SCCR Parish Blog

In response to the need caused by C OVID -19, the organization for Giving Tuesday has announced a new global day of giving called #GivingTuesdayNow next Tuesday, May 5.  You can give to many organizations, including ones sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for local and emergency response.  Please visit the Archdiocese's stewardship website for more information. Here's a short YouTube video showing what the parishes are doing to keep the faith alive in these challenging times.

During the period while we are waiting for public Masses to resume, we will continue to have weekly Eucharistic adoration and confession outside.  ** Due to expected rain again this Thursday, the adoration and confessions scheduled this week for Thursday, April 30th, at St. Mary's will be moved back one day to Friday,  May 1st, same time (6:00 - 7:00 p.m.)  Sorry for the inconvenience.  We will have adoration and confessions on Monday, May 4th, at St. Peter's at 6:00 p.m. as usual.    Beginning in early June, I hope to move confessions and adoration back inside again.  They will continue to be at the same time and day of the week.  (Mondays at St. Peter's, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m., Thursdays  at St. Mary's, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.)   As always, please check the parish calendar to confirm.

I am pleased to announce that there is finally "light at the end of the tunnel" regarding the celebration of public Masses in our diocese.  The Ohio Catholic bishops have announced that they will allow the resumption of public Masses beginning on the weekend of May 31, 2020 (Pentecost Sunday). There will certainly be some changes in the way the Masses are celebrated, even at that time, and it is possible we will have to limit the number who can attend. We will  make every effort to communicate all information to you regarding how the Masses will be celebrated, as it becomes available, so that you will know in advance how we can begin to resume the fullness of our sacramental life together as a Christian community. In the mean time, please continue to make spiritual communions each Sunday at least, and to do what is most spiritually helpful for you or your family on Sundays such as listening to the Mass on the radio , watching livestream or Catholic cable Masses , pr...

As our bulletin has been temporarily suspended, Debbie has been printing a one-page newsletter for the last two weeks.  If you are by the parish, you can pick one up.  (Box located by the main door, upper level at St. Peter, and on the front porch of the parish office (house) at St. Mary's.) They will also be emailed to you soon and I am posting them here as well. Week Six newsletter (May 21) Week Five newsletter (May 14) Week Four newsletter (May 7) Week Three newsletter (May 3) Week Two newsletter (April 26) Week One newsletter (April 19) They include the list of Mass intentions.

Today Archbishop Schnurr ordained seven seminarians as deacons for service to our diocese.  This is the last major step before they are ordained to the priesthood in May of next year.  It is at the tie of their deacon ordination  that the men promise to pray the breviary of the Church (five-times-a-day prayer cycle) for the rest of their lives and to remain celibate for the rest of their lives, so that they can serve the Church and her people in a completely undivided manner, just as Christ did for His Bride the Church. Sadly, they had to be ordained in a private ceremony due to Covid-19 restrictions, but it is still a sign of great joy for the Church. You can find their names in this article from the Catholic Telegraph . Note that one of them is a local man, Deacon Anthony Marcelli from St. Bernadette in Amelia. Please pray for them, that they will be good and holy priests with the heart of Christ the servant, and pray for your sons and grandsons, that the...

UPDATED 4/29 to include detailed information On Friday, May 1st, the U. S. Bishops have decided to re-consecrate the nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary and seek her intercession for these troubled times.  The president of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Gomez, will be leading a livestreamed prayer service at 3:00 p.m. our time that day and encouraging all Catholics to join in.  I hope many of the St. Mary's and St. Peter's parishioners will be able to participate. This will be broadcast on the EWTN Catholic cable channel . You can also join in live through several websites:  the Archdiocese of Los Angeles or via the U.S. Bishops' conference social media platforms: Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .  Here is the printed worship aid with all of the prayers to follow along, or to pray on your own at 3:00 if not watching online. For more information and resources, see this  brief article from Catholic news agency Zenit on the event or the U.S....

Here are some prayer resources for the upcoming week, from the Magnificat devotional magazine. Prayer Service for today .  (Sorry this is late.  There is a good short reflection on the Gospel St. Elizabeth of the Trinity). Litany Prayer for the Sick -- this would be good to pray with you family for all those suffering from any illness, but especially Covid-19.

