The Cincinnati Oratory
Week of April 19 Update
Laudetur Jesus Christus! Gelobt sei Jesus Christus!
Sia lodato Gesù Cristo! Praised be Jesus Christ!
This particular Sunday is known by many different names. Low Sunday, First Sunday after Easter, Second Sunday of Easter, Quasimodo Sunday, Divine Mercy Sunday. Today in the Gospel, we hear the Lord telling the Apostles “Peace be with you.” This becomes the basis of my sermon which can be viewed below. As a note, I discovered today that YouTube has automatically added closed captioning for those that may have difficulty hearing it. This peace that Christ gives is important, and just as He was telling this to the Apostles on the day of His Resurrection, so He is also telling us “peace be with you.” Be sure to listen…
This past week we have had two funerals. The first was Rose Marie Buettner, this past Friday. Rose Marie is the mother of Donna Franer and the grandmother of Sr. Marie Cecile, Max, and Gus Franer. Please be sure to keep Rose Marie, and her whole family in your prayers! The second was for Philomena Hilgefort just yesterday. Philomena was just about two months old. Philomena was fortified with the Sacraments and we certainly have confidence that God called her back to Himself to be with Him and the Blessed Virgin. Please be sure to remember her parents, Tate and Lottie, and her whole family in your prayers during this difficult time.
Please also note that Bro. Brent and Bro. Henry will be ordained deacons this coming Saturday. The ordination will be private. If there is a live stream of this, I will share it when I know. Please be sure to keep them in your prayers this week and in particular this coming Saturday. At some point in the future, we will have a special Mass and reception for them, once things begin to return to normal.
Per previous updates, please remember that you can find suggestions here on prayers and where to watch Mass.
Also, be sure to continue to check the parish webpage calendar for the hours that church will be open, and when confession will be offered. You can find the calendar at this link: Google Calendar. This will be the most accurate and updated list, but please be sure to check daily in case something has changed. Please enter through the side door of church.
There is Holy Water and other materials available near the side door. Holy Water bottles are available to be purchased for $1, which simply covers the cost. Please drop this in the donation box under the high pulpit. You can also drop your Sunday collection envelopes for either Old St. Mary’s or Sacred Heart and/or other donations in there as well. You can also set up online giving for Old St. Mary’s here, for Sacred Heart here, and the Oratory here.
Please note that the physical parish office is closed, but everyone is working remotely and responding to phone calls and emails during this time.
Finally, my sermon for this Sunday can be found below. Have a blessed week ahead!
Week of April 12 Update
Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere! Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaft auferstanden! Cristo è risorto! È veramente risorto! Christ is risen! Indeed, He is risen!
Today we celebrate the Feast of Feasts and Solemnity of Solemnities, Easter Sunday; the day on which Christ the Lord triumphantly rose from the dead, conquering death and giving life to all those in the tomb. I wish everyone, on behalf of the Oratory & the parish staff, a very happy and blessed Easter! Frohe Ostern! Buona Pasqua!
Easter is the most important of all Feasts in the Liturgical Year. It is by the date of Easter, which falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox that all other moveable Feasts are determined. This was that the chant that we heard on the Ephiphany when we announced the date of Easter.
This year was a little bittersweet. While on the one hand, we are certainly overjoyed at again celebrating Easter, on the other, it is bitter because we could not celebrate such an important feast together at Mass. But this does not change the fact that Christ has still risen from the dead. So today, put aside whatever angst or anger you may have, and rejoice. For Christ is risen from the dead!
Though simple and modified, we were able to carry out the Holy Week Rites this year. I would certainly like to thank Fr. Adrian, the brothers, and the sisters for their help in making sure we could keep Holy Week as best we could this year. As I have said before, the life of the Church continues, even if it is simpler. Over these past weeks, in addition to Holy Week, I have baptized one adult and three babies. I have received two into the Church and also confirmed one. We have heard many solid hours of confession. Many have continued to come to church to pray. Please know that we will be here when life returns to some form of routine and that we are praying for each of you. Please also pray for us. Please also pray for an end to this Pandemic, special prayers are said by us at each Mass for a swift end to this. Certainly, be sure to pray for all those who are sick, suffer economically, or have died. Please let us know if you need anything, but until we see each again, rejoice, because Christ has risen from the dead!
Per previous, updates, please remember that you can find suggestions here on prayers and where to watch Mass.
Also, be sure to continue to check the parish webpage calendar for the hours that church will be open, and when confession will be offered. You can find the calendar at this link: Google Calendar. This will be the most accurate and updated list, but please be sure to check daily in case something has changed. Please enter through the side door of church.
There is Holy Water and other materials available near the side door. Holy Water bottles are available to be purchased for $1, which simply covers the cost. Please drop this in the donation box under the high pulpit. You can also drop your Sunday collection envelopes for either Old St. Mary’s or Sacred Heart and/or other donations in there as well. You can also set up online giving for Old St. Mary’s here, for Sacred Heart here, and the Oratory here.
Please note that the physical parish office is closed, but everyone is working remotely and responding to phone calls and emails during this time.
Finally, my sermon for this Easter Sunday can be found below. The first recording didn’t turn out with audio, so I had to do it twice. I thought the first was better, but alas, God didn’t want that one! Have a blessed week and Happy Easter!
Week of April 5 Update
Holy Week
Today we enter into the holiest week of the year, Holy Week. This is the week in which we commemorate the saving action of Our Lord on our behalf. During this week, we see the crowds go from proclaiming Christ king to calling for Him to be crucified. The Holy Eucharist and the priesthood were both instituted. And the Lord offered to His Father the ultimate sacrifice of His life for our sake and our salvation.
