OLM Church is open for private prayer each day from 1 to 3pm only. Face masks and social distancing are required. Please use the main doors of the church. Confessions are available from 1 to 1:30pm every Saturday only.
Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy,
I hope this finds you safe and well.
Can you believe we are almost half-way through the year? We are! And we wonder where the first half went. We never realized it because our time was spent mostly in keeping ourselves safe during this coronavirus pandemic.
For a good number of our brothers and sisters it has been a long time spent in prayer for their loved ones to be healed of the virus. And for others, it has been a never-ending sorrow at the death of their loved ones, especially those who died from the coronavirus.
I also have been in sorrow because of those parishioners and friends who died. It has not been an easy four or five months for many of us. And who knows what the future holds? During times like these, all we can do is keep praying and hoping that our present situation gets better without losing hope and faith in God.
Our gospel passage this weekend gives us a promise that will help us get through these difficult times: “I am with you always until the end of the age!” This promise comes after Jesus commands us to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
Yes, brothers and sisters, we all were given that command when we were baptized into Christ. How are we going to do that, especially in these challenging times, when we cannot even go out of our homes because of the pandemic? That is our assignment.
Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you on how you can be a disciple of Jesus and make other disciples. The obvious thing to do is to start right where you are, in your own homes. Spread the good news of salvation to the members of your household. Then use your initiative to spread it to others. Maybe by internet, social media, text messages and many other means of communication. You have learned how to better use these tools during these days of being locked down.
As we progress in flattening the curve (I pray and hope that continues), here at Our Lady of Mercy, we are preparing for the reopening and return to worship together. Of course, it will not be the same as before, it will change. There will be a new normal. We start-ed planning for that. We are following the guidelines and directives from the Archdiocese of Newark that are in line with the guidelines issued by our nation’s president, health experts, civic leaders and scientists.
We need you to follow all protocols and procedures. We will surely guide you in doing so. All we ask of you is to comply and cooperate. It will be hard in the beginning, but I am sure you will get used to it. It is for your safety and protection as well as out of re-spect and care for the welfare of the people around us. We are all in this together.
Please check our website (olmnj.org) constantly for updates, for ways to send in your financial contributions, for links to our Facebook page, and for other important and useful information to help us care for our souls.
Be safe and God bless you.
Love,
Father Marty
We need the gifts of the Holy Spirit more than ever this Pentecost
A Reflection by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark
As we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost this weekend, we acknowledge the urgent need for the many gifts that the Holy Spirit shares with us during this troubled time. Now, more than ever, we need Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord (cf. Is 11:2-3) to guide us as we continue to protect the vulnerable, slow the spread of COVID-19, and begin the gradual process of recovery in our Church and in society. (Click here to read the full reflection)
Mass Intention for May 1, 2020 Memorial Mass for Deceased Family and Friends of OLM Parishioners Who Died from March 15-30
In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest. (Click here for the names of our dearly departed)