Stations of the Cross this week for Youth Group!

Team, lets meet from 7:15 to 8:30 pm in the Former Church this Sunday and pray the Stations of the Cross this week for Youth Group... As we wrap up we will have some snacks and fellowship !

ENCOUNTER this Sunday!

Youth Group in the Former Church: Encounter for grades 6-8 and Small Group for Grades 9-12; this Sunday, March 23 from 7:15 - 8:30 pm

See you there!

Fr. W

Welcome Bishop Gainer!

Hello Friends,

This Tuesday, March 18th at 7 pm we will host an Evening Prayer and Reception for Bishop Gainer as he prepares to be installed as the 11th Bishop of our Diocese on Wednesday, March 19th.  This is a great honor and will be a wonderful opportunity to pray with Bishop Gainer and meet him after the prayer service in the former Church.

The Most Reverend Ronald W. Gainer
11th Bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg

The Installation events will be on the web and televised, click here for more information.

Please pray for Bishop Gainer as he accepts the role of shepherd of our diocese:

Heavenly Father,
   the just man Saint Joseph was given by you
   as spouse to the Virgin Mother of God and
   set as wise and faithful servant in charge of 
   your household to watch like a father over 
   your Only Begotten Son.

Grant, through his heavenly intercession,
   protection and growth to the Church in 
   Harrisburg, to Bishop Ronald Gainer, the 
   priests and deacons, the consecrated men 
   and women, and all the lay faithful.

Through Christ our Lord. 
   Amen.

Youth Group this Sunday!

Hello Team!

This Sunday, March 16th we will have Youth Group in the Former Church from 7:15 - 8:30 pm: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter for both HS and Middle school youth.

(Everyone is welcome, first time or even if its been a while since you were last with us!)

Fr. W

A quick look at the week ahead...

Friday, March 14th: Knights of Columbus Fish Fry; From 5 pm - 7 pm in the Social Hall... also, Stations of the Cross; at 7 pm in the Church

Saturday, March 15th: Daily Mass followed by the Sacrament of Confession; Daily Mass is at 8:30 am and Confessions are from 9-9:30 am in the Church... also, The Sacrament of Confession and Vigil Mass for Sunday; Confessions are from 3:30-4:30 pm and Mass is at 5 pm in the Church

Sunday, March 16th: SUNDAY MASS; Mass times are 8 am, 10:15 am, 12 Noon, and 6 pm in the Church... and, YOUTH GROUP: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm

Monday, March 17th: Solemnity of the Feast of Saint Patrick; as St. Patrick is the Principle Patron of the Diocese today is a Solemnity in the entire Diocese of Harrisburg

Tuesday, March 18^th: Evening Prayer for Bishop Gainer at 7 pm in the Church, at 7 pm -- all are welcome!

Wednesday, March 19th: Solemnity of the Feast of Saint Joseph; as St. Joseph is Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Patron of the Universal Church today is Solemnity throughout the entire world... Installation Mass of Bishop Gainer; starting at 2 pm

Parish Devotions!

Hello Team!

Tonight and tomorrow night at 7 pm we will have two great experiences of prayer and devotion for our Parish:

1. Tonight at 7 pm we will have a "Virtual Lourdes Pilgrimage" including veneration of a Lourdes Grotto Water and Rock, as well as a Eucharistic Procession -- this will no doubt be a wonderful and very unique event!  I encourage all of you to attend, and bring a friend!

2. Tomorrow Night at 7 pm we will have our "Solemn Closing of Eucharistic Devotions" all day tomorrow there will be Eucharistic Adoration in the Church concluded with this Evening Prayer -- preached by a newly ordained priest, my classmate, Fr. Daniel Richards.  He is an excellent priest, please do make time to come out tomorrow evening and join us in prayer.

God Bless,

Fr. W

Don't forget... Youth Group this Sunday!

Sunday, March 9th: EUCHARISTIC DEVOTIONS and Prayers;

Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church – snacks afterwards, concluding at 8:30 pm

Thanks,

Fr. Wilke

Stations of the Cross and Fish Dinners…

Team,

Tomorrow (or today, depending when you read this post) is our First Lenten Friday for 2014!  Obviously, this is a day when we abstain from meat – as well as keep our personal plan of penance, prayer, and charity (if you haven’t worked out all the details, jot down your thoughts, taking a look at our "ASH WEDNESDAY" post, and stick to your plan!).

I stumbled across a nice reflection on our Lenten Disciplines… written earlier this week, it gives some nice insight to our practices!

