Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

News and Notes:

Holy Hour for Life ... Join us at St. Maria Goretti Church for our annual Collaborative Holy Hour for Lifethis Monday, January 22 at 7PM.  Deacon Tom O’Shea will lead this Eucharistic Adoration service in which we will pray that Christ, the eternal Son of God who took on flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, will grant us the grace of greater legal protection for unborn children.  January 22, 2018 will mark the 45^th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion in our country. 

Looking ahead to Lent and Easter 2018 ... Lent is coming soon.  It begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14.  The liturgies with the distribution of ashes that day will be as follows: 7AM Mass at SMG, 9AM Mass at OLA, 4PM Liturgy of the Word at SMG, 7PM Liturgy of the Word at OLA

Easter Sunday falls on April 1.  Here is our Easter Triduum schedule for this year:

Holy Thursday of the Lord’s Supper, March 29, 7PM at OLA
Good Friday Living Stations of the Cross, March 30, 3PM at SMG
Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord, March 30, 7PM at OLA
The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night, March 31, 7PM at SMG
Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord, April 1: 7AM at OLA, 8AM at SMG, 9AM at OLA, 10AM at SMG, 11AM at OLA

2017 Catholic Appeal Results ... Congratulations and gratitude to donors from our two parishes, both of which surpassed their respective goals for last year’s Catholic Appeal!  Since OLA and SMG exceeded both their fair share assessment and their in-pew goal, they will each receive a 65% rebate of all paid pledges over the amount they are assigned by the Archdiocese.  As of January 2, the rebate totals are:  OLA $16,897; and SMG $5,248.  Thanks also to Angela Siraco (OLA) and Beverly Merritt (SMG) for agreeing to be the 2018 Catholic Appeal Coordinator for their home parish. 

Blessings to all of you in the week ahead!