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.

Below you'll see a picture slideshow from the procession, hay ride, talent show, bands, inflatables, food and games booths, and more.

Thank yous
(focusing on Day 2)

• A special thank you is in order for Joe Posiadlo for his construction of an amazing and beautiful bier for Our Lady (see photo below). We're sure it will be used for many years to come.

• While we're at it with the thank yous, we should make sure we thank both of Sunday's bands, Mr. Tujays (right and above) and Jukebox Review. Both were excellent and so much fun, too. Thanks to Mr. Tujays for donating your time and talent to the church. We were so impressed with both bands--please make sure you catch them if you can! Both of these great classic rock/oldies bands are those of members of our parish, Jim Wilson and Kevin Kelton.

• A big, gigantic thank you to Ollie and Corie from Plagido's Winery, Hammonton (right). We cannot begin to express all the complimentary feedback we received about your wines and sangria. In the words of one of our parishioners, "Now I know where I'm going to get my Christmas wine." Me too! (And Halloween wine, and Thanksgiving wine, and Easter wine, etc.) Please be sure and patronize this wonderful winery, open 7 days a week and owned by two of the very nicest people you'd ever want to meet. (Be sure to try the "Plagido's Choice.")
  

• We would be remiss if we neglected to mention all the many people who gave of their time and talents to make this weekend possible, from planning to making phone calls to soliciting donations to stapling adbooks to setting up tables to answering the phones during and leading up to the feast to manning the booths to dressing up as a clown (???)...you name it. We are sure we'll forget someone in this list, but thank you to Dee Posiadlo, Kathie Ramos, JV (right), Tim Trace, Diane Trace, Bill DiMatteo, Mike and Danny Vassallo, Nancy Pantaleo, and most of all to the wonderful, talented, and unassuming Leah Vassallo. Leah, you are awesome. (Leah you can stop blushing and look at the pictures now.) Thank you to EVERYONE who worked so hard for Our Lady and for our parish. Please forgive me if I have forgotten you, my mind is like a sieve sometimes.

Finally, thank you to Our Lady under whose constant protection we find ourselves. We give ourselves totally to you. Please pray to your Divine Son for us and for our parish's continued protection from the onslaughts of the devil.

By the way, I have not yet had time to touch up any of the photos so if there are any blurry or sideways ones, I apologize! Hopefully I will have some videos for you soon. If any of you have photos you'd like to submit, please feel free to send them to us. The same goes for anyone who'd like to make any comments about their experiences at this year's feast. It was a great success.


Created with flickr slideshow.

To those of you who missed out on The Snake Brothers and In High Gear, you really missed out on something great. No video clip can do either band justice. Luckily, you can still catch The Snake Brothers on Saturday August 29th at Estell Manor (the County Park) on Route 50 not far from Mays Landing. They are definitely worth coming out for. We will have all three of the Snake Brothers CDs for sale at the Feast tomorrow also, $15 each, but in limited quantity, so claim your copy quickly if you're a Snake Brothers Fan. I bought their live album.

Here is a tiny sample of the country/rock band In High Gear. They were a very good time. We recommend trying to catch them locally if you ever have the chance. They seem to have a following of people who came to the festivities today who had a good time dancing along to the music.
 

Here is a tiny sample of The Snake Brothers: (For more scroll down.)


Here is a tiny sample of a hayride. Yes, I turned my camera right-side up after a second! Woops. The hay rides are so much fun and they are only 50 cents a ticket!


Here is a tiny sample of the pony rides. They are $3 each and better than any pony ride I've seen at a fair this summer (and we went to quite a few). The woman you see leading the pony around has made her life's work about horses, so she doesn't just make the pony ride circuit.


This is just a video of my son and his little friend dancing.


Here is another tiny sample of The Snake Brothers.


And here is yet another tiny sample of The Snake Brothers. It is my single biggest regret of today (aside from asking that they play later in the day when there was a bit more of a crowd) that I did not get this entire song on video. It is on none of their CDs that I could find. It was my favorite of all the songs they performed today. They are so awesome and a bunch of truly nice people. THANK YOU to The Snake Brothers.

Here's what we have planned for the Feast of the Assumption, which begins tomorrow! Come join us, and for goodness sakes, remember to wear your special feast clothes (right).

Saturday Aug. 15th

• Mass 5:00
• The Snake Brothers (folk, country, do-wop, acoustic, awesome band), approximately 2:00-4:30pm (two sessions with a break in between)
• In High Gear ("country rock" band), approximately 6:00-10:00pm
• Shrimp & Clam Bar, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus
• Food, food, and more food: Sausage, hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches, pizza (made by a parishioner!), meatballs, and more!
• Beer Garden
• Wine by the glass from Plagido's, an award winning winery
  
• Inflatables and games
• Pony Rides
• Chinese Auction
• Farmers Market (local farmers, including parishioners)
• 50/50 Raffle
• Balloons for sale
  

Sunday Aug. 16th

• Mass 8:30 & 11:30, procession at 12:30
• Talent Show 1-2:30
• Mr. Tujays (band), 2:30-4:30
• Jukebox Rebiew (band), 5-8:00
• DJ Bill Mazza, throughout the day
• Chicken BBQ
• Shrimp & Clam Bar, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus
• Tons of food to choose from: Sausage, hot dogs, roast beef sandwiches, pizza (made by a parishioner!), meatballs, and more!
• Beer Garden
• Wine tasting and wine by the glass from Sharrott & Plagido's. Both are award winning wineries.
• Inflatables and games
• Pony Rides
• Chinese Auction
• Bake Sale
• Farmers Market (local farmers, including parishioners)
• 50/50 Raffle
• Balloons for sale
  

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.

...all they got was that crappy sign? And yikes, all they could come up with for a name was "Catholic Community of Christ Our Light?" Sounds like a new age temple. It's not even a "church," mind you, it's a "Catholic community." For goodness sakes, let me stick my finger down my throat right now. Someone please tell me, what in the world is suddenly wrong with the word "church?" And why are we replacing actual communities with concocted ones?

In any case, two pretty big churches in Cherry Hill, of all places, merge and all they can get for their first mass was 100 people? That's not exactly a rousing endorsement. Maybe people were put off by the lame sign.

The worst part of the article (link below) are, sadly, the quotes, from their new pastor:

"We stand after great visionaries who've come before us, and blazed a path."

Of course, the statement begs the questions, which visionaries? And where's your blazin' path headed?

