Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus our Lord,
On behalf of the church community, councils and groups, we thank all of you who keep showing your support to the church. This is making a great difference and keeps the church able to reach out to all parishioners in all channels possible. We also thank all those who are committed to the church by volunteering or assisting wherever needed and especially in the office, finance and maintenance areas. You are all doing a spectacular job as always. I thank the youth who attend and the MYO Committee, which continues to organize their activities for the church youth every single Sunday throughout the year. We also thank our Faith Formation Teacher, Gary Schwery, who prepared our children to receive their First Holy Communion on Sunday, April 21. We thank him for the more than ten years he has dedicated his passion and great commitment in preparing the children of our parish to receive their First Holy Communion and, when needed, the Sacrament of Confirmation. Faith Formation programs cover ages 6 to 12. God bless you, Gary.
In this coming month of May, we go through the Season of the Resurrection of the Lord and His Apparitions to the Disciples. We will celebrate the Feast Day of the Ascension on Thursday, May 9, and Pentecost on Sunday, May 19, which marks the beginning of the Pentecost Season.
The entire month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. People are invited to focus on the daily praying of the Rosary and the noon prayers of the Angelus, which is the Annunciation. The Holy Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet are recited during Adoration of the Holy Sacrament each Thursday at 7:00 pm. The Holy Rosary is also recited before Sunday Liturgy, beginning at 9:40 AM.
Dedication of the Month of May. The whole month of May is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. People are encouraged to focus on the daily prayer of the Rosary and the noon prayers of the Angelus, which is the Annunciation. The first Sunday of May, May 5, is dedicated in the Maronite calendar to Our Lady of Lebanon. We pray for the peace and security in the US and its Christian values and for Lebanon and the Holy Land and the Middle East and the end of the killing of civilians and innocents. The following Sunday, May 12, we pray for the mothers of our families, asking the Lord to keep them in good health and enlighten their minds so they can raise with their husbands, a new generation that preserves the Christian and Catholic faith and values. We thank our wonderful MYO youth team and members for organizing the very elegant Mother’s Day High Tea Saturday, May 11.
NAM. This year, the National Apostolate of Maronites (NAM) Convention, will be held at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. Hundreds of Maronite families, individuals and groups from across the U.S. will gather for 4 days at the Convention, from Thursday July 4 through Sunday July 7. They will have the opportunity to attend presentations, workshops, tours, social dinners and musical nights, and Liturgies. Our Holy Family representatives to the NAM are Barb and Annemarie Schwery. We encourage everyone to participate in this event. It is an annual opportunity for our parish members, individually or as a group. Please check out the flyers for further information about the Convention. To register, purchase an ad, buy raffle tickets, donate to the silent auction or reserve an exhibit table, please visit www.namnews.org, or send an email to info@namnews.org or call 914-964-3070.
Wishing you and your family will be safe and healthy during this period of time. May this month be a blessing for you and your family.
Yours,
Father Emmanuel Nakhlé-Ghorr, Pastor
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