St. Mary's current pastor has decided to axe our annual Christmas midnight mass for no apparent reason. The only thing we can come up with is that he wants us to get used to not getting what we want. Apparently, we're like spoiled children, wanting mass all the time. The nerve of us!

To us, using mass as a cudgel is never a good idea. As is the case in so many other churches, this is one of our most highly attended masses of the entire year, and one of our prime opportunities for evangelism.

So why would a pastor choose to end a many decades long tradition of midnight mass?  Fr. Namiotka says it's because no priests are available - he has reserved himself for midnight mass at the parish he repeatedly refers to as "my" parish, Queen of the Angels in Landisville/Minotola.  (By contrast, he only refers to us as "St. Mary's in Malaga"...as if we don't know what town we're in.) 

In fact, when asked about the lack of midnight mass, Namiotka specifically responded that "no priests are available." However, we inquired with one particular priest who regularly assists with masses and Namiotka had never even asked him if he wanted to say midnight mass.  And another priest, who has said many masses at St. Mary's in the past, actually requested to say midnight mass and was told "NO" by Namiotka. 

To add insult to injury, a longtime, elderly parishioner of St. Mary's was told by Namiotka that, "The pope is saying midnight mass. You can watch it on tv."* There's a shepherd of souls for us! Ya want mass? Go watch it on tv.

*Extended footnote/follow-up below:

Supposedly, according to Fr. Namiotka in a letter received February 4th, over a month and a half after the incident, he "actually said, 'Not even the Pope is having Midnight Mass this year (in Rome). The Mass is at 10 PM. You can watch the TV to see that this is true.'" He follows up by saying "I did, in fact, celebrate Midnight Mass as I annually do--just not at St. Mary's Malaga." This is precisely our point, and he made it for us. It's a shame that we don't a priest who truly wants to be at St. Mary's.

Further, the EWTN Christmas Mass to which he refers was, in fact, repeatedly billed by EWTN as "Midnight Mass." CLICK HERE here for just one example of this "to see that this is true" and the Vatican's rationale for "moving up" the time. Besides, it was a rude comment to make to an elderly, long-time parishioner.

In our view, either version of what was said is pretty terrible and demonstrates how little he cares for us since allowing another priest to say mass at St. Mary's would have required no effort on his part and would not have cost us anything. If anything, it would have brought the church money and perhaps a few souls would have returned to the Church for Christmas.

This is a continuation of parts I, II, & III.

Those who promote the notion that our churches are "just buildings" deny the sacramentals contained therein, the fact of the church itself as a sacramental, the reality of the consecration of that space to God, the true Eucharistic presence of Our Lord contained in the tabernacle, and of course the right of a Catholic parish to stability and to its patrimony! What we face at this time and place in history is a much larger agenda than even just our individual churches. We face something that Pope St. Pius X predicted over a hundred years ago. In the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis he warned us that modernists are
 

the most pernicious of all the adversaries of the Church. For...they put into operation their designs for her undoing, not from without but within. Hence, the danger is present almost in the very veins and heart of the Church, whose injury is the more certain from the very fact that their knowledge of her is more intimate. Moreover, they lay the ax not to the branches and shoots, but to the very root, that is, to the faith and its deepest fibers. And once having struck at this root of immortality, they proceed to diffuse poison throughout the whole tree, so that there is no part of Catholic truth which they leave untouched, none that they do not strive to corrupt.

The great pontiff argues that the modernist does not believe in the inherent efficacy of sacraments and sacramentals, but instead in what Pope St. Pius X calls "theological symbolism."

These errors are truly of the gravest kind and the pernicious character of both will be seen clearly from an examination of their consequences. For, to begin with symbolism, since symbols are but symbols in regard to their objects and only instruments in regard to the believer, it is necessary first of all,according to the teachings of the modernists, that the believer does not lay too much stress on the [human rather than divine] formula, as formula, but avail himself of it only for the purpose of uniting himself to the absolute truth...

The great pontiff hit the nail right on the head. The symbolic formula, the instruments, are good "only as far as they are helpful to him, for they are given to be a help and not a hindrance." Once they have outlived their usefulness, it's back to the drawing board. Time to cook up some new liturgical, dogmatic, or architectural innovation or "novelty," all of which are born of mere human "impulse" or "need."

Finally, Mr. Davies leaves us with the profound words of St. Athanasius:

The Church has not just recently been given order and statutes. They were faithfully and soundly bestowed on it by the Fathers. Nor has the Faith only just been established, but has come to us from the Lord through His disciples. May what has been preserved in the Churches from the beginning to the present day not be abandoned in our own time; may what has been entrusted to our keeping not be embezzled by us. Brethren, as custodians of God's mysteries, let yourselves be roused into action on seeing all this despoiled by others.  

