Greetings - in a break from
our prayer life
Congratulations to the newest member of our St. Francis community: Felicity Perpetua Kwiatkowski! We joined Joe, Andrea and Therese in the beautiful ceremony; Jim Gioia and I served as proxy for the godparents.
Update on Fr. Wise
Fr. Wise is recuperating at home in preparation for his heart surgery April 12. He is not sure at this point if the surgery will proceed as scheduled, and he will know more next week. I will keep you posted.
Deacon Paul has returned from his visit to see his mother in Wisconsin and he is feeling great. See how our prayers work! He will be exposing the Eucharist Monday.
Please continue to pray for those on our prayer list.
Next Tuesday March 24th, Fr. Sullivan will be hearing Confessions from 1PM - 5 PM in English.
Next Thursday, March 26th, Fr. Pedro Poloche will be hearing Confessions from 5 PM - 7 PM in Spanish.
Confessions will be heard in the confessional as usual, only we will wait in the sanctuary keeping space between us. There, we will help usher penitents when the confessional is free.
The right side of the sanctuary we will reserve for penitents’ prayer after Confession.
Please let me know if you want me to schedule more confession sessions.
In an effort to keep our sanctuary sanitized we have gracious souls among us who have been wiping down the pews before we show up. If anyone has any extra wipes, or wants to donate any, they would be greatly appreciated. We are trying to keep them handy as we enter the sanctuary. Feel free to take one to wipe down the pew in your immediate area. Thank you.
Three calls came in within the last two weeks for last rights. All three calls were handled immediately. One by Fr. John Conway at Union General Hospital, and two By Fr Alex from IHM/ St. William.
It is important that our community is aware these requests are being met in the absence of a priest.
I have heard from many of you and I know this is not an easy transition for any of us. We all are thirsting for the Eucharist! For now, we find our Eucharist, our union with God, in the depth of our union with God in prayer and Adoration. It is true penance as it is to be without a pastor, a parish priest, and now Mass, Communion services and all other gatherings.
You have heard me say this before and it is appropriate again now: God wants us to learn something from this hardship. What does he want us to learn? How is he calling me to serve him without our usual spiritual fulfillment? Let’s listen carefully in our favorite quiet place for his gentle voice...he will show us how to grow from this unforgettable experience.
Persevere in faith.
Please pray for our community and as Bishop Ned encouraged us, to find “creative ways to love and minister to one another.”
Next writing: The 4th Week of Lent
+God bless you all!
DJP
Today we mourn the loss of Virtine W. “Tina” Cataldo. Tina is Lea Alexander’s mother whom I had the pleasure of visiting and praying with. Please join with me in praying for the repose of Tina’s soul, and please keep Lea and her family in your prayers.
Virtine W. Cataldo
Virtine, age 99, died on March 20, 2020. Virtine is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 37 years, Anthony and her daughter, Cindy Marie.
Born in Hanover New Hampshire on March 16 1921, to the late Vernon and Lena Wood. She graduated from Hanover High School in June of 1940.
Virtine was a military wife and traveled various places during her husband’s service in the Navy. They settled down in Atlantic Beach and finally in Neptune Beach Florida. She spent her time raising the family and participating in all school activities, so much so, that they asked her to join a Teachers Aid program to become a teacher. She graduated from the University of North Florida in 1975 and started her teaching career at S. A. Hull 6th Grade Center. She finished her career as a 4th grade teacher at San Pablo Elementary.
Virtine is survived by her 3 children, Anthony J. Cataldo Jr., Lea Alexander, Bruce Cataldo and his wife Jordan. She is also survived by three grandchildren and two great grandchildren all of whom brought much joy to her life including: Annick, Breanna, Faith, Avril, and Ambar.
Virtine will be most remembered for her love of family, her love of a good book, her love of the classroom, and various knitting projects for charity, family, and friends.
May she rest in peace.
Sent by Jim Gioia Office on Sunday, March 22 at 1:53PM
