Give me, O Lord, a better understanding of the value and meaning of Your Eucharistic Sacrifice.

“The heart of liturgical worship is the Mass. Just as the redemptive work of Jesus reached its culminating point on Calvary by His death on the Cross, so too, the liturgical action, which continues His work in the world, has its climax in the Mass, which renews and perpetuates on our altars the Sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus has willed that the precious fruits of redemption, which He merited on Calvary for the whole human race, be applied and transmitted to each of the faithful in a particular way by their participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. This fountain of grace which Jesus opened on Calvary continues to pour over our altars; all the faithful are obliged to approach it even daily, each time we are present at the Holy Sacrifice. Holy Mass is truly the “fountain of life.” By offering and immolating Himself continually on our altars, Jesus repeats to us, “If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink: (Jn 7,37).
 
“The august Sacrifice of the Altar,” says the Encyclical Mediator Dei (Pius XII), “is not merely a commemoration of the Passion and death of Christ, but is a true and proper sacrifice, in which, by immolating Himself in an unbloody manner, the Great High Priest renews His previous act on the Cross.” The Victim is the same, so is the Priest; nothing but the manner of offering is different – bloody on the Cross, unbloody on the altar. If we do not see in the Mass, as Mary did on Calvary, the torn body of Christ and the Blood flowing from His wounds, we do have, by virtue of the Consecration, the real presence of this Body and Blood. Moreover, as this divine presence becomes actualized under two distinct species, the bloody death on Calvary is mystically renewed by the real separation of the Body and Blood of the Savior.
 
“What shall I render unto the Lord for all that He has rendered unto me? I will take the chalice of salvation. Yes, O my God, if I take this Chalice, crimsoned with the Blood of my Master, and in utterly joyous thanksgiving, mingle my blood with that of the sacred Victim, He will impart to it something of His own infinity, and it will give You, O Father, wonderful praise. O Jesus grant that I may become so identified with You that I may ceaselessly express You in the sight of Your Father. What were Your first words on entering the world? ‘Behold I come to do your will, O God!’ May this prayer be like the beating of my heart. You made a complete offering of Yourself to accomplish the will of the Father; grant that will may be my food, and at the same time, the sword which immolates me. Thus, peaceful and joyous, I shall go to meet all sacrifices with You, my adored Master, rejoicing to be known by the Father, since He crucifies me with His son” (cf. E.T. II, 7-14).
 
--Divine Intimacy

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
Recently we’ve had an issue with Mass intentions and errors. First and foremost, let me assure you that every effort is made to ensure that you are accommodated with your mass intention requests in accordance with the current guidelines. Sue, our Office Manager, makes every effort to do the very best that she can to meet the request of each parishioner. As office manager, she is responsible for receiving and processing the requests. She then provides the list of Mass intentions to Deacon Gary and me to be announced at the Masses. Please understand that we are all human and mistakes while rare are possible.
 
In the event there is an error or issue I would ask for your patience and understanding. You should realize that no one wants to make a mistake or cause upset to you or your family. Should there be an issue or error, please contact the office and discuss it with Sue. She’s the one who can help you and can answer your questions. Father and Deacon Gary only go by what is provided to them and will most likely be unable to answer your questions. Discussion of issues or concerns related to questions or errors should not take place during the Mass. Our focus at Mass should always be on the Lord and not other extraneous issues. 
 
Thank you for your time and cooperation.
 
God bless you,
Fr. Mark

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
I want to thank each and every one of you for your kindness, patience, and understanding with me as we
continue to navigate the many firsts that come along with being a new priest. 
 
This Easter season, beginning with Ash Wednesday up to and including the Easter weekend, being here with you to journey through Lent and now the Octave of Easter has been so very special to me. We always strive to have a beautiful liturgy for our Lord, and I think we were successful in that. Thanks to everyone who contributed in any way, your efforts and contributions of time and talents are greatly appreciated. 
 
More importantly is our journey of faith. Together we have continued our quest in our desire to grow more in love and deeper in union with our Lord. Let us continue to make every effort in our quest of love and devotion to Jesus Christ.
 
On a personal note, I’d like to thank all of you who remembered me at Easter, with a card, gift or kind word.  You are all important and a blessing to me. I hope and pray that I will be able to continue to move you in a direction that will bring you closer to God and enhance your lives through His grace and blessings.
  
May our Lord bless you this day and always!
Fr. Mark 

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

HE IS RISEN!!!  Indeed, He is risen!!

I want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a most joyous and blessed Easter!  I’m so thankful to be here with you and especially during this Eastertide. To be witness to your profound love and devotion to our Lord is a blessing to me!
 