Our Lady of the Lakes in Collings Lakes, formerly part of the St. Mary's Malaga, St. Rose of Lima Newfield, and Queen of Angels Parish (St. Michael's Minotola & Our Lady of Victories Landisville) merger/closure group was just permitted to remain stand-alone. Why? We have received no answer to this question. From their Nov. 15th bulletin:

I have received word from the diocesan Vicar General
that the bishop has approved the Core Team proposal that
our parish would remain a stand alone parish. But we are
encouraged to share resources and programs with the
merging parishes of Buena, Newfield, and Malaga.
This is great news for our Parish because we can continue
as usual serving the needs of the Collings Lakes area.
This is a good news 'short term' situation considering the
underlying problem of a priest shortage in our Diocese.
As more priests retire the present active priests will be
called on to do more. All of us must be ready for the future
when there may not be a priest in residence here. In the
meantime lets be a vibrant sustainable community.
To celebrate this good news we will have a wine and
cheese, coffee and cake celebration in our hall after the
Saturday evening Mass next week. Invite your friends and
family to the 5pm Mass which will have our new
'Lures of the Lakes' choir singing. Then socialize,
celebrate, and relax with your friends and neighbors.

What a slap in the face to the "process" and to all of the other churches in this diocese that would also like to remain stand-alone. "Core team" arm twisting is, apparently, part of the open and honest "process," but how such decisions are made remains a mystery to all of us. Political expedience, string-pulling, and personality conflict at high levels seem to be the order of the day. In truth, we the Catholic faithful have no real input at all, though we are required to speak the Truth by virtue of our baptism and confirmation.

Sadly, our friend, Bob Walsh, died Tuesday night of complications stemming from his 10-month battle with cancer.  According to his son, Liam, he died in peace and without pain.  Leah and Kevin were able to visit Bob for about 10 minutes that night and prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet with him and his family, who were at his bedside throughout the past week. 

On a personal note, we would like to say that we feel privileged to have known Bob. He was a smart man, a kind man, a family man, a Godly man. He had a wonderful sense of humor. He was interiorly a man of great strength and conviction. We ask all of you to pray for the repose of his soul and the perseverance of his family. We know that Bob will continue to pray for us and for our churches.

The viewing will be at Kelley Funeral Home in Pitman (125 Pitman Ave) from 7 - 9 pm Friday, Oct. 30th and again from 9:30 - 10:30 am Saturday, Oct. 31st.  Mass will be at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Pitman at 11 am  Saturday.  Burial will be at Manahath Cemetery in Glassboro.

Robert John Walsh, age 60 died on October 27, 2009. Born in Philadelphia, he lived in Pitman since 1980. He formerly worked for Liteway in Bristol, PA and Mobil Oil. For the past two years he worked as an IT Consultant for J and R Consulting in Williamsport, MD. Bob was a member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Pitman where he was a 7th grade CCD teacher. He was also a member and past president of the Commodore John Barry Division I, Ancient Order of Hibernians.

He was the son of the late John Charles William Walsh and Dorothy Rose Keenan Walsh and predeceased by his sister Geraldine Marie Walsh. He is survived by his sons Liam Patrick Séan Walsh of New York, NY, Collin Michael Thomas Walsh of Pitman, brother John of FL, sisters Carol Marazzi of FL, Eileen Jack of Wenonah and close friends Kathryn Yurchak and Charlotte Ryan.

Bob continually strove for peace and justice and a United Ireland. 

Some of you may know our friend and companion in the struggle to save our churches, Bob Walsh of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Pitman. He has been very sick over the course of the past year. We just received word that his life hangs in the balance as we speak and is in need of prayer. Please, please say a prayer for our good friend and his family.

This Courier Post article was described by the contributor as "bittersweet for the people from the now closed Queen of Heaven Parish."

Ironically, I was listening to talks given at a homeschool conference that took place several years ago in my car last night, and one of them discusses the "worst yet to come" of the parish closure situation in this country. The talks were given at a summer 2005 conference. The speaker hit the nail on the head and predicted the whole thing. Sure is scary how low a place in which we find ourselves, what with so many of the bishops in this country and all.

Or should I have said the "Community of Christ Our Light." Poor people, stuck with that horrendous name. Anyway, looks like the mergers aren't going so well. Shocker.

Re: "Cares deeply" (letters, Sept. 2).

I realize Bishop Joseph Galante has a full schedule. However, if he truly cares about the well-being of parishioners and has a great love for the church and its people, why wasn't he present at any one of the three Masses that were part of the closing of Queen of Heaven Parish during the weekend of July 25-26?

A shepherd should be with his flock in times of rejoicing as well as in times of sorrow. Because of my ministry at Queen of Heaven as lector, cantor and choir member, I was at all three of those Masses, fulfilling each of those ministries, and I can tell you that it was nothing short of gut-wrenching.

