IMPORTANT PARISH INFORMATION DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

(as of April 8, 2020)

PARISH CHURCH              3021 Kingsbridge Avenue

Lower church           Open Daily for Private Prayer  

   8:00 am – 2:00 pm

PARISH PASTORAL CENTER      275 West 230^th Street

         Closed until further notice in response to Governor Cuomo’s executive order

PARISH MASSES

As announced on March 14^th, the Archdiocese of New York has cancelled 

the public celebration parish Masses, both weekend and weekday, until further notice.  

PARISH RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM AND GROUP MEETINGS

All parish in-person religious education for youth and adults along with youth ministry is suspended until further notice.

SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATIONS

All public parish sacramental celebrations are suspended until further notice

No pastoral visits or distribution of Holy Communion to the homebound, hospitals, senior care facilities until further notice.

Exceptions may be made in emergency cases with proper health preventive measures.

AVAILABILITY OF MEDIA MASSES

Mass will be celebrated in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and will be available on many cable systems via the Catholic Faith Network and its website www.catholicfaithnetwork.org, livestreamed on the St. Patrick’s Cathedral website www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/live

and broadcast on radio on The Catholic Channel of Sirius XM (Channel 129) along with EWTN network and on the home page of the Archdiocesan website www.archny.org

Prayer to the Virgin Mary for Protection

O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey 

as a sign of salvation and hope.

We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.

At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain,

with steadfast faith.

You, Our Lady of New York, know what we need.

We are certain that you will provide, so that,

as you did at Cana of Galilee,

joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,

to conform ourselves to the Father’s will

and to do what Jesus tells us:

He who took our sufferings upon Himself, 

and bore our sorrows to bring us,

through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection.

Amen.

We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.

Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – 

and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Amen.

“Do Not Be Afraid”

These four words are recorded 59 times in the Bible. Almighty God spoke these words to our ancestors in faith, Abraham, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph during times of trial and difficulties. Moses and Joshua spoke these same words of encouragement during the arduous Exodus journey through the desert until the Hebrews entered the Promised Land. 

So did Samuel and King David, along with the prophets Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.  These hopeful words are found in Psalm 49:16 and The Book of Proverbs 3:25.

At the time of the Annunciation the archangel Gabriel spoke these four words to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Nazareth.  Angels reassured Zechariah, Joseph, and the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem with these words when they were troubled.  The evangelists record ten times that Jesus said these words in the Gospels. The Acts of the Apostles recall St. Paul the Apostle hearing these four words in two visions that he received. The opening chapter of The Book of Revelation describes “someone like the Son of Man” uttering these words to John in recording the message he received on the island of Patmos.

“Do not be afraid” have been part of God’s mysterious plan salvation history for humanity through the centuries.  During this time of adversity and uncertainty with the coronavirus and ongoing public health concerns in our city, state, nation and throughout the world, may these four words from God continue to speak to us.  May Proverbs 3:25 reassure us: 

“Do not be afraid of sudden panic, or of the storm that strikes” trusting that God is with us and hears our prayers during this time of trial and adversity and will continue to watch over and protect us.

Fr. Michael Kerrigan

The 2020 Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal has begun. “Teach-Serve-Sanctify” is this year’s theme.  Our parish goal is $60,500. Over the coming weeks, please prayerfully consider making a pledge/gift. Your generous support promotes the health and vitality of the Archdiocese of New York through the various charitable, pastoral and outreach works assisted by the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal.

 

 

CASA video link for 2020

o   English : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qvtqocwuIO0&feature=youtu.be

o   Spanish : https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=zQRNPx-XAEw

 

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FORMED: The Catholic Faith on Demand

 

The Archdiocese of New York is making available FORMED, an on-line resource of faith formation and study programs, Bible studies, Catholic themed movies, e-books, etc. To get the parish access code for your free subscription to FORMED, please contact the Adult Faith Formation office at , then go to www.formed.org, enter the parish code, and register to get started. FORMED is free and offers various resources both in English and Spanish to learn more about our Catholic faith. For our parish to maintain this free subscription, we need more people to register and sign-up to use FORMED. If you have not already registered, please consider doing so.

 

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Parish Religious Education Program Registration 2019-20

 

Parish Religious Education Program Underway

 

Our 2019-2020 Parish Religious Education Program is now underway.

Late registrations are still being accepted for classes for students not attending Catholic Schools

and whose families desire assistance with religious instruction and sacramental preparation.

 

Please contact Ms. Jeanette Guzman, our Coordinator for Religious Education, for further information

and to register your children. To schedule an appointment to register,

please call the St. John-Visitation Parish Religious Education Office (718)548-1221 x124

 

With the Archdiocesan Forum for Catechesis and Youth Ministry that our parish catechists will be attending next Saturday, please note that there will be no Parish Religious Education Program classes on Saturday October 5th.

 

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Blessing and dedication of the Saint Oscar Romero Statue with Bishop Josu Iriondo.

Sunday, March 24, 2019   

With thanks to Greg Shemitz from Catholic News Service who provided the photos.

01/20 

   

 

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Devotional Store

 

Our parish devotional religious goods store is open following the Sunday parish Masses. Located in the former baptistry at the entrance of the church, a variety of Bibles, prayer cards, rosaries, crucifixes, and other assorted devotional items are available for purchase. At other times, these items may be obtained at the Parish Pastoral Center. If you have not already done so, stop by after Mass to see what assortment of items are available.

 

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Annual Alumni Irish Breakfast 2019

 

Students of St. John School 2019

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Summer Bible Program

Summer with the Saints - Mass on July 13, 2018

01/18 

   

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The parish and religious education offices have relocated to the

St. John-Visitation Parish Pastoral Center

La parroquia y las oficinas de educacion religiosa se han trasladado
El Centro Pastoral de la Parroquia San Juan-Visitacion

St. John-Visitation Parish Pastoral Center

El Centro Pastoral de la Parroquia San Juan-Visitacion

275 West 230th Street

          

01/21