I guess he tries to answer the questions by saying,

"The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made." What the heck does that mean? If he's saying that there isn't a path to be found, one that does, in fact, already exist and was "blazed" by Our Lord and Savior, but only the one we make, I think the lot of them are headed someplace I'd prefer not to go.

It's pretty simple really. We don't need to go blazin' our own paths, because Our Lord said this:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

Yes, the good father, well intentioned I'm sure, seems to have contradicted Jesus' own words. Our Lord instructed us to FIND the path and to FOLLOW Him on it. In the very next chapter in Matthew, in fact, Jesus said, "Follow me." And not long after this, in Matthew 8:28-34, Jesus cast out demons and they entered instead into a herd of swine, which "rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water." Guess those piggies blazed quite a path.



 Click here to read Star Herald piece.

On Sun. Aug. 16, 2009, Sharrott Winery of Winslow Township, NJ (not far from Hammonton) and Plagido's Winery of Hammonton, NJ will be hosting a wine tasting at St. Mary's Feast of the Assumption.

One ticket will allow feast-goers unlimited wine tasting throughout the day, plus a free souvenir wine glass. We also hope to be selling wine by the glass. Plagido's and Sharrott will have their wines available for purchase by the bottle as well.

Sharrott Winery won "Best Chardonnay" at a prestigious international wine competition. And having had Plagido's wines, I can tell you they are also very good! We are privileged to have two amazing wineries join our Feast!

Well known South Jersey band The Snake Brothers are scheduled to play at the Feast of the Assumption Festival on Saturday August 15th. They will also have CDs and things available for purchase! There are 3 CDs currently available, $15 each. You will not regret picking one up.

The Snake Brothers describe themselves as "South Jersey's own swingin', do-woppin', cowboyin', acoustic band." I think that about sums it up. I have their CD, South Jersey Waltz, and can tell you they are awesome. Do not miss it!

A huge thank you in advance to The Snake Brothers for your generous offer to play at our Feast! We are very much looking forward to it.

Other Feast News:
Remember, we also have 50-50 tickets ($10/ticket or if you'd like to try to sell a book let us know) and Chicken BBQ tickets for sale ($9). The Chicken BBQ, by the way, is reverting to the previous "BBQer" and barring any unforeseen hail storms (!!!) everything should be wonderful. In the past people have absolutely raved about how wonderful the BBQ chicken is. By the way, the chicken will be available on Sunday only. On Saturday we will have other food items that I'm sure will be delicious also. You may buy tickets before and after all masses as well as from Angela in the rectory. 856-694-2576

We will also be selling--but not in advance--tickets/bracelets for unlimited wine tasting. In addition, there will be wine by the glass. The wine is locally crafted from internationally award-winning South Jersey wineries. We will also have our beer garden. Please do not forget to sign up for the talent show. You do not have to be a member of the church to participate in the talent show! Call the rectory (or contact us) to sign up. 856-694-2576

From the Bulletin:

It's getting to be that time of year again. We especially want this year to be a great success. Let us make it a truly special Feast for Our Lady. Let us put all our heart and soul in it. After all this is Our Tradition, something good to look forward to. Let us work together for Our Lady and Our Church! We all know the deal. We need everyone involved.

• Chicken BBQ tickets will be on sale after each mass.

• 50/50 raffle tickets will also be on sale after each mass. Both BBQ and raffle tickets may be purchased at the rectory.

• We will need baked goods, soda, and water -- name brands only. Look for volunteer sign-up sheets in church.

• Donations for Chinese Auction: Anything you can offer will be appreciated, including money for others to purchase auction items. See Joann Betz or call the rectory to participate. (You can also contact info@savestmarys.net for any of these.)
  

• Feast Talent Show will be August 16th. For sign-ups, please call the rectory or Mrs. Wilson: 609-774-1559. All musicians are required to bring their own instruments and sound equipment.

• We are also hoping for help to organize things like horseshoe tournaments, sack races, and corn or pie eating contests.

Not yet set in stone: By the way, it looks like we may have some awesome professional bands playing this year, from classic rock to bluegrass, including a surprise guest. We also hope to have two local wineries participating and a beer garden in additional to our normal activities. We will be selling tickets for the wine tasting and wine by the glass. Please make plans to come out, to help out, and make this feast the best one ever.

Today's AC Press has an excellent article about the Diocese of Camden's recent purchase of the $800,000 luxury home in Pittsgrove.  Click here to see the full article. (A similar article can also be found in the well known publication Newsday.) The article was so well-written, excerpts really do not do it justice, but here are a few quotes from Diocesan spinmaster Andy Walton for your entertainment:

But some local Catholics have made much of the description of the new property: Advertised as a "lavish 5-6 bedroom home 11-acre country estate" when it was sold last July, the place boasts riding stables, an elegant fountain in the driveway and a feature described as a "wet bar" inside.

Andrew Walton, spokesman for the diocese, defended the choice of location and style of property for the new convent. "It suits the needs of the sisters, who are looking to expand the order," he said.

He also added that by taking up the new home, the sisters were not going against their vows.

"A vow of poverty has much less to do with where you live than how you live. It's about modest living, but also a poverty of spirit.

"I think there's an undertone of nastiness to some of the commentary, that these sisters' modest living arrangements should come under criticism. There's even that suggestion that, because they're from Kenya, that these arrangements are too good for them."

Andy Walton seems a little defensive - OK, a LOT defensive, even using the race card to try to divert attention from the real issue.  Well, I guess it must be frustrating for him that he cannot clamp down on the AC Press like he does on the Courier-Post (although we know he has tried)! 

Of course, one of the commenters to the article asked how much money Andy Walton makes that he considers an $800,000 home "modest living."  Good question! They could've bought the house I live in for the sisters--five of them, one for each, in fact--and spent the same amount of money. But of course, we have no fountain, wet bar, or stables. Heck, our garage doors don't even work.

Perhaps the most obvious clue to the continual dishonesty coming from the Chancery Offices is this piece of information:

A neighbor, John Langley lives opposite the property. His ancestors, who named the road, used to own most of the area. "Around December, I saw people from the diocese on the property," he recalled. "They said they had come to check it out, and that it might be a residence for the bishop."

Andy suggests that the property will be used in the future as a retreat for the diocese so we, the diocesan faithful, can be continually "formed." Surely it will be the fanciest retreat center we'll have ever been to, but we look forward to experiencing spiritual poverty. It will be so convenient that the new "retreat center" is only a short ride (3.5 miles, to be precise) from St. Mary's. We eagerly anticipate prayer while on horseback and cooling off in the fountain. Who will be tending bar? Pour me one of these.

