Tomorrow there is an organizational meeting of the Teacher Interview Committee. We will finalize interview questions and delineate the process, screen applications and schedule interviews to begin next week.
We are so lucky to receive so many qualified applications for our consideration. Keep praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit!
Well, according to the Archdiocese of Washington's editorial in its diocesan newspaper:
...Georgetown has undergone a secularization, due in no small part to the fact that much of its leadership and faculty find their inspiration in sources other than the Gospel and Catholic teaching. Many are quite clear that they reflect the values of the secular culture of our age. Thus the selection of Secretary Sebelius for special recognition, while disappointing, is not surprising.
Read their blog post about Georgetown's controversial invitation to Kathleen Sebelius to speak here.
Read the entire editorial in the Catholic Standard here.
Georgetown University was named after the city, which was named after the king...of England that is.
The Cardinal Newman Society has an online petition which you may sign to express your dissatisfaction with Georgetown's invitation to Secretary Sebelius.
Now that our parish celebrations of First Communion and First Confession are completed, let us remember that we have been initiated into a lifelong relationship with Christ by virtue of our Baptisms, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation. It's not only about the "first."
It was a joy to welcome some of our First Communicants at the weekend parish masses for the first time on Sunday, many of whom wore their First Communion outfits.
Let us pray that our children grow up sustained by the Eucharist as a regular part of their spiritual lives, and a necessary strength for their spiritual journeys.
Does the White House not understand the incredible hubris in touting the Affordable Patient Care Act on Mother's Day of all days?! While hyping the misclassification of pregnancy as a "prexisiting condition" in regard to pre-natal care, The White House fails to mention that the Affordable Patient Care Act has trampled upon religious liberties, treats birth control and abortion as "preventive medicine," and may have more to do with preventing Mother's Day than celebrating it! You can't make this stuff up!
Holy Cross parish celebrates a joyful day-long First Communions today and welcomes all the families and visitors of our young communicants.
We are always blessed when we gather for Eucharist and proud (in a good way) of our parish and our school.
Main Floor Plan of Holy Cross Church
This view shows the arrangement of pews and the main configuration of the ground level.
Lower Level: Meeting Room, Rest Rooms, Mechanical/Electrical and Storage
Upper levels showing Choir Loft and the upper Sacristy Storage Space
A cross section of the renovated Church.
Holy Cross is pleased to announce that Matt Butler, a faculty member of Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, will join our parish staff to assist Mr. Feerst in moderating the high school students in Holy Cross Youth Group. Mr. Butler teaches religion at CBA, holds a Master's Degree in Theology and is the Assistant Wrestling and Assistant Crew Coach. He currently serves as a youth minister in Northern New Jersey and will begin his ministry at Holy Cross in the fall. We hope to introduce Matt Butler at upcoming parish functions before the fall semester to let everyone meet him and get acquainted. Many of our parishioners are well acquainted with Matt already.
We are sure that his enthusiasm, intelligence, athletic prowess and love of Christ will inspire all of us at Holy Cross. Welcome, Matthew Butler!
This year's summer mass schedule builds on last year's successful pattern. Parishioners and visitors go to earlier masses, but fewer attend mass at Holy Cross overall. This will be our last summer in the Church before renovations begin in the Fall.
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SATURDAY |
5:00 PM |
CHURCH |
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SUNDAY |
7:30 AM |
CHURCH |
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SUNDAY |
9:00 AM |
GYM |
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SUNDAY |
10:30 AM |
GYM |
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SUNDAY |
7:00 PM |
CHURCH (Latin, Extraordinary Form) |
It was exciting to see our bishop encourage vocations during his Confirmation visit a few days ago. Not only did he ask each of the boys serving the Confirmation ceremony about priesthood, but distributed a prayer card from the Office of Vocations and a Miraculous Medal from his recent trip to Lourdes.
Responses to our Lenten penance survey were still trickling in until a couple of days ago, so I thought I would finally close the poll and publish a summary of results. Eighty-eight responses were collected.
