Happy New Year!

My dear friends in Christ,

Happy New Year! Those attuned to Church Liturgy know that the First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of a new Church Liturgical Year. Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus which means “coming,” and it focuses not only on the past coming of Jesus on the First Christmas but also on the present coming of Jesus in the gospels, the sacraments, other people, prayer, love, truth, and personal experience; and the future coming of Jesus at the Second and Final coming at the end of the world, the “Parousia” or the Last Judgment. Right now we are focused on the real reason for this season which is the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The 2020 Mass Book opens this week. For the time being, we will not be taking any requests for Mass intentions on Saturday mornings. Due to the SVD’s shortage of priests in Bordentown and the lack of weekend help, we will be cancelling the Saturday Morning 8:00 AM Mass beginning in January and until further notice. We don’t like to cancel any Mass but you can see how critical the priest shortage is. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

And finally, during this Holy Season of Advent, we should cut down on the noise and chatter before Mass and after Communion to allow for those who wish to pray in necessary silence. Instrumental music and cantor/choir voices are the only ones that should be heard. Church decorum is vitally important for maintaining the dignity of entering into the Eucharistic celebration.

May God bless you all,

Father John