Novena to the Holy Spirit in Preparation for Pentecost – Day 1

To be prayed daily as we prepare for Pentecost

In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

V. Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.
R. And You will renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray. O Holy Spirit, my Lord and my God, I adore You and humbly acknowledge here in Your sacred presence that I am nothing, and can do nothing, without Your operation within me. Come, great Paraclete, thou Father of the poor, thou Comforter of the blest, fulfill the promise of our Savior, who would not leave us orphans, and enter my mind and heart as You descended on the day of Pentecost upon the holy Mother of Jesus and upon His first disciples. Grant that I may have a part in those gifts which You did so prodigally bestow upon them.

Take from my heart all that is not pleasing to You and make of it a worthy dwelling place for Jesus. Illumine my mind, that I may see and understand the things that are for my eternal welfare. Inflame my heart with pure love of the Father, that, cleansed from attachment to all unworthy objects, my whole life may be hidden with Jesus in God. Strengthen my will, that it may be conformable to the will of my Creator and guided by thy holy inspirations.

Aid me to practice the heavenly virtues of humility, poverty, and obedience which are taught me in the earthly life of Jesus. Descend upon me, O mighty Spirit, that, inspired and encouraged by You, I may faithfully fulfill the duties of my state in life, carry my daily cross with patience and courage, and accomplish the Father’s will for me more perfectly. Make me, day by day, more holy and give to me that heavenly peace which the world cannot give.

O Holy Spirit, Giver of every good and perfect gift, grant to me the intentions of this novena of prayer. May the Father’s will be done in me and through me. And may You, O mighty Spirit of the living God, be praised and glorified for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for Friday, May 22nd: Come, O Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life-giver; take up Your dwelling within my soul and make of it Your sacred temple. Make me live by grace as an adopted child of God. Pervade all the energies of my soul and create in me a fountain of living water springing up into life everlasting.

Let us pray: O God, who as at this time did teach the hearts of Your faithful people by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit: grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then is said the Our Father and Hail Mary and Glory be….

Our Father …
Hail Mary …
Glory be …

Let us pray. Almighty God, You instruct the hearts of the faithful thru the grace of the Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and to ever rejoice in His comfort, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen

In the Name + of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

May 2020 Newsletter – Hungry

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”

I am hungry.

We previously considered so much to be a part of normal routine. Much of it now fades away, and rightly so. There are certainly things in normal routine that we have learned are not all that important. We have reprioritized our cares. For each of us, church may have been another ordinary routine. Now we cannot gather as we did. We, even the servers and musicians present with me, cannot receive at the table. The Fast of Lent has carried forward, for we are deprived of the Bread of Life, the Cup of Salvation. This is a hunger pain beyond comprehension. It hurts! Jesus pointed out that the hungry would be satisfied, that those of us who really get it and weep now (you know I am emotional, but now I tend to cry at the slightest thing), will laugh. The sacrifice carries on. The mystical union is not ended, it will not end. The bread is prepared. Feel the hunger and cry now in prayer knowing that we will be satisfied and laugh. He promised!

May is here. The world is different. Our newsletter contains helpful hints for remote participation in parish activities and words of hope and encouragement so needed. In May we honor the Blessed Virgin, our moms, continue our celebration of Easter, honor the members of our parish from the former Good Shepherd parish and receive a special gift from Holy Spirit parish. We look forward with hope and continue to be the faithful church both at home and together. Check out our plans for Memorial Day as well.

Read about all it in our May 2020 Newsletter.

Reflection for Good Friday 2020

Yet it was our infirmities that He bore,
our sufferings that He endured.

  • One of those moments.
  • The light goes on.
  • We see ourselves and the world in a new way.
  • Wow! Now I get it.

This day, this Good Friday, in the midst of pandemic and crisis, causes us to stop and absorb reality in a new way; to understand what life is really about. To focus on Jesus.

Brothers, sisters,

Jesus took on the world. He took on the sinful state of the world. Why?

When sin entered the world, along with it came all of sin’s consequences. Sickness, pain, poverty, abuse, injustice, war, disease, plague, destruction, pandemic – these and more. Man finds ever new ways to take the gifts of God and to corrupt them.

