Dear Parishioners,

Today we kick off our commemoration of Black History Month with a Mass of Thanksgiving. We welcome to our parish Deacon Curtis Turner who will serve as the homilist for Mass today. Deacon Turner is a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Washington DC and he currently serves as principal of the historic St. Frances Academy High School in Baltimore. Each year during the month of February, we gather as a community to give thanks to God for the gift of our Black ancestors who paved the way for people of color to live in peace, harmony and unity. Black History month is a time to reflect on where we have gone as a society, looking at each other as brothers and sisters made in the image and likeness of God. We also reflect on the sin of racism and bigotry, which still rears its ugly head even at this very moment. The struggle is not yet over! We must continue to keep the image of our ancestors alive in our minds and hearts. We are called to promote justice and equality for all of God’s people. It is my prayer that during this Black History Month, we will continue to give thanks and praise to God for gifts of our rich history and the brightness of the future.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of our parish Black History Month committee who worked hard to make the activities of this month a reality. I invite each of you to take home a copy of the flyer which has all of the events listed on it for the month. Please come and join us and be sure to invite a friend!

Youth Art, Photo and Poetry Contest

Our parish will once again hold an art contest. This contest is aimed for the youth of our parish to participate in. This year’s theme is to illustrate the life of Blessed Isidore Bakanja, who was a Carmelite from the Congo. Instructions for the contest can be found in this weeks bulletin. The deadline to enter is Saturday March 7. There will be three prizes awarded. All work will be displayed at the Brooklyn Waldorf School on March 14 and 15.

Ash Wednesday

The season of Lent will begin with Ash Wednesday, which is just two weeks away. Masses for Ash Wednesday are as follows: 8:00AM at Our Lady of Victory Church, 9:00AM at Holy Rosary Church, 12:00Noon at St. Peter Claver Church and 7:30PM at Our Lady of Victory Church. We will have a 12:00Noon prayer service with the distribution of ashes at Our Lady of Victory Church.

Have a great week,

Father Alonzo Q. Cox