Weekly Letter from the Pastor

The new year seems to be moving along rather quickly, and we are already looking forward to the beginning of the Lenten Season. Ash Wednesday is fairly early this year, coming in on February 18.  It would seem that not much happens between now and then, though some of the events are worth noting. Our parish is hosting three nights of the Novena for Life this week -- Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday -- at 7pm. Adoration and prayer will be the focus of the evening. The Diocesan Mass for Life will be held at the Co- Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold on Friday at 11am. I am unaware of any parishes who are sponsoring a bus to Washington for the national Right to Life March. 

Here, we are focused on getting ready for Catholic Schools Week. This is a time for us to celebrate our Catholic School, the many successes of our students and our alumni, and to focus on the future.  As we have previously discussed we are moving forward with an expansion of the school facilities with the addition of a dedicated music room and an additional classroom scheduled for opening in September. We are expecting to break ground in March. We are still in the bidding process so I do not yet have hard numbers to put out there. Construction costs have increased dramatically over the past five years, so this is going to be
more expensive than we might like. Nonetheless, the project is necessary and moving forward. Once we are more clear on things we will publish the renderings in the bulletin.

All of this is to say that Open House for prospective students and their families is on Saturday, January 24. Please check the bulletin for details and go to the website to register. As of this writing there are already seventy families registered for the day. We have openings in most of the classes, though some of them are tighter than others. Remember that we now begin with three year olds in PreK, if your child is turning three between now and August, you might want to consider registering now, as we do generally fill-up quickly. 

Registration is also open for the Summer Religious Education Academy, so make sure you act quickly there to secure your spots there as well.  Besides our usual Camp-Out this summer, we are also bringing back the once-popular Vacation Bible School for the younger children in June. 

I know that given the cold and dreary winter the summer seems afar off, but now is the time to look forward and secure your summer and fall plans. 

I hope everyone has a blessed week ahead, 
Fr. Garry