There will be Stations of the Cross in the Church at 2:15 pm and 7:00 pm – this is weekly standard for Lent... it’s a great Lenten Practice to pray the Stations of the Cross!

Also, the HNJ Knights of Columbus are running a Fish Dinner from 5:00-7:00 pm in the Social Hall.

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Fr. Wilke

ASH WEDNESDAY

Okay, Team… here we go – Lent!

Ash Wednesday Masses are as follows:

1. 6:30 am

2. 8:30 am

3. 12 Noon

4. 7:00 pm

Ashes will be distributed at all Masses… for a few thoughts on the distribution of Ashes, read what our friend Jimmy Akin has to say on this unique day of the year.

Remember: Ash Wednesday is a day of both fasting and abstinence.  If you aren't sure what “fasting and abstinence” means… click here.  For a spiritual reflection on fasting, read through this little article.

As we prepare for Lent, I encourage all of you to read Pope Francis’ Lenten Message.  

I also encourage you to be deliberate, write down your plan, about how you will fast, pray, and give alms this lent.  Perhaps it will be as simple as: fast – No Candy, not even chocolate; pray – I will attend the Stations of the Cross each week, or pray them on my own on Friday, and go to the Sacrament of Confession twice between now and Holy Thursday; almsgiving – every week will give $10, from my own money earned this year, to the Church in the tan colored “St. Vincent de Paul Society” envelopes… This is obviously just an example, to get the ideas moving, take it or leave it but I do strongly encourage you to enter into Lent with a plan, a detailed and written plan.

Let’s remember to keep one another in prayer, that this Lent each of us will become a better Christian through our Lenten discipline and the goodness of God!

We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world!

Fr. Wilke

Ready... Set... LENT!

Team,

Ash Wednesday is THIS WEDNESDAY (March 5^th) and it is the start of LENT!  

Lent is centered on prayer, fasting, and alms-giving (giving-to-charity, in more modern terms) – this seems like a lot of rules and restrictions, but let me tell you all something important: Lent is how we are supposed to live all the time!  Not that we need to sprinkle ashes on our heads every few weeks… no, on a deeper and more profound level…

Lent calls each of us to live a life that is more about God and less about me.  Living a life that is more about God and less about me, is in the running for the motto of the Christian life – just look at Jesus, he came to do the will of the Father: from his birth in Bethlehem, to his childhood years, through his preaching and miracles, and the Passion, Jesus lived a life for our salvation by following the will of God the Father.  Now that we got a bit more of the whole Christianity thing squared away (My life is about God not about me), lets take a quick look at Lent and Ash Wednesday…

Got 2 minutes? Ash Wednesday and Lent in Two Minutes, from our friends at Busted Halo.

Fasting? Why Fast? Some great thoughts from our Friend Meg at Held by His Pierced Hands.  As well as “few” thoughts on what to do for Lent, and why… nice thoughts!  

[If you want to bounce your idea for your Lenten Sacrifice seems a bit extreme or even tougher than usual, shoot me an email and we can chat about it – the whole conversation will be completely private and do me the favor of adding your phone number to the email, in case its just easier to call.]

We can talk a bit more about Prayer and Almsgiving soon… but with fasting and Lenten Sacrifices first on our agenda, at least on my agenda, I thought these blog posts and ideas would be helpful. 

Remember: we cannot serve both God and the world, so carve some of the world out of your life to make more room for God!

May the Lord continue to bless you,

Fr. Wilke

Sleet and Ice Cancellation of Youth Group

Folks,

Due to more Sleet and Ice scheduled to come into Harrisburg in the early evening tonight, we will not be having our Movie Social Tonight.  Sorry for the late notice on this, I was hopeful that this would change to rain. 

In short: No Youth Group Tonight.

Fr. Wilke

March and April Schedule!

[Wednesday, March 5th: ASH WEDNESDAY]

Sunday, March 9th: EUCHARISTIC DEVOTIONS and Prayers; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church – snacks afterwards, concluding at 8:30 pm

Sunday, March 16th: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm

[Tuesday, March 18^th: Evening Prayer for Bishop Gainer at 7 pm]

Sunday, March 23rd: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm

Sunday, March 30th: T3: The Teen Timeline & Encounter; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm

Sunday, April 6th: Lenten Prayer Service; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church – snacks afterwards, concluding at 8:30 pm

Sunday, April 13th: Diocesan World Youth Day Mass and Events; High School Students to have Mass with Bishop Gainer at the Cathedral in Harrisburg: details to follow.

