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|  Reverend Michael Oenbrink
Pastor, St. Francis by the Sea
843-681-6350, ext. 261
fr.michael@stfrancishhi.org Click on Fr. Mike's picture to see his latest message Thank you for visiting our on-line interactive parish website. This website is designed to allow you to become more familiar and active in our parish. I encourage you to visit each page of our website and to check often our current news and calendar of events. Many times a parish the size of St. Francis by the Sea makes it harder to get to know individual parishioners and can even at times give you a sense that your participation or talents are not needed. That is not what Church is all about and our pastoral leadership has made a commitment to creating a small community experience within our large parish. The focal point of this effort will be the development of Small Church Communities and the continued success of our many ministries & organizations.
The Pastoral Council and I look forward to the growth of Small Church Communities in our parish as a way to be church and to live the mission of the Church defined by Christian Formation; Prayer & Worship; Evangelization; Stewardship; Building Community; and Social Outreach. We also encourage you to review the many ministries that could use your time and talent. Please feel free to make contact with the coordinators or leaders listed on the web pages if you are interested in more information, would like to join, or just have questions you would like answered. Our parish community is only as strong as the parishioners within it - together we can make our parish vision a reality:
In Christ – United in faith, love and service.Development of Small Church Communities Please take the time to visit the Small Church Community (SCC) web page for more information. In brief, the SCC experience is an opportunity to share and grow in faith with a small number of parishioners who meet weekly or a few times a month. Over time we hope there will be many different Small Church Communities formed at St. Francis by the Sea and we would love to have you involved. This is a new initiative and will take your commitment to become successful. Our 2006 Lenten Parish Retreat hosted by Small Church Community facilitators was an introduction to this experience. The pastoral leadership at St. Francis encourages you to give prayerful consideration to joining one of our parish Small Church Communities (SCC’s).
Pastor's Message - Two forms of the Roman Rite August 19, 2007 Effective the14th of September, Pope Benedict has allowed for wider use of the old Latin Mass also know as the Tridentine Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the “extraordinary form” of the Roman rite; the Mass of John Paul II remains the “ordinary form” of the Roman Rite. You might be wondering why the Pope has allowed wider use of the Tridentine Mass, and you may be interested in what this all means to you as a parishioner at St. Francis by the Sea. As your pastor, I have spent the last several weeks reading the document and evaluating what the impact of this wider permission will be on our parish. First, I believe that the Pope is calling us to a deeper understanding of the great treasure of the Mass, and the responsibility to be faithful to the Church’s law of prayer. The document challenges the faithful to ensure that “great reverence in harmony with current liturgical directives” is present in our liturgies whether celebrating the “ordinary form” or the “extraordinary form” of the Roman rite. Secondly, while the Pope’s Apostolic Letter allows for wider use of the Tridentine Mass to priests who celebrate private Masses, and to parishes as an extraordinary form when a group of the faithful are attached to the Tridentine Mass, it appears that the Pope envisions many parishes will not desire or be able to provide the extraordinary form of the Mass. This is what the Pope says about the use of the Tridentine Mass or extraordinary form in parishes, “The use of the old Missal (Tridentine Mass) presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often. Already from these concrete presuppositions, it is clearly seen that the new Missal (The Mass of John Paul II) will certainly remain the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.” At this time the ability to offer the extraordinary form is very limited at St. Francis by the Sea. We can still benefit from the Pope’s letter by continuing to celebrate well the Mass in the ordinary form at St. Francis. I will continue to inform you of opportunities to celebrate the extraordinary form when it is available in our Deanery or parish. I will also continue to work with my brother priests, our Liturgy Committee, and Pastoral Council to improve liturgies to “ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, to the praise and glory of His name,” and “to the benefit of all His Holy Church.” Both forms are to be respected and celebrated well, both forms have the capacity to bring us into the mystery of Christ’s redeeming and sanctifying love. Click here to find some helpful information on the two forms of the Roman Rite. It is extracted from information provided by the USCCB liturgy committee concerning the “ordinary form of 2007” and the “extraordinary form of 1962”. I hope this information helps you to better understand the recent Apostolic Letter. Peace and prayers, Fr. Mike
Previous Pastor's Corner Messages Pastor's Message - Capital Campaign What is Good Financial Stewardship? A Message from Fr. Mike, September 24, 2006 "The Da Vinci Code" - What is all the Fuss About, April 30, 2006 Easter Sunday, April 16, 2006 |
