OLGC New Teachers - Our Lady of Good Counsel

6 | The Good Counsel Courier Vol. 4 | Issue 4 | September 20, 2012www.olgcnj.orgThe Mass of RemembranceBy Frank KilkennyThe Mass of Remembrance is a powerful and spirit-filled event whichwe will celebrate this year on Saturday evening, November 3rd at the6:00 PM Mass in the Church. It will be an opportunity for the communityto express our belief that death is not an end but the beginning of a newlife.We will celebrate and remember as a family and community, the livesof all those who have gone before us. In particular, at this liturgy, wewill especially remember all our parishioners and the loved ones of ourparishioners who were not members of our parish who have died duringthis past year. We will remember each of them by placing lighted candlesin front of the altar following the homily.A representative of each family, who will receive a candle uponentering the Church, will be invited to bring the remembrance candle tothe front of the Church after the name of their loved one has been called.The remembrance candle is a sign of our hope that each of our loved onesnow live in the presence of the resurrected Jesus.Upon reaching the front of the Church, one of our deacons willlight the candle from the flame of the Paschal Candle. The familyrepresentative will be invited to place the candle in the sanctuary in frontof the altar. Members of the youth ministry will be on hand to assist anyfamily representative who has difficulty negotiating the steps of the altaror placing the candle on the stand.The refrain from the hymn “We Remember” articulates the essence ofwhat we celebrate in the Mass of Remembrance:“We remember how you loved us to your deathAnd still we celebrate, for you are with us here.And we believe that we will see youWhen you come, in your glory, Lord.We remember; we celebrate; we believe.”Don’t Keep It To YourselfHave an idea for a story or article...perhaps there’s something you’d like to seein the pages of our Good Counsel Courier.Well don’t keep it to yourself... let us know about it.Send me an e-mail todeaconheffernan@comcast.netor call me on my cell 856-905-5019.Parishioners who have died since April 13, 2012:Joseph Greipp 4/14/12Mary Maerz 4/18/12Margaret Molnar 4/25/12Dorothy McCoog 4/27/12JoAnne West 4/24/12Margaret Molnar 4/25/12Dr. Rudolph Morrone 5/2/12Helen Ward 5/15/12Loretta Sullivan 6/2/12Victoria Steinmetz 6/8/12Helen Smith 6/9/12Mary Herlihy Connolly 6/15/12Herbert Kronawitter 6/16/12Sacristan MinistryMaria Skowronski 6/17/12Edwin McChesney 6/19/12Angelo Valenti 7/9/12Dominick Vitlese 7/11/12Dolores Costello 7/11/12Zenon Rajkowski 7/17 12Angel Grace DiSipio 7/23/12Una Long 7/31/12James Wilson 8/7/12George Hunt 8/11/12Joan Keane 8/13/12Ann Cannavo 8/27/12Cesare Rufino 8/12Rita Endlein 9/3/12By Deacon Ed HeffernanOur parish liturgies form the very heart of the whole parish life.Everything that we do as a parish leads to, and flows from, the liturgicalcelebrations in our Church. The liturgies proclaim what we are as aparish and at the same time provide the foundation and the impetusfor us working together and growing as a community of worship, ofwitness, and of service. All celebrations of the Mass require considerablebehind-the-scenes preparation because of its crucial role in the life of theparish. The Mass is to have spiritual dignity and meaning for all of us. Inorder to accomplish that, much care and thought are put into the entirepreparation of each Mass.This is where the sacristan comes in, because a large part of thispreparation belongs to them. In a sense the sacristan is responsible foreverything that is used in the parish liturgy. Because the parish liturgyis our communal worship of God, and because this service of worshipdraws us closer together as a holy people, the environment and materialsused in the liturgy must all be conducive toward worship and community.Sacristans are generally in charge of this environment and these materialsand must make sure that their areas of responsibility in the liturgy arefulfilled.The first responsibility of the sacristan is to see that all duties areperformed in accordance with the wishes of the pastor. The sacristan’sduties are defined and through training and continued guidance from theparish clergy. Sacristans are also responsible for the care of the sacristyfor liturgical ceremonies. The responsibility for opening and closingthe Church, preparing the sanctuary for Mass as well as maintaining anorganized sacristy is theirs. They must be familiar with the various sacredvessels, vestments, altar linens, cloths, and various books used during thecelebration of the Mass.Sacristans attend to all three locations where the Mass is celebratedat Our Lady’s parish, namely the Church, Crypt and the all-purposeroom (gym). The preparation of the gifts of bread and wine, assistingthe priest and deacon as they ready for Mass and checking on thenumber of readers, altar servers and ministers of Communion are all theresponsibility of the sacristan. They also stand on hand behind the scenesin the sacristy in case of an emergency during the service.Currently a sacristan leader for each weekend of the month has beenappointed. This weekend leader and his or her team serve the sameweekend each month. The individuals on each weekend team committo serve at two Masses on one weekend per month. In addition, a smallgroup of sacristans currently handle all funeral Masses for the parish.The members of this group are installed as sacristans and asextraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, due to the occasional needto assist with communion during Mass.The ministry of sacristan is looking for new members. If you orsomeone you know is interested, or if you just have some additionalquestions, please call me on my cell phone 856-905-5019 or e-mail meat deaconheffernan@comcast.net.