Along with all that came death. It was not death as we, in our Christian perspective and understanding, perceive it. It was death without hope, without a promise. It was a long, an eternal holding pattern.

The souls of the dead were warehoused.

Why did Jesus take on the sinful world? The why is answered in this: By Jesus’ love sacrifice for us He frees us of all hopelessness and reorients us. He reorients us. He offers us a powerful, beautiful, and hope-filled life pointed at the eternal. What life is about.

The Cross is not an occasion. Good Friday is not a day. It is profound change. Our future, our direction was changed this day. We gain today an understanding and appreciation for what life is about.

Remember those warehoused souls? It was Jesus’ first act – to free them from Sheol. He descended to hell, to the dead, and He freed them. From hopeless stasis to heavenly joy and glory, He freed them to what life is about.

Our current crisis brings this reality home. The light needs go on in our minds and hearts. What is life about? What have i been caught up in? Where have I been dwelling? What am I even praying for now? To go back to how it was? To get on with getting on?

  • One of those moments.
  • The light goes on.
  • We see ourselves and the world in a new way.
  • Wow! Now I get it.

We are each called to work out our salvation, as is said, in fear and trembling.

As we come to the Cross, let us pray – not for a going back, but for a going forward. Stop for this moment. Absorb the fact that Jesus took on fever, pain beyond measure, exhaustion, loneliness, dehydration, abandonment. He bore our infirmities to give us far more than the here and now. Let us focus our eyes, minds, and hearts on what we are truly living for and where out life will take us.

  • One of those moments.
  • The light goes on.
  • We see ourselves and the world in a new way.
  • Wow! Now I get it.

Through His suffering, My Servant shall justify many.

The door to heaven is now open. Let us live intent on making it through that door to life eternal. Let us appreciate what life is really about. That is the profound charge we have in the Cross. That is why.

Information for Holy Week and Easter 2020

These are extraordinary times we are living through. Our Parish and our entire Church, no less than any other institution, is adapting to these new realities in ways we have informed you of in recent calls, in social media, and via our website.

We remain committed to carrying out the worship and devotions of God’s Holy Church and to continue to plead for our people, and the whole world, before the altar of Jesus. We remind all to remain home and to join us in worship online, if you are able, or privately through prayer, scripture reading, and the joining of our hearts together as God’s holy people, a nation of priests pleading before the throne of God together.

Holy Week and the celebration of the Solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ are the true central point of our liturgical year. In this time, we are called in a special way to walk with Jesus from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to the Last Supper, through His passion, death, and entombment, to His glorious resurrection.

We have received direction from our bishops related to certain adjustments to the rubrics (the way we do things) for Holy Week and Easter. These adjustments will allow you to participate more fully while at home. We are to be mindful of the fact that the celebrations of the Passion of our Lord and His triumph over death in the Resurrection are not canceled but rather they must be celebrated by each of us separately in our homes, joined in prayer while the celebrations occur within our parish churches.

We have posted our schedule for Holy Week and the celebration of the Solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord below.

  • April 5: Palm Sunday. Holy Mass with Blessing of Palms broadcast at 9:30am. Palms will be stored at church and you may pick them up once the current crisis is over.
  • April 9: Maundy Thursday. Holy Mass with Reposition and Stripping of the Altars broadcast at 7pm.
  • April 10: Good Friday broadcasts. Reflection on the Seven Last Words at 12pm. Liturgy of the Presanctified and Opening of the Tomb at 3pm. Bitter Lamentations, 7pm.
  • April 11: Holy Saturday, Liturgy of New Fire, Renewal of Baptismal Promises, broadcast at 4pm.
  • April 12: Solemnity of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ (Easter). Proclamation of the Resurrection and Holy Mass broadcast at 9:30am.

Please know that this message is so difficult for me, as your pastor, to write. It represents a painful separation from you that I feel very deeply, and that I offer up to Jesus.  I could not be missing you, my family, more.  For now, we cannot safely join in the worship of our great God and in the celebration of the suffering, death and resurrection from the dead of his Son our Lord Jesus Christ.  But rest assured family of God, brothers and sisters all, one day soon – we will.

