Diary of a Parish Priest

 

Welcome.

Visit frequently for spiritual reflections

and Holy Cross parish news.

Fr. Manning

A Time To Build

Our first phone-a-thon was a great way to spread the message that the schematic plans for our expanded and renovated church have been approved by both our diocese and the Borough.

With a donation of time to participate in several more phone-a-thons, and a donation of a pledge to the campaign, we will be able to achieve our dream of a traditional, prayerful and sacred space large enough for the needs of our parish family, to provide access to parishioners in wheelchairs and hospitality for parishioners and guests alike.

 

Ashes to Begin Lent

The ashes imposed on our foreheads during liturgies on Ash Wednesday retrace the sign of the cross our parents and godparents made on our forehead the day of our baptism, and the sign the priest or deacon made with the  sacred chrism immediately after the baptismal water washed us into God’s family. If we have been confirmed, the bishop or his delegate also anointed our foreheads with sacred chrism.

The grimy residue of a cross on our head reminds us midweek that we have been claimed for Christ by our baptism. It also helps us prepare for the joyful celebration of Easter by initiating a period of penance and fasting. Ashes have been used for penance and sorrow for sins since the days of the Old Testament and have been incorporated into Ash Wednesday ceremonies in the Catholic Church since the first millennium. 

 

Be Afraid then Write, Email and Call

A Real Three Ring Circus

The media circus over Obama's HHS mandate that religious institutions provide health care coverage for artificial contraception, abortifacients and surgical sterilization grows daily. The cast of characters streaming into the Big Top would be amusing, except that this three ring circus is deadly serious.

Did you know: Every Christian denomination denounced artificial contraception prior to 1930.

Did you know: "The Morning After Pill" prevents pregnancy in some cases by preventing implantation of an already living and multiplying human life?

Did you know: That Natural Family Planning is more effective at preventing pregnancy than female chemical contraception and equally effective as male barrier contraception?

Why do some of our elected representatives feel as though they have the right to challenge the legitimacy of the teaching authority of our bishops by misinterpreting polls on artificial contraception? What about if we put each of the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes to a vote? Or how about if we nullified each commandment we routinely break? Our chuch teachings are ideals to help us strive for holiness, not a political party platform. Jesus himself lost at least one crucial poll...the crowd chose Barabbas. 

The brazen attempt to both minimize the theological objection to artificial contraception and ridicule or ignore the teaching authority of our bishops is bad enough. But coverage for abortifacient drugs and surgical sterlization are also mandated by the HHS directive. 

Bad when politicians turn theologians or preachers, worse still when they challenge our own.

One Ringy Dingy...Capital Campaign Phone-a-thon

 

Tomorrow night is one of first of several Phonathon nights for A Time to Build campaign. Fellow parishioners will be calling to spread the good news of our approvals for the church renovation and expansion, to answer any questions you may have and to enlist both financial and volunteer support.

There are several more evenings of calling scheduled - we hope to contact each one of our registered parishioner families before the campaign ends in a few weeks. If you can help us one or more evenings by making some phone calls, please let us know. The more callers we have, the more parish families we will be able to contact.

 

Signs of Spring 2012

The northern perimeter of the parish field is a safe place for some of the early spring bulbs to greet the warmer weather.

 

Rosemary arp suvives (and thrives) outdoors protected from the worst winds by the corners of buildings and overhanging shrubs.

 

I think VanGogh would have enjoyed painting the Witch Hazel against the bright blue sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The seals are sunning themselves on the sandbars at Sandy Hook. I don't have pictures (yet).