Hearing the sobbing of lifelong parishioners while the final prayers were being said and seeing tears rolling down the faces of grown men is something I will never forget. It would have meant so much to the parishioners of Queen of Heaven to have the bishop come, look us in the eye and tell us how sorry he was but that there really was no other solution.

Does he know what that would have meant? Maybe it would have helped to ease this incredible heartache. At the moment when Queen of Heaven needed a caring shepherd the most, he was not there.

AMY WEIRAUCH

Cherry Hill

Read it online at the Courier Post by clicking here.

This traditional hymn is from the "Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal"

The ark which God has sanctified
Which He has filled with grace,
Within the temple of the Lord
Has found a resting place.

More glorious than the seraphim,
This ark of love divine,
Corruption could not blemish her
Whom death could not confine.

God-bearing Mother, Virgin chaste,
Who shines in heaven's sight;
She wears a royal crown of stars
Who is the door of Light.

To Father, Son and Spirit blest
May we give endless praise
With Mary, who is Queen of heaven,
Through everlasting days.

We received this email yesterday. It's basically what people have been predicting would happen all along. But maybe all the confusion, crowding, and lack of parking gives the Diocese the green light to build the protestant megachurches of their dreams. I, for one, am conspiracy minded enough to doubt that even those in the chancery office are so stupid as to underestimate the required parking and potential confusion of the situation they created.

However, they must be undergoing some turmoil and dissension in the ranks given that so many of the key players in the chancery's Parish Closure Program have mysteriously "left" over the past couple months. (I guess we can call it a "program" now that Ms. Marilyn Vollmer, national church shut-down queen, is gone. An appropriate name for the program might also be "Destroying God's Gifts.")  At least four of the key players have left, total. Msgr. Roger McGrath, remains, however. But maybe since he's in the area he'll come to our Assumption Feast and have such a good time, he'll learn to like us! Chicken barbecue's on us, Msgr. McGrath! Hope to see you there!

Here's the email:

I spoke with my mother, who attends that church on Saturday nights and just as I predicted, parking is a huge problem over there. My sister works nights so she needs to go to Mass as early as possible on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, when she arrived, there were no parking spaces left, so she was unable to stay. My mother got the last parking space so she was able to attend. However, the service began ten minutes late. She said she observed people talking during the service and leaving after staying only fifteen minutes! It sounds like there was lots of confusion there.

My mother actually lives in Maple Shade so I am hoping that she and my sister find a church in the Trenton Diocese that fits their schedule. Things are less crazy up there!

Also, in the Courier Post article, the Pastor of the new Church (community, whatever) said that Queen of Heaven church would not be sold for at least a year. If that's the case, then why did they close the church now?  Also, there are still some nuns who live at the Queen of Heaven convent. Does this mean that they will be thrown out and lose their home?

May God help us all.

A link to this letter was sent to Save St. Mary's by a reader. Thank you!

The sentiments expressed herein echo those expressed by so many others throughout the Diocese. Just last night some parishioners of St.John Neumann visited us at St. Mary's and told us about how devastated people at their parish are, contrary to the rosy picture painted in the Courier Post. One wonders if Bishop Galante cares about his reputation and legacy. How will he be remembered here in the Diocese of Camden? So far, the opinions of the faithful aren't very positive, and who can blame them? Doublespeak combined with the stealing of the thing most important to many people's lives adds up to a less than favorable impression.

Here's the letter, and well stated, we think:

I have been reading and of course listening to all these changes that will be taking place in the Diocese of Camden. I have also listened to the parishioners and most comments are con not pro.

It is nice to give a positive spin on acceptance but to me it is an imponderable. These churches are home to those who attend them, and people were told this when they were being built. Often people sat in a gym or a hall until money was raised to build a church. Then they were asked to donate to the building fund, much like paying a mortgage. Some people donated benches, windows, etc. Others quietly paid more for things like elevators for the elderly or ramps for the handicapped.

Now these same people sit in church and are being told "Get over it; it's just a building!" Wasn't that building on consecrated ground and blessed? Now, like a bank, the church is foreclosing on worship at these homes. What will happen to churches such as Queen of Heaven in Cherry Hill that sit on valuable property? What will happen at holiday masses when the regular parishioners cannot find a seat now? Will the bishop offer a solution?

For now the bishop will have the churches he closed to fall back on but that will not answer the loss felt by parishioners. That, to me, is an imponderable, and the bishop and priest have not addressed this to anyone's satisfaction.

Yes, those priests who will have a new parish are excited and are looking forward, but please give both sides of this story. I think Bishop Joseph Galante should offer a better solution than taking away a home of worship.