Soda was the most frequently mentioned item to "give up" not listed on the survey choices. Gossiping and complaining were occasionally mentioned as well.
It will be interesting to see if the trend toward observing routine abstinence from meat on all Fridays of the year makes any significant comeback among Catholics in the United States.
Interviews for our Second Grade teachers will begin next week. Applications were evaluated based on educational degrees and credentials, teaching experience, Catholic school teaching experience and other important skills such as technology, reading, special education, etc. I'm guessing over 150 applications were received and reviewed. Approximately twenty applications are being considered for initial interviews.
We hope that before long, we are able to announce the selection of these very important new faculty members. Our second grade teachers not only influence our children at a critical phase of their intellectual and social development, but play an important role in preparing our children for Reconciliation and Holy Communion as well.
Pray for the success of our selection process!
The candidate for our new Holy Cross School Principal recommended highly by the search committee has been enthusiastically endorsed by Father Manning. Father offered terms of employment which he has accepted. He will be interviewed by representatives of the Diocese of Trenton early next week, after which time we hope to have an exciting announcement.
He has expressed excitement about meeting our parents, PTA and faculty before the year ends and possibly even introducing himself at our masses.
Help our Youth Group and beautify your garden at the same time! Proceeds from this year's sale of flowers will help us to recruit two additional part-time youth ministers and expand the important ministry to our young parishioners.
Please help! Flowers will be on sale after masses and during some of our upcoming parish events.
This Saturday Holy Cross will celebrate First Eucharist for our young parishioners at four consecutive masses. First Communions are one of the happiest days in the life of any parish, and I would have to believe in the life of most parish priests, as well.
Please pray for the sacramental grace to bless and fortify not only our First Communicants, but their families and our entire parish.
May their first communions be the beginning of a life long Christian journey nourished by Jesus' Body and Blood each week.
Yesterday, our architect's assistant visited from Washington, DC to take several more specific measurements of the present church building. It involved lots of climbing, many ladders and at least one adventure into the bell tower. Very specific measurements of the windows, especially our "True Cross" Window were verified.
Bishop O'Connell has kindly approved some necessary structural modifications to the design, and we are still on schedule for Construction Manager interviews in June. Our required construction performance bond was recently approved; attorneys are working out resolving the differences between those items still held under the Phase One performance bond (e.g. some additional landscaping) and the new Phase Two bond to determine the exact items and their estimated cost.
"A Time to Build" Campaign
Our campaign fundraiser, CCS, submitted its final report last week at a meeting with Campaign Volunteers and parish staff. The in-pew appeals were very successful. A clear and orderly plan was outlined to ensure that our volunteers and staff bring the campaign to a successful conclusion, now that we will be on our own.
Fr. Manning and other volunteers are still reaching out to potential donors, and there are some parishioners who have not yet indicated whether or not they will donate. There is much work to be done to document memorial pledges and acknowledge each contribution made. Thank you to all who pledged!
Memorial Wall in the Gymatorium
You may notice that some of the plaques from the Memorial Wall in the Gymatorium for "Lift High the Cross" have been removed for their engraving with the final list of parishioners who completed their pledges for "Lift High." The completed Memorial Wall should be re-assembled within a few weeks.
Church Renovation and Expansion Project
We have begun the next phase in the selection of a Construction Manager for the Church project, working closely with our architect and recommendations from the Diocesan Building Commission.
The contractors received a Request for Proposal document (RFP), which includes a non-binding preliminary cost estimate, among other demonstrations of the company’s ability to accurately build, budget, and schedule our project. The contractors also received schematic design drawings, demolition plans, and a detailed drawing of the building’s proposed construction.
We asked the contractors to submit the proposals no later than June 4, and to prepare for interviews during the week of June 11.
A warm welcome to Bishop David O'Connell
who will confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on our confirmandi today.
Faculty Notes Holy Cross School
Mrs. Mary Jane Gallo will be returning to teach 7th grade full time at Holy Cross School having completed her missionary journey to Africa. Welcome home.
