• Phillips Letter

  • Daily Readings written http://usccb.org/bible/readings

  • Daily Readings audio http://usccb.org/bible/readings-audio.cfm

  • Video Reflection http://usccb.org/bible/reflections/index.cfm
    The usccb.org site will also give you tutorials on

  • how to pray the Rosary, the Divine Chaplet, and other prayers and devotions.

  • Daily Reflection from The Word Among Us can be accessed at https://wau.org/meditations/

  • EWTN Catholic Radio Daily Schedule https://www.ewtn.com/radio/schedule

  • Access The Magnificat free online at https://www.osvnews.com

  • Liturgical Press is providing free access to a digital file for Give Us This Day, which includes the daily Mass texts: https://giveusthisday.org/Digital

  • National Catholic Register has Catholic news, stories, blogs, etc. at ncregister.com

  • Discover a saint special to you at Catholic News Service’s Patron Saints page: https://www.catholicnews.com/patron-saints.cfm

  • Catholic enrichment site for children: Catholicsprouts.com

  • For teens and twenty-somethings: lifeteen.com

  • For Catholic headline news: catholicnewsagency.com

  • Daily Living with Fr. Chapin: mydailyliving.com

Have a Blessed and Joyful  Week

This months Calendar

Come Celebrate With Us

Sunday Mass  & Service Schedule 

What is Mass and why do Catholics

do those things click here

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This weeks Bulletin 

NO Masses

No Services or Functions

What is Mass

Our Lady Of Grace  Mission Statement

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If you don't see the information you are looking for, always  check the Church Bulletin  click here

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Books Published by Parishioners

Church Announcements 

The West Virginia State Council is holding their annual Seminarian Support Raffle to help assist seminarians from the Diocese of Wheeling Charleston.  Proceeds from this raffle go to help defray the educational and living expenses for seminarians.  The Knights of Columbus will have tickets available for sale after Mass and during the fish fries.  Please help support this worthy cause.

Due to unforeseen circumstances Fr. Gile's talk that is scheduled for this Sunday, March 15 is being postponed until Sunday, April 19.

We are asking for food for Sheila Melzac's funeral on March 21 (main dishes, side dishes, vegetables, salads, desserts, etc).  Please take them to the kitchen Saturday morning.  Please do not take food in on Friday because they will be having the fish fry.  Thank you.

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The arrangements for Sheila Melzac are as follows:   Funeral and visitation will be on Saturday, March 21 at our Lady of Grace.   Visitation will begin at 10:30 am, the funeral will follow at 12:00.  Interment will be at Branch Mountain Cemetery, Three Churches.  There will be a reception in the church hall after the interment.  

Jimmy Hannah passed away yesterday at his home.  Please remember him, Lynn and his family in your prayers.  We will let you know when arrangements have been made.

Fr. Giles will be presenting the first of his three part series this Sunday, March 15, after Mass.  Coffee and tea will be provided.  The topic is Mass and the Celebration of the Eucharist.

We still need volunteers for the Vicariate Council.  Please contact Fr. Thomas or the office if you are willing to serve, as soon as possible.

Money collected in the poor box in March will go to our Lenten project, the Fisher House.

There will be a penance service Tuesday, March 24 at 6:00 pm.  Mass and Stations of the Cross will be cancelled that day.

Annunciation of Our Lord in Ft. Ashby would like to invite parishioners of Our Lady of Grace to join them for their Lenten Mission, given by Fr. Giles on Sunday, March 29; Monday, March 30; and Tuesday, March 31.  Mass will be offered at 6:00 pm each evening followed by the Mission.  More details will be available in the coming weeks.

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Fast & Abstinence During Lent

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are obligatory days of fasting and abstinence for Catholics. In addition, Fridays during Lent are obligatory days of abstinence.

For members of the Latin Catholic Church, the norms on fasting are obligatory from age 18 until age 59. When fasting, a person is permitted to eat one full meal, as well as two smaller meals that together are not equal to a full meal. The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards.

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Please use the pages in the vestibule to put names on for the new prayer list.

