“The Apparition of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque” has become a perpetual fundraiser for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque parish. For more information on St. Margaret Mary or to order prints and note cards made from the pastel painting (pictured left) click here.

      *About local artist Virginia Thomas and her rendering of the "The Apparition of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque”.

2012 Lenten Appeal

Many thanks to those of you who have already offered a gift to the 2012 Bishop’s Annual Lenten Appeal. For those who have not yet committed to a gift, we would appreciate your support. Your contribution to the Bishop’s Annual Lenten Appeal helps to provide the base of support for the pastoral, educational and charitable services that are provided throughout the Diocese of Harrisburg. The Lenten Appeal provides an opportunity for each parish to meet its share of the cost for the Diocesan ministries without it impacting the weekly offering or other parish income.

This year our parish goal is $144,500. If we fall short of this goal we need to make up the difference in a payment to the Diocese that comes from our General Operating Fund. However, if we exceed this goal, our parish keeps the additional funds that we can use for our parish ministries and projects. This year, for your convenience, online giving is now available. Click here for the secure online giving page of the Harrisburg Diocese.

Thank you. God bless you for your generosity.

May has always been known as Mary's Month. In this month we honor our earthly mothers. We thank them for the gift of our very lives. For their love, concern and counsel. Mary wants to be our heavenly mother. She wants to hold us in her arms and lead us to her son. May we say yes to her love, her concern and her counsel.

Please read the following taken from Catholic Chicago Blog, Hosted by the Archdiocese of Chicago and written by Fr. James Presta.

Both of my parents were born in Calabria, the southern part of Italy. My father immigrated to the United States in May 1948. My father and my mother were devout Catholics and remained so until their death.

My father arrived in the United States right before Mother’s Day in 1948. At the time, my Aunt, my dad’s sister-in-law, Rosaria, explained to my dad that, in the United States, the second Sunday of May is Mother’s Day. Having a religious mindset about things, my father assumed that Mother’s Day was a feast in honor of the Blessed Mother. So he went to church that Sunday, surprised to hear the Mother’s Day was about honoring our mothers here on earth.

Later, my father would say to me, “Mother’s Day honors the greatest Mother of all, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all mothers should look to her for guidance and strength.” Thus, I have always associated Mother’s Day and our Blessed Mother because of my father’s deep devotion to the Mother of God.

In the midst of the Easter season, it is a beautiful Catholic custom to venerate the Blessed Virgin during the month of May, especially with such time-honored devotions as May crowning, Mary altars, and the praying of the Rosary. While there are no scriptural proofs to support the claim that Mary experienced the Risen Christ, our tradition holds that Mary became a loving and faithful disciple of her only Son, Crucified and Risen. The preface for the Mass ,“Mary and the Resurrection of the Lord,” in the Collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin states that, at the Resurrection of Jesus, Our Blessed Mother’s heart was filled with “joy beyond all telling and wonderfully exalted her faith. In faith, the Virgin Mary conceived Jesus. In that same faith, she awaited his resurrection.”

In a special way, we consider Mother’s Day, while secular in nature and having no liturgical significance for our Church calendar is a day not, only to honor all mothers, both living and deceased, but a day to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, Queen and Teacher in the Spiritual Life. We ask her to watch over all of our wonderful mothers who have given us life and love!

Taking my father’s advice to heart, we can proclaim Mary (unofficially, of course) the Patroness of Mother’s Day. Mary teaches all mothers the dignity and the value of all human life. She teaches mothers to be generous, loving and compassionate to their children and to all they meet. Mary teaches mothers how to be models of deep faith and great courage as they face the joys and challenges of family life today. On this Mother’s Day we pray that the Blessed Virgin Mary will wrap her mantle around all mothers, and through her powerful intercession, strengthen them in their maternal role! 

Gratefully in Christ,
Rev. Daniel F.X. Powell
Pastor