September: The month of Stewardship in our Parish

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  08/31/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

For the past five weeks, our liturgy focused on the Bread of Life Discourse from St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 6. However, beginning this Sunday till the end of the month, our Sunday liturgy will shift focus on Stewardship. You may recall that for several months in the past, I spoke about and wrote articles on stewardship. I am convinced therefore, that stewardship is by now not a new concept to our parish.

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Communing with our Lord

by Joseph Malzone  |  08/25/2024  |  Liturgy and Worship Reflections

Because the Eucharistic bread is by no means just “ordinary food” but the very Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, we must make it a point to receive holy communion in a manner that reflects what we believe as Catholics. Our bodies speak a “language.” Therefore, we communicate with our bodies what we really believe about what the Church teaches regarding the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

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John Chapter 6 and the Eucharist

by Fr. Gabriel Terrill  |  08/24/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

Over these past four Sundays we have spent time reflecting on the Eucharist as we explore the words of Our Lord in the 6th chapter of John’s Gospel. As we move into this final Sunday, I believe it is worthwhile to look back on the rich teaching of the Eucharist provided by Jesus in the Gospel of John in order to grow in our Eucharistic devotion as individuals and as a parish.

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Both Flesh and Blood

by Joseph Malzone  |  08/18/2024  |  Liturgy and Worship Reflections

As was discussed in the last article, the Sacrifice to God is not completed fully by simply offering it to God, but by the consumption of the lamb’s flesh by the people for nourishment and anointing the lintels of the door of their dwelling with the lamb’s blood. When Christ became that sacrificial lamb for us, the manner of the sacrifice accordingly changed, as we are now able to offer an unbloody sacrifice, and the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is re-presented, or renewed before God by the priest. Similar to the ancient Israelites, we complete the sacrifice through consuming the Precious Body of the Lamb, the host. We may also anoint the lintel of the door of the dwelling of our soul, the lips of our mouth, when we consume the Precious Blood.

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I am inviting you to spend just one hour with Jesus this week

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  08/17/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

This weekend, our homilies will be the fourth, based on the Bread of Life Discourse taken from John, Chapter 6. We have devoted these five weeks to reflect on the Eucharist because as Catholics, the Holy Eucharist really matters to us as the Source and Summit of our Faith. The beauty of all this is that the Eucharist truly embodies Christ’s uninterrupted Presence among us twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week in all the tabernacles around the world.

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Perpetual Adoration is around the corner. How exciting!

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  08/10/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

We are now in the seventh week since the actual construction of our perpetual adoration chapel commenced. I am extremely excited about the progress so far made. Though you may not see much behind the barricade, we have already done the plumbing work for the bathrooms and laid the foundation for the building. These are the most important aspects of the structure of the chapel, (Mt. 7:24-26). As we wait for the concrete for the foundation to set, I look forward with even greater anticipation and excitement for the superstructure to soon take shape. We expect this to commence soon.

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What is the Sacrifice?

by Joseph Malzone  |  08/09/2024  |  Liturgy and Worship Reflections

Since the times of the ancient Israelites, as shown in the Book of Exodus, a lamb was offered for sacrifice to God. The people ate the flesh of the lamb, and the blood was poured out and used to mark the entrance of their homes. Each year for Passover this was repeated, when each family brought a lamb to the temple in Jerusalem, and then the lamb was sacrificed on the altar by the priest on behalf of the people.

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The Eucharist Transforms Lives

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  08/03/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

We have just concluded the National Eucharistic Revival in the United States, which ran from July 17-21. By all accounts, it was said to have been one of the most successful Catholic revivals in our country and the first in 83 years. Over 60,000 Catholics attended, enthusiastically participating in Eucharistic Processions and Adoration, and had many opportunities to listen to inspiring speeches. This number included more than 1,100 priests, 1,200 religious, 600 deacons, 600 seminarians, and 200 bishops and cardinals.

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Deacon Dave and the National Eucharistic Revival

by Deacon Dave Knebelsberger  |  07/31/2024  |  Liturgy and Worship Reflections

My wife and I were blessed to be able to attend the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis from July 17-21, and it was AWESOME!  It was truly incredible to be with 60,000 Catholics for the main purpose of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!  We all desired to grow in love for Him and for each other.  It was a little glimpse of heaven as we felt like one body before our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  If someone dropped something, there would quickly be someone there to help them pick it up.  If someone tripped, they quickly received the aid of others.  The lines were long for most things, but there was no complaining or grumbling, just love and kindness.