[Tuesday, April 15^th: Parish Lenten Penance Service at 7 pm]

Sunday, April 20th: Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord; No Youth Group – Happy Easter!

Sunday, April 27th: Divine Mercy Sunday Social; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church, concluding at 8:30 pm – details to follow.

Three Questions...

Hello Team,

We are just a few days from LENT! (I know, it always sneaks up on me -- every year!)... yes, Ash Wednesday is March 5th!

... here are three great questions from Archbishop Chaput on getting reading for Lent.

Food for thought...

Fr. W

Sunday, March 2nd

Sunday, March 2nd: MOVIE and SOCIAL; Start at 7:15 pm in the Former Church -- will likely be done by 9 pm due to length of movie... we will watch "The Jeweller's Shop" (a movie based on Pope John Paul II's play)

See you Sunday!

Fr. W

Small Group?

This week's small group for Grades 6-8 will be a conversation on Pope Francis, lead by Father Wilke... 

We are nearly at the one year anniversary of his election and installation as the Bishop of Rome, so lets talk about what we have learned and experienced as a Church with Francis as our Pope.

(In an effort to keep our Youth Group both dynamic and improving, we will be looking for conversions like this for our small group sessions in the future, if this week seems to go well.)

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Youth Group this weekend!

Hello Team -- warm weather and youth group on Sunday!

Sunday, February, 23, 2014: T3: The Teen Timeline for grades 9-12, and Small Group for grades 6-8.

See you at 7:15 pm in the Former Church,

Fr. W

Just a Reminder...

Hello Team,

Just a reminder -- we will have Youth Group Tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 16th) at 7:15 pm in the Former Church.

We will have BOTH the Encounter Program and the T3: The Teen Timeline.

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

God Bless,

Fr. Wilke

Sunday, February 16th

Hello Team,

This Sunday (February 16th) we will have both Encounter and T3: The Teen Timeline!

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Fr. W

No Youth Group on Sunday, February 9th

Hello Team,

Unfortunately, we will not meet for Youth Group this weekend - among other pieces to the puzzle of Youth Group, I would like to do both Catechists lessons at the same time to open up the schedule for more options in the future.

Sorry for the late notice on this - another busy week here at Holy Name!

Next week we will have BOTH Encounter and T3 -- more on that soon!

God Bless and stay warm,

Fr. W

January and February Schedule with Update!

Sunday, January 12, 2014: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord: Prayer Service and Snacks.

Sunday, January, 19, 2014:Encounter: for grades 6-8, and Small Group for grades 9-12.

Sunday, January, 26, 2014: T3: The Teen Timeline for grades 9-12, and Small Group for grades 6-8.

Sunday, February 2, 2014: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord: No Youth Group.

Sunday, February 9, 2014: T3: The Teen Timeline for grades 9-12, and Small Group for grades 6-8.

Sunday, February 16, 2014: Encounter: for grades 6-8, and Small Group for grades 9-12.

Sunday, February, 23, 2014: T3: The Teen Timeline for grades 9-12, and Small Group for grades 6-8.

  

Sunday, March 2, 2014: Movie [TBD] and Snacks.

*** Wednesday, March 5, 2014: Ash Wednesday ***

March for Life Oversight

Hello Team,

I have an Oversight to report - in the transition period between Fr. Carroll and myself it seems that the Holy Name of Jesus Buses were not arranged for the March for Life.  (There are buses and seats available with local parishes... I am working on getting a list of those and that information to be available.)  Its one of a few things that seemed to have slipped through the cracks in those October days.  

I encourage all of you to at least pray for an end to abortion on January 22nd -- offer a Rosary or even make a visit to a Church and pray or go to the Blessed Sacrament adoration Chapel and pray for the protection of every child, from conception, through life, and until natural death.

We are doing are best to solider on here in this ice cold weather... looking forward to see you all on Sunday Evening.

God Bless,

Fr. Wilke

Happy Epiphany!

I hope that the Christmas Season has and continues to be a time of faith and hope… today is the traditional 12^th Day of Christmas, Epiphany, which we celebrated at our Sunday Masses this weekend. 

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, had a great reflection on the Three Kings of Epiphany as well as a wonderful New Year’s Reflection about walking with Mary on our Journey of Faith.

Today is also the Feast day of St. Andre Bessette – a great saint !

This Sunday, January 12^th we will resume our weekly schedule of Youth Group meetings… see below for the full schedule of events for this month!

Happy Epiphany!

Fr. W