Several weeks ago I was advised that the Trane chiller unit for the church that we ordered back in December is now expected to arrive in New Jersey (from where I don’t know) on December 1. Yes, you heard me, December 1. Now, I had been warned that there were supply chain issues of up to 38 weeks, but this is much longer than what I was hoping or planning for. Unfortunately, that means that it may again be a long hot summer.
Because we can expect the church to be uncomfortably hot at mid-day, and given the difficulty in finding priests to cover for Fr. Lou while he is deployed with the Air Force, I am, with great reluctance, suspending the 11:30 Mass on Sundays from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend, inclusive. This Mass is the least well attended Mass year-round, but especially over the summer when parishioners frequently head for the shore, the mountains, or the pool earlier in the day.
I would invite any parishioners who have a genuine hardship as a result of this temporary change in the Mass summer schedule to contact the parish office so that we can suggest alternative solutions for you. While I hope that you will continue to attend Mass here at OLMV at one of the other Mass times, our neighboring parishes all have noon time Masses: Our Lady of Fatima in Piscataway has Masses at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm and Blessed Sacrament in Martinsville has Mass at 12:00 noon.
I regret this inconvenience, and I thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Fr. David
Please note that there are only a limited number of Mass intentions available for the rest of this calendar year, the earliest being in October. The 2024 calendar will open in October. In the meantime, we have available Masses where the Mass is unannounced; that is, it is celebrated privately, usually by either Fr. David or Fr Lou. One can still get a Mass card for these unannounced Masses, but the card will not show when the Mass is being celebrated or by whom. By canon law, the Mass must be celebrated within one year. We also have avail- able memberships in our Purgatorial Society, which also comes with a Mass card. The Purgatorial Mass is celebrated on the first Saturday of the month at 8:00 a.m. (except if it is Holy Saturday) and is celebrated for a number of intentions.
REQUIRED FIRST COMMUNION PRACTICE
(CHILDREN ONLY) Wednesday, May 10 (4:00 - 5:30 pm)
REQUIRED CONFIRMATION PRACTICE
(Candidates & Sponsors Only) Tuesday, May 16 (7:00 pm)
Please pray for our young parishioners at this special time.
Last Day of Religious Education Classes: May 9th
Mother’s Day Spiritual Bouquet Cards are available for an offering at the parish office.
As a spiritual gift, your mother, wife, grandmother, mother-in-law, godmother, sister, aunt, daughter, or friend will be remembered in the Masses offered in
our church in observance of Mother’s Day.
Our Lady of Mount Virgin is hosting a “Baby Bottle Blessings” Campaign for Life Choices Resource Center, Metuchen.
For over 38 years, Life Choices has been serving women and families in our local communities by offering FREE services and support including ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, material goods, counseling, lactation consultation, food pantry information, housing and social service referrals. We offer hope and friendship for those facing crisis pregnancies and post abortion healing. WE are “Walking with Moms in Need”. By supporting the “Baby Bottle Blessings” fundraiser and assisting our families, you are helping to spread the Gospel of Life while building a legacy of Love with our precious clients. Please take home a bottle or envelope (includes donation form) and fill it with cash, check or credit card information and return it by Father’s Day or sooner. Please drop the bottles in the collection bin located at church entrances OR drop the envelope with completed donation form in the church collection basket. You can also mail the donation form directly to: Life Choices Resource Center, 503 Main Street, Metuchen, NJ 08840 or donate online at www.LifeChoicesRC.com.
“Whatsoever you do, do it from the heart, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that you shall receive of the Lord the reward of inheritance.
Serve ye the Lord Christ”. Col 3:23-24
Your gift will help us serve our Lord’s most precious creation!
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 11th
Following the 10:00 am Mass will have a Corpus Christi Procession.
Walking with our Lord
When the Eucharist is carried through the streets in solemn procession, the Christian people give public witness of their faith and devotion toward the sacrament of the Eucharist. Details to Follow
There will be a second collection to benefit The Bishop’s Annual Appeal the weekend of May 13/14.