I celebrated Sunday Mass for the intentions of the people of St. Peter and St. Mary today as usual. Here is my homily (YouTube video). The written notes follow.  (Scroll down to bottom for today's Scripture readings). Third Sunday of Easter -- April 26, 2020 Just a few months after I was ordained a priest in 2004, Pope St. John Paul II, one of my heroes and favorite saints, wrote a beautiful short apostolic letter called Stay With Us, Lord (“Mane nobiscum, Domine) a beautiful reflection on the Holy Eucharist based on the Gospel we just heard proclaimed today, which contains that title lie – when Jesus’ disciples on the road to Emmaus beg Him not to leave them as He walks the road with them.   It is well worth a read and I would love to do a brief study on it in my parishes once we are allowed to reopen again. It’s a fascinating Gospel.   In the drama, we can see the disciples vacillating between doubt and faith, hope and despair, knowing the real Jesus and ...

This is not completely timely, but still worth listening to.  It is the YouTube video of Archbishop Schnurr's homily from the Mass on March 22nd , the first Sunday when public Masses had been canceled throughout the Archdiocese and most of the country.    To refresh your memory, here are the readings on which he is preaching.

Due to possible heavy rain tonight, the outdoor adoration and confessions scheduled at St. Mary's for today (Thursday, April 23rd) will be moved to tomorrow (Friday, April 24th) for this week only.  Time will remain 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.   Sorry for the inconvenience.   The next time slot for St. Peter's is still scheduled for Monday, April 27th at 6:00 p.m. as usual.

I did get some feedback that the YouTube videos I was posting weren't audible.  Sorry!  I don't have any equipment to speak of so just recording this on a smartphone.  If playing back on a smartphone, just have to adjust the volume to max.  However, if playing back on a laptop or desktop computer, to make it audible you have to adjust BOTH volume controls: the computer's speaker AND the YouTube internal volume control.  To increase the volume inside YouTube, once start playback, move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen, and some controls will pop up (see image above).  Clock on the speaker (volume control -- see yellow arrow above) and a volume slide will pop up.  Adjust that all the way to the right (maximum) and it should be audible.

Just a reminder that we will be settling into our regular schedule of outdoor confessions and adoration.  Mondays at St. Peter's 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays at St. Mary's from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.  So we will have confessions and adoration today at St. Peter's.  That's at the same place.  For adoration, park near the main entrance.  For confessions, please walk or drive to the picnic shelter.   For this Thursday, since there is a good possibility of rain, please make sure to check the parish calendar first before coming out to St. Mary's.  If it storms, I'll likely still have adoration for folks who want to stay in the car, but may have to cancel confession.   We'll do it like last week, I'll put the monstrance in the window and people can park in the east parking lot.

As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday (the 8th Day of the Easter Octave), I recommend praying this prayer service provided by the Magnificat devotional magazine.  (It includes the Sunday Mass readings.) Here's my homily for today (on YouTube).   The written notes for that reflection are below (below the Divine Mercy picture). The Magnificat prayers refer to a traditional hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary for Easter called Queen of Heaven (Regina Coeli).  Here's the YouTube video for that.  For a lot more information on Divine Mercy Sunday, you might visit the website of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception ( an order of priests dedicated to teaching and sharing the Divine Mercy message) for some helpful suggestions for prayers and resources. My Divine Mercy reflection Divine Mercy Sunday (April 19, 2020 As we continue through these very difficult circumstances of a worldwide health epidemic, where much of what we thought was normal life s...

A reminder that we will have outdoor confessions and holy hour tonight at St. Mary's from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. The confessions will be on the front porch of the parish office building. I will also bring the monstrance just outside of the main church doors (west entrance to gathering space / old church), under the awning, for Eucharistic adoration. Please observe social distancing from anyone who is not immediate family of at least 6 feet at all times. Also, please bring your own chairs (camp chairs or lawn chairs) if you would like to be seated for adoration. This is the first time I am doing outdoor adoration at St. Mary's.  I can only expose the Blessed Sacrament if there are adorers present committed to staying for the hour. It will be a bit chilly tonight, please dress accordingly.  The regular times for outdoor adoration and confessions starting next week will be Mondays at St. Peter, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. and Thursdays at St. Mary's, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. Pleas...

