FATHER ABEL’S COLUMN – JUNE 19TH, 2016

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2016! Friday’s graduation ceremony was an opportunity for us to pray for and wish our graduates all of God’s blessings as they venture out into their future. St. Sebastian’s Parish and school were blessed by their presence and accomplishments. They will always have a special place in our hearts! This week is the last official week of the school year. How quickly time flies!

This week we look forward to the nursery moving up ceremony on Monday, the kindergarten graduation on Tuesday and the closing Mass for the entire school community on Wednesday! My prayers are that everyone comes back safe and sound after a relaxing and peaceful summer.

Today is Father’s day. An opportunity for us to give thanks to God for all our Fathers and to pray for all our Fathers who are in Heaven. A blessed Father’s day to all!

Rev. Kevin P. Abels
Pastor

FATHER ABEL’S COLUMN – JUNE 12TH, 2016

small-bulletinIt’s hard to believe that another pastoral year is coming to an end by June. Now I am in the process of working on the calendar for the next pastoral year which will begin in September. I am very happy and proud to be the Pastor of a very active parish! I look forward to working with our parish ministries and societies in the coming year!

Just a Friendly reminder about our commitment to the Generations of faith over the next 5 years and the Annual Catholic Appeal. I know because of your generosity we will be able to help the Bishop and our beloved parish to carry out the work of the Lord in our time today.

Finally, at the 10:30am Mass Sunday, our 8th Graders will join us for the final time as a class. It’s an opportunity to wish them well and most of all to ask God’s blessings upon them and all their future endeavors. I look forward to addressing them formally on their graduation day! I know their parents are so proud of their hard work. The future is very bright. Pray for them!

Thanks for your support

FATHER ABEL’S COLUMN – JUNE 5TH, 2016

flagI am very happy to let you know that Fr. Cyril will be arriving at St. Sebastian on Monday, June 6, and will be helping here until the end of September! He is a wonderful priest and a great addition to our Parish staff. Please welcome him again!

Again, I wanted to thank all of you for coming out and supporting our 9th Corpus Christi Procession with Bishop DiMarzio. The Bishop was very impressed with the number of people that come out to show their love for the Lord. Thanks for your supporting this!
I thank Dr. Catherine Thornton, for all the hard work that she put into our procession and for all the people who helped her to make this a spiritual encounter with Christ!

I also want to thank you for supporting our special Mass with our Veterans on Memorial Day! We are proud of all our Veterans and we continue to pray for all who serve our country and for those who gave their lives defending our way of freedom!

Finally, I have decided to keep the 7am Mass in the Morning during the summer months. Please note the summer schedule is as follows: We will have the 7am, 9am and 12noon Mass Monday – Friday. There will not be a 7pm Mass at night during the summer. This will be effective from July 1st to September 5th. We will resume the 7pm Mass on Tuesday September 6th.

Thanks for your support

Rev. Kevin P. Abels
Pastor

FATHER ABEL’S COLUMN – MAY 22ND, 2016

bishopNext Sunday, May 29th, Bishop Di Marzio will be here to celebrate the 1:15pm Mass and after take part in our 9th Annual Corpus Christi Procession around the street of Woodside. I encourage every one of you to gather with our Bishop as we give thanks to God for the great gift of Jesus to us in the Blessed Sacrament. Bishop DiMarzio is looking forward to meeting our parishioners at the reception that will take place in our School Auditorium. This year I ordered sandwiches and cookies enough for 300 people. So please join us for this as well.

On Monday, May 30th, we celebrate Memorial Day. As usual there will be one Mass only at 10am, as we gather with our Catholic War Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary. It’s another opportunity for us to remember those who died in active Military Service as well as to honor and give thanks for our Veterans. It’s a great day for our community, and I look forward to it again this year!