JUDY SPAGNOLA

Cherry Hill

Today is the blessed Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Mass today is at St. Joseph's Church, Hammonton at 2 and 7pm. The beautiful "emergence ceremony" in which the statues of the saints are brought out from the church, followed by the procession around town, is at 4:00.

Also, don't miss the food, fun, music, rides, and games. I am obviously not a member of St. Joseph's, but my wonderful neighbors are and the feast is a great blessing and a beautiful tradition. As they say in Hammonton, Buona Festa!

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

O exalted Queen of Heaven,
Supreme Mistress of the Angels,
Who from the beginning has received from God the power and the commission to crush the serpent's head,
We pray thee humbly,
Send down thy Holy Legions,
That they, under thy command and power,
May pursue the spirits of Hell,
Everywhere wage war against them,
Defeat their boldness and thrust them into the abyss of Hell.

Have you ever read the Mercer Mayer book, The Queen Always Wanted to Dance? I recommend it, even if you don't have kids. The gist of the story is this:

Because he thinks the Queen is unseemly, the King enacts an unjust law forbidding dancing. He follows it up with a similarly unjust law forbidding singing. Nobody wants to be miserable, so finally the entire town winds up in jail. Here are some excerpts:

Hardly anyone in the kingdom was happy about the new law, except a few people who thought dancing was a silly waste of time. They patted the King on the back and said, "Your Majesty, you surely are a wise king." And the King was happy because he was certain the Queen would behave properly now.

But the Queen decided that even if she couldn't dance she could sing.

He passed another law which read, "Singing is forbidden in my kingdom, and that includes the Queen. Signed, The King."

Now the milkmaid couldn't sing when she milked the royal cows. The royal chickens stopped laying eggs altogether....But most important of all, the Queen couldn't sing, because even a queen must obey the law.

The king was happy again. The few people who didn't like dancing didn't like singing either, so they were happy again.

"What do you think of my new law?" the King asked the Queen.

She just smiled and said, "Now you've gone too far."

And almost everyone agreed with her.

As the scullery maid mopped the royal floor, she whispered to herself, "This time the King has gone too far."

While the milkmaid churned the royal butter, she whispered to herself, "This time the King has gone too far."

Even in libraries, where no one is supposed to talk, people whispered, "This time the King has most certainly gone too far."

And the whispering was getting louder. But the very few people who thought that singing and dancing were a silly waste of time, patted the King on the back and said, "We like the new laws, Your Majesty."

The King marched everybody...to jail, where they all sang and danced and had a wonderful party.

By this time the King wasn't sure whether he was happy or not. He didn't like all this whispering. But after all, the law is the law.

All night long he tossed and turned. He felt lonely. Finally he could stand it no longer. "I think I've gone too far," he mumbled.

[By this time the Queen had already arrested herself because she would rather sing and dance in prison than be free and miserable.]

He threw back the sheets, sang a song off key, and danced...down to the jail. He opened the door and crept in. Everyone, even the Queen, stopped singing and dancing and stared at him in disbelief.

"I arrest myself," he announced meekly.

[After that the king changed the law and everyone lived happily ever after, except the people who didn't like to sing or dance and just liked to pat the king on the back.]

Well, here in the Diocese of Camden, we also have an unpopular "new law," and almost no one in the Diocese is happy about it. It seems we also have a "king" who's gone way too far. We hope that, like the king in the story, after losing way too much sleep because his conscience weighs so heavily on him, he one day wakes up and says to himself, "I think I've gone too far."

Ora pro nobis!

St. John Fisher was a bishop who stood up to King Henry VIII and his diabolical plan.

When the question of Henry's divorce from Queen Catherine arose, Fisher became the Queen's chief supporter and most trusted counselor. In this capacity he appeared on the Queen's behalf in the legates' court, where he startled his hearers by the directness of his language and most of all by declaring that, like St. John the Baptist, he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage.

He continued to calmly rationally speak out in support of Church teaching and was eventually executed, his head placed on a stake and eventually thrown into the Thames.

St. Thomas More (right), Lord Chancellor of England, defender of the Faith, a truly great and heroic saint, died a martyr. Here's another link.

My lord, for one bishop of your opinion I have a hundred saints of mine; and for one parliament of yours, and God knows of what kind, I have all the General Councils for 1,000 years, and for one kingdom I have France and all the kingdoms of Christendom. -Thomas More (at his trial on July 1, 1535)

I highly recommend you watch the movie, A Man for All Seasons to get an idea of who the great St. Thomas More was. You will not regret it!