Clarifying a Misleading Diocesan Administrator on Prayer

When Marilyn Vollmer tried to explain prayer to the multitudes, she said we often don't receive what we pray for. I thought and prayed about that point when I was in first grade. I later found out that we often get something better than what we pray for.* In fact, true prayer--which Marilyn Vollmer ought to study because her immortal soul depends on it--always has a primary goal to give honor and glory to God.

Our Lord teaches us that fact in the Our Father. The fact that the first words and the Name of that prayer are stressing the relationship we have with God. Any other reason for praying is secondary, far down on the list of genuine prayer. "Lifting of the mind and heart to God" says everything. No conveners or facilitators need apply.


Prayer and Our Blessed Mother

In our battle against the devil Catholics make the consecration to Our Lord through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and that is true prayer. Our Blessed Mother's prayer, which is subordinate to the Our Father but flows from it, gives all honor and glory to God. "My soul doth magnify the Lord" (St. Luke 1:46). The actions of our Blessed Mother and St. Elizabeth portray the perfection of prayer.

First, there is the salutation of our Blessed Mother that leads to the sanctification of her child, St. John, in her womb. This encounter is the model for all who hold human life sacred. When prayer is performed properly, great and majestic events take place.

Our Blessed Mother greets us in every prayer because she is always united to Our Lord and brings Our Lord to us. St. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost (St. Luke 1:41). This is what happens to us in our devotion to our Blessed Mother. Unbelievers don't allow these words to penetrate the heart. Believers never doubt nor fear the encounter with Jesus through the intercession of His Mother.


Proper Lenten Prayer and Practices

That is why our prayers enable us to prepare for Lent properly as in the Latin Ordo (calendar of the saints). We dismiss the apostates'** practices of stones in the holy water font, having the Resurrected Lord in place of the Crucified Lord, failure to practice bodily mortification (we practice penance), substituting yoga instead of the Stations of the Cross, and ignoring the law of abstinence on Fridays. The apostates in the Church like to tell us how they enjoyed their vacations. There aren't any vacations in Hell.***


Holy Examples are No Accident: They are God's Grace!

Sr.Mary Celine of the Felician Sisters of Lodi taught us the above in the seventh grade. We knew of that material on prayer before that, but Sr. Mary Celine stood out by living that prayer in a cheerful way. It was a grace for me to find out that Sr. Mary Celine often visited a family at St. Mary's, Malaga long before I came here. Those graces never stop coming to our Shrine Parish!

Praised be Jesus Christ,
Now and Forever!
Father Jerome C. Romanowski, Pastor


* From the Editor: God answers all prayers of his children! But the problem of the current diocesan administration is something we've long known at Savestmarys: they have no hope.
 

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.... We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere 'to the end' and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1817-1821)

See also the following texts, all of which show how those people currently running the diocese into the ground lack are confusing the faithful with their words:

• John 16: 23-24: Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full.

• Mark 11: 21-23: And Peter remembering, said to him: Rabbi, behold the fig tree, which thou didst curse, is withered away. And Jesus answering, saith to them: Have the faith of God. Amen I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe, that whatsoever he saith shall be done; it shall be done unto him. Therefore I say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.

• Matthew 21: 18-22: And in the morning, returning into the city, he was hungry. And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered away? And Jesus answering, said to them: Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith, and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done. And in all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

• Interestingly, see James 4:1-5, the section summarized as, "The evils that flow from yielding to concupiscence and being friends to this world." Perhaps this is why Ms. Volmer does not receive that for which she purports to pray.
  

  From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members? You covet, and have not: you kill, and envy, and can not obtain. You contend and war, and you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not; because you ask amiss: that you may consume it on your concupiscences. Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth in you.

• Again, if we keep his commandments. See 1John 3:21-22: Dearly beloved, if our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards God: And whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him: because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.

• Matthew 7: 6-10: Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you. Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent?

• Luke 11: 9-13: And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?

**Footnote from Father Romanowski: An apostate is one who denounces the teachings of the Catholic Church and instead malpractices a denomination (that is, a cult).

***Emphasis above from the Editor.

Previously we have quoted a bit from the 2002 Michael Rose book entitled, Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church. This excellent book is well researched and sheds a great deal of light on the controversy, unorthodox doctrine, emphasis on "lay ministry," and seminary/priest formation problems encountered in the Catholic Church in the United States today. Perhaps more than anything else, it explains well how the "priest shortage" crisis is contrived and utterly avoidable.

(As a side note, Bishop Galante and those attempting to make changes to the Church ought to pay attention. Unless we  miscalculate, Rose was 33 when he wrote this book. The younger generations, which the bishop is supposedly trying to attract, are often the ones most disenchanted by the lack of adherence to traditional, orthodox Catholicism.)

Seminary & Priest Formation Problems

From Chapter 5, "The Heterodoxy Downer: How False Teaching Demoralizes and Discourages the Aspiring Priest."

Beyond issues of grave sexual immorality, the seminary environment presents a number of other deterrents to the orthodox seminarian. The most obvious and perhaps the most insidious is heterodoxy, open or subtle dissent from the official teachings of th Church. Many faculty members are averse to teaching what the Church teaches, and some find it onerous even to hide their disdain for Catholicism. The seminarian who arrives on campus expecting to find faculty and staff that love the Catholic faith and teach what the Church teaches can be sadly disappointed.

Continued:

Dr. Louise Leidner, who taught students from the Washington Theological Union in Washington DC...during the 1990s claims that students who expressed orthodox Catholic opinions were "publicly mocked by their WTU peers and by WTU faculty and superiors for taking positions consonant with the Church's teaching." In addition, she says that "Several of her students...were actually kicked out of their religious houses because they expressed orthodox opinions that were 'dangerous and harmful to other people"--even though their positions were supported by the Catechism of the Catholic Church--because they would "negatively infect and unduly influence and contaminate" the other students.

Does it get worse? Apparently. In Chapter Four, Rose mentions several well-known nicknames for seminaries, including a seminary (St. Mary's) to which Bishop Galante, here in the Camden Diocese, has decided to send seminarians. Yikes. (Incidentally, last we heard, this is where our married, former evangelical seminarian/diocesan chaplain employee is currently taking classes.)

According to former seminarians and recently ordained priests...institutions have earned nicknames such as Notre Flame (for Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans) and Theological Closet (for Theological College at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC). St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore has earned the nickname, "The Pink Palace."