Fr. Jim

UPDATED National Catholic Church Guidance Related to the Covid-19 Virus Issue

Dearest brothers and sisters, 

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020 the active Bishops and Diocesan Administrators of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) gathered to update guidance on the celebration of Holy Mass, devotions, and other events in parishes in light of the Covid-19 outbreak and more recent governmental guidance.

At this time the Most Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky, Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church along with his fellow bishops and administrators has instructed that while Holy Mass shall continue to be celebrated, all parishioners are to remain at home joined in prayer with others at home. This will apply to the next two Sundays, at which time the situation will be re-evaluated with more information to come. 

The celebration of the Liturgy, Holy Mass will continue so that the Church will continue to pray for her people in the most perfect manner possible. In the Holy Mass all the baptized are joined together with Jesus’ eternity. Again, all parishioners shall remain at home and be joined in prayer with others at home during the Holy Mass.

Our parish will continue to LiveCast (broadcast) Holy Mass on Sundays at 9:30am as well as Lenten devotions on our Facebook page. Holy Mass will be rebroadcast on YouTube later on Sundays. The celebration of Holy Mass will also appear on the P.N.C.C. Facebook Page on Sundays and Holy Days.

Worship aids for each Sunday will be available on the P.N.C.C. website and on the P.N.C.C. Facebook Page, so that you can follow the liturgical prayers and readings of that particular Sunday.

Please read the Update to the Statement of the Polish National Catholic Church regarding COVID-19 posted today, March 19, 2020. 

Updated Statement, March 19, 2020Download

Our primary duty, at this time, is to spiritually uplift each other through outreach and connection by cards, letters, telephone calls, and other means. We are to continue to do what we can for those most in need and who may be disconnected and in distress due to a lack of food or other necessities. Let us remain strong and united as Jesus’ family. Please, absolutely, feel free to contact Fr. Jim by telephone at any time. We can talk and pray together, or just share some time. My number is listed in the weekly bulletin and in our monthly newsletter.

We also beg your assistance in making your regular Sunday donations either by mailing your contributions to the parish or through our online donation process. This methodology is secure, encrypted, and legally compliant. Debit and credit cards are accepted.

We continue to pray: Lord God, Father Almighty, we ask that You grant quick recovery of those who are ill, grant health and safety to all, and grant the wisdom and light of the Holy Spirit upon scientists, researchers, medical professionals, and government officials, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, and our Great Physician. Amen.

Blessed Is He / Kto siÄ™ w opiekÄ™ / Psalm 91

Blessed is he who trusts in God Almighty.
And he who hopes in God’s most gracious mercy.
He shall acknowledge: God is my protector.
In life’s dark journey, I shall fear no danger,
I shall fear no danger.

From all the pow’rs of evil God shall save him.
Of nature’s forces, he shall ne’er fall victim.
Under the pinions of the Lord Almighty,
In God’s protection, he shall dwell in safety.
He shall dwell in safety.

Kto siÄ™ w opiekÄ™ odda Panu Swemu,
A całym sercem szczerze ufa Jemu,
Śmiele rzec może: Mam obrońcę Boga,
Nie przyjdzie na mnie żadna straszna trwoga,
żadna straszna trwog

2.Ciebie On z łowczych obieży wyzuje
I w zaraźliwym powietrzu ratuje,
W cieniu Swych skrzydeł zachowa cię wiecznie,
Pod Jego pióry uleżysz bezpiecznie,
uleżysz bezpiecznie

PNCC Hymnal #196

National Catholic Church Notices and Guidance Related to the Covid-19 Virus Issue

On Friday, March 13, 2020 the active Bishops and Diocesan Administrators of the Holy Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) gathered to discuss the implications of the Covid-19 outbreak and a number of national events that will be taking place within the Holy Church. In making these decisions, consideration was given to the recommendations of the CDC and other local health agencies, the size of these events, the demographics of those attending and other factors.