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Seminarian Max’s View of the Priesthood

by Max Rich, Seminarian  |  07/28/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

One of my ardent prayers is that before I leave this parish or retire, we should have produced at least three priests from our parish. This prayer has been intensified by the assignment of seminarian Max Rich for his summer pastoral experience here at our parish. His presence and commitment to his vocation has not only renewed my own vocation but has also given me hope that my prayers will be answered.

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The Glory of Carmel

by Fr. Gabriel Terrill  |  07/21/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

This weekend we celebrate two events. The first is the community celebration of our Patroness, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. We transferred the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to this weekend so that our entire community can more easily participate it. Our second cause for celebration is our Pastor, Father Robert Aliunzi’s priestly anniversary. This Saturday, July 20th, Father celebrates 33 years of priesthood. This is significant especially for a priest since the number 33 is associated with Jesus as he was 33 years old when he ministered and died on the cross. Father Robert, thank you for your many years of ministry and please know of our prayers as we celebrate your priesthood.

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Our Feast Day Celebration is around the corner

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  07/14/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

As I pointed out in my last article, the Feast Day of our Parish, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, is indeed around the corner. This is our 92nd Anniversary and since the founding of our Parish in 1932, (although our current Church was built in 1968), we have celebrated this great Feast in various small and big ways. This year, we shall celebrate it in a rather moderate way. However, despite that, we all know that to better celebrate an important Feast, a proper preparation is always necessary. In our case, we have already begun this preparation with the Novena on Thu, Jul 11 which will go up to Fri, Jul 19.

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The Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel: How Will We Celebrate It This Year?

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  07/06/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

Feasts of various kinds are always occasions to rejoice and reflect on what is being celebrated. The Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, our Parish’s Feast, is no exception. Every year we celebrate this feast on July 16, and we have celebrated it for years, to remind us of the special place Our Lady plays in the life of our Parish and to encourage us to grow closer to her and to her son Jesus Christ.

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Buidling our Adoration Muscle

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  06/30/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

If you have seen that my smiles have broadened these days, you are correct. Why? Well, this is because the long-awaited Perpetual Adoration Chapel construction is now underway as you have probably seen. This project is dear to my heart as it is in many of yours, I am sure. Yes, for many months, we have longed for, prayed fervently and battled with mundane procedures to reach this moment.

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Bereavement Support Ministry is on the way

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  06/23/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

We have just recently concluded our Parish Census and Survey. One of the major purposes of these exercises as I told you, was to identify the needs of our Parish and appropriately address them. While the final outcome of the survey is still being compiled and will be shared at an appropriate time, one need that came out frequently from many of you and which I personally have been also thinking about, is the need for a Bereavement Support Ministry here in our Parish.

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Who is the Father of God?

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  06/16/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

This was the simple but profound question I was asked one day by one of my OLMC preschool friends named Luke this past school year. Much as Luke constantly asks me very many questions whenever I visited their class or after Mass, this particular one about the Father of God caught me completely off guard. For all my years of studying theology, some years of teaching religious education and years of preaching, I could not immediately provide him with a simple response suitable for a four-year-old.

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What a Great Week This Past Week Was!

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  06/08/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

“You have a great and joyful community here at OLMC. Keep on doing whatever you are doing, Robert. I will certainly come back soon!” These were the final words Bishop Dolan told me as I escorted him to his car after my Installation and thereafter the Groundbreaking for our Adoration Chapel last week. I couldn’t agree more with the Bishop but more especially with his first sentence about being a joyful community.

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The Long-awaited Day is Finally Here: The Groundbreaking!

by Fr. Robert Aliunzi  |  06/02/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

Dear Friends,

Twelve days ago today, despite his extremely busy schedule, our Bishop, John Dolan, accepted my short-notice invitation for him to come over and officially break ground for the construction of our long-awaited Divine Mercy Perpetual Adoration Chapel this weekend. He is also at the same time installing me officially as your Pastor. I am especially so grateful to God that this historical occasion of the groundbreaking is finally taking place today June 2, 2024, soon after the 11:00am Mass. I am also grateful to our Bishop for making the time to come over and be with us to Preside over these events.

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