• February 25, 2021 Thursday of I Week of Lent   Pavers for Holy Family Portico            The order goes in Tuesday of next week. There will be opportunities in the future to order a paver, but that effort will be made at a future date.   Camp Cornelius – Think Summer not Snow! Registration is now open! A summer camp experience for children ages 3-11 with volunteer opportunities available for middle school and high school students. Register by February 28 and receive 10% off Half Day Camp (9am-12pm) - $185 per week Full Day Camp (9am-4pm)- $300 per week Before/After care is available. Week of June 28 - July 2nd Arts & Crafts Week of July 12th-16th STEM/Robotics - Nature - Cooking Week of July 19th-23rd Cooking STEM/Robotics Week of July 26th-30th Arts & Crafts Nature Contact Abigail Kohlbrenner at akohlbrenner@scornelius.org / (610) 459-8663 with any questions. Camp Cornelius Flyer Camp Cornelius Registration

   

  Consecration to St. Joseph                 An Invitation. The women from St. Cornelius Walking with Purpose Bible Study Ministry along with me your pastor, invite you, women and men, to join us for a Consecration to Saint Joseph. The Consecration will follow the book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father. The sessions will be held via zoom. Currently we are planning to start March 30th and conduct weekly sessions until May 1st. The sessions will take place Tuesday mornings at 10am, except the final on Saturday morning May 1st. The dates are: 3/30, 4/6, 4/13, 4/20, 4/27, & 5/1. However, if there is enough interest for an evening session, we will look into holding a second session. In the Apostolic Letter Patris Corde (With a Father’s Heart), our Holy Father, Pope Francis, wrote: WITH A FATHER’S HEART: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as “the son of Joseph”. Matthew and Luke, the two Evangelists who speak most of Joseph, tell us very little, yet enough for us to appreciate what sort of father he was, and the mission entrusted to him by God’s providence. After Mary, the Mother of God, no saint is mentioned more frequently in the church’s magisterium than Joseph, her spouse. Please consider joining us as we unveil the wonders of St. Joseph like never before. To sign up please contact Agnes Arkus at 610-361-8629 or agnesa324@verizon.net.            This is a link to a prayer seeking, St. Joseph’s intercession on behalf of those who are on the path way towards adoption. https://www.usccb.org/resources/novena-st-joseph-those-path-adoption You can also find The Year of St. Joseph Novena on our website by following this link

   

  Men’s Gospel Reflection            Every Thursday a group of parishioners meets to reflect on the readings for the upcoming Sunday. We gather at 6:30 AM (This may appeal to the parishioner looking for a Lenten Sacrifice.) We meet in the chapel, observing proper social distance, and discuss the Liturgy of the Word as well as join in prayer. We finish at about 7:15 AM in time to join in the celebration of the 7:30 Mass.

   

  PLEASE DONATE! !!! PLEASE REGISTER !!!    American Red Cross Blood Drive at St. Cornelius!!       Thursday, March 25, 2021 2PM to 7PM - Parish Life Center   Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day. You can make a difference with just about an hour of your time. ***Extra precautions are being taken by the Red Cross to ensure the safety of all donors and staff at this time. All donors are required to wear a face covering or mask. If you do not have one, a mask will be provided for you. Your temperature will be taken. Areas will be disinfected after each use.  Be a donor on March 25th!!    Register at redcrossblood.org using St. Cornelius as the location or call 1-800-RED CROSS. You may also call Marilyn Gustin at 484-732-8842 leaving your name and phone number to register or if you have questions.  Eligibility questions? Call the Red Cross Donor Center @ 1-866-236-3276 *Sponsored by the Holistic Health Ministry of St. Cornelius Church

   

  CST 101 – Catholic Social Teaching 101 – Sunday, February 28th – New!            Our parish CRS Chapter launched an exciting new program – CST 101 – Catholic Social Teaching 101. The first three sessions were recorded and are available on the parish website. Please join us on Sunday February 28th at 3:00 PM for a one hour Zoom meeting for a presentation and discussion of Catholic Social Teaching. Our topic will be Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. For more information on the CST catechesis program and Zoom meeting details go to our website. All are welcome to join in on the discussion.  St. Cornelius Catholic Relief Services Option for the Poor and Vulnerable

   

