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Dear Friends,
I would like to call your attention to two special liturgical events we will be celebrating over the course of the next few weeks.
On Saturday, December 3, at 4:30 P.M. we will celebrate our annual Mass with the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. At this liturgy (which will be celebrated at our regular 4:30 Saturday vigil Mass) we will offer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to all those who should or would like to receive it, including the seriously ill, the chronically ill, those anticipating surgery or serious medical procedures, the elderly, and those struggling with any serious physical or mental conditions. Please pass the word to anyone who should be anointed so that they can attend. We would like our homebound parishioners, who aren’t able to regularly attend Sunday Mass, to come to this special celebration, if at all possible. If you might be able to assist us in transporting these good folks to church for this special liturgy, please call the rectory as soon as possible so that we can arrange for you to transport someone.
On Monday December 5, Tuesday, December 6, and Wednesday, December 7, we will be celebrating a Solemn Triduum in Honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The Miraculous Medal Novena has a rich tradition in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, since the Central Association and Shrine to the Miraculous Medal is located in the Germantown section of the city. Here at Saint Timothy’s, we pray the Novena prayers every Saturday morning at the end of the 8:30 Mass. Our Solemn Triduum in December is a perfect way for us to prepare for the great feast of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception on December 8, and is a beautiful way for us to focus on Mary during the season of Advent. Each evening of the Triduum at 7:00 we will pray the Novena Prayers, have a homily, and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. At the end of each evening’s devotions you will also have the opportunity to venerate the relic of Saint Catherine Laboure, the great saint to whom the Miraculous Medal was revealed by Our Lady herself. Please join us, and bring a friend!
By now you should have received the mailing for our annual census/block collection (if you have not received it, please call the rectory and let us know). Please remember that the census information is very important in order for us to update our records and to keep our data accurate. The block collection is equally important for us, since it is one of the single largest sources of income we receive in the course of the year. I ask that wage earners be as generous as possible in this annual collection, if possible donating $200. Your generosity in this collection is especially important as we face the winter months and the inevitably of high utility bills. It is also important given the fact that our collections are becoming increasingly less, especially due to the continued deaths of some of our most faithful givers. Of course, in light of this, our bills NEVER decrease, but on the contrary continue to rise! Your generosity is always humbling to me, and so I thank you in advance for your goodness to your parish.
I remind you that during this month of November, the Archdiocese is beginning our annual seminary appeal, for the benefit of our present seminarians, as well as to ensure the future of our great seminary of Saint Charles Borromeo at Overbrook. This year’s appeal’s theme is Saint Charles Seminary: For today. For tomorrow. For all of us. We are reminded, especially in this theme, that the seminary exists not just to prepare future priests, but to also prepare future permanent deacons and their wives for ministry, and to educate lay women and men in theological studies, especially for their work in Church ministries, such as teaching or other forms of pastoral service. You should have received a direct mailing from the seminary for this annual appeal, and may use the envelope enclosed in your mailing to send your contribution directly to the seminary, which is the preferred method. For those of you who didn’t receive this mailing from the seminary, or misplaced it, there are extra envelopes available in the vestibule of the church for your convenience. Mr. Edward Town, our seminarian who was assigned to us two summers ago, will be speaking to us about the seminary at all the Masses next weekend, November 19-20. I ask you, as always, to be as generous as possible in this important annual appeal. Thank you in advance for your generous sacrificial gift.
Today at the 9:15 Mass, our Confirmation candidates will officially begin their journey to this great sacrament with the Rite of Acceptance as candidates for Confirmation. Our young people will receive this Sacrament of Initiation next spring at the hands of Archbishop James P. Green. Please pray for them as they begin in earnest their preparation to be confirmed.
This weekend the good folks from Bethlehem Olive Wood Carvers are with us. These faith-filled residents of the Holy Land are here to sell their beautifully carved statues, plaques, and other religious articles, all made from genuine olive wood from the Holy Land. Our support of their good work supports in a direct way the Church in the land in which Jesus himself lived, and truly makes a difference in the lives of the faithful Christians who call that land home.
Our Book of the Names of the Dead is now open. The book is placed by the baptismal font in Saint Timothy’s upper church, and by the baptismal font in Saint Bartholomew’s Church. You are invited to write the names of your beloved dead in this book so that all of us may pray for all the faithful departed. This book will be enshrined in our churches throughout the month of November.
Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.
Love and prayers,
Father Olivere