Meanwhile, St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia, a seminary the diocese of Camden has most often sent seminarians to, is "known to be of a much more conservative mentality" (page 165).

The Rise of "Lay Ministries"

Rose also researched a typical "Lay Pastoral Ministries Program" run by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. (Note that our own bishop is currently implementing one such program here in our diocese, while at the same time, by slow trickle, removing priests by the dozen to forcible retirement, military chaplaincy, removal to other dioceses, and ostensibly to "study" in Rome.) In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, a man named Glenn Jeviden was interested in serving the Church and was directed to this Lay Ministries program. The screening process began with an interview conducted by what turned out to be a liberal sister who

asked me several times if I understood the Church was changing, and if I thought I was able to be "flexible enough to accept a pluralistic Church."

The interview was friendly enough but Jividen, though conceding that change is a part of life, asked the sister "if she believed that some truths never changed." She did not answer. He was next asked to write an autobiography, in which he discussed his pro-life activities, involvement with Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), and his devotion to the Church, the Holy Father, and the Blessed Mother, etc. He also had to take the Myers-Briggs personality test (a test based on Jungian psychological types) and was seen by a priest psychologist for other "tests."

During a psychologist visit, following the results of the tests, the conversation turned to CUF, and its alleged inflexible attitudes (read: orthodox) and Jividen's explicitly orthodox positions. The psychologist stated that the pope only had to be abided by when he spoke ex cathedra. It went on from there, you get the idea. Finally the priest psychologist suggested that Jividen would

feel uncomfortable with my CUF friends after entering the Lay Pastoral Ministries Program.

Needless to say, Jividen didn't make the cut and was told to "update" his theology. They suggested he develop his "personal spirituality" and that he see one of their spiritual directors, 22 of the 25 of whom were women.

The Agenda, says Rose?

Rose's point in discussing the lay ministries program is that some see the vocations crisis as "presaging a revolution and the demise of the  hierarchical structure of the Church" (quoting Helen Hull Hitchcock, 1999).

This is the contingent that has long been promoting "lay ecclesial ministry," the laicization of the clergy, and the clericalization of the laity. Simply put, they would like to see the laity take over the leadership of the Church at the parish level and beyond, from teaching and preaching to administering the sacraments. This program would effectively entail eliminating the priesthood rather than just "reenvisioning" it.

Indeed in many places, the lack of priestly vocations (or in our case, the forced scarcity thereof) is embraced as a way to promote a new vocation to "lay ecclesial ministry," that is, non-ordained, paid church professionals. Some bishops, priests, and other diocesan and seminary authorities actually seem to rejoice over decreasing priestly vocations as an opportunity for creating a "new model of Church" in which the laity can "take their rightful place" (quoting Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles).

This philosophy, drawn out by many over the last decade of the 20th century, betrays a peculiar attitude--the priesthood as a barrier to the emergence of the laity in their own dignity and mission (pages 209-211).

The word vibrant, is of course dropped--its use is not new--and the priest shortage is described as a self-fulfilling prophecy. "Where lay ministry is overemphasized, the priesthood becomes devalued" since it is reduced to sacramental ministry, viewed as being on par with "music ministry," "hospitality  ministry," "youth ministry," etc. Priests are mistakenly "defined...by what they do rather than what they are--an alter Christus."

The Vicious Circle

Tell us if this doesn't look familiar to you? The "vicious circle" looks like this:

Catholics in key positions of authority...actively discourage vocations to the priesthood in order to promote lay ministry. Yet at the same time, lay ecclesial ministry  is proposed as the answer to the dearth of priestly vocations, as if this were a permanent and perhaps ideal situation. Parishes run by lay ministers are likely to foster little, if any, interest in vocations to the priesthood. The result is that the number of priests will continue to decline further, necessitating more lay ministers to fill their places (211).

Rose goes on to describe church closures and radical "faith communities" formed in some places:

Priestless "faith communities" over time are likely to become simply congregational communities centered on the reading of the Scriptures, the homily, and on sharing bread and wine--devoid of the act of perfect worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--based on the model of Protestant community.

Continued:

The so-called shortage suits them just fine, precisely because they can use the crisis to justify radical change in the local Church...one run by "lay pastors." This "new model of Church" is not really about solving the priest shortage. It is about advancing their agenda of a politically correct Church.

Potential seminarians will, and do, gravitate toward dioceses and orders "that support the ministry of the priest as defined by the Church." The bishops in such diocese are not "issuing pastoral letters introducing parish 'clusters' or worse. Rose suggests that there are all too many in positions of Church leadership who have a "death with for the male, celibate priesthood."

Nothing New

Friends, what we have going on now in the Camden diocese is nothing new. As we have seen, it has been going on for a couple decades now, it has been perpetrated elsewhere, it has ruined other dioceses, it has discouraged vocations to the priesthood, it has wrought havoc and confusion in the Church. Now this downright un-Catholic plan is being recycled here in South Jersey in order to liberalize the Church by depriving us of the priesthood and even our very churches. Our churches are the places that reflect who we are in God's cosmology, they put us in our rightful place! But Galante, Vollmer, and McGrath would like to replace our churches--and Church--with something altogether different. Make no mistake about it. Bishop Galante even brought along one of the leaders from the Los Angeles Archdiocese--a diocese infamously known as one of the greatest messes with one of the most corrupt bishops in the entire country--"Sister" Marilyn Vollmer, to bring a bit of that mess here. (Of course, they called the program "Gathered and Sent" there, now they're calling it "Gathering God's Gifts" here, so at least they switched up the name a tad.)

Currently we are undergoing a screening process in which the "core groups" at each parish--those who are meant to lead the church mergers--are chosen based on their willingness to close or otherwise undermine their parish and positively participate in the bishop's agenda. Those who don't agree with the closure or status of their church and the direction the Diocese of Camden is headed are quickly weeded out.

Don't fall for the nonsense! Keep the faith. It his a hard thing to keep in a time when church leadership, even some bishops and priests, believe things very different than many of us do, a model of church unlike what we have known and what has been promulgated down the centuries. So continue to pray for Bishop Galante. He needs our prayers. And continue to pray for the holy courage and fortitude of the priests of our diocese and seminarians everywhere.

Bishop Galante, be advised: If you should choose to keep up this unholy battle to close the shrine parish of St. Mary's Malaga, you will have a tremendous uphill battle ahead of you. We will fight you all the way to Rome if that's what it takes. The pressure will not cease, it will only increase. We will use canon law and civil law to protect what is holy and True.