I stumbled on this collection of beautiful pictures of the "Via Crucis Procession" in Washington DC. Quote:

Men carry a statue of the Jesus as they walk the Via Crusis, or "Way of the Cross," leading about 200 other Catholics through the Dupont Circle neighborhood to mark Good Friday April 10, 2009 in Washington, DC. The faithful "walked in the footsteps of Christ" and carried wooden crosses and statues from Our Lady, Queen of the Americas Catholic Church to the Cathedral of St. Matthew. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America)

I am fortunate to have a Eucharistic Adoration slot once a week. This gives me a little time for spiritual reading, among other things. I happen to love the many books written by Joan Carroll Cruz, such as The Incorruptibles, Secular Saints, and the one I had with me, which is called Miraculous Images of Our Lady. I was reading about Our Lady of Siluva (see also this link).

Our Lady of Siluva
In the early through mid-1500s, Lutherans and Calvinists were able to win over converts in Lithuania, but only among the nobles and ruling class. The peasantry (the vast majority of the people) remained staunchly Catholic, but were persecuted. Church properties were confiscated and turned over to Protestants. In 1570 the church in Siluva was similarly threatened and in his wisdom, the pastor, Rev. John Halubka, collected

some of the church's treasured articles including a few vestments, a favorite image of the Madonna and Child that hung above the main altar, and the church's records. Placing them in a metal-covered oak chest, he buried it a short distance from the church near a large rock. This was providential, since the church was soon seized by Protestants.

Finally, in 1588, a new law was passed which gave Catholics the right to repossess church properties unjustly taken from them, but the documents clearly proving previous ownership were required. For the church at Siluva, documents could not be found to prove that Peter Giedgaudas had given the land to the Church in 1457.

...in the summer of 1608...children shepherding their flocks, saw a beautiful lady standing on a large rock. Holding a child in her arms, the lady wept bitterly. Startled by the vision, one of the children ran to a Calvinist teacher, Mikola Fiera, who promptly claimed it to be an apparition of the devil who was trying to draw people away from Calvinism.

Hearing about the vision, people flocked to the rock. The Calvinist teacher continued to insult and riducule the people for paying any creedance to the children. But the Lady and Child appeared again. Fiera, the Calvinist, asked Her, "Why are you weeping?"

Sadly the vision answered, "Formerly in this place my son was adored and honored, but now all that the people do is seed and cultivate the land." Saying this, the lady and child disappeared.

The Calvinists tried to dismiss and argue against the apparation, but the people knew that they saw Our Lady and the Holy Infant Jesus. Shortly thereafter, Mikola Fiera left Siluva. The bishop had the matter fully investigated. A blind man, having heard about the vision,

remembered the metal-covered oak chest that the pastor had buried years before....when...taken to the rock, his sight was immediately restored. He was then able to indicate the exact location of the chest.

Inside they found all the contents, including a miraculously undamaged picture of the Virgin and Child. Now having the papers in their possession, the Catholics were able to get their church back, although it took years of court negotiations with the Calvinists. Because of the sheer number of people attending the church, it had to be expanded and expanded again in 1786 (picture left). By order of the bishop, in 1663 a chapel was built in the exact location of the rock, but again the sheer number of people required its expansion in 1818 and then in 1924. (The apparition was officially approved by Pope Pius VI.) The miraculous image has been credited with many countless healings.

We may even visit a shrine to Our Lady of Siluva in Washington DC at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where beautiful mosaics depict the story.
 

Our Lady's Desire
In the case of Our Lady of Siluva, She wanted Her Son to be worshiped, the church returned to Catholic hands. In the history of our Catholic faith, there are many such stories that have gone like this. I'm sure you might know of some others. What does Our Lady always do, without exception? She points to Her Son. She wants nothing more than for Her children to worship Her Son, Jesus. So when She miraculously appears, what does She so often request? She requests that a shrine or church be erected in a certain spot.

In the history of our Church, can you think of one single time that Our Lady has requested that a church faithfully dedicated to the worship of Her Son be closed? When has she said, "Knock it down! Cose it up! Replace it with a Wawa!" No, never. Not once. She has appeared miraculously in the obscurest of locations, in places where the church had long ago fallen into ruin. But no mere falling mass attendance deters Our Lady. The church can be laying in pieces on the ground and She requests it be raised up again and the worship of Her Son continue. And it does. Why? It is Our Lord's holy will, and Our Lady's desire. Of that we can be completely confident. Truly Our Lady weeps at such travesties as churches falling into disuse, disrepair, or closure.

At St. Mary's we know that Our Lady is with us. She is our much loved patroness, as She is the patroness of every Catholic. She is our Single Greatest Advocate in Heaven, our Queen, Mother of every saint, and our Mother. Most of all, She is Mother of the Church, Mater Ecclesiae, and she intercedes for the Pilgrim Church on Earth. This is why at St. Mary's over the past year She has granted us the grace of her miraculous image changing color before our eyes. In this small way, She has reassured us of Her loving presence and protection. "Our Lady of Malaga," Mater Ecclesiae, ora pro nobis!