  A Garden grows in Chadds Ford            We had an initial planning meeting for the garden and sketched out a few preliminary steps. We plan on having the soil rototilled by our landscaper. Our target is March 21st for the rototilling.   All agreed on the initial effort to be limited to about a half-acre of ground.  We will definitely need to keep the Wascally Wabbits, as Elmer Fudd would say, at bay as well as the dumb, dreadful deer. To keep them off the produce I think we need to talk to a fencing contractor. If you know of one, please let me know. Irrigation is definitely an issue to which we will have to commit some serious thinking, We plan to meet locally after the 11:00 Mass on February 28th and walk to the site to get a better understanding of the terrain. The hope was articulated that families would come forward to tend, care, weed and water the garden. Loaves and Fishes – New! Loaves & Fishes  We have identified ministries for our casseroles so if you prefer to make a casserole please go ahead and we will store them in the PLC freezer until we deliver. At this time St. John’s prefers lunches so we will also be delivering lunches to St. John’s.   Our schedule:   February 26th we will collect lunches only. March 12th we will collect casseroles and lunches. March 26th we will collect lunches only. April 9th we will collect casseroles and lunches. Should you wish to donate baby supplies, please feel free to bring to the PLC and we will deliver to Chester County Maternal Child Health Family Center. Diapers/Wipes/formula - Diapers should be size 3, 5 or 6. Formula should be Similac Advance or Similac Pro Advance. We know a few have asked for other options besides and/or beyond food. This might be the option you are looking for. Reminders: A lunch consists of a PBJ sandwich, a granola or protein bar, a juice box or water bottle and a small piece of fruit if you can add it, the fruit is optional. Another reminder - to help keep the sandwiches from getting soggy spread the peanut butter on both pieces of bread and then spread the jelly in between.  We meet at the PLC between 10 and 10:30 on the morning of the drop off. If you have a high school student who is helping and need their volunteer hours validated JoEllen Muntz is happy to help. Simply email (joburns66@gmail.com) her the form and she will sign and scan the form back to you.  If anyone needs help with drop off feel free to call or text JoEllen at 484-832-0202.  Please note all you do is greatly appreciated.

   

  St. Cornelius Literary Society – New! ZOOM link can be found here            Our next selection is: The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search - by John O'Neill – New                 I am thinking that we will probably next meet on Sunday afternoon, March 14th at 2:00 PM.

   

  The Miraculous Medal           On behalf of the Miraculous Medal Shrine, I am glad to share information about its 2021 Lenten Series, Prayer in Motion: The Transformative Power of Prayer.            Each day during Lent, the Miraculous Medal Shrine will release video reflections that feature men and women from all walks of life, discussing how prayer has led to personal growth and change. These stories will show, if we’re open to personal reflection and open communication with God, our lives will be transformed in unpredictable ways. We’ll experience a deeper peace, a stronger sense of purpose, and sense of personal and communal well-being.            All are invited to join the Miraculous Medal Shrine for this journey of faith. The videos will be posted each day during Lent to https://miraculousmedal.org/lent-2021/. Lenten Spiritual Practices             Virtual Stations of the Cross           The latest addition to our web site is the Virtual Stations of the Cross. The Stations are a mainstay of Catholic spirituality through Lent. Spearheaded by our Office Manager, Mr. Doug Kitson (AKA The Wizard) and a happy band of parishioners who have put together a marvelous presentation of the Stations of the Cross. You can access the Virtual Stations by going to our website (www.saintcornelius.org) and going to the drop-down box labeled Liturgy and then click on the last entry Virtual Stations of the Cross. Presentation on the Gospel of Mark            Throughout Lent there will be a weekly presentation on the Gospel of Mark. Each session will last approximately 30 minutes. I will be recording a session on the gospel account from which we will hear this entire liturgical year. I recommend that you have a Bible in front of you when you make the connection. While it will not be interactive, I hope the experience adds to your understanding of this account, the first one written. It will be found within the drop down box labeled Formation / Adult formation Solemn Vespers            Each Sunday afternoon at 4:00 we will celebrate Solemn Vespers with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. This is not a virtual experience. We will meet in chapel at 4:00 for this 30-minute experience of joining ourselves with the entire Church as we pray Vespers from the Liturgy of the Hours. Sacrament of Reconciliation            Confession will be heard each Wednesday evening throughout Lent from 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Come early and don’t wait till the last week in Lent to get to Confession. Now not then!              It’s not Thursday night it’s Thursday morning.            I used to meet on Thursday evening in the school library for a session on Sacred Scripture. In my never-ending effort to evangelize, educate and entertain, I have begun posting on our parish website a Presentation on the Gospel of Mark. My first effort is today and even I have to laugh at the manner in which I delivered the message. I hope the endeavor is helpful in understanding Sacred Scripture a wee bit better and if not, you can at least get a laugh at the opening few second of the recording. This week is rather philosophical and nest week we will begin to wander through Mark’s account. Faithfully, Msgr. Diamond Visit the parish website for more information: www.saintcornelius.org