Warning: Plainspoken Julie below. Feel free to add you two cents about this evening!

Tonight, Bishop Joseph Galante visited our little church. It was packed to overflowing and people picketed out in the street. It was an impressive turnout, to say the least. Interestingly, Bishop Galante brought a whole cavalcade of people along with him, including Roberta Small and "Sister" Marilyn vollmer, commonly known around the diocesan offices and beyond as "the other bishop." (He brought her along with him from Texas when he came to NJ.) You'd never know she was a "religious." He also brought along Fr. Carmen Carlone, pastor of St. Joe's in Hammonton.

As an aside, I joined St. Joe's awhile ago even though I never, ever attend (except once a year for the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and that's about all I can stand). I joined hoping that I might be able to request "as a parishioner," that they offer Eucharistic adoration there. While I'm no longer a member there (and was in name only--the "liturgies" there were that appalling), when I attended the "welcome to the parish" event "Father" Carmen sported a salmon pink tank top, capris, and leather thong sandals. He's a real character. I have never seen him in a collar, actually, until tonight. He must've had that suit specially dusted off and pressed for the occasion. He looked good. But I digress.

The bishop and Msgr. Joyce, the slick moderator with the shiny shoes, gave us "one hour and ten minutes," with 2 minutes per person, to say our piece. Lots of incredible things were said, I couldn't even hope to repeat them all here. There was so much courage and conviction in the room, and lots of applause for points well-made. If the bishop got nothing else from our meeting, he must know this: that we are not, I repeat NOT going to give up until we obtain victory not just for St. Mary's, but for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament who must be so outraged and offended by the actions of this bishop.

Friends of St. Mary's, let the Blessed Sacrament be at the very center of our struggle. So many tonight spoke to the bishop about their love of the Blessed Sacrament. Several children spoke about their experiences at Eucharistic adoration, and one girl who looked to be about ten said that she'd gone to adoration at 3AM this past night for the sake of our church, and walked off in tears. One little boy of about eight told the bishop he wanted to be a priest at St. Mary's! One man, who does not drive, takes the bus all the way from Margate to attend St.Mary's and to go to adoration there. How inspiring. And he wasn't the only one. Person after person stood up and said how far they go to get to St. Mary's and how they pass this church and that one because what St. Mary's has is truly special. And yet to the bishop, the level of commitment and love for the Lord that exists at St. Mary's is simply not "vibrant" enough.

I myself witnessed to the bishop of the heresy preached on the website of the parish of St. John the Evangelist, the millionaire South Florida church he holds up as the model he believes South Jersey churches should become. At St. John the Evangelist, they believe that the bread and wine remain after the consecration as the Lutherans do and as the Council of Trent condemned. That's called consubstantiation. It's heresy. He just sat there smugly and shook his head at me. But I spoke the truth, and he knows it. The truth cannot and must not be hidden!

One wonderful woman spoke with such conviction about the fact that clearly, this whole thing must be about money, and that we must withhold our money from the diocese if they won't listen to us. They're our churches, we've paid for them, and they want to take them away from us anyway. I completely agree with her--I will not give a dime until St. Mary's is safe.

The bishop admitted that the "community church" model of megachurch that attracts many people--you know, that lukewarm, happy clappy, superficial religion--should be what we model our future churches on. Boy does he have it all wrong. He thinks Catholics are going over to the evangelicals because they want to be entertained. He's wrong. They are seeking out truth and not hypocrisy. I question whether they find it there in those sorts of churches, of course, but I understand what they're looking for. Bishop Galante expressed that he thinks "young people" want a paid youth minister and all sorts of services and "ministries"--all the "ministry" money can buy. He's wrong. The bishop couldn't be more wrong. Youth want the Truth, pure and simple. They want to be real Catholics, not sugar-coated, watered-down ones. And if they can't be that or do not know how to be that, they're going to leave. More of the same old crap that they've been feeding us over the past 40 years isn't going to make the situation better, it's going to make it worse. Non-practicing Catholics (including a sibling of mine) are completely disgusted by this whole situation. Closing the churches that are their last remaining physical connections to the Catholic faith will only distance them further.

When Bishop Galante had the opportunity to speak at the end (and some of the points he made I've mentioned above), he was extremely unconvincing. It was really just the same stuff he's been saying for months, so no surprises there. However, he may have been surprised by our allergic reaction to his remarks and the continual interjections from the peanut gallery (myself included, I was very hot under the collar). His rationale is completely nonsensical and we all saw through it tonight. It was wonderful that he impressed, convinced, or persuaded no one. We were truly united as a community, a thing Galante supposedly seeks to encourage--by tearing down our churches and building up artificial communities. He came in knowing he had his own plans and that he would not truly listen to us. The whole thing was for show, really, just to pretend he actually cares, just like the "speak up sessions." None of us fell for it.

In a nutshell, Bishop Galante is still claiming there will be a priest shortage, that Catholics are not attending mass, that churches need to be open seven days a week, "vibrant" liturgies need to happen everywhere (whatever the hell that means--I guess holy, Catholic liturgies are less important), that we need to have peppier music, and that outreach is centrally important. Of course, all of us sitting in the pews, in answer to every point he made about how the churches need to change, said, "we ARE doing that." St. Mary's is open all the time. It is "vibrant" liturgically, it does do outreach (but in a personal rather than a "slick" sort of way), and does have authentic, Catholic music.

The bishop also stood up and shamefully lied about several things, such as the financial motivation. He said that the assets of a parish, once merged, remain within the new entity. He failed to mentioned all the money grabbing that would occur after the "merge" (closure) and his power to control said assets. He failed to address several questions posed by the parishioners, including one very important one posed by Leah Vassallo, which was, basically, "What could St. Mary's do to demonstrate its 'vibrancy' to you, Bishop? Do you even think it's possible for a small church community of about 250 families, such as ours, to be vibrant?" After the bishop finished speaking (after having been interrupted numerous times by the faithful in the pews), Leah demanded he answer her question, and he completely ignored her. But in a way, I think he did answer her question. He talked about nothing but numbers and "big" churches, paid ministries, and bringing in masses of people. (Of course, when you close all these churches the megachurches will have to be large and bustling--they'll be the only places left to go! May God spare us that abomination!) While he conceded that even large churches could fail to be vibrant, the definite implication was that this was an exception. Big=vibrant to the bishop.