During this week, I again suggest that you read the Passion of the Lord from any of the Gospels. The Passion from the Gospel of St. Matthew is what we read at Mass. Meditate upon what it is that the Lord has done so that we could have life and have it more abundantly. Also be sure to pray the Stations of the Cross, especially on this coming Good Friday.
Many also remain nervous or frustrated with the current situation. Please know that the suspension of public Mass has been extended through May 3. I know this is difficult, and it is hard for us not to see each of you. However, we have no control over the situation. We can allow our fear or anger to consume us, or we can use this situation for some good. I strongly urge each of you to work on building up your domestic church. The family has long been and described as a domestic church, the church at home. What we do here at the parish complements, strengthens, and confirms what you do at home, but right now we need strong domestic churches. We can often overlook that, but the faith begins and is nurtured first and foremost in the home. Make sure that you are praying, praying as a family, and focusing on your spiritual lives during this time. Read the life of a saint, read the Mass texts at home, pray the rosary. Prayer is all the more important now! Focus also on your family by putting down the phones, turning off the technology, and actually spending quality time together. We can only work on what we can control ourselves, so seize that opportunity!
Without the ability to attend Mass, especially during this Holy Week, build up your homes and families. You can cover your statues if you haven’t already as we do at church. You can read the texts of Mass as part of your personal or family prayer. You can pray the Stations to be in union with the Passion. Strive to work on some virtue or issue that has been plaguing your home while you have the time. The Lord is calling us back to Himself, and away from all the distractions that we have allowed to pull us in this or that way. We have the choice, we can use this situation to our advantage to grow in holiness and as a family, or we can use it only to inflame our passions of fear and anger. But if we choose the latter, then we miss a golden opportunity to unite ourselves to the cross of Christ!
Please remember that you can find some suggestions in a former update here on prayers and where to watch Mass. We have resources in English, Latin, and German! Please also share this newsletter with other parishioners and make sure they know they can sign up to receive it as well!
Also, be sure to check the parish webpage calendar for the hours that Church will be open this week, and when confession will be offered. You can find the calendar at this link: Google Calendar. This will be the most accurate and updated list, but please be sure to check daily in case something has changed. Please enter only through the side door of Church. Please come and visit us! Our Lord is still in the tabernacle!
Please remember that there is Holy Water and other devotional materials available near the side door of Church. holy water bottles are available to be purchased for $1 which simply covers the cost. You can also bring your own holy water bottles. Please drop this in the donation box under the high pulpit which you can see in the picture below.
You can also drop your Sunday collection envelopes for either Old St. Mary’s or Sacred Heart and/or other donations in there as well. You can also set up online giving for Old St. Mary’s here. You can donate to the Oratory here. Online giving for Sacred Heart is coming soon and will hopefully be set up by next Sunday. The physical parish office is closed, but everyone is working remotely and responding to phone calls and emails during this time.
Finally, my sermon for this Palm Sunday can be found here. I address a little more some of the things I talked about here. I pray that each of you has a blessed Holy Week and I look forward to the day when we can all be together again. Please pray for us. Know that you are each remembered in our daily prayer and Masses and we pray for an end to this pandemic. The prayers against plague are said at each of our Masses, please pray for this at home as well. God bless!
Fr. Jon-Paul Bevak, C.O.
Provost
Week of March 29 Update
Today we enter into our ‘late’ Lenten period of Passiontide. During the first few weeks of Lent, we were particularly focused on our own conversion from sin and detachment from the world. In these last two weeks of Lent, we particularly focus on the passion and death of Our Lord, which is the whole reason as to why we must avoid sin and be attached only to Him. Our Lord has now nearly accomplished all that He has set out to, in order to redeem us. He is now hidden, spending His remaining days with his Apostles, friends, and Blessed Mother. I pray that we are counted among his friends, even during this difficult time!
During this time, I encourage you to read one, or all, of the Passion narratives from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. This is the time to consider exactly how much Our Lord loved us, desired to satisfy justice, and restore us to friendship with God. He suffered much for our sake, hopefully meditating upon this suffering causes us to love Him more, to follow Him more faithfully, and strive to be better Catholics. I also encourage you to work on your own family life by keeping routine, spending quality time together, and together striving to grow in some virtue you have wanted to for some time. So often we let our family life slip away by too much focus on technology and the problems of the world. While this situation is not ideal, use the good in it that you can!
If you are interested in a particularly good online Passiontide Retreat, you can follow along with Fr. Andrew from the Oratory-in-Formation in Washington D.C. The first session can be found on YouTube. His first talk is about what a retreat is in general. You can subsequently watch their YouTube Channel for further updates. A reminder that there are plenty of online resources for watching Mass and other Liturgical Rites. You can find some suggestions in a former update here.
Please be sure to check the parish webpage calendar for the hours that Church will be open this week, and when confession will be offered. You can find the calendar at this link: Google Calendar. This will be the most accurate and updated list, but please be sure to check daily in case something has changed. Please enter only through the side door of Church.
Please note that there is Holy Water and other materials available near the side door of Church. We also now have Holy Water bottles that can be purchased for $1 which simply covers the cost. Please drop this in the donation box under the high pulpit. You can also drop your Sunday collection envelopes for either Old St. Mary’s or Sacred Heart and/or other donations in there as well.
Finally, my sermon for this Passion Sunday can be found here. I pray that each of you has a blessed week and I look forward to the day when we can all be together again. Please pray for us. Know that you are each remembered in our daily prayer and Masses. God bless! – Fr. Jon-Paul
https://mailchi.mp/7c7362795725/weekly-update-for-march-29-2020
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