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Sunday, March 15, the parish will have the first of what we hope will become a monthly series of presentations offering a deeper knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith.  The first 3 presentations will concern the Mass and the Celebration of the Eucharist. Many, if not most, Catholics do not fully understand the history and meaning of the sacrament, the center of our lives in faith.  Because of this, many do not receive  the deep and pervasive nourishment which is offered to us.

We can all grow in our understanding of “why Catholics do that.”  We all stand to gain and none of us will lose by attending.

The presentations will be given in the hall immediately after Mass, coffee and tea will be provided.  It will last 35-40 minutes.  In the interest of time discussion and questions will be deferred until after the presentation concludes.  Fr. Giles will be the presenter.

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Every Wednesday during Lent the Romney Christian Ministerial Association offers a simple lunch and presentation at the Romney First United Methodist Church, N High St., which will last about 45 minutes or so.  As you know, Our Lady of Grace provides the luncheon and conference on the last of this series “Seven Last Words of Christ”

While many of our parishioners are very faithful in their attendance on that particular luncheon, most do not take advantage of experiencing Lenten reflections of other traditions and denominations.  Please  consider attending at least some of these luncheons.

P.S. Considering the limited parking it would probably be better to meet at OLOG and carpool.  The luncheons begin at 12:00 noon and it is usually a good idea to arrive a little early.

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Contact the office...      Tuesday or Wednesday

                          -  304-822-5561

      If you would like to register as a parishioner.

If your address, phone number or email address has changed.

      If you or a family member is hospitalized so that Fr. Thomas can visit.

      If you become homebound so that a Eucharistic Minister can visit and bring you Holy Communion.

Looking to deepen your faith? Join us for the Magnificat Chapter of Morgantown Inspirational Prayer Breakfast,  March 14, 2020 at ATRIA’S RESTAUARANT (New Magnificat location).  Our inspirational speaker is Columbine shooting survivor, Sister Mary Gianna Thornby, DLJC.  Sister Mary will share her story of growing up with little faith and how at 16, her life changed forever after surviving the mass shooting at Columbine High School.  Survival led to her conversion to Catholicism and an answer to the calling of religious life.

Magnificat is a ministry to Catholic women aimed at strengthening and sharing our faith.

WHAT: Morgantown Magnificat Inspirational  Prayer Breakfast

WHEN:  Saturday, March 14, 2020,

9 am to noon (doors open at 8:15am)

WHERE:  ATRIA’S RESTAURANT, 1188 Pineview Drive, Morgantown, WV (New location)

GUEST SPEAKER:  Columbine shooting survivor Sister Mary Gianna Thornby DLJC

RESERVATIONS:  Cost $25.  Must register by March 7, 2020.  Register online at magnificatmorgantown.org or call Pat at 304-296-8950.   No tickets sold at the door.

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The Diocese of Wheeling Charleston is establishing a Diocesan Pastoral Council and a Vicariate Council.  Two parishioners from each parish will form the Vicariate Council, one council in each vicariate.  We are in the Martinsburg Vicariate.  Three people from each Vicariate Council will form the Diocesan Pastoral Council.  We will be holding elections in March to elect two parishioners to be on the Vicariate Council.  Suitable Candidates need to be a Catholic of proven faith, good morals and outstanding prudence. If you would be willing to serve on the Vicariate Council please contact the office or Fr. Thomas as soon as possible.

Congratulations, we have $10,125.00 pledged, with 35 gifts; that is 112% of our goal.  If you haven’t donated, it’s not too late.  All of the money donated will still come back to Our Lady of Grace.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed.  Envelopes are available on the table in the vestibule. 

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Baby bottles are available in the foyer to collect your loose change between now and Christmas.  The money will support the Knights of Columbus Pro-life ministry.  Please take a bottle home, and when filled, place it in the basket at Our Lady’s feet in the sanctuary.