Bishop Galante was also confronted about his use of the name "Wawa" to refer to our little churches. Wonderfully, the speaker, our cameraman and a self-identified "Catholic in name only" and "doubting Thomas," said that Wawa was so successful because "there's one on every corner" and you can easily find them! Also, you always know you can get good food there and good service. Haha! What a wonderful point. Perhaps we should claim the term "Wawa church." As in, "My church is a Wawa church! You can find St. Mary's always open on the corner of 40 & 47!"

Finally I ought to mention that Bishop Galante stated that he could have come to this diocese and had an easy last few years before retirement, to which all of us applauded and said, "Why don't you?!" He was not happy with this remark and several times over admonished us to act as Christians. Last time I checked, it's our job as Christians to stand up and tell the truth. "Nicey-nice" ain't synonymous with Christian. But again, I digress. Anyway, the bishop said his "conscience wouldn't allow him" to keep things as they are, the "status quo" as he calls it.

As the days go on, Friends of St. Mary's, I am increasingly convicted. I know that we are doing the right thing, that God is on our side, and that we are doing His will. And the more unsavory information I learn of the bishop and his past, the more I realize that something unholy is afoot. We must continue to pray for the bishop, for nothing is impossible with God, and for the priests of our diocese. And let us keep working to save A Light in the Diocese: St. Mary's!

(PS: My four-year-old son Theo would like to add, "St. Mary's is a special church." He typed that himself.)





Friends of St. Mary's Malaga: Please email me, call me, comment here, or send letters detailing your experiences of this evening and opinion of the bishop's scheme. Feel free to comment below.

Naples, Florida: Golf Capital of the World and Home of Bill and Mary Anne Galante's Ultra-Liberal St. John the Evangelist Church

"More holes per capita than any other community." (From Wikipedia entry on Napes, FL)

I'm referring here to golf links, of course. Naples, Florida is everything you think, and more. Half of the American Fortune 500 CEOs live in Napes, FL. Yes, little ol' Malaga, NJ: You, too, can be as authentic, spiritual, and non-materialistic as Naples, FL. Yay! Guess who lives part of the year in Napes, FL? Bishop Galante's brother and sister-in-law.

Quoting from the Philadelphia Inquirer article, which is quoting Bishop Galante:

And all he [Bishop Galante's brother] talks about is how vibrant the local parish is: the people going to Mass, the wonderful preaching, concerts with sacred music and popular music.

The vitality and community his brother has found in Florida are what he hopes South Jersey Catholics will one day encounter in the 66 parishes that will remain.

The local church his brother and sister-in-law attend, which is the model for what Bishop Galante hopes South Jersey churches will become, looks like this:

Charming, personal, quaint, and inviting, huh? And the pastor, Fr. Glackin (who in is photo doesn't even bother to wear a collar), for Mother's Day/Pentecost Sunday, quoted Erma Bombeck. Cute. Here's a link to that:
Fr. Glackin's Mother's Day Inspiration

You May Laugh, But It's A Little Scary
There are a couple of sort of humorous things on the church's site. On the RCIA website, they claim that confession is "not for the guilty." Of course, it's pretty ridiculous. It of course begs the question, if you're not guilty, then why confess? But I digress. Onto stranger things. You'll notice below (image taken from their website) that they have an image of a skinny, topless, somewhat androgynous-looking woman about to be touched by an outstretched hand. I presume this to be the primordial symbol of conversion. Kinda reminds me of an alien abduction or something, it's sort of unnerving.

 

Compared with the hefty material I will take on below, mentioning anything so minor as the music at St. John the Evangelist seems petty. Nevertheless, since the bishop wants some "vital music" injected into the South Jersey Catholic liturgical scene (read: begone traditional Catholic hymnody). I thought it would be good to include a photo of the music director of St. John the Evangelist parish. Check out his website, if you'd like to listen to some of the "vibrant music" Bishop Galante would have us integrate into our "liturgies." Paul Todd's site Mr. Todd has opened for the Pointer Sisters, Joan Rivers, the Gatlin Brothers, and others. All that and he works on a TeleTubbies-like cartoon for kids.

 

Puts us to shame over at St. May's, what with the teeny little choir loft and simple a cappella singing. The bigger the better, after all.

Pastor Promotes Group that Undermines Church Teaching
On a much more serious note, Father Glackin, pastor of St. John's, is a ringleader of the radical group, "Voice of the Faithful," Link here, which Catholic Culture assigns a "danger warning" for fidelity. Archbishop John Myers of Newark, NJ says that

VOTF...has used the current crisis in the Church as a springboard for presenting an agenda that is anti-Church and, ultimately, anti-Catholic.

(See Naples Daily News, September 19, 2003. Link here.) Glackin keeps trying to bring in speakers from Voice of the Faithful to St. John the Evangelist parish and the bishop of the Diocese of Venice keeps denying him. Instead VOTF brings speakers like the notorious Fr. Curran to a local Greek Orthodox Church. See article here. Voice of the Faithful's real goal, among many, is fairly obvious: it wants to change the character and structure of the church by "promot[ing] turning the Church into a democracy." Furthermore their conferences "feature prominent speakers who are known to support homosexuality, abortion, contraception, female priests and other dissident principles." The gist of their philosophy is to build up the laity and create an atmosphere of equality and interchangeability among the roles of the sexes and even the clergy and laity. (catholicculture.org)

Voice of the Faithful "is tied to dissident, radical, anti-Vatican groups, such as Call to Action and We Are Church, which strongly reject Catholic moral principles," according to the well regarded and orthodox catholicculture.org. Fr. Glackin, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Naples, is lauded by VOTF on its website: Accollades from VOTF for Fr. Glackin. VOTF holds their monthly meetings at the Parish Life Center, so the pastor's connection with this dissident group is hardly hidden. (The meeting location is listed on the VOTF southewest Florida website.)

Parish Promotes Irreverence & Misunderstanding of the Real Presence
St.John the Evangelist Parish, which the bishop holds up as the model for Catholic churches, is a bastion of anti-Catholic and non-Catholic (well, essentially Protestant) thought. On the church website, to put it charitably, there is a very definite mixed message relayed with regard to the Real Presence, among other things. For example, kneeling during the consecration is roundly condemned as something born of fear. They claim that the early Church stood during the consecration, but provide no evidence for this assumption. From the church's RCIA program Q&A about the Eucharist (for entire article click here):

Why do people at St. Johns stand for the consecration, where at some other Catholic churches, people kneel? In the early church, people stood for the consecration as a sign of respect and joyful celebration. As the centuries progressed, people began to kneel, as a sign of sorrow and repentance, and focused so much on the Divinity of Christ that his humanity was almost forgotten. Kneeling was a sign of fear before a king. This practice still continues in some catholic churches today. But with Vatican II, the church recovered the early church's focus on joyful celebration. So, at St. John's we stand in joy rather than kneel in fear.