Today, June 16th, is the feast day of Blessed William Greenwood, one of the Carthusian martyrs murdered by King Henry VIII. Because the monks and priests refused to show approval for the king's divorce and remarriage, and subsequent break with the One True Church, they died horrible deaths. Blessed William Greenwood died of starvation in Newgate Prison, and many others were hung, then disemboweled while still alive, and finally quartered. Check out this great website which will tell you a little more about a few of the martyrs at Tyburn. (It is the website of the Catholic Benedictine nuns located at Tyburn.)

Although their feast is not until the end of the summer (as one of the "Forty Martyrs of England and Wales"), and they died roughly 50 years later, this would be a good time to mention Saints Margaret Clitherow and Margaret Ward, pictured to the right in the painting above (left and right). Margaret Ward was executed for trying to rescue a priest from prison.

Margaret Ward was kept in irons for eight days, was hung up by the hands, and scourged, but absolutely refused to disclose the priest's whereabouts. At her trial, she admitted to having helped Fr. Watson to escape, and rejoiced in "having delivered an innocent lamb from the hands of those bloody wolves." She was offered a pardon if she would attend a Protestant service, but refused.

Margaret Clitherow (1556?-1586), whose feast day is March 25th (individually) also has a very interesting story. From Bert Ghezzi's Voices of the Saints:

St. Margaret Clitherow became a convert at her hometown of York in 1573 when it was dangerous to be a Catholic in England. Pope Pius V had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth in 1570, provoking an intense persecution of Catholics. Mass was outlawed, priests were regarded as traitors, and harboring them was a capital crime. Margaret disobeyed the law, keeping secret rooms in her house and at a neighbor's house where priests hid and celebrated Mass.

On March 10, 1586, sheriff's men raided Margaret's house. They found a schoolmaster with her children, whom they mistook for a priest, but he escaped through the secret chamber. The officers terrorized an 11-year-old Flemish boy who lived with the family. The frightened child led them to the priests' room, where they found vessels and books for Mass. So Margaret was taken to prison to await a hearing.

John Mush, Margaret's biographer, report that she accepted her persecution lightheartedly. She and Anne Tesh, her friend also betrayed by the boy, laughed so much that Margaret said, "Sister, we are having so much fun that I'm afraid unless we are separated we shall be in danger of losing the merit of our imprisonment." And just before she was to appear before the judge, Margaret decided to cheer the 35 other Catholic prisoners across the hall. "She looked out of a window towards them," writes Mush, "and she made a pair of gallows on her fingers and pleasantly laughed at them."

In the above picture, St. Margaret Clitherow is in the foreground, towards the center, just to the
left of the gallows, wearing the red and lavender dress. Margaret Ward is standing on the left,
just in front of the tree, with the red head covering. I presume the white-clad figures are 4
of the Carthusian monks martyred.

Margaret was charged with harboring and maintaining priests. When the judge asked her if she were guilty or not, she declined to enter a plea. The judge warned her that the law required the death penalty for anyone refusing to plead. He told Margaret that she would be stripped, arms stretched out and bound to stakes, and pressed to death with a sharp stone on her back. "I am not worthy of so good a death as this," was her reply.

Margaret believed that her death was inevitable. Had she pled to the charges, her husband and children would have to testify against her and her neighbor's guilt would have been exposed, possibilities she could not bear. Her love for her family intensified her suffering, but did not deter her. "I love my husband next to God in this world," she wrote.

"And I have care over my children as a mother ought to have. I trust I have done my duty by bringing them up in the fear of God, and so I trust now I am discharged of them. And for this cause I am willing to offer them freely to God who sent them to me, rather than I will yield one jot from my faith."

Thus, on the Friday in Passion Week, 1586, she was pressed to death under 800 pounds of weight. Fittingly, she must have thought, she died like Christ, with her arms extended, as on a cross.

Supposedly St. Margaret Clitherow was also pregnant at the time of her death. She was publicly stripped and humiliated, as Christ, prior to her barbaric execution. Later on, her two sons became priests and her daughter a nun in France.

The English martyrs are an inspiration to all of us. May we be granted the tremendous faith they had, and may we be willing to lay our lives on the line for the sake of the Truth if necessary. May we always be willing to defend our precious Faith.

Blessed Thomas Greenwood and Saints Margaret Ward and Margaret Clitherow, pray for us!

We know that there are those of you who have expressed interest in how things are going at St. Mary's generally and so here's a brief update.

We had quite a number of young people confirmed recently [by Fr. Namiotka]--32 if I counted correctly--and this was a joyous occasion for all, followed by a little party in the basement and in people's private homes, too.

Rosary Garden
The Rosary Garden looks beautiful as usual, thanks to God and to our hard-working parishioner, Charlie. Today when I visited I noticed that the roses were in bloom and their sweet fragrance was in the air! I recommend you visit, and maybe even bring a picnic or snack, a rosary and spiritual reading.

