CAUTION: When arriving today (Saturday), steps and sidewalks may be slippery from ice.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Holy Day of Obligation Monday, December 8 Mass Schedule: 9:00 AM / 12:00 PM (Noon) / 7:00 PM
*The parish office will be closed on Monday, December 8th for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
“Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.” It must be true, because we hear these words every year as we move past Thanksgiving, into Advent, and we have begun preparing our homes for December 25th. But Christmas can be a difficult time for some families. As we think of all the Christmas traditions that surround children, we do well to remember that for some, Christmas brings grief to the surface. Those families who may have lost an infant or child, or who may have lost children to miscarriages or stillbirths, the focus on children at Christmas can be difficult.
I recall the sadness my own wife and I experienced early in our marriage, when we yearned deeply for children, only to experience the loss of a child in the womb three times. Each year, as Christmas approached, we wanted to run away; we talked each year about going on a vacation at Christmas to avoid the direct grief that got stirred up simply by being surrounded by our many nieces and nephews. Of course, we never actually skipped Christmas; even with the grief of losses, we couldn’t imagine not being with our extended families.
In many families and cultures, we have the tradition of never placing the Infant Jesus in the Nativity scene until Christmas Eve. As we began last year, instead of an empty manger, we have placed a “Cradle of the Beloved” between Mary and Joseph, and parishioners are given the chance to write the name of a child they may mourn on a card, which they place in the cradle. At each Advent Mass, we remember those children who never had the chance to grow up, along with the cards placed by husbands and wives who still yearn for a child.
Last Advent, the Cradle of the Beloved created a special experience for me; I had placed the names of my own children in the cradle, along with the name of John Paul Raphael, for my friend who lives in Virginia. Each day as I prepared for Mass, I sat in front of the Nativity scene, and a few times each week, I read the names on the cards as part of my daily prayer. I’ve seen parishioners tearfully place a card in for a child I never knew that they lost, and I read cards last year placed for “… my unborn child…” and “… for my sibling who was lost …” I read the names of so many children, and I am overwhelmed with love. The love of these parents, and my privilege to offer a moment of prayerful compassion for them. And on Christmas, when the cradle is replaced by the Infant in the Manger, we will offer a basket with simple angel ornaments. Each family who entrusted the name of their little one will be able to take an ornament as a token of our prayers for them, and of our communion with the littlest ones already in the Communion of Saints.
For those in our parish community who may mourn a child each Christmas, may this tradition continue to assure you of our prayers, as you continue to love every child, those in Heaven and those who wake up with exuberant joy on Christmas morning.
- Father Jim
Hospice Care Information
Faith at Home
These links provides you with the latest one-page resource for families, Faith At Home; it connects to the theme of the upcoming Sunday Liturgy. This resource is updated each week and can be found on the diocesan webpage at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/faith-at-home and en Español at www.dioceseoftrenton.org/fe-en-casa.
May God continue to bless us and keep us close to Him.
Please support the Society of St. Vincent de Paul so that together we can help local families in need. Those needing help should call the SVDP helpline at 856-291-7313. Click this link to visit the SVdP website: www.SVDPmoorestown.org
Local food pantries include:
St. Matthew's Church, 318 Chester Ave.
First Baptist Church, 19 West Main St., Moorestown
Bethel AME, 512 N. Church St., Moorestown
Prince of Peace 61 E Rte 70, Marlton, NJ 08053
SVDP also has Thinking of You cards available. A gift can be given to the poor in the name of someone special at your
request. You will be remembered in the prayers and works of the Moorestown Vincentians. We are so very grateful for your
generous ongoing donations.
Our Promise to Protect
The Diocese of Trenton is committed to the initiatives outlined in the U.S. Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People in regard to the reporting and investigation of sexual abuse allegations involving minors. The Diocese has in place a Victim’s Assistance Coordinator, who is available to obtain support for your needs and help you make a formal complaint of abuse.
If you have been sexually abused as a minor by a member of the clergy or anyone representing the Catholic Church, or if you know someone who was, you can report that abuse through the diocesan Abuse Hotline: 1-888-296-2965 or via email at abuseline@dioceseoftrenton.org.
The Diocese encourages anyone with an allegation to also report that abuse to their local law enforcement agency. The Diocese reports all allegations received to the appropriate county prosecutor’s office.
ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS
please click on the corresponding hyperlinks below