A little further down, the question is posed, "Who can take communion?" Here is a piece of the answer St. John the Evangelist RCIA provides potential converts:

(The church teaches that it needs to be baptized Catholics...but Christ doesn't check our ID's) Sometimes at weddings and funerals, non-Catholics may be invited to receive communion.

In other words, they come right out and say that the Church teaches one thing, but they teach another. This church actively and unabashedly flouts the teachings of the Catholic faith not only through direct affiliation with groups that undermine the faith, but also by egregiously offending Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist by allowing non-Catholic Christians to partake. They belittle those who would revere His holy presence by kneeling in adoration. It would make sense to cease kneeling if the Real Presence is not understood properly...

Most alarming of all, it is clear by reading the entry on the Eucharist that at St. John's there is a complete misunderstanding of transubstantiation. They say, "The wine is still wine, and the bread is still bread, but somehow it is also more than just bread and wine." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that was essentially heresy. I quote the Catholic Encyclopedia here (and I'd really encourage you to read the entire entry on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist here):

That the consequence of Transubstantiation, as a conversion of the total substance, is the transition of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is the express doctrine of the Church (Council of Trent, Sess. XIII, can. ii). Thus were condemned as contrary to faith the antiquated view of Durandus, that only the substantial form (forma substantialis) of the bread underwent conversion, while the primary matter (materia prima) remained, and, especially, Luther's doctrine of Consubstantiation, i.e. the coexistence of the substance of the bread with the true Body of Christ.

As I understand it, the Body and Blood of Our Lord maintain only the appearance of bread and wine. Again from the Catholic Encyclopedia (from this piece on consecration):

It is called transubstantiation, for in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of breadand wine do not remain, but the entire substance of bread is changed into the body of Christ, and the entire substance of wine is changed into His blood, the species or outward semblance of bread and wine alone remaining.

I could go on, since there is an abundance of erronious information so readily available, but I won't. Truly frightening is the prospect that lays before us: that Bishop Galante seeks to model his new-and-improved Catholic McMegachurches after St. John the Evangelist parish, a church that so clearly propogates irreverence and error. Is this what we want the South Jersey Catholic churches to be? I don't. I want to worship God as He is, not as I wish Him to be.

A Model Church for Us Unsophisticated South Jersey Hicks
So anyhow, yes folks, this church of St. John the Evangelist is the model for what Bishop Galante sees as a "vibrant" church. I don't pretend to know what you might think of pastors who promote organizations that undermine the Faith, pop-culture references mixed into your religiosity, Yanni-esque music directors, large and impersonal McChurches, too-cool-for-you RCIA programs, hip self-improvement "confession," and "communities" that boast some of the richest people in the world. And "more holes per capita than any other community" to boot! But I for one prefer that old time religion, the faith of our fathers, "the least of these," and all that stuff. I don't want a big, fancy, modern church with larger than life "contemporary" music. I want a church that reminds me of who I am in the grand scheme of things, not a church that puts me in the center. I want a church that's real, on a human scale, leads me to God, and doesn't remind me of a country club.

The majority of the churches the bishop wants to close are authentic houses of worship with the Real Presence front and center, kneelers, and histories that predate Vatican II. They are traditional. They are characteristically Catholic, replete with the sacramentals that empower us to fight the Enemy. They are the powerhouses of prayer. And yet, according to the Inquirer article, "the scope of the closing appears to be the largest ever for any of the nation's 195 Roman Catholic dioceses." And many of the churches that stand to be closed are ones very much like St. Mary's. Should we make way for a bigger, better sort of church? A one-stop-shop like the evangelical protestants have? Will we accept compromised theology and liturgy? Or are we finally going to acknowledge that what people really want is Truth...simple and straightforward Truth, and that it's Jesus in the Holy Eucharist who offers it?

By the way, in case you want to read it, click for the Inquirer Article here

Part 1: The Origins of St. Mary's
Part 2: 1922-1939: A Mission Church of Sacred Heart Parish
Part 3: 1939-1961: A Mission Church of St. Rose of Lima Parish
Part 4: Since 1961: An Independent Parish
Epilogue: Pastor's Vision for the Future
Acknowledgments: About this history

In 1922 the Third Sunday of Advent fell on December 17, the day St. Mary's Church was dedicated. Hundreds flocked to the new church on Dutch Mill Road to hear the Mass's theme, "The Lord is near, let us be joyful." The people of Malaga were especially joyful that wintry Sunday as they witnessed the spiritual beginning of their own church.

The Solemn high Mass was celebrated with the Most Reverend Thomas Walsh, bishop of Trenton, presiding. He voiced high praise for Monsignor James Bulfin, pastor of Sacred Heart Church (seven miles away in Vineland), who directed the building of the church, and for the people of Malaga whose monetary sacrifices made it possible.

St. Mary's Early Pastors

The dedication of St. Mary's marked its beginning as a mission church under Sacred Heart. Monsignor Bulfin served as pastor of St. Mary's even though he resided in Vineland. (St. Mary's did not have its own pastor and rectory until four decades later.) Monsignor Bulfin had a passionate devotion to Catholic education. "Without the religious training of our youth," he stated on numerous occasions, "our churches would not be needed."

In 1933 illness compelled Monsignor Bulfin to forgo pastoral duties, and Father Francis Jackson inherited his superior's responsibilities. The untimely death of Father Jackson only four years later, which many attributed to the stress of Sacred Heart's Depression-era fiscal problems, was deeply felt by St. Mary's parishioners. Father William Hickey, later Monsignor Hickey, replaced Father Jackson and served as pastor of St. Mary's during its final two years as a mission church under Sacred Heart, from 1937 to 1939.

Sisters of St. Joseph

During St. Mary's early years, the Sisters of St. Joseph traveled from their convent in Vineland to Malaga to prepare the children for first Holy Communion. Mother Albertine, Sister Mary Edmond, Sister Teresa Carmel, Sister Grace Stanislaus, and Sister Mary Barnabas, like those who followed them, were devoted to teaching the Catholic faith and responsible citizenship during those Sunday afternoon sessions.

