Diary of a Parish Priest

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Prayer At Holy Cross During Lent

 

 

 

 

Wednesdays        after the 9 AM Mass until 4:00 PM

Wednesdays        11 PM until Midnight

Thursdays            6 PM until 7 PM

Nocturnal Adoration During Advent, Wednesdays 11 PM Until Midnight

Pray during an hour of peaceful Eucharistic Adoration Wednesdays during Advent from 11 PM to midnight. 

The Wednesdays of Advent are December 6, December 13 and December 20th.

We all know how hectic the days of Advent can become if we let them. This is an opportunity to collect ourselves and spend some time with the Lord during the beautiful Advent season of waiting in hope for what is to come.

 

Life, Marriage, Religious Liberty Are Threatened

The US Bishops have re-issued a call to American Catholics to pray and fast on Fridays for the protection of all human life, religious liberty and the dignity of marriage and the sacrament of matrimony.

One suggestion is to abstain from eating meat on Fridays (just like the olden days). 

Holy Hours, rosaries and specific times for family prayer, e.g. around the shared table are other worthy suggestions. 

Visit their website for other suggestions: 

 

Bishops Call To Prayer for Life Marriage and Religious Liberty

Eucharistic Adoration First Thursday Evenings

Holy Cross will begin an hour of Eucharistic Adoration on First Thursdays of each month in the church between 6:00 and 7:00 PM.

It was Jesus, Himself, who began the practice of Thursday evening prayer when he entered into the Garden of Gethsemane with his three most trusted disciples. Remembering that the disciples fell asleep and could not watch with Jesus, many of the traditional prayers have reparation for sin as their theme along with a strong intention to be present to Jesus in consolation and thanksgiving. The devotion is still closely related to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In modern times, those who practice the devotion have also emphasized Jesus' mercy and the nearby Diocese of Camden even uses a Source

Thursday evening holy hour to pray for vocations to the priesthood. 

One tradition insists that the Holy Hour be offered from 11 PM to midnight on Thursday, but in researching pastoral practices, churches seem quite flexible in the times the holy hour is offered. We can adjust the time of the hour according to suggestions. It should allow some people to be home from work and school, occur before most parish meetings and activities for the evening and not be so late that people are too tired. 

We'll have a host of prayer resources on hand, but the time will be silent and reserved for individual prayer. This could change, depending on the movement of the Holy Spirit. It will also likely be expanded to include every Thursday evening, perhaps at the end of summer.

Please join us and keep watch with Our Lord for one hour.

Holy Hour For Family Life

It was beautiful to spend an hour last evening praying to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with so many parishioners and their families. Thank you to Mr. Feerst and the Holy Cross Youth Group for joining us as well. It was wonderful to see parishioners of all ages come together to pray.