Daily Mass on Thanksgiving will be at 9 AM and on Friday at 8 AM.  We won't have a 3 PM Holy Hour with confessions on Friday.  The parish office will be closed both days.  And the church will be closed after daily Mass both days.

     We have several days after Thanksgiving that are connected to Christmas.  There's Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.  With all the emphasis on shopping, someone came up with the idea of Giving Tuesday which will be next Tuesday, November 30th.  We ought to remain thankful for all the blessings we have received not only on Thanksgiving but throughout the year.  Giving Tuesday can help us stay in the right frame of mind for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

     I offer to you a few ideas about charities to support on Giving Tuesday and throughout the year:  Catholic Schools, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Annual Catholic Appeal.

     Visit https://www.leadinfaith.org/ to support Catholic schools here in the Diocese of Trenton.  Some of our parishioners go to St. Joseph Grade School or Donovan Catholic High School in Toms River.

     Our parish's SVDP conference is well poised to handle an influx of people in need.  Even so, you might consider supporting them as they help people now and get ready for the influx later.  You can donate to our SVDP conference by visiting

     Our parish has been fundraising all year for the Annual Catholic Appeal here in the Diocese of Trenton.  Our goal is $66,000.  So far, 389 families have pledged $56,317 and donated $54,211.  If we reach our goal, we will receive 15% of that $66,000 and 50% of anything over $66,000.  Last year, we were close enough to our goal that the parish sent in a check for us to reach our goal.  We received that and a little bit more back.  This year, if parishioners donate at least $56,100, then the parish will send in a check to make up the difference.  So, we're looking for least $1,889 more in donations from parishioners to reach at least 85% of our goal.

     Learn more about the Annual Catholic Appeal at https://dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal.

     More important than financial gifts is the gift we make of ourselves to God and others.  Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are great holidays to spend with family, it behooves us to consider how we can make gifts of ourselves to our families.  On my part, my brother and I will be spackling and painting the living room and garage of the family home later this week.  We're turning the garage into a gym.  My brother is beginning to feel like a little kid on Christmas.  Because of my other brother and my parents being ill from 2001 to 2019, we haven't painted the living room at all this millennium.  One of the challenges in painting is becoming nostalgic.  When we moved the furniture from the wall, we found the black scuff marks from my brother Patrick's hospital bed.  He spent a week at home on a ventilator, my first week in seminary.  After that week, he developed an infection and needed to be back in institutions for the next five years until it was his turn to meet Jesus face to face.

     Thanksgiving prompts us to take a step back and thank God for loving us.  He inspires us to then make a gift of ourselves.

God love you,

Fr. Jim