Each spring, twelve to fifteen children received the Sacrament. This was a proud moment for their parents, who were grateful to the sisters for helping them perpetuate their faith and thus fulfill the main reason for building St. Mary's. They were grateful, also, to the sisters for reinforcing their children's language skills, enabling them to participate more fully in the mainstream of American society.

Feast of the Assumption

Because St. Mary's was named for the Mother of Jesus, the Feast of the Assumption became the parish's principal celebration. The mid-August festivities resembled those of a typical Italian village; that is, a High Mass, followed by a parade to honor the community's patron saint and a public gathering featuring food, music, games and fireworks.

Parishioners blessed with long years and clear memories can still remember the festivals of the 1920s and '30s when the Associazione della Assunta, which was organized principally by Mr. Giovanni (John) DiMatteo, managed the annual event in the absence of an on-site pastor. They can still recall the sight of the statue of La Madonna (Figure 2), festooned with ribbons on which worshipers had pinned dollar bills, being hoisted to the shoulders of young men for the parade down Delsea Drive. (Traffic was no problem then.) They can recall the sound of the Red, White, and Blue Band as it marched behind La Madonna. They can recall the enticing aroma of zeppole (cruller-like fried dough) and other delicacies being readied on the church grounds for the return of hungry paraders.

Volunteer barkers urged people to "step right up" and test their strength and skill at knocking over bogus milk bottles with a baseball. (The white bottles, made of wood with metal interiors to impart stability, were arranged in a pyramid thirty feet behind a counter.) "Three balls for a nickel," the barker cried, "and one of these beautiful prizes (mainly stuffed animals) is yours!!"

Young Raynard Infante from New York City, a relative of several families in the area, impressed the local population with his Neapolitan love songs, which he sang from the gandstand in the area where St. Mary's outdoor shrines now stand. Another favorite amateur singer was Mr. Giuseppe (Joseph) Alvino, one of the church's founders, who rendered "Oh Sole Mio" with a fervor that old-timers still talk about. (Both Raynard Infante and Mr. Avino are shown in Figure 3.)

After a respite from the mid-day parade, members of the Red, White, and Blue Band took their places on the bandstand and entertained the crowd during the afternoon and evening. The music consisted of Italian melodies and patriotic songs, mostly Sousa marches. The band's electrifying "Stars and Stripes Forever" presaged the festival's finale: the fireworks.

As band members put their instruments away, firework technicians sent up aerial bombs that exploded in a cascade of color. This lured the crowd to the southern edge of the church grounds (where the rectory now stands). From that point, people could see the lighting of fireworks mounted on wooden structures on the knoll where the firehouse is now located. Fireworks at ground level, including spinning wheels and Niagara Falls, alternated with aerial displays depicting patriotic themes, such as the Statue of Liberty, the Mayflower, and the American flag (then forty-eight stars).

The fireworks (and the two-day festival) ended at about eleven o'clock with the detonation of an ear-splitting battery of explosives buried two feet below the ground--enough to destroy a small army. With the acrid smell of fireworks still hanging over the church grounds, those who came in cars and trucks sounded their horns in appreciation while others tramped home humming the songs that the Red, White, and Blue Band had played.

Bountiful Times End.

Suddenly, in 1929, St. Mary's parishioners, like all Americans, were hit with the devastating effects of the Great Depression. Cash incomes dropped as the price of produce plunged to just a few pennies more than the cost of the container in which it was shipped to market. But the Depression did not stop these energetic settlers from garnering food, fuel, and shelter for their children and their farm animals from southern New Jersey's rich, sandy loam; its red-cedar swamps; and its unspoiled, game-filled woodlands.

In addition to being innately resourceful, these sturdy men and women were capable of buoying each others' spirits during grim times. No one was more noted for this than the grandfatherly man who devoted the last eighteen years of his life to St. Mary's and the Malaga community.

St. Mary's First Custodian

Unlike most of St. Mary's early parishioners who were young, newly married immigrants, Signor Giuseppe DiMatteo (Figure 4) was an Italian widower who was seventy-three years old when the church was built in 1922. Today, some older residents can still remember Giuseppe, affectionately called "Zio Pepe" by all the children in the community, even those who were English-speaking. Giuseppe had immigrated from Campania in 1914, the year his son, Mr. Giovanni (John) DiMatteo (1879-1947), and daughter-in-law, Mrs. Antoinette Cairone DiMatteo (1887-1950), purchased the family farm on what is now West Boulevard.

Biuseppe spent his years in American on the farm, helping to rear his eleven grandchildren and working in the family vineyard. Using his pruning shears, sickle, and zappa (an Old World cultivating hoe), he nurtured the vines so they formed multitudinous, small green grapes in the spring.

As the season progressed, Giuseppe continued to coax the vines. The little grapes grew in the summer sun and matured into plump, purple fruit during the cooler, shorter days of September and October. The family made grape jelly with part of the crop, and Giuseppe would make wine with the rest.

A medium-built, muscular man, whose body belied his age, Giuseppe did more than till the vineyard; he also served as custodian of St. Mary's from its beginning until its death in 1940. The church grounds were not landscaped at the time, so Giuseppe used his sickle and heavy hoe to tame the growth outside during spring, summer, and fall. In addition, he kept the inside of the church in order.

In winter, the church was unheated during the week. Giuseppe would arrive early on Sunday to start a fire in the wood-burning furnace downstairs so that the church would be warm when the priest and worshipers showed up for the nine o'clock mass.

Giuseppe carried out most of his duties behind the scenes, except for the ringing of the bell, which he did with zeal exactly thirty minutes before Mass. Twenty minutes later, with early arrivals already in the pews, he would ring it again. During that era, St. Mary's bell was connected to a heavy rope that came down from the steeple into the church through a hole in the ceiling. (The hole in the ceiling above the choir loft is still visible.)

Standing in the main aisle below, Giuseppe would grasp the rope with both  hands and pull on it with the weight of his body. His initial efforts would cause the bell and its supporting mechanism to start swinging back and forth. The rafters would creak, and the bell would produce a soft ding. As momentum increased, the bell's hammer would strike its side more forcefully, and the dingdong of the bell would reverberate across the surrounding countryside.

For eighteen years Giuseppe summoned the populace of St. Mary's for spiritual renewal.

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Part 1: The Origins of St. Mary's
Part 2: 1922-1939: A Mission Church of Sacred Heart Parish
Part 3: 1939-1961: A Mission Church of St. Rose of Lima Parish
Part 4: Since 1961: An Independent Parish
Epilogue: Pastor's Vision for the Future
Acknowledgments: About this history