Feasibility Study UPDATE
So, how did it go? So many have been asking for the results of the Feasibility Study done for our parish by Ruotolo Associates. In short, the results were very encouraging and positive! It was clear to the interviewers what a tight knit parish family exists here in Maple Shade and how dedicated our people are to care for our parish far into the future. In fact, they provided a Word Cloud where the word “Welcoming” just jumped off the page!
The results of the study were presented to staff, Finance Council and Parish Council members on June 18th. Since then, we have been digesting the results to determine a plan of action.
Overall, our parish family responded well with over fifty people accepting invitations to be interviewed and over seventy additional people participating in our focus group and surveys.
Fifty families involved in the process indicated that they would be willing to assist with their time and efforts in support of the campaign.
2025 Mid-Year Letter
August 2025
Dear Fellow Disciples in Christ!
During these warm days of summer, we are grateful for the gifts of our parish members who share much of their time, talent, and treasure to support the mission of Building Up the Body of Christ here in Maple Shade.
We continue to move forward in our mission, fully developing our Strategic Plan which was presented in our Town Hall Meeting in June. If you want more information on our Strategic Plan please visit our website where you will find more content including a video laying out our plan.
So far this year, we have collected 43% of the commitments made during our Stewardship Sunday season last fall. We are grateful to all of you who have prioritized your parish in how you spend the resources entrusted to you.
Why the Solemnities of Saints Peter & Paul and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Take Precedence Over Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Each year, we joyfully anticipate the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the beloved patroness of our parish. Her image and intercession are a deep source of comfort, inspiration, and love for our faith community. Naturally, we wish to honor her with the celebration she so beautifully deserves.
However, this year her feast day—June 27—falls on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the Church, we have a liturgical hierarchy: Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials. Solemnities, take precedence over most other observances, including the Feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
Holy Trinity Prayer
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
Our New Strategic Plan
Dear Parish Family,
Over the past five years, our mission at Our Lady of Perpetual Help has become clear: to build up the Body of Christ. That mission continues to guide us as we follow the Lord with joy, make disciples in our homes and parish, and seek out those who have yet to encounter His love.
This vision is more than just words—it is the heartbeat of our community. That is why we are thrilled to share the fruit of months of prayerful discernment: a new Strategic Plan to guide our parish for the next few years. Developed by our Pastoral Council and leadership team, this roadmap focuses on three key priorities:
Veni Sancte Spiritus, Wk 3
LIVING IN THE SPIRIT
Dear Parish Family,
Today, we celebrate Pentecost, which is commonly considered the “birthday” of the Church. I say “commonly” because in a way, the Father has been “birthing” the Church from the first moment of our Fall. The gestation period is salvation history. The story of our restoration or reconciliation begins when we turned away, showing how greatly God loves us, calling us back even from the beginning. The history of God offering His love and a way forward passes through all the great Patriarchs like Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. Through each of those figures, God has been preparing a people, readying, gathering, establishing covenants, all with a view to the union of Christ Jesus, our Lord with His Bride the Church. That is the long view, and it bears remembering.
At the same time, at Pentecost, the Church felt for the first time the quickening of the Spirit, as a body gathered, and from that critical catalytic moment, we moved from fearful to courageous, from huddled together to hearkening the Good News, from a small band to a group of about 3000 persons, who had gathered in Jerusalem from all around the known world (see: Acts 2:41). And the growth continued, as the Spirit moved and worked in and through those chosen ones who opened themselves up to His presence.
Veni Sancte Spiritus, Wk 2
Waiting in Prayer
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
During this three-week series, Veni Sancte Spiritus, we are focused on the Holy Spirit and His presence in our lives. My hope is that all of us will build a stronger relationship with the Holy Spirit, inviting Him into our lives and making Him a more regular dialogue partner in prayer. After all, this is the time of Spirit. Jesus sits in glory at the right hand of the Father; He has sent His Holy Spirit to guide us and to remind us of all that our Lord taught us.
Today, we find ourselves at the Ascension, which occurred on a Thursday, creating the original novena, or nine days of prayer, preparing for and awaiting the arrival. Jesus tells his disciples “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:49). One of the best ways to prepare for Pentecost is to join in a novena to the Holy Spirit. EWTN shares a lovely novena, too!
Veni Sancte Spiritus, Wk 1
Images of the Spirit
Dear Parish Family,
I am excited to begin this new series with you on the Holy Spirit. For me, the Spirit is the under-appreciated member of the Trinity, and yet I see the Spirit at work in so many ways around our parish. The Spirit is very active, inspiring, and encouraging the work of the Lord among our members. He seeks to build up the Body of Christ in and through the Body, the Church (that’s us!)