If you have recently lost a loved one, please consider joining our Journey through Grief support group. Our mission is to provide ways to cope with the various feelings that are experienced following the loss of a loved one. We provide a peaceful and caring environment in which you learn that you are not alone on your journey through grief.
The group will meet weekly on Thursdays from 1:30 - 3:00 PM at the Parish Center, 450 Drake Avenue, across from the church parking lot, starting April 13 and ending May 18.
It is not necessary to be a member of our parish, or our Catholic faith, to participate.
Registration is required. Registration forms are available on the tables near the entrances of the church and in the parish office beginning March 20. Please feel free to take for yourself or a friend. Once completed, the form should be returned to the parish office.
Download Flyer & Registration Form
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish offers online giving through software called ParishSoft Giving. This is a convenient and safe way to make either recurring or one time donations.
When you participate in online giving your gift goes directly into the parish bank account. You will not have to remember to write a check or to stop by an ATM on Sunday mornings.
Online giving provides strong, ongoing financial support to the parish and enables your parish to better budget for and handle its financial needs.
Making a donation is easy. Simply go to the parish website (OLMV.NET). Look for GIVING in the top right corner and then click on Donate Today. Select either One-time or Recurring and complete your generous gift.
Even though you will not be using envelopes, please make sure to include an envelope number when you sign up through ParishSoft Giving. This is necessary to ensure that you receive proper credit for your gift. If you do not have an envelope number, please contact the parish office.
A person seeking a “sponsor eligibility letter” from OLMV to serve as a godparent for the Sacrament of Baptism or a sponsor for the Sacrament of Confirmation must be an active registered parishioner of OLMV for at least 6 months and must have received all three Sacraments of Initiation, be active in the parish and, if married, be in a valid, Catholic marriage. An “active” Catholic is understood to be a person who attends Mass regularly and whose lifestyle is in keeping with the Catholic faith. He or she should ensure that his or her own school age children are attending Mass, are enrolled in religious education, and have received their sacraments.
In order to be considered a registered parishioner, an adult (persons 21 years of age or older) must submit a completed registration form. These forms can be picked up at the parish office. Completed forms must be brought to the parish in person. Please remind young adults (21 and older) who live with their parents that they must be registered separately with the parish.
Ordinarily, for Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation or Matrimony, or to receive a sponsorship eligibility certificate from this parish, a person must be registered and an active member of OLMV.
The Rosary is prayed every Tuesday and Thursday after the 12:00 noon Mass. All parishioners are invited to join in this most devout form of prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary for peace and the preservation of freedom in the United States.
Please make use of our Meditation Garden. What a beautiful spot to spend a few minutes with our Lord! Our Meditation Garden and Remembrance Walkway project is ongoing, and bricks can be ordered at any time. The next placement of bricks will be during the summer. Remembrance bricks are a beautiful way to remember loved ones or special moments in our lives.
All volunteers are reminded that if their volunteer work at the parish involves working with children, unless each child’s parent or guardian accompanies their child for the entire time, the volunteer needs to have been fingerprinted and have gone through the Protecting God’s Children program, and their credentials must be up to date and on file with our Safe Environment Coordinator at OLMV (Ms. Zmigrodski). Also, no photos that include children may be included on any social media website or platform or in any publication without the prior written consent of the parent or guardian. Many thanks for your understanding and cooperation
While online giving is the best and easiest way to make offertory and special contributions to the parish, many thanks also to all who use the offertory envelopes for making their weekly and special contributions to the parish.
Collection envelopes are currently sent out every other month to about 1300 families in the parish. This is far more than the number of families that actually use them. In order to cut costs and waste, we are in the process of discontinuing envelopes being sent to any family that has not used its envelopes since January, 2019. You should still retain your envelope number and use it whenever you add or make changes to online giving or make a note of the envelope number on the memo line of your check if you make a contribution by check. If for some reason you would still like to receive envelopes, please call Patty in the parish office.
The best way to support the parish is to enroll in our online giving program. Through this program you can determine your donation amount, select the funds or funds of your choice to which to donate, determine the method of payment, and set the frequency of payments (one-time or recurring). Many thanks for your prayerful support and generosity.