Mass
Sunday morning/Saturday evening mass times remain the same (5:00, 8:30 & 11:30), and we continue to pray the beautiful consecration prayer in which we consecrate our parish and our families to the Sacred Heard of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Following mass, we pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Of course, all are welcome. Don't forget, we also have Latin (low) mass on the last Sunday of each month at 6pm, presided over by Fr. Romanowski.

Feast Planning
Plans for the Feast of the Assumption in August are just in their beginning stages. We are sure it will be a beautiful and festive time! If you have any ideas for the Feast or would like to help plan it, contact us or call the rectory (856-694-2576).

Sunday School
CCD is done until the Fall, but of course St. Mary's families continue in the religious education of their children all year long, as the Church teaches that the primary educators of the child are his parents. My kindergartner loves CCD at St. Mary's, I think in large part due to its intimate atmosphere. It is very different from the CCD program of which I was a part when I was a child, one that was a lot larger and, well, colder. The littlest children at St. Mary's have CCD in the shrine room, surrounded by the saints and even relics. The older kids have CCD in the church itself, which is wonderful and beautiful. We have, to the best of our knowledge, never had a shortage of catechism teachers, thanks be to God. There is no shortage of generosity at St. Mary's, to be sure. We wish all parishes have the blessing of so solid a CCD program as we've been fortunate enough to have. Thank you to all the CCD instructors!

Fr. Namiotka
We pray our new pastor, Fr. Namiotka, is settling in well and maybe even getting to like us, despite our quirkiness! (He is not living at St. Mary's, though.) He delivered a wonderful sermon today on consecrating our lives to God and we look forward to getting to know him better.

Be a Servant of God by Serving St. Mary's!
Most recently Fr. Namiotka is helping to better organize various parish functions such as ushers, lectors, etc. and will be holding a meeting for all interested people this Tuesday night at 7:00 in the Shrine Room (in the rectory). Luckily at St. Mary's we barely need any "Extraordinary Ministers" for holy mass since we are a small church and most wish to receive the Blessed Eucharist from the hands of the parish priest. However, in the bulletin Fr. Namiotka says his goal "is to have each and every sick or homebound parishioner visited and brought Holy Communion weekly." (Emphasis his.) An Extraordinary Minister needs to be "living a life in union with Church teachings." This is a laudable goal and one which we ought to help with.

Certainly there are so many ways in which you may offer your time as a gift to God through our parish, St. Mary's. Please be sure to attend the meeting if you have an interest in participating in any way! Well, just about every way. Father Namiotka says he will be organizing the altar boys at a later time. If you have any questions call Fr. Namiotka via the St. Mary's rectory or Queen of Angels (856-697-1450).

Fr. Romanowski
Our much loved Fr. Romanowski, pastor emeritus, is still settling in at his house but will be back, we understand, for the Latin mass on the final Sunday evening of each month--that would be next week--at 6pm. Fr. is also very busy with the various events and masses around the region having to do with the Holy Name Society. We hope to publish a list of the dates and locations very soon.

Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary continues to regularly meet, as well as the Junior Legion. At both, new members are always welcome. The Junior Legion meets Thursdays from 4-5:00pm and the Adult Praesidium meets Thursdays from 7-8:00pm.

Choir
Both the Junior and Adult Choir also continue to practice and sing at mass. News singers are always welcome there as well. Call Angela, our parish secretary, at 856-694-2576 with any questions you may have. Regular choir practices from 7:30-9:00pm on Tuesdays, Junior choir rehearses Tuesdays from 7-8:00.

Better think again. We were recently visiting the new website for "The Catholic Community of Christ Our Light" in Cherry Hill. As mentioned in our previous blog post, this is to be the name of the future merged parish of Queen of Heaven and St. Peter Celestine.

Anyway, the interesting thing is that the website has the same job openings as listed in the Courier Post help wanted ad, plus another one:  Coordinator for Sound, Video, and Lighting.

From the position description:

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBLILITES (includes but not limited to all of the following)

· Maintain all applicable electronic equipment for the parish including, but not limited to: lights, video production tools, televisions, projectors, monitors, and microphones.

·Prepare all equipment to be accessible and operable for all parish functions.

·Recruit, schedule, train and supervise volunteers.

· Report to Pastoral Associate for Worship and Music to prepare for upcoming liturgy and services

·Maintain an inventory of equipment and a library of productions.

·Other duties as assigned by the Pastoral Associate for Worship and Music.

Wow! Nothing says vibrant like video production and lights!  Maybe they can get Joel Osteen to swing by and deliver the homilies on Sunday. Maybe some show tunes and liturgical dancing can be added.  Maybe Fr. Tom Newton could play in an African Drum Band.  Maybe they could add "ritual," which always makes people feel good.  You know something like holding hands in a circle and singing kumbaya.