Thank you to the Knights of Columbus for the new flag for our flagpole.  The other one was worn and tattered.  Thank you also to Dan & Bob for all the work they do around the church and grounds.  Your hard work is greatly appreciated.                                                                               

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A book of redemptive suffering by parishioner Tom Eades

Donation $10.00  and this is tax deductible Proceeds go to

Hope in the Darkness Project 

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Harley Carriger has written an autobiography.  It recounts his growing up experiences and early life.  He has donated a copy to our library.  If you would like to read Harley’s book please use the sign up sheet in the vestibule.  We will circulate the book through the list and then put it in the church library.

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Phil Gallery’s newest book is

“Saint Francis and the Animals.” 

Books will be available for sale for $18.00.

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Below is a prayer for Bishop Brennan that the Lord will strengthen him in his new role as shepherd of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. 

Lord, our God, You have chosen Bishop Brennan as a successor to the Apostles, to be a shepherd to Your flock in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; grant him, we pray, a spirit of counsel and fortitude, a spirit of knowledge and piety, so that by faithfully governing the people entrusted to him, he may help build Your Church as a sign of salvation for the world. 

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

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If you did not sign up to get your house blessed but would like to have it blessed, Fr. Thomas will continue to do blessings on Tuesdays.  Contact Margaret or the office if you would like your house blessed.

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There are copies of “Letter to a Suffering Church” on the bookshelf at the back of the church.  This book is by Bishop Robert Barron, the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

From the Author’s Preface:

 Why Stay Catholic with So Much Scandal?

“This book is a cry from the heart.  I am a lifelong Catholic, and I’ve been a priest for thirty-three years and a bishop for four years.  I have dedicated my life to the Church.  The sexual abuse scandal has been for me, for millions of other Catholics, and especially for the victim-survivors, lacerating. 

I have written this book for my fellow Catholics who feel, understandably, demoralized, scandalized, angry beyond words, and ready to quit.

What I finally urge my brothers and sisters in the Church to do is to stay and fight-and to do so on behalf of themselves and their families, but especially on behalf of those who have suffered so grievously at the hands of wicked men.”

You may take a copy home to read.  Please return it when you are done so someone else can read it also.

A Message from

Fr. Thomas Anatharackal CST

Our Lady of Grace

Administrator

4/14/2020

Divine Mercy Sunday 
 
Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Since the year 2001, the second Sunday of Easter has been consecrated by the Church to celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy. It is an effect of the devotion started by a Polish nun named St. Faustina Kowalska to whom Jesus revealed the message of His divine and merciful love. This Sunday is specifically dedicated to praise the Love of God, a Love full of compassion for all those who have sinned, and therefore for all of us. “On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, (and today, the doors are shut because of the fear of Coronavirus) Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send You.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (Jn. 20:19-23) 
 
The first word uttered by the Risen Christ to His Apostles conveyed His special Easter gift to His Church: “Peace!” Commissioning His apostles to forgive sins in His name was all the more made significant because He immediately followed His peaceful greeting with the words: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus clearly wanted His apostles to realize that peace and mercy are inseparable; and that true peace can only be achieved by forgiving one another. 

We know that forgiveness consists of far more than just the awareness of God’s neverending love and mercy. Jesus says, “Be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful … The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.” (Lk 6:36-38) He also said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (Mt 5:7) The Lord’s point is that the prerequisite for our receiving mercy is our showing mercy to others. He taught how to pray to Our Father in which we pray: “Forgive us our trespasses as we have forgiven those who have trespassed against us,” (Mt 6:12). And He warned: “If you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their sins, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your sins.” (Mt 6:14-16)

As we spread the Good news that Jesus has truly risen in our midst, may we all experience the power of God’s mercy and never grow tired of forgiving each other. In response to Jesus’ merciful love shown to us on the Cross, in the Eucharist, and on Easter Sunday when He established the sacrament of His mercy, we say, “Jesus, we trust in You. Your mercy endures forever!” And today, in a special way, in the context of this Coronavirus Pandemic, let us pray to the Lord, “Lord, have mercy on us all.” 
I wish you all a Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! Stay safe and healthy. My prayers are always with you. 

Have a Blessed and Joyful  Week