Pastors Corner

Fr. Michael Olivere

Dear Friends,

This Sunday at our 9:15 Mass we honor in a special way Sister Bea McElrone, SSJ, as she prepares to leave Saint Timothy’s for her new mission at Saint Joseph’s Villa in Flourtown. Sister Bea leaves for the Villa on Monday, September 13.

For twenty-nine years, Sister Bea has served our parish as Director of Parish Social Ministries. Sister was brought on to our parish staff by Monsignor Michael Carroll in 1992. At that time, Sister embraced a new role, both for her (she had been a teacher for over thirty years at that point) and for this parish, but she embraced her new ministry with the apostolic zeal and enthusiasm that has marked her life as a Sister of Saint Joseph.  In this pivotal ministry, Sister Bea has ministered to many through the years, including our elderly sick and shut-ins, the poor, those who have been in need of food and other material necessities, as well as those who have been in need of countless other life essentials. Sister’s outreach has literally touched the lives tens of thousands of people, parishioners of Saint Timothy’s and residents of our broader Mayfair neighborhood, and beyond. In all of this, Sister Bea has been the presence of Christ to all of us who have been privileged to know her and to live with her in this community of faith, but that presence has been particularly manifested to the poor and those who are most in need. Every person and family who came to Sister seeking assistance was treated by her as Christ would be treated, with dignity, with respect, and with a charity that knows no bounds.

As I already told you, Sister has mentioned to me many times over the course of the past several months that she has received much more than she has given, and that she is most grateful for the many people who have collaborated with her in a myriad of ways and enabled her ministry to be as fruitful as it has been. While this is certainly true, it is my firm belief that God has used her as an important instrument of his love here in our Mayfair community and beyond, and for that reason we have an obligation to thank him and to praise him for Sister’s ministry and presence among us.

Sister leaves us for the Villa with her heart and hands very full after an active ministry of over sixty years. We send her forth with our undying gratitude and with all our love, for all she has been and done in our midst. Our sadness at her leaving is brightened by the reminder, for her as well as for us, that she will always be a part of our Saint Tim’s family. We look forward to her visiting us on special occasions and on ordinary days. Remember, Sister, Levick Street will always be your home.

This past week, our Blessed Trinity students and faculty began their 2021-2022 school year. We had a good beginning, with everyone well-rested and ready for a great year of in-person learning. Many blessings to them and to all of our students and teachers as they begin this new academic year.

Next Sunday is Catechetical Sunday. At the 9:15 Mass next Sunday we will be offering a blessing to all of our PREP and RCIA catechists, as well as our school teachers as they begin their new school year.

Next Sunday we will be taking up a special second collection for the hurricane victims of Haiti. Please be as generous as you can as we assist our sisters and brothers who have been directly affected by the devastation of these natural disasters.

This past Wednesday, September 8, we resumed our weekly Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Exposition takes place every Wednesday morning in the lower church, from after the 8:30 Mass until 12:00 Noon. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is celebrated at Noon.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere