Thank you again to All the Decoration Volunteers for Preparing Our Church and Grounds for Christmas!12/29/2020 Dear OLQP Brothers and Sisters,
This Labor Day weekend, we are thankful to Our Lord for those who are working while praying for those who have become unemployed as a result of unprecedented lockdowns. We pray that all those looking for work may find employment soon in order to be able to support themselves and their families. We pray, “Have mercy on us Lord, especially those in need of employment.” We also remember and pray for God’s blessings on all students, teachers, and faculty returning to school this September that they may have a productive year, remain in good health and continue to grow in knowledge, especially in the wisdom and love of God, the Most Holy Trinity. On another note, it is with a sense of sadness that I inform you that our dear Father Jonathan will be returning to his home country, Nigeria, on September 29th. We know how much he has become an important part of our parish family for a good number of years with his dedicated pastoral and spiritual ministry. On September 26th and 27th (the last weekend before his departure to Nigeria), all our OLQP parishioners will have an opportunity after each Masses to meet with Father Jonathan to wish him a blessed trip home. Please save the date! Finally, I want to remind you that the Nativity of Our Blessed Mother is this Tuesday, September 8. Let us please pray for Our Lady’s powerful intercession in this beautiful prayer, The Memorare: The Memorare Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me, Amen. Sincerely in the Lord, Father Tony Please see this Sunday's bulletin for more information. Dear OLQP Brothers and Sisters,
We have re-opened our Church for almost two months now. What a great joy it is for us to celebrate the Holy Masses again with our parishioners after four months of not having the public Masses. However, the number of our parishioners going to Holy Mass is low even though the maximum number allowed at each mass is between 70 to 80 people. We hope and pray there will be an increase in our churchgoers. I encourage each one to be strong in their faith in Christ. We are His and with Him, we have nothing to fear. Truly, our Lord awaits us in the Holy Eucharist in His Real Presence – Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. With Him, in Him, and through Him, we are at peace. Only Our Lord gives the peace which the world cannot give. I exhort our parishioners, therefore, to be confident in Christ. He patiently awaits us at Mass. Over the past two weeks, there have been several important events that took place at our Church; however, many of you may not be aware of these events. So, allow me to mention them briefly. On August 9th, two of our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) candidates, Jaime Fontanez and Miguel Chacho, received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Then, on August 16th, David Soler, another RCIA candidates, received the three Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. For over a year or so, our three RCIA candidates have been faithfully attending the RCIA Program of our parish facilitated by Rev. Deacon Joe and our Parish RCIA Team. Our heartfelt congratulations and welcome to David, Jaime, and Miguel to our parish community! With the Baptism and Confirmation of our RCIA Candidates, I hope that it would draw interest for some people to the Catholic Church. If anyone, or someone you know, desires to become Catholic as an adult, I would greatly encourage him/her to contact Deacon Joe Mantineo and the Team at the Parish Center for more information about our RCIA Program. In addition, we finally celebrated the First Communion Masses for our twenty-four Religious Education children on Aug. 18, 19, and 20 which were initially scheduled last April. Due to the lockdown, however, they had to be moved to later. What a beautiful moment it was to see the children receive their first communion. Their joy of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist was very palpable. We pray that they will continue to grow in love and appreciation of the Holy Eucharist. Lastly, after over ten years of dedicated service of being the Director of Religious Education of our parish, Angela Connelly will be retiring at the end of the month. It is with a sense of sadness that I inform you this since, undoubtedly, many of our children have been blessed to learn and grow in their faith because of her devoted and untiring leadership. On August 30, at the 10 am Mass, we will have the opportunity to express our gratitude to Angela for her faithful years of service to the parish and to wish her the very best for her retirement. Through these events, we come to discover that despite these challenging times, Our Lord is here at Our Lady Queen of Peace and that through the intercession of our Blessed Mother and all the saints, we experience that the Spirit is alive and moving forward to where God calls us to be! God bless us All, Fr. Tony Please click here to see this past Sunday's bulletin! |
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December 2020
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