St. Malachy's was delighted to participate in the NYC Unity Reopening Celebration in Times Square this past Wednesday. Big thank you's to the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau and the Times Square Alliance for organizing this event as well as to everyone who stopped by. We hope to see you in church soon!

Fr. George Drance will host an Online Lenten Retreat from March 5th - 26th. Click here to learn more.

In the spirit of the Lenten season, a Stations of the Cross video from Word on Fire Media has been added to our Resources page.

This year’s Religious Education Program will be holding classes virtually beginning in January 2021. To find out about registering your children for classes, please contact Ralph Buckley, Coordinator of Religious Education at religioused@actorschapel.org with the following information:

• Name of child
• Age and grade of child
• Sacraments already received
• Name of parent/guardian
• Contact phone number and e-mail

Follow this link to a letter from our pastor, Fr. John Fraser, outlining our planned reopening procedures for the summer.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The past few months have been challenging for all of us. Despite temporary closures of churches like ours, we have never waned in our faith as Catholics or in our commitment to our shared mission and ministry. This year, I wanted to let you know that Saturday, June 20th is not only the first day of summer, it is also National eGiving Day and an opportunity for you to help Saint Malachy's Church.

We can take joy in this celebration, as the response to eGiving in our church, especially over the last few months, has been wonderful and is a continued blessing to our parish.

To build on this success, I am setting a National eGiving Day Challenge. My goal is for more St. Malachy's families to make the switch to eGiving and help power our ministry during the summer so we can continue to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those in our parish family and community impacted by the coronavirus and possible job losses.
         
By subscribing to eGiving, you will simplify your giving and help provide our parish with consistent support. This is especially important in the summer months, when many families may be out of town some weekends--while others may still be uncomforable attending Mass in person--and St. Malachy's does not receive their envelopes. It is easy for people to forget to catch up once they are back, and our weekly offertory can fluctuate as a result - making it harder to predict how much we will have to sustain our year-round ministries.

Being part of this challenge is simple - you can do so by clicking here:
https://membership.faithdirect.net/NY558
         
The more families who welcome the beginning of summer by taking this National eGiving Day Challenge, the more consistent and predictable our offertory will be month after month - and this will help us do even more to spread Christ's love throughout the community.
         
I ask you to give eGiving your prayerful consideration so we can continue to help those who thirst for the love and acceptance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
         
May God bless you and your loved ones during the summer and throughout the year.

In His name,
Rev. John Fraser
Pastor

A new e-book "Catholicism in the time of Coronavirus," published by Word on Fire Media is available for free on our Resources page.

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

During this challenging time, I am reminded of the First Sunday of Lent, several weeks ago, which took us to a familiar place - Jesus in the desert confronting Satan and his temptations. We did not imagine we would ever enter the desert ourselves. Lent would be "enough!" Yet, here we are and here is Jesus. 

A desert is a strange place. It can be quite beautiful to experience and then suddenly become physically hostile and unbearable with heat or cold. It can take your breath away and it can take you away in the rising and setting of the sun. No wonder temptations feel stronger there. The certainty of the strange place bears no certainty at all, save that the creation of it belongs to God. 

Patience through prayer; not easy, just necessary. With this in mind, we might use this time to pray more deeply. Surely our patience has been tested...tempted. No doubt we already miss the presence of others and long for togetherness. From within, we may already have someone to blame for this and have vowed that we can "do better" once we come out on the other side of this experience. "Just give us the chance, God!"

Jesus knows all about "social distancing”.  How many of the miracles, involving recovery from illness were brought about in a setting that was "isolated?" Jesus healed and he kept others (including most of his disciples) healthy. Jesus knows about time alone - solitude not loneliness. He goes off on his own - to a deserted place or up a high mountain - to pray. He found something there and seemed to come back more determined than ever to open the minds and hard hearts of a stiff-necked group of people. Deserted places are not a lot of fun and it takes a lot of energy and effort to climb a high mountain, let alone climbing down. Jesus shows us the benefit of the sacrifice and effort in making that sacrifice.

How much daily bread do you and I really need?  Jesus taught us to pray for our "daily" bread and inspired 5,000 to feed others as he fed them loaves and fishes. Fasting makes room for something more in our lives. Fasting makes us think about what we truly need, even though we may want it all. Tested...tempted.

We are praying for you.  Please know that Monsignor Aquino, Fr. Drance, Fr. Bentz and I are praying for you every day, as we always have been. Praying together as a community creates overwhelming joy in our lives, but that joy has been lessened, not extinguished, for the moment. The parish webpage actorschapel.org will be updated regularly, as we learn more about our journey through this desert experience. I leave the medical and local regulatory matters to those best suited to address them on other sites that you visit.

Please give.  Our doors are open (for as long as we are able to do so) for private prayer and we continue to meet the needs of those who turn to us through your continued support.  Your gifts are essential to keep our doors open. 

Please click the link below to make a contribution to St. Malachy’s:

https://membership.faithdirect.net/givenow/NY558/14763

The Lord remains with us always. Let us pray for each other to deepen our gratitude for that presence in our spiritual communion each day. St. Malachy, pray for us!
 

Peace in Christ,
 

Fr. John Fraser