Ms. Greer McCarthy will move from substitute teacher in the 7th grade to regular teacher of our 5th grade. Ms. McCarthy will complete her Master’s degree in Teaching in May from Monmouth University. We are pleased to welcome Ms. McCarthy to our full time faculty. She will also begin a Speech and Debate (Forensics) Team at Holy Cross.
Mrs. Diane Kelly and Mrs. Sue Ryerson will retire in June from full time teaching positions at Holy Cross to assume part-time duties in the library beginning in September. In addition to learning basic library skills in K-8, Grades 3 & 4 will work on Writing and Language Arts projects, Grades 5 & 8 Creative writing classes and exercises.
Mrs. Peggy Moody will retire in June from full time teaching at Holy Cross to assume part-time responsibility as Remedial Reading Teacher to help our students become fluent readers and work with phonics.
Interviews will begin shortly for two new second grade teachers. Mrs. Alison Mitchell, Fr. Manning, Jacqueline Whitelaw (Board President), Miss Melissa Enna (first grade teacher) and Mrs. Rita Seaman (Teacher’s Aide) compose the Interview Committee. Applicants from inside and outside the school will be considered. Many, many qualified applications have been received. What a wonderful opportunity for Holy Cross School!
Some progress has been made on the repairs to the school fire alarm system. It appears that the troublesome signal has been isolated and neutralized. In the past 48 hours, no alarms have been reported and our students' school day has not been disrupted by "fire drills."
Ida Friederike Goerres: The Hidden Face: A Study of St. Therese of Lisieux
Attempt to find the "real" St. Therese. Helps make St. Therese more accessible to the modern reader.
Miguel De Cervantes: Don Quixote
Some call it the best novel ever written. Read or listen to it on tape.
Augustine Thompson: Francis of Assisi: A New Biography
OK, this is interesting. A biography of a Franciscan by a Dominican! The author looks for the "historical St. Francis," not the St. Francis of myth or popular piety. Antidote to the pious version of Francis we might have grown up with. Worth reading whether you love Francis or are somewhat skeptical about his legendary image.
HEATHER KING: POOR BABY: A Child of the 60's Looks Back on Abortion
Interesting read from first-hand experience of post-abortion healing, especially Project Rachel.
Jon M. Sweeney: Beauty Awakening Belief: How the Medieval Worldview Inspires Faith Today
Quick but inspiring read on the faith context of gothic architecture.
Mary Eberstadt: Adam and Eve After the Pill: Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution
Fascinating contemporary commentary on the consequences of artificial contraception.
Garret Keizer: The Enigma of Anger: Essays on a Sometimes Deadly Sin
Thought provoking modern thoughts on anger in the spiritual life.
Henri J. M. Nouwen: The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming
C. S. Lewis: The Screwtape Letters: With Screwtape Proposes a Toast
Roy F. Baumeister: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
Will power is a muscle: can be strengthened, needs to be conserved for the tough decisions.
Charles Duhigg: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
Newly published book advises how to break bad habits and form new ones. Interesting new research on the topic.
Alain De Botton: The Consolations of Philosophy
With kudos to Boethius, the author lauds the virtues of the examined life.
Geoff Colvin: Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from EverybodyElse
Good encouragement for those who are discouraged when practice doesn't yield immediate results.
Sandy Hotchkiss: Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism
Know anyone like this? Good reading for Lent.
Tony Wagner: The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It
Wake-up call to American educators about qualities needed in our school system.
Matthew R. Linderoth: Prohibition on the North Jersey Shore: Gangsters on Vacation
Breezy read on the colorful local history during prohibition. Illuminating passages on the KKK in Red Bank, Long Branch and New Jersey.
Barbara R. Blackburn: Rigor is NOT a Four-Letter Word
One educator's view of excellence in education
Susan Cain: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Nice critique of the modern American tendency to choose extroverts as leaders.
Edwin G. Burrows: Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (The History of New York City)
Interesting history of the earliest days of New York City including anti-Catholic bias in the colonies.
Michael Coren: Why Catholics Are Right
Debunks some tired myths critics use to bash the Catholic church. Fight back when the Catholic church is blamed for every social evil in the world since original sin.