The attached letter regarding the postponement or cancellation of PNCC National Events addresses the results of these discussions.

National Event Postponements and CancellationsDownload

Attached too is a Statement concerning the current state of affairs in the Holy Church and Covid-19.

A Statement concerning the current state of affairs and Covid-19Download

In short: As followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are all called to be people of care, compassion and community. This care must be for our own parishioners and also to extend beyond them to the needs of those around us. 

At the present time, the celebration of Holy Mass will continue in each parish. All parishioners are exempted from their obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. If they are sick, in vulnerable conditions (immunocompromised, in vulnerable risk groups), or even if they are concerned about the possibility of contracting the virus parishioners should stay at home. In any of these situations we encourage parishioners to stay at home and join with the congregation through the reading of the Word of God and prayer.

In our parish you may participate in Holy Mass on Sundays at 9:30am on Facebook. We also post our Holy Mass to YouTube later in the day on Sunday. Become a subscriber to be notified when video is posted to YouTube.

Bishop Hodur reminded the faithful that a Sunday should not go by without us being fed by the Word of God.

As Catholic Christians we are called to be compassionate and caring to all. Please support our parishioners and worshipers in the decisions that they make regarding their own health and show loving kindness in supporting and sustaining those who may be in need. Suggestions for mutual support and charity include care for the homebound and the delivery of needed supplies, telephone calls, online social gatherings, the sending of cards and letters. Continue especially to pray for our Church and for one another that our Lord may see us through these difficult and distressing times.

Prayer in Time of National Anxiety

I come to You, Lord, in this time of uncertainty and confusion that has gripped our nation. I pray that our leaders and representatives in government are filled with Your peace, strength and courage. May Your gifts of wisdom and understanding, fortitude and counsel be sought and utilized by them for the well-being of our country. By their belief and trust in You may they provide capable leadership, promote unity and peace, and be attentive to the concerns of our people. May Your Church provide support and comfort and help strengthen our hope for peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Reflection for the Solemnity of the Institution of the PNCC 2020

Seven

Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Throughout this Lent we are delving into the problem of sin and are using our study to set strategies that move us from self-centeredness and spiritual shortcoming to a life deep in line with the life of Jesus.

Throughout this Lent we are walking through the seven deadly sins and their antidote, the seven contrary virtues. We are studying contemporary examples of sin in TV, film and literature. In studying, we find what is required of us. In doing what is required we grow stronger. Having grown stronger, we will walk out of Lent armed with God’s grace and we will overcome!

Last week we covered pride, the first and core deadly sin. As we said, that sin is foundational to all the others. Today we cover Envy.

Envy is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation. We engage in envy because we see others as so much luckier, smarter, more attractive, and better than we are. Of course, this stems from the pride we take in our own perceptions rather than the reality of others’ lives. If we take the time to set envy aside and learn about, empathize with, and care for others we will quickly learn that our envy is unfounded. By way of example, we have all heard that talented handsome actor or beautiful actress tell someone, much later in their career, ‘I thought I was ugly and untalented.’

Looking to television, in Gilligan’s Island, Mary Ann was the symbol of envy. She felt – and key on felt – that she could never achieve Ginger’s glamour. The interesting fact is that those characters, those sins, were portrayed on a castaway island. Sin indeed separates us and keeps us apart, abandoned, and lonely. In that, we nurse our envy.

Ok, I have to throw in SpongeBob – where envy is perfectly exemplified by Plankton. He was so envious of others that he never saw their struggle, he never came into relationship with anyone else.