Some examples: a friend comforts a friend upon learning of some news, a parent reminds a youngster to spend time in prayer before God, a member volunteers to assist with a few small tasks that will largely go unseen, and someone steps forward into leadership with courage. These moments happen daily and weekly. The Holy Spirit is active and making something greater than what could be accomplished through one person alone. Where do you see evidence of the Holy Spirit?
The Spirit builds up by strengthening the bonds of communion and using our talents together for a good greater than what would otherwise be possible. Call it spiritual synergies. Our new Strategic Plan, which I presented last week, is for me powerful evidence that the Spirit has been at work crafting and helping to shape our priorities for the next 3-5 years of our life together. It is exciting! Often the work of the Spirit is exciting, but He can also be disruptive because He calls for growth, and growth is often outside our comfort zone.
Victory, wk 5
A Big Victory: OLPH’s New Strategic Plan
Dear Parish Family,
This is the last week of our theme: Victory - sharing in the victory of Christ. When our team meets, we often name and discuss our “wins” - those moments in the week when we see Christ alive, our mission lived out, and the Gospel proclaimed. When hard at work in the mission field, it is so important to pause, name and share those key moments. Today I would like to share with you a big victory for our whole parish, our new strategic plan!
Our mission (the reason we exist) is to build up the Body of Christ (See: Eph 4:11-13). Our vision which shapes how we live out our mission: “As members of one body, we strive eagerly to follow the Lord, make disciples, seek out the lost, share fellowship, love our neighbor, and above all worship God!” Each phrase taken from the Word of God; we seek to apply to our common life here.
The next layer is the Strategic Plan. A strategic plan is like a roadmap. It helps us move forward with purpose, making sure our resources—both people and finances—are used wisely to support our mission. This strategy helps us grow, stay focused, and work together to make an even greater impact in our community and beyond. Whereas the mission and vision remained unchanged, the strategic plan is our focus over the next three years.
Victory, wk 4
Participation in the Victory
Dear Parish Family,
Over the course of these past weeks, we have been focusing on the victory won in Christ Jesus. Easter is the season of victory, when we celebrate how Jesus has redeemed us from our sins and invited us into a new way of life, placing Him at the center of our existence. But we also admit that life is not just smooth sailing when we begin to follow.
Two weeks back, we focused on how Thomas saw and believed in order to participate in Jesus’ victory, even receiving the eerie invitation to put his finger and hand into our Lord’s glorified wounds; gives me goosebumps! Thomas was doubting and questioning, wrapped up in his own thoughts. Only through this beautiful and moving encounter with Jesus in the Upper Room, gathered with his friends, could he move beyond his skepticism and rumination in order to profess his faith.
Last week, Peter came front and center. He, too, was not sure of the path forward and longed for the familiarity of fishing. Although Peter had left everything, with his brother and sons of Zebedee to follow this new rabbi three years ago from the same shore, he had returned to a former path. By Jesus’ invitation and encouragement, Peter came to a place where he could receive the Lord’s invitation: “Follow me.”
Victory, wk 3
Revisiting a Crossroads
My Dear Friends,
Our Easter theme is victory. Jesus Christ has conquered sin, suffering, even death and He invites us to share in His victory. Participating in the victory is another way to speak of redemption. Jesus redeems us, meaning that His perfect self-offering compensates for our failings. When we are made adopted sons and daughters of God our Father at our Baptism, Jesus treats us like brothers and sisters, sharing the inheritance with us. It is amazing to marvel at this free gift of grace and salvation. We are so blessed to have such a good and merciful Lord and brother.
Today, at the noon Mass, many of our young people will receive the holy Eucharist for the first time, participating in a new way, in the very life of our Lord. Jesus gives Himself so fully that He shares His very self with us and invites us to become one with Him. Often, I think back to that first time Jesus shared the Eucharist at the Last Supper, how the apostles were all gathered around, how Thomas, Andrew, James, John, Peter and the others, as well as some disciples for sure, participated in the first eucharistic meal. What would it have been like?
We would like to believe that this very first meal was the most outstanding, of the highest order, the absolute best. I think we often figure that the first moment would have been the most potent, with Jesus right there. But we also must remember other details: that after that meal, all the apostles except John, abandoned Jesus in His hour of greatest need. As we heard last week, Thomas needed to sort things out alone and came to a hard place where he would not believe unless he saw the nail marks and put his hand into our Lord’s side. It makes me shudder just to think of it, that offer from our Lord to oblige Thomas.
