Virtual Retreat for Those Grieving the Loss of a Child: The Cross of Motherhood
Father Jim will be presenting a virtual retreat on Thursday evening, February 27th, at 7:30 PM, in conjunction with Red Bird Ministries, to assist families who may have lost a child in the womb, or early in life. Preregistration for this Virtual Retreat can be done by going to www.RedBird.love if this may be of help to you. The program is expected to last approximately 60-90 minutes.
Daily Rosary
We welcome all to join us after each 9:00 AM Daily Mass to pray the rosary. We especially need prayer during these troubling times!
Pray the Miraculous Medal Novena with us following the 9:00 AM Mass in the Main Church from Friday, November 29th through Sunday, December 8th (Excluding Sunday, December 1st).
We will continue this devotion every Monday throughout the year following Morning Mass. Please join us in praying this powerful Novena. You may find the Novena prayer as well as further information about the Miraculous Medal by visiting the Miraculous Medal Shrine website: click here for the website.
What do we make of the promise of a land “… flowing with milk and honey …” and chopping down a fig tree that doesn’t produce fruit? Let’s look at the question of agriculture, time and patience. Milk doesn’t flow like a river; it is the produce of caring for flocks of cows and goats. And caring for them for the ancient Israelites meant moving them from field to field, from valley to mountain slopes, to wherever the grass was plentiful for grazing. That constant moving was work and was a struggle.
That also meant that there were not “beekeepers” with hives arranged neatly on a farm; the sweet honey they would receive was wild, discovered with delight as they moved from place to place with their herds. And now, the fig tree parable: God is not the owner of the orchard with the fig tree. God is the Gardener! God is the one who is patient, who steps up in our lives at moments of struggle and says, “Let me nurture you a little bit more; let me care for you so you will produce fruit. I believe in you!”
Our modern 21st century life is often filled with instant gratification. We get news – now! We want our online shopping delivered – today! We want things our way, on our schedule, and the idea of wandering in a desert for 40 years and remaining faithful to God through struggles seems in so many ways a ridiculous concept today. I can’t wait two months for an appointment! I need Urgent Care for everything!!
But what if God’s perfect answer to our prayer is that He knows we need to learn from a struggle? What if the answer to my desire for instant gratification is to gain an understanding of patience? Time is a precious gift, and God wants us to savor that gift. He knows that we benefit greatly by sitting quietly before the Blessed Sacrament in prayer, and He knows that we appreciate a sunset better if we sit still and allow it to unfold slowly before our eyes. He knows that we can be better parents of teenagers if we first gently hold newborn babies and learn to feed them. He knows that we will be better grandparents after we struggle through the teenage years with our own children.
As some have heard recently, I am joyfully looking forward to becoming a grandfather in May. I recently spent my day off walking through a zoo; I saw many active animals, and I saw many grandparents showing toddlers giraffes and bears and monkeys for the first time and hearing their glee. Those 3-year-olds didn’t want to grow up instantly … they wanted to laugh at a giraffe! They knew better than most of us not to rush through special moments of life.
We will experience struggles and challenges in our lives. Let’s not wish them away but ask God to help us appreciate the gifts hidden within them, hidden within the gift of time spent struggling to discover Him in our world. Jesus is the untiring Gardener; the fig tree didn’t know it was being nurtured, and the bees in the cliff around the river bend don’t know they are making honey to sweeten our lives. But He knows. Let our restless hearts find peace and our place within His Sacred Heart.
- Father Jim
To learn more about the 2025 Annual Catholic Appeal and to donate online, please click here.
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.
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