Your witness in faith to God truly touches my heart. During the weeks of Lent, your participation and devotion have not gone unnoticed by me and I’m sure our Lord has rejoiced in your efforts and devotion to grow deeper in union and love with him. 
 
As we have emersed ourselves in our journey together during this Lent and Holy Week I pray that has been extremely rewarding and filled with blessings and grace for all of you. 
 
This journey reminds us of the miraculous gift that our Lord has given us through His passion, death, and resurrection. The promise of eternal life, the message of hope, the gift of the beautiful sacraments, especially that of reconciliation! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and within our grasp. All we need to do is live our lives according to His will. We must surrender to Him and have faith and trust in Him. And when we fall, (and we will fall because we are human) we need to confess our sins and our covenant is restored with God through contrition, repentance, and penance.
 
I pray that your Lenten journey and devotion will continue throughout the year and that you will benefit from many blessings and grace from God our Father.
 
May our Lord continue to bless you this day and always!
 
In Christ,
Fr. Mark 

Please remember while in church our Lord is always present in the tabernacle. We must be reverent and humble while in His presence. Additionally, I have received complaints about the noise prior to mass and after. There are people trying to pray during these times. Please be considerate of others who want to be in the presence of our Lord and prepare for the sacrifice of the Mass or reflect on the sacrament they have just received.
 
Thank you for your cooperation.  Together, let us all grow deeper in union and love with our Lord.
 
Fr. Mark

My dear friends in Christ,
 
It’s hard for be to believe I’ve been here for eight months already. I count my blessings each and every day that I’m here and you all are a huge part of those blessings! I continue to encounter issues and things that need attention. As I’m sure you know many things have not been addressed for a number of reasons over a long period of time. I’m talking about physical issues with our properties. We are very fortunate to have hired an excellent maintenance supervisor who is working very hard to address these issues and concerns. We are being very prudent with our finances and trying to prioritize these issues/concerns.
 
One of the issues that needed to be addressed was our processional cross at the church.  Our liturgy is always a priority and offering a beautiful sacrifice of the Mass is so very important. The current crucifix was just sitting atop the pole unsecured and was in danger of falling off as we process at Mass and it was unrepairable. A new processional cross has been ordered. The cost of the new processional cross was $1,950.00. I bring this to you as an opportunity to be a memorial patron for the cross. If you would like to cover the cost of the processional crucifix, we will honor your loved one with a plaque in the sacristy where the cross will be kept. If you would like to take advantage of this memorial
opportunity, please call the office during normal business hours.
 
Thank you for being a part of our efforts to insure the viability and longevity of our parish well into the future.
 
May our Lord bless each of you this day and always.
Father Mark 

Beginning January 22nd, 2022, Saint Nicholas Parish will be using our Chapel on the weekends for Mass. Saint Nicholas is undergoing extensive renovations and Fr. Jeremiah asked if they might use the chapel for their Masses during that time and in the true spirit of Fraternity and Christian Charity I agreed to his request.
 
Their Mass schedule should not interfere with our 8:00am Mass at the Chapel. I also offered the use of our Chapel for funerals and baptisms as their need may arise. Thank you for your hospitality, charity and support of them during this time.
 
I would ask that those of you who come early to pray please not arrive before 7:30am as they have a 6:30am Mass.
 
~ Fr. Mark
 

Beginning January 22, 2022, Saint Nicholas Parish will be using our Chapel on the weekends for Mass. Saint Nicholas is undergoing extensive renovations and Fr. Jeremiah asked if they might use the chapel for their Masses during that time and in the true spirit of Fraternity and Christian Charity I agreed to his request.
 
Their Mass schedule should not interfere with our 8:00 AM Mass at the Chapel. I would ask that those of you who come early to pray please not arrive before 7:30 AM as they have a 6:30 AM Mass. I also offered the use of our Chapel for funerals and baptisms as their need may arise. Thank you for your hospitality, charity and support of them during this time.
 
~ Fr. Mark

My dear friends in Christ,

I pray you all had a beautiful Christmas and have a happy and healthy New Year.  I want to thank each of you for your part in celebrating the birth of our Savior!  I’m so delighted to have been a part of the celebration and it was a great honor to be able to celebrate my first Christmas Masses as an ordained priest with all of you.  It was a beautiful season of Advent and Christmas was more than I could have imagined or anticipated.  Thanks to those of you who were so kind and shared homemade goodies with me as well as those of you who remembered me through your generosity, prayers and Christmas greetings.  I look forward to the New Year with you and pray you all have a very healthy, happy and blessed year.
​
Peace and Prayers,
Fr. Mark