so important for so many needy people in the Archdiocese. As important as reaching our goal is, I believe that it is equally important to have everyone in the Parish participate in giving. Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked is not an Archdiocesan mandate. It is what Our Lord asks us to do and there are plenty of people in this Archdiocese whom we can help.
As we begin the new year of 2021, I continue to pray for you all: that the Lord will help you all to stay safe and to be healthy and holy throughout the year.
Blessings,
Rev. Marc A. Vicari
Pastor
January 10, 2021: The Baptism of the Lord
Dear Parishioners:
Happy New Year and I pray this year will be a happy and healthy one!
This week is the last days of the Christmas Season and I think it is important to reflect on what we have celebrated during this brief, yet important, season of Christmas. We celebrated that God became man and dwelled with us, as a little baby, the he honored by both shepherds and kings from far off lands. The three Magi, honored Jesus as the newborn King and “light of the nations,” which was not simply an honorific, but more importantly, foreshadowed Jesus as the savior of the world and the King of the universe. The Epiphany makes us think of the end of our Church year, when we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. At Christmas, we nostalgically gaze upon the baby Jesus in the manger and the visiting shepherds and especially the Magi and think how beautiful that visit was, but it is important to recognize how prophetic it was at the same time: Jesus was born to be Our King, the King of the Kingdom of God and the King who would return to just us all. The little baby would become our King.
Throughout history, many kings proudly believed that they were divinely appointed to their position and that their subjects were under them to serve them. Our newborn King never held that position; instead, God our King lowered himself to become one of us, to be in solidarity with humanity and to share in our human joys and sufferings. God truly became one of us and not to be served by his subjects, but to serve us, by teaching us to love and to sacrifice and to offer himself for us. This Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord: a very clear reminder that, although Our Lord was without sin, he joined humanity in a ritual specifically for sinners in order to reveal himself completely as one of us, just without sin. How blessed we are to have a savior as we do in the Lord Jesus!
I want to use this as an opportunity to inform you all of a few important items: Next week, all registered parishioners will be receiving a letter from Cardinal Joseph Tobin, our Archbishop as an initial contact about this year’s Annual Appeal, so please expect a note from him asking for your generosity and cooperation in helping make it a successful Appeal for 2021, as we, the Archdiocese of Newark, use this Annual Appeal as a way of helping the neediest in the Church and at the same time to build up the Kingdom of God.
Next, there have been some changes in our parish office that I would like everyone to be aware of: Eileen Ziegler, after 23 years of being the Parish Secretary, retired on December 31st. We will miss her in the office, however, she will still be an active parishioner, so she will still be around. Eileen is replaced by Jane Ryan our new Parish Secretary. At the same time, the business office has seen some changes, as Walter Springer who was the Business Manager in the parish is now the Operations Assistant, assisting me in some of the day-to-day operations. Nick Cofone is the new Parish Bookkeeper and will be working closely with me and the Finance Council to keep our finances running smoothly. Lastly, many of you have asked about Stephen Powers, our Parish Director of Music. Stephen has been out for nearly two months with some health issues and is recovering nicely and we expect him back in a few weeks. In the meantime, I have hired Valerie Shondel to be the full-time temporary Director of Music until Stephen returns. So far, everything is still running smoothly and I welcome our new employees and these changes.
I wanted to give a brief update on what is going on in Cite Soleil, Haiti and the St. Cassian Pediatric Nutrition Center that so many of you have so generously supported. The demolition of the part of the building that is no longer being used has taken place and once that is complete and cleared away, the building that will be used as the Pediatric Center will begin to be constructed. There are photos of this demolition here in the bulletin and I will keep you updated on the next stages. Dr. James Morgan, our parishioner and co-founder of Lamp for Haiti, has been wonderful in keeping me abreast of everything and is very appreciative of all your support.
Again, Happy New Year everyone and how blessed this Parish is to have Parishioners like you!
Most sincerely,
Fr. Marc A. Vicari.
Pastor
January 3, 2021: The Epiphany of the Lord
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
December 13, 2020: Third Sunday of Advent
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 16th 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 125th 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
November 29, 2020: First Sunday of Advent
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