The cure for envy is charity and kindness. We see in Jesus’ instruction on the vine that we are all part of Him, that His father cares for each of us, and that we need to be pruned from time-to-time. In pruning we feel some pain and that is our tool to overcome envy – to take the time to really know our neighbor, understand them, and support them in their struggles, to feel their pain. To do so with kindness and in the end to be truly fruitful

February 2020 Newsletter – We Cannot Be Too Late

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I see tons of advertising every day. Of course it comes through television and radio – old school advertising. Being so involved in life online between emails, social media, work and websites I feel inundated! Looking at something on Amazon is typically followed by months of emails and online targeted ads pushing that product I happened to stumble on. February 2nd brings the celebration of all advertising, the Super Bowl. I think more people watch for the ads than for the game. One of my clergy friends used to say that if he won the lottery we would all see an ad for our Church in the midst of the Super Bowl. I hope he wins really big because it now takes $5.6 million for a thirty second ad spot. Yesterday, I received another one of those Valentine’s Day ads coming through almost every minute. Its point: ‘It is not too late. Jim, you’ve still got time to pull off a great romantic dinner at one of the local spots that couples love.’ Well, I’m glad for that chance. We luckily already have a plan for that day. We worry about being too late all the time. Even St. Paul recalled sadly that he was one born untimely, too late, out of time as the least of the Apostles, and as one who had done wrong before that moment of conversion. He saw himself as diminutive and weakly. If St. Paul left it there, constantly worrying about being too late, we would only see a sad and pathetic figure. Instead, he finds confidence and reassures us in saying “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect.” In this ‘month of love’ and month that begins this year’s Great and Holy Lent, St. John reminds us that the message and trick in advertising – you’re going to miss out – is untrue. St. James and St. Paul both tell us that we cannot be too late. Our victory is assured because we believe in Jesus, the Son of God, and because His grace is alive in us to great effect.

February starts with a celebration of Jesus, Light of the World. We then enter the Pre-Lenten season of Septuagesima. The close of February takes us into the Great and Holy Lent. Light. Preparation, and reflection give us the opportunity to enter deeply into life with Jesus as His disciples.

Learn about February’s discipleship initiative. Celebrate Scout Sunday. Get together for adult religious education. Partake in our Valentine’s Raffle. Celebrate Black History Month with a special event focusing on historic Black Gospel Music on February 29th. All this and so much more!

Read about all this in our February 2020 Newsletter.

January 2020 Newsletter – Clear as 20/20

So that I may make it clear, as it is right for me to do.

Watching New Year’s Rockin’ Eve at the turn of the year and our entry into a new decade was interesting. The team running the show kept playing Barbara Walters, the former cohost of the news show 20/20, saying over and over: “This is 2020.” 20/20 has been on ABC since 1978. It was meant to present in-depth reporting on human interest stories. The name of the program was meant to denote clearness of vision, a goal of providing clear information for the show’s audience’s thinking. The verse above is from the end of Paul letter to the Church at Colossae. Paul was in prison at the time and he was asking for the Church’s prayers so that he might “proclaim the mystery of Christ” clearly and that the door might be opened “for our message.” As we begin this new year and decade it is opportune for us to focus on a message that is 20/20, a clear speaking and teaching on the message of Jesus, the mystery of His coming to earth, passion, death, resurrection, ascension, and imminent return. We people of faith have been given a clearer vision and understanding of these things, what they mean for us in our life journey. We also have a clear task in front of us – to make what we know known. The world is a place of confusion and distraction. It is a place of shadows and unclear thinking. That’s just in everyday life. Think how much more confusing the message of sacrificial love found in the Gospel of Jesus is to the world; how hard it is to love as we should. These things are mystery, or foolishness, or even stupidity to those who do not know the power of Jesus’ clear message. So we must set to work. We are called to present in-depth reporting on the greatest human interest story of all time. We are to call people, by our teaching, words, prayer, and way of life to a clear vision of what life is, providing clear information for all around us to hear and follow. Paul’s prayer of purpose must be our prayer too. Lord, open the door for me so I may proclaim Your mystery clearly, 20/20.

January and celebrating through the entire forty day season of Christmas. We are gathering funds for SouperBowl Sunday, completing our clothing collections for those in need in our local community, and working together to reveal Him who binds up and re-ignites us. Music Scholarship Sunday is January 26th and applications for scholarships are now available. Learn about this year’s discipleship initiatives. Our Valentine’s Raffle is coming up, get your tickets now. We are prepping for our annual meeting. Above all, we are thankful for you.

Read about all this and a reflection on generosity in our January 2020 Newsletter.