May 25, 2023

Thursday of the VII Week of Easter

St. Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church

St. Gregory VII

St. Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi, Virgin 

Welcome to the Matthew XXV Garden – Season 3

Planting last Saturday was a Success! Thanks to all those who showed up to help. It was fun and productive. Now we pray and nurture and wait for a bountiful harvest. We’ve created a sign-up genius for anyone who wants to help with the mowing, trimming, weeding, watering, staking, and eventually harvesting. Look for updates in the Bulletin and via Monsignor Diamond’s Thursday email.

We no longer need newspaper. We are looking for new ideas for staking the various vegetables, anyone with experience please share your thoughts, it is most appreciated.

Calling all Catechists!

           Do you get great support and comfort from your relationship with God? Do you enjoy sharing your experiences with others? We are looking for volunteers to work with the youth of our Parish and help them to grow and deepen their faith. Our program is held on Sunday from 10-11 from September- May. If you are interested in helping lead our Children’s Liturgy of the Word or teach our school age children about God please contact Julie Sullivan at stcornprep@scornelius.org to learn more about this wonderfully fulfilling opportunity.

Memorial Day

Please consider joining us on Monday morning at 9:00 A.M. for the annual Memorial Day Mass. What better way to start a holiday weekend than by celebrating Mass?

For the Memorial Day Holiday, the office will be closed beginning at the end of business on Thursday through Tuesday morning. The office will reopen on Tuesday at 8:00 A.M..

This Friday is the end of Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The church will remain open for visits to the Blessed Sacrament but Exposition is discontinued through the summer months.

We will celebrate Mass at 4:00 P.M. on Sunday afternoon. Last week’s Weekly Email incorrectly stated that it was to be canceled. We will have the 4:00 Mass on Sunday May 28^th.
 

The Feast of Corpus Christi

The Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus is marked on the liturgical calendar for Sunday, June 11^th. Immediately following the 11:00 Mass, we will hold a procession on our campus with the Most Holy Eucharist followed by Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. On June 11^th our nation begins a yearlong observance of Eucharistic Revival and this year the focus is on the Eucharist and the parish. Please consider joining us as we begin to respond to the invitation to know our Eucharistic Lord at a deeper level.

Loaves & Fishes 

Our upcoming dates for donations are:

June 2nd and 16th, July 7th and 21st, and August 4th and 18th.

We meet from 0930 to 1000 at the PLC.

In addition to lunches or casseroles, John’s could use bags of apples and oranges, 

boxes of protein bars or granola bars, cases of water, and chapstick.

For those of you who have asked about serving meals at St. John’s Hospice they are looking for servers and have many dates open, 

including some evenings. If interested, please contact Damon Cottman at dcottman@chs-adphila.org.

We have a special request for Birthright of West Chester - their current wish list includes;

• Baby boy summer clothes
• Boys’ & girls’ onesies & sleepers, 12 & 18 mos
• Receiving blankets
• Diapers, size newborn, 4 & 5
• Summer Maternity tops, L & XL

We also deliver to YoungMoms in Kennett Square. 

Right now YoungMoms is in need of size 6 diapers. 

If you have a high school student who is helping and need their volunteer hours validated, 

simply email joburns66@gmail.com for assistance.

St. Cornelius Literary Society – New!

The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O’Connor.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. In this moving novel, Father Hugh Kennedy, a recovering alcoholic, returns to Boston to repair his damaged priesthood. There he is drawn into the unruly world of the Carmodys, a sprawling, prosperous Irish family teeming with passion and riddled with secrets. The story of this entanglement is a beautifully rendered tale of grace and renewal, of friendship and longing, of loneliness and spiritual aridity giving way to hope.

Date for the next meeting is Sunday, June 11^th at 1:00 PM

Pavers in Memoriam

           We began installing paving stones along the walkway leading to the Holy Family Portico. I regularly see people exiting Mass via the doors leading onto the Holy Family Portico and walking to their cars via that path. So it is getting used. I still believe that it is a lovely place for prayer and reflection.

           We are once again taking requests for pavers. The application can be found in the Parish Life Center and online at the Parish Web Page. Consider establishing a memorial for your family and loved ones, living or deceased. 

Pavers Order Form

Food Drive

  The weekend of June 3^rd and 4^th we are holding our Annual Food Drive to benefit the Kennett Food Cupboard, KACS (Kennett Area Community Services). Drop off your donations at the Parish Life Center prior to Mass that weekend. Suggested donations include: Low sugar cold cereals, Tuna, Canned tomato products, Cooking oil, vegetable oil, Rice (2 lb. packages), Canned low sugar fruit, Dried beans (kidney, black & pinto), Salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, Canned meals: Beef stew, pasta, baked beans, SpaghettiOs, SPAM, Various canned vegetables, Peanut butter & jelly, Ketchup, mayonnaise, hot sauce, Baking: Flour, sugar, maseca flour.

Food Drive for KACS

Registration for Early Childhood Learning

Registration for the 2023-2024 school year is now open! To learn more about the registration process, please contact our Director, Abigail McCusker at akohlbrenner@scornelius.org or call at 610-459-8663.  

Camp Cornelius

We have opened registration for Camp Cornelius.  Here are the weeks we will be running camp this summer. 

• Week of June 12th
• Week of June 19th - 23rd
• Week of July 11th-July 15th
• Week of July 17th-21st
• Week of July 24th-28th

Registration forms for camp and for volunteering can be found below.

Camp Cornelius Flyer    CAMPER Registration    VOLUNTEER Registration

Liturgical Vestments

           We have had a very favorable response to the requests for the updating of the liturgical vestments. The are several items available still and two significant items that are need are dalmatics for the deacons and the priest’s stoles for penance and anointing.

           The following items are still available:

• 2 Red on Cream Chasubles
• One dalmatic – Blue on off white
• Two dalmatics – Red on off white
• One priest’s stole – Forest Green
• One priest’s stole – Red
• Four (4) – Royal Purple priest’s stoles

The items for consideration and the Order Form can be found at the link below. 

Liturgical Vestments with Order Form

Thank you!

           Initially I was resistant to the idea of an anniversary celebration, but I am now grateful to the members of the parish council for their initiative and for all the kindness that was shown to me over the last weekend. My friends and family commented frequently on the quality of the music at the liturgy. I said that it is so characteristic of the music ministry that we have come to think of it as the usual excellent quality of all of our weekly liturgical celebrations. My gratitude is also for those who provided the food and drink at the church as well as the general hospitality to visitors and parishioners.

           It was a weekend filled with memories and I can add one more. I celebrated my First Mass on Pentecost Sunday. This Sunday we will join in our Mass for a celebration of that great event, often called the birthday of the Church.

Faithfully,

Msgr. Diamond