Because of many of the emergency measures the diocese has recently taken and limited resources, we have temporarily had to suspend some of our parish charitable operations such as our St. Mary in-house food pantry. The monthly mobile food pantry is still operating at St.Mary.  The next date will be in early May. The New Richmond food pantry is still operating on Thursdays. There are still programs in both New Richmond and Bethel to assist school age children with lunches. For a recording containing the most up to date information we have regarding food and emergency assistance, please press extension 5 when you dial the parish, 513-734-4041 (St. Mary) or 513-553-3267 (St. Peter).

Because of limited employee time, we are converting our weekly bulletin to a simple one-page newsletter.   This will be available in boxes by the church doors and also posted on this blog.  (The information will be mostly the same as what's on this blog, but we wanted to link it in case you have the opportunity to give it to someone who does not have internet access).  Please note that there is no Easter Sunday edition.  The first one will be for this weekend, April 19th.  The newsletter will list the Mass intentions offered.  Past-bulletins through Palm Sunday, April 5th, are still available online at ccc.city/Community/Bulletins http://ccc.city/Community/Bulletins

We have been able to return Debbie DePuccio our parish region office manager to work.  She will be in the office Mon., Tue., Thu. and Fri. from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Please feel free to call or email her then, 513-734-4041 or 513-553-3267 (Ext. 1).  Email: sccr.parish@outlook.com .  Please note: Sorry, due to social distancing requirements, the office will temporarily remain closed to walk-in visitors.

  Please check back later for more information on regular weekly (outdoor) Eucharistic holy hour and confessions, Monday evenings at St. Peter from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. and Thursday evenings at St. Mary's from 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.  We will start *tonight* (Mondays, 4/13) at St. Peter's.  (Sorry for the short notice).  Please get the word out.

I'm including the notes from my Easter reflection below.   Here's the video of that reflection. Easter Sunday (April 12, 2020) We celebrate this glorious and joyous feast of Easter this year in very unsettling circumstances -- when nearly all of the faithful have to stay home from Mass on this day that is the very center of the Church’s liturgical year and indeed the center of our whole lives because, as St. Paul reminds us, if Jesus had not risen from the dead, our faith would be in vain.   Of all days not to be able to celebrate Mass with our fellow parishioners, not to be able enter into sacramental Communion with Our Lord, crucified but truly risen from the dead, this one brings perhaps the deepest disappointment.    I celebrated Easter Vigil and Easter Day Mass, with just one seminarian, and while a tremendous privilege as always to be able to do so, still it was painfully obvious that the usual joy was missing that comes from the Church enthusias...

I'm including this Easter hymn (from the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of Apostles ) because, well, it just wouldn't be Easter without it.

Holy Saturday is a good day to reflect on the line in the Apostles' Creed (prayed with the Rosary) that Christ descended into hell before he rose from the dead. That is, that he announced to all those who had died after living a good life who had been waiting  for salvation that He their Savior had come. Here's a more detailed reflection on just what that means. This has been depicted beautifully in art (see image above) and in poetry, such as this powerful ancient homily from the Church's breviary: The Lord's descent into the underworld Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.   He has gone to search for our first parent, as f...

The Church has an ancient tradition of "praying at the tomb" in the parish churches after the Good Friday liturgy until the celebration of the Easter Vigil.  The churches are stripped of all sacramentals such as holy water and even the altar is stripped.  The tabernacle lamp is extinguished and the tabernacle door is left open.  All of these symbolizes the death of Christ, Who lay dead in the tomb for three days.  Only the Cross used for adoration surrounded by candles remains in the Church.   It is a time for quiet prayer and deep meditation on the depth of God's love for us.  Since many of the churches are not open due to the epidemic, I encourage you to find some quiet time at home today to pray in gratitude for the saving Passion and Death of Our Lord.  One possible set of prayers to pray is this reflection on the Last Words of Christ from the Magnificat  devotional magazine.  (The photo above is St. Peter' Church in New Richmond...