Welcome to our Parish Community!
We are the Church of Notre Dame
2325 Highland Road
Hermitage, PA 16148
(724) 981-5566
We are happy you have visited our Parish Web Site. Please explore the site and contact us with any questions you may have about our programs and spiritual offerings.
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From the Pastor’s Desk
Last modified on 2012-05-20 13:37:28 GMT.
May 20, 2012
Dear Parishioners:
We have celebrated Mother’s Day and the May Crowning here at Notre Dame. But, as a parish dedicated to Mary, we want to spend the rest of this month, dedicated to Mary, in honoring her. Let’s look at the ways we can keep Mary foremost in our walk of faith. Every day, we pray the Rosary before the 7:30 a.m. Mass and after the 9 a.m. Mass. Every month there is at least one feast in honor of Mary. This month we have the Visitation on Thursday, May 31st. Most of us, I hope, pray to Mary every day in our personal prayer lives. The Hail Mary, the Magnificat, the Angelus, the Salve Regina, and the Memorare are traditional prayers that should indeed be part of our regular spiritual exercises throughout the day. Each in some way appreciates the role of Mary in the life of Jesus, in the life of the Church, and in our life. The Scriptures give us various ways of meditating on Mary and her place in God’s plan. Perhaps you have a favorite passage or two. Or, maybe, there’s a segment of Scripture involving Mary that you really haven’t given much thought to, and this month would be a good time to delve into it. God chose Mary to be the instrument of salvation, bringing Jesus, the Son of God, in the flesh, into the world. What a privilege for her, yes, and what responsibility! In accepting that role, that task, as a young woman, she would have no idea what it would mean. She raised Him, taught Him, guided Him, and disciplined Him. She let Him go as He left home to begin a public ministry. He was ridiculed, ostracized, threatened, and eventually put to death like a common criminal with cruelty beyond comprehension. Through it all, Mary was there. Not always in the foreground, either. Just there. As a Church, disciples of Jesus, we learn from her how to “follow Him.” With devotion, piety, and prayer, for sure, but also with the hard work of everyday life. Like Mary, we need to turn our “Yes” into action in “good times and in bad.” We have moved the statue of Mary from the vestibule into the body of the Church for the May Crowning and for the balance of the month of May as a little reminder, placing her beautiful painted portrait in the vestibule. That little switch is meant to draw our attention to this special month, a good time to turn to Mary, our patron, for help.
– fr. jeff