 

I am not even sure what to say anymore, except that we are clearly being turned into protestant mega-churches and anyone who doesn't believe this is being naive.  Anyone who accepts this is compromising their faith.  Remember, at your Confirmation, you became a Soldier of Christ.  Well, the battle is here!

(Here are a couple of examples of "contemporary christian worship" for your purview.)

Submitted by Kathy

This want ad was in Sunday's Courier Post: 

The Catholic Community of Christ Our Light

Cherry Hill, NJ

 

The Catholic new Community created from the merger of Queen of Heaven and St. Peter Celestine Parishes in Cherry Hill, is seeking vibrant candidates to fill the following positions:

 

Pastoral Associate for Lifelong Faith Formation

Pastoral Associate for Worship & Music

Pastoral Associate for Communications & Operations

Pastoral Associate for Community Outreach & Social Justice

Director of Elementary Faith Formation

Director of Youth and Young Adult Formation

Director of Adult Faith Formation

Assistant Pastoral Associate for Worship & Music

Fulltime and part time administrative assistant, secretary & receptionist positions

Bookeeper - part-time

Part-time maintenance and cleaning positions.

 

Please send letter of interest, resume, etc. to

Parish Merger - Staffing committee...

 

To help facilitate communication, we have started a newsletter.  The first issue went out to the 8:30 and 11:30 Sunday Mass attendees and the CCD parents.  For anyone who missed it, the content is posted below.  Please also see the Editor's Note at the bottom.

St. Mary's News

As most of you are aware, we now have a new pastor, Fr. Edward Namiotka.  Fr. Romanowski has appealed his removal as pastor of St. Mary's*, but while the appeal is pending, Fr. Namiotka will be pastor.  Fr. Romanowski has chosen retirement over reassignment as a parochial vicar at St. Nicholas in Atlantic City.  If he wins his appeal, Fr. Romanowski will be reinstated as pastor of St. Mary's.  In the meantime, he will continue to reside at the rectory at least through the end of April and will assist Fr. Namiotka with the pastoral care of our parish.  We welcome Fr. Namiotka and continue to support Fr. Romanowski. 

Many people are wondering what this transition means for our efforts to save St. Mary's.  For the most part, we will continue on exactly as we have been.  Fr. Namiotka's appointment does not mean our church will close anytime soon, nor does it mean that our church will stay open for the duration of his six year term.  This will be explained in more detail at the Save St. Mary's Meeting on Monday, March 9^th at 6:30 pm.

 

 

Upcoming Events this Week
9th	Save St. Mary's Meeting (6:30 pm)
10th	Jr Choir Practice (7:00), KOC/Choir Practice (8:00)
11th	Eucharistic Adoration, Mass and Miraculous Medal (7:00)
12th	Rally (TBD), Jr. Legion (4:00), Legion of Mary (7:00)
13th	Rosary (6:30), Stations of the Cross & Sacred Heart (7:00)
14th	Confession (3:30)
15th	Third Order Carmelites (1:00)

Saving St. Mary's

What You Can Do To Help

1.        PRAY!  Say a quick Hail Mary, a whole rosary or a decade, offer a mass, visit St. Mary's, offer time before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, whatever you can do.

2.        STAY ACTIVE!  Try joining a parish group, participating in a devotion, become a lector, etc.  Our parish is active every day of the week, stop by anytime and encourage others to come to St. Mary's. 

3.        CONTRIBUTE!  It's important that St. Mary's be self-sufficient.  Please contribute generously to your church (the first collection) and also to Save St. Mary's.  

4.        WORK WITH ONE OF THE SAVE ST. MARY'S COMMITTEES!  We have several committees working to keep St. Mary's open.  Please join one of the following committees to help with the planning:  Prayer/Devotionals, Picketing/Rallies, Media, Letter Writing, Fundraising, Vigil Prep, Canon Law Appeal, Civil Litigation. 

5.        CONTINUE WRITING LETTERS AND RALLYING!

For more information, please attend our meeting on Monday, March 9^th at 6:30 pm or contact Leah Vassallo (692-0222) or Kevin Kelton (694-2748) for more information.  We will also provide more details in our next newsletter.

 

Fr. Edward Namiotka's Contact Info:

     Address: Queen of Angels Parish

           202 North West Blvd.,

           Landisville, NJ 08326

     Phone:     697-1450 or 691-4491 x. 1116

     Email:       enamiotka@shhslions.com

 

"To not resist error is to approve it, to not defend the truth is to suffocate it."   - Pope St. Felix III

 * Editor's Note:  Since the publication of this newsletter, Fr. Romanowski has informed us that he has withdrawn his appeal.  We will present this latest change at tonight's meeting and in next week's newsletter.