Church of the Holy Rosary

Letter and decree from Bishop Spalding

April 24, 2020 / Diocese of Nashville News, News, Worship

My Dear People of God,

For the last five weeks, we have been experiencing an unprecedented time of modified ministry necessitated by the worldwide health crisis, and I have rejoiced in the faithfulness that you have shown in continuing to foster your relationship with Christ and his Church. As you know, the dispensation from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and the cancellation of all public celebrations of Mass and other gatherings are currently effective through today, April 24.

In order to permit all of you to exercise prudent care over your health and wellbeing and charity towards others, I am extending the dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and Holydays of Obligation through June 30. Even when public Masses have resumed, I encourage those who are vulnerable, sick, or otherwise at risk or concerned about contracting or spreading disease, to refrain from attending Mass. Those who do choose to return to Mass should observe all guidelines concerning social distancing and diligent hygiene. We will also be continuing to provide resources for growth in your life of Faith, and opportunities to watch celebrations of Mass online.

No doubt you have heard some of our civic leaders discussing the possibility of restarting public activities in Tennessee in the coming weeks and months. In light of those intentions, I would like to announce to you today that we have begun developing plans to phase back in the public celebration of Mass and other church activities here in the Diocese of Nashville. This is a fluid and rapidly changing situation with ongoing developments that are hard to predict. While it will not be possible to resume the public celebration of Mass immediately, we hope to consider beginning modified celebrations of Mass open to the public in mid-May. I will be discussing the specific dates involved, health and safety precautions, and any necessary modifications to the Liturgy, with the Council of Priests in our meeting next week. Once this discussion has taken place, further details of when and how we will resume our public liturgical life will be forthcoming.

As I have assured you throughout this time, please know of my sincere love and concern for all of you and your families. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Let us pray together that this time of renewed optimism for an end to this time of crisis may soon be brought to fulfillment by the power of God’s loving care and providence.
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend J. Mark Spalding, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Nashville

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Happy Divine Mercy Sunday

April 19, 2020 / Parish News

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday to you All! For His Mercy endures Forever!

Thanks be to God for His endless Mercy. His desire to constantly care for the souls who wander the farthest from Him. I know I have wandered from our Lord and continue to feel His love pulling me back to Himself. Think of how our loving Father waits patiently for our return so that we can share in the joy and glory of the Son’s Resurrection, His return to the Father so that the Holy Spirit may come and dwell in our heart, mind, body, and soul. Jesus reveals the way to His Father for us.

The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a beautiful devotion and powerful prayer that recognizes the awesome power of God’s Mercy. The Early Church Fathers learned and taught about the constant need to repent from our sins and turn back to the Lord for His divine grace so we may be reunited and healed in His Most Sacred Heart. St. Anthony of the Desert said, “This is the great work of man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.” We need God’s help and cannot do it by ourself or only with other people, we were created by Him who is Love so that we may receive that perfect love and have the opportunity to try and return that love back to our Creator, the God of the universe, the Most Holy Trinity.

May we always realize the Father’s perfect patience to wait for us, and His readiness to extend His Mercy to the souls who are in most need of His Mercy.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, Have Mercy on us and in the whole world!

In Christ,
Father Steiner

“The Divine Heart is an ocean full of all good things, wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness, an ocean of humility to drown our folly, an ocean of mercy to those in distress, an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty.”

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Happy Easter!

April 12, 2020 / Parish News

I would like to wish each one of you a Blessed and Holy Easter!
May all the suffering and pain you endured during Lent be united to our Lord’s Cross and bring you into His Glorious Resurrection! The truth was prophesied and fulfilled in Jesus as He says, “When I am lifted form the earth, I will draw all men to myself.” On this day we remember the baptismal promise that our Heavenly Father bestowed upon us, as His beloved sons and daughters, the gift of His divine Light and Life.

Jesus Christ breaks into the darkness of the world so that His light and life may enter in uniting it to HImself. We have had plenty of silent time, hopefully we have spent more time with our Lord. Pray the rosary, to your guardian angel, for your family and to each of their guardian angels, learn about a new saint, look up a teaching in the Catechism, pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet,
the Litany of Saints, the Litany of Humility, pray with the 5 wounds of Christ,
or any devotion to our Lady.

We enter into the joy of the Resurrection through our own death to sin and a continual turning back to the Lord so He can glorify us and share His divine life with us. “This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad.”
Psalm 118 It is a lifelong process, but we do not know how much time
we will have. Give God everything today.

In Christ,

Father Steiner