Palm Sunday
Entering into Holy Week
My Dear Family,
We are on the cusp of the holiest week of the year. Palm Sunday is a unique liturgy, beginning with palms and the entry of the king into Jerusalem, and culminating with His passion and death. In a way, the whole week is compacted into one liturgy! Next Sunday, we will already find ourselves marveling outside the empty tomb.
During the course of the week, we are invited to zoom in further and walk more slowly with Jesus, from His entry into the holy city to the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, in the evening. If possible, please come to Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper (7pm). It is one of my favorite liturgies of the year. The highest holy days, called the Triduum, follow when we strive to accompany Jesus and His followers, almost in real time, from their last meal together to the discovery of the empty tomb. During His last steps, we try our best to walk alongside our Savior, until we meet the angels at the door with the question: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?”
Victory, wk 1
Victory and Redemption
My Dear Parish Family,
When you think of victory, what comes to mind? The 2025 Super Bowl Champions’ Eagles Parade is one recent memory, for us a sure sign of victory. Confetti and congratulations! As we celebrate the victory, we might be reminded of the words of the great coach Vince Lombardi: “Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.” Everybody loves a winner!
During Jesus’ day, the people of Israel were expecting a messiah (anointed one of God) who would set the people free from their oppression. For the majority, that meant being freed from earthly overlords of Rome and establishing a new kingdom. The messiah would be a new King David, an earthly winner. Temporal prosperity and freedom are what the messiah would bring.
Yet today, Easter Sunday, we celebrate a most unusual victory, from the cross to the crown, from Calvary to the empty tomb. The victory begins today, on Easter, with the empty tomb. The irony and challenge is that Jesus’ death does not at first look like a victory. On the contrary, utter defeat. Naked, bloody, beaten, humiliated and even dead - death the utter sign of defeat, the ultimate ending. And so different and puzzling is His Resurrection, that even the empty tomb is more mystery than victory.
Victory, wk 2
Light in the Darkness
My Dear Friends,
With sad hearts, we bid adieu with our love and prayers to Pope Francis, who passed away in the early hours of Easter Monday morning (21 April 2025). We pray that our holy Father may rest in peace, and that his legacy will bring greater unity in our Church.
I would like to reflect with you this week on His homily for the Easter Vigil this year. His words elucidate the mixed feelings in my heart as we celebrate the Victory won in Christ Jesus, while also mourning the passing of our Holy Father.
He writes: “Brothers and sisters, during this Jubilee Year in particular, we should feel strongly within us the summons to let the hope of Easter blossom in our lives and in the world! When the thought of death lies heavy on our hearts, when we see the dark shadows of evil advancing in our world, when we feel the wounds of selfishness or violence festering in our flesh and in our society, let us not lose heart, but return to the message of this night. The light quietly shines forth, even though we are in darkness; the promise of new life and a world finally set free awaits us; and a new beginning, however impossible it might seem, can take us by surprise, for Christ has triumphed over death.”
Soul Work, Wk 6
From the Inside Out
Dear Parish Family,
Believe it or not, next week is Palm Sunday, then follows Holy Week, including the Holy Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter). We are approaching these special days to remember and to live out our faith. In the Biblical worldview, memory does not merely reminisce, but makes present again. So we have the chance to enter into these mysteries as they are made present again for us. Please set aside extra time for prayer and for the special liturgies during these beautifully powerful days. Given what lies ahead, we are wrapping up our message series Soul Work this week.
We meet Jesus in the heart of Jerusalem, the temple area, teaching. The leaders bring before Jesus a woman, caught in adultery, as a type of examination (see John 8:1-11). They ask him to examine her case, while they examine Him. We might ask where the man is who, presumably, was also caught in the very act? A worthy question, although I fear that for our purposes and for what Jesus seeks to teach, that avenue leads into the weeds and is not a path to true discovery.
Jesus’ first words in the episode are telling, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” It seems we have come full circle. Our series began six weeks ago, as we approached Ash Wednesday. The Gospel (Luke 6:39-45) included this question: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” We were reminded to focus on our own stuff and to not fixate on the stuff of others. Who knows what Jesus writes in the sand, but it leads the elders to cease their crusade and allow the woman to live. Perhaps, Jesus invites them to attend to their own challenges, and this poor embarrassed woman is left alone with Jesus. While Jesus truly has the right to condemn her, He does not. Instead, Jesus pardons her with the admonition: go and sin no more. Everyone in the Gospel is invited to conversion, to focus on any obstacles that might keep them from pursuing holiness, and to set on the right path.
