My dear People of Good Shepherd Parish In this serious and somber time of health safety, when the obligation to attend Mass has been suspended and our Churches are closed, I write to encourage everyone to remain strong in your faith. As we read in Psalm 46, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in distress. In this time, when prudence dictates that we not be present for the celebration of Mass and the reception of Holy Communion, I want to use this occasion to encourage the Catholic practice of Spiritual Communion. “Spiritual Communion is a Christian practice of desir-ing union with Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. It is used a preparation for Mass and by individuals who cannot receive Communion. This practice is well estab-lished in the Catholic Church and highly recommended by many saints, according to Pope John Paul II. He explained that practicing this constant desire for Jesus in the Eucharistic communion, which is the ultimate goal of every human desire.” (Wikipidia) Here is the prayer of Spiritual Communion from St. Alphonsus de Liguori that can be used at any time:

In addition to the act of Spiritual Communion, I encourage you to make use of other resources available online. Let us pray for those who are sick with the coronavirus, for those who have died, and for all health care workers. Let us love one another and pray for each other. Father Frank

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April 05, 2020

“My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Blessed

Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire You

in my soul. Since I cannot now received You sacramen-

tally, come at least spiritually into my heart. As though

You were already there, I embrace You and unite myself

wholly to You; permit not that I should ever be separated

from You.”

MAGNIFICAT: During this difficult time, many of the

faithful may be unable to attend Mass. To help them

sanctify their day and to keep walking in the liturgical

rhythm of the Church, we are honored to make our online

version of the Magnificat, temporarily available to every-

one for free. To access the Magnificat, please visit

www.magnificat.com/free Also available in Spanish at

www.magnificat.com/gratis

It is our hope that everyone will take this opportunity to

pray with the Magnificat in union with the Church each

Sunday and weekday. Please pray for a speedy and safe

end to this time of difficulty in the world.

50/50 RAFFLE, that was scheduled for Sunday, March

22, has been postponed. The weekend AFTER Church

opens and Masses resume, after 11am Mass, the March-

22 raffle will take place. If you have tickets at home or

want to participate in the raffle, tickets will be available

the weekend the Church opens.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to live stream PALM

SUNDAY MASS. But you can find different links for

live Masses at

https://www.rcan.org/parish-mass-livestreams-and-more

We start the HOLY WEEK. You can

celebrate with Pope Francis. Use the

following link for more information

https://www.vaticannews.va/en

Although we cannot be physically together at

this moment in this time of crisis through-

out the world, the Church is always here for

you. We need your prayers and help now

more than ever. Please support us to the

best of your abilities.

You can make your donations by our Go-

FundMe page (see the link in Home Page) or

mailing out your contribution envelopes to

this Church. Thanks for your generosity.

THE CHURCH BUILDING IS CLOSED ALL MASSES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED

Until further information

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PRAYER TO VIRGIN MARY Written by the Holy Father, Pope Francis

during COVIC-19 pandemic:

O Mary, you always shine on our path

as a sign of salvation and of hope. We entrust ourselves to you,

Health of the Sick, who at the cross took part in Jesus’ pain, keeping

your faith firm.

You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need,

and we are sure you will provide so that, as in Cana of Galilee,

we may return to joy and to feasting after this time of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform to the will of the Father and to do as we are told by Jesus,

who has taken upon himself our sufferings and carried our sorrows

to lead us, through the cross, to the joy of the resurrection, Amen.

Under your protec-

tion, we seek refuge,

Holy Mother of God.

Do not disdain the entreaties of

we who are in trial, but deliver us

from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.

Holy Week Guidelines

According to the Decree “In Time of Covid 19,” the dates of the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil/Sunday) cannot be transferred to another time. Therefore:

Indications for the Paschal Triduum Wherever the civil and ecclesiastical authorities have put restrictions in place, the Sacred Trid-uum must be celebrated in the following way: Bishops will give indications...so that, in the Ca-thedral and parish churches, though without the physical participation of the faithful, the Bishop and parish priest(s) can celebrate the liturgical mysteries of the Paschal Triduum. The faithful should be informed of the times of the celebration so that they can prayerfully unite themselves in their homes. In this occasion, the means of live (not recorded) televisual or inter-net broadcasts are helpful.

IN THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK, ALL PUBLIC CELEBRATIONS OF HOLY WEEK, INCLUDING PALM SUNDAY AND EASTER SUNDAY, HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED.

It is not required that parishes celebrate the liturgies of the Easter Triduum, but when doing so the Pastor must follow the observations pre-viously indicated.

DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET

New Plenary Indulgence

The Church is re-sponding to the problems we all face as a result of this pandemic with great serious-ness and generos-ity. The Holy Fa-ther is throwing wide open the doors of the Church’s store-houses of grace

for the faithful, making it as easy as possible for all of us to be assured of the graces we need to speed the

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THE KING ON A DONKEY

On Palm Sunday, we commemorate the occasion when Jesus rode into Jerusa-lem on a donkey, and the crowd shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Prophets had foretold that there would be a son of David who would be a righteous king over his people. God himself told King David, “Your throne will be established for-ever” (2 Sam 7:16). And Zechariah foretold that this promised king would come to his people riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). The crowd around Jesus had seen the miracles he did, and they thought he

READINGS

PALM SUNDAY

Reading I: Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm: 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 Reading II: Philippians 2:6-11 Gospel: Matthew 26:14–27:66

might be that promised righteous messianic son of David. So, when they saw Jesus headed to Jerusalem on a donkey, they cried hosanna to their king.

And you can see why they did. It is a won-derful thing to live in a country governed by a righteous ruler. All those subject to his reign are blessed by living in a community where justice is in power.

But don’t we need a reality check here?

It has been a very long time since anyone from any family was a king of Israel, hasn’t it? And in which country on earth does jus-tice rule? So where then is that divinely promised, everlasting righteous kingship of the Davidic line? What is there, after all, to yell “hosanna” about?

But God’s promise to David is true, even so.

Christ, who is a son of David, is a righteous king; and his kingship is forever. Only, he makes his way into his kingdom riding on a donkey.

Wouldn’t a king want to ride on a horse? On a stallion? A donkey is a ludicrous beast. Why would a king want to ride on a donkey? But the donkey helps us see the point. This king is riding to the cross. His title to be king is blazoned on a sign at its top. No one needs a stallion for a journey with crucifixion at its end. For this purpose, a donkey is per-fectly fine.

And so the divine promises about the Da-vidic king are true. There is an everlasting kingdom of justice. But it is not of this world, as Christ explains to Pilate. In this world, the king of justice rides on a donkey, and the cross is at the heart of true and righteous kingship.

Eleonore Stump

sick and the dying through Purga-tory, and to be assured of the graces needed for salvation at the moment of our deaths. Because of the pandemic, anyone with the will to fulfill the usual con-ditions: Sacramental confession Eucharistic communion Prayer for the Holy Father's in-

tentions Recite the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the intention “to implore from Al-mighty God the end of the epi-demic, relief for those who are af-flicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Him-self,” can receive a plenary indul-gence each day, for his own soul or for the soul of a deceased.