Soul Work, Wk 4
Daily Habits for Spiritual Change
Dear Friends,
We are in week three of our Lenten journey in the desert with Jesus, learning to walk in his ways and seeking to make those harder changes which we are calling “Soul Work.” This Lent our focus is on true transformation, spiritual renewal, that deeper but harder conversion of life. And according to the habit experts, right about now is the time when we tend to waffle. Surveys say that most people give up “New Year’s Resolutions” after a few weeks. Some call the second Friday in January “quitter’s day.”
A number of reasons prevent us from continuing on the path of genuine progress, including decline in enthusiasm, overly ambitious goals, and lack of planning. If you have begun to waiver in your resolve, what seems to be the cause? Remember that when we falter, we can always begin again with Jesus. Instead of an all-or-nothing approach, we have tried to emphasize beginning small, being specific and concrete about the change you hope to see and building on small successes over time.
Soul Work, Wk 5
Family Dynamics
My Dear Friends,
Today in the Gospel, we meet a father, two sons and the whole household in the background (Luke 15: 1-3,11-32). It is the story of a family, including a son who has treated his family as if they were “dead” to him; a father who keeps hope alive for the possible return of one who many would consider “dead,” and of the older son, who has done his duty and been faithful, but has become lost in his own way.
While each family has its own story, and no two are exactly alike, we can admit that new holy habits are especially hard to form in family life. Many different personalities and desires, myriad customs and practices passed on from generations, all make forming new habits a greater challenge. Plus, among our relationships, we each have a way of being, and that way is probably most engrained among our family; call it the family dynamic. Culturally, this dynamic helps us understand the practical reason that those among us called to consecrated life (as sisters, monks, nuns, friars etc.) leave their biological family and join a spiritual family with its own lineage, heritage, and traditions. Practically, adopting a new dynamic makes forming holy habits much easier.
I would invite you to reflect on and name the holy habits that are already a part of your family life, and what from your dynamic may be impeding progress toward the good.
Soul Work, Wk 3
Becoming Who God Created You to Be
Dear Members,
Jesus was in the habit of coming away by Himself to be with God. While He is often alone, as in the desert last week, today He chooses three lucky ones to share in the moment: Peter, James, and John. Together they go up the mountain, where a special revelation occurs. (see Luke 9:28-36). Beyond words, they did not speak of it until after Jesus was raised, and we still do not have a clear understanding of the mystery revealed up on the mountain.
Often called the Transfiguration, Jesus was transfigured, but the experience also transfigured those lucky three, touching all parties. Prayer is like that, even if we do not recognize it at first. We could describe this event as a time of prayer. By that I mean deep communion and communication with the Divine.
This week, we would like to focus on the habit of prayer: lifting the mind and heart to God. Prayer is a habit, a virtue by which we train and prepare ourselves to be ready to commune with God. We can cultivate a habit and improve our prayer this Lent with some supremely practical tips:
Soul Work, Wk 2
In the Footsteps of Christ
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last week, we launched our Lenten Series, Soul Work, in preparation for Lent - those 40 days journeying towards Good Friday and Easter Sunday - and now we are already in the thick of it. Lent has begun.
One of the great Gospel themes is “the way,” for example: “And they followed him along the way.” So easy to read over those two words without a second thought! But when we hear in Acts (9:2, 22:4, 24:14), that the earliest Christians are followers of the Way, and when we recall that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), the sure path that leads to the Father, we ought to pause and ponder. Those who walk with Jesus along the way, are seeking to follow Him, to base their lives on his teachings, and even to love according to his life-giving example. The way leads to the Cross and to the Father. And to this day, those searching for “the narrow way that leads to life” (Mt 7:14) continue on the same road.
How does the Annual Catholic Appeal help OLPH?
As we enter the Jubilee Year 2025, our Appeal theme, ‘Fan the Flame of Hope’ echoes Pope Francis’ call to be Pilgrims in Hope. We affirm our faith through action, supporting vital diocesan ministries.
The Annual Catholic Appeal has been a great asset to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. It has enabled us to offer a variety of programs including youth events, like the recent Diocesan Youth Conference, and the upcoming Catholic Youth Rally at Great Adventure. Other gatherings and networking opportunities are also offered. These events provide valuable opportunities for fellowship among our youth and other young people in the Diocese.
Additionally, our committed catechists benefit from the ACA by participating in workshops that equip them with fresh, engaging ideas to enhance their teaching. This year, ten catechists will be attending the Hope in Our Hearts conference, where different workshops will be held, deepening their knowledge of our faith, and learning new ways to keep students engaged.
