Fourth Week of Easter
Greetings: We hope you enjoy the new format of your Email News Blast and Bulletin. It is our hope that you will share this news with others. If you know someone who is not receiving this News Blast, please ask them to forward their emails to [email protected] and we will add them to our email list.
Your bulletin: https://saintspeterpaulpalmyra.org/may-11th-2025/
If you are a Sts. Peter and Paul parishioner, and have wanted to explore giving through Give Central, click on the button below. It will take you directly to our options for giving.
Here are the highlights for the upcoming week and beyond:
Pope Leo XIV: Greetings to Rome and to the world
Peace be with you all!
Dear brothers and sisters, these are the first words spoken by the risen Christ, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for God’s flock. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world. Peace be with you!
It is the peace of the risen Christ. A peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering. A peace that comes from God, the God who loves us all, unconditionally.
We can still hear the faint yet ever courageous voice of Pope Francis as he blessed Rome, the Pope who blessed Rome, who gave his blessing to the world, the whole world, on the morning of Easter. Allow me to extend that same blessing: God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail! All of us are in God’s hands. So, let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another other! We are followers of Christ. Christ goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, one and all, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace. Thank you, Pope Francis!
I also thank my brother Cardinals, who have chosen me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a Church, united, ever pursuing peace and justice, ever seeking to act as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, in order to proclaim the Gospel without fear, to be missionaries.
I am an Augustinian, a son of Saint Augustine, who once said, “With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop.” In this sense, all of us can journey together toward the homeland that God has prepared for us.
A special greeting to the Church of Rome! Together, we must look for ways to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges and encourages dialogue, a Church ever open to welcoming, like this Square with its open arms, all those who are in need of our charity, our presence, our readiness to dialogue and our love.
[In Spanish]:
Y si me permiten también una palabra, un saludo a todos y en modo particular a mi querida diócesis de Chiclayo, en el Perú, donde un pueblo fiel ha acompañado a su obispo, ha compartido su fe y ha dado tanto, tanto, para seguir siendo Iglesia fiel de Jesucristo.
[Translation: And if you also allow me a brief word, a greeting to everyone and in particular to my beloved Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru, where a faithful people has accompanied its Bishop, shared its faith and given so much, so much, to continue being a faithful Church of Jesus Christ.]
[Returning to Italian]:
To all of you, brothers and sisters in Rome, in Italy, throughout the world: we want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.
Today is the day of the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love. So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace:
Hail Mary… [accompanied by the crowds in St Peter’s Square and around the world.]
[Solemn blessing]
Saints Peter and Paul’s Holy Communion is tomorrow May 10th at 10 am. Please keep the children in your prayers. If you would like to join us tomorrow for Mass, please do. All are welcome.
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church:
- Snatch up the remaining handful of 40th anniversary raffle tickets before they are all gone! Tickets can be purchased after each Mass, online through GiveCentral, or at the parish office. $1,500 could be yours soon.
- Be first to order your stylish Sts. Peter and Paul monogrammed shirt in celebration of our 40th aniversary. Orders can be placed at our own religious store.
- As we engage in our spring mowing, we would like to offer thanks to those who helped in servicing our mower last time: Trudy at Tractor Supply Company (Palmyra) for providing free use of a trailer to transport the mower; John and Cathy Konoza for transporting the mower to and from Piedmont Power of Charlottesville; and to Piedmont Power who donated the labor to tune up our lawn mower. We appreciate their gift and encourage people to patronize these businesses.
- Senior Coffee Social meetings will be at 10 a.m. on May 14 and 28th in the Commons. Our discussions are lively and important, and we invite you to join us.
- Please keep the good works of LifeSpring Pregnancy Center in your prayers. They provide adoption support, after-abortion support, childbirth prep classes, men’s program, mentorship, on-site ultrasound service, parenting classes, pregnancy testing and much more. For more information call 434-220-3770 (Mon.-Thurs. 10-5 and Friday 10-2)
- Adoration is always looking for people who want to spend time with Jesus. If you are interested in scheduling some time for adoration, contact Denise Minor by email at [email protected] and you can call or text her at 434-981-5510.
- If you have recently changed your email address or phone number or signed up for GiveCentral and no longer need envelopes, please send a note to the office so we can update the system and make sure you don’t miss out on any information we have to share with you.
Charitable Gifting Workshop, May 13 at 6:30 pm
Join us at this Charitable Giving Workshop.
This workshop will introduce the process of making a deferred gift to Sts. Peter and Paul, understand the possibilities of being more philanthropic to your favorite charities, consider your own resources (financial planners, attorneys and other professionals)
Robert Howard and Jennifer Cunningham will lead the workshop and will be available to schedule a follow-up appointment if required.
“Respect Life” Corner
Happy Mothers’ Day!
May 11, 2025 is Mothers’ Day, but let’s use the month of May to celebrate New Mothers’ Month!
Please donate baby clothing and diapers and baby supplies!
There is a bassinet (on loan from Maureen Burger) being set up near the entrance to Church.
Donations will be collected for LifeSpring Pregnancy Centers, Charlottesville, supported by the Knights of Columbus Council #11475 and Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Palmyra, VA. Items most in need: Gift cards, diapers, clothing, pacifiers & teething rings, bottles, baby spoons, burp cloths and bibs, baby blankets, baby towels and wash cloths, thermometers, hygiene items, outlet safety kit, baby monitors, infant carriers, baby items gently used, maternity clothes,
Financial donations will also be accepted in lieu of baby supplies. (Please make any checks out to “Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church.” Financial donations will be consolidated into one check to be delivered from our Church to LifeSpring at the end of May, along with the donated baby items)
Please place all donated items in the basket. No wrapping needed.
Questions? Please call Larry Boice, 434-510-7677
Coming Soon: YARD SALE June 13 and 14th
Start cleaning out your closets, shed and garage and bring any items for the sale starting on June 8th. We need volunteers to help from June 8th through the 12th to sort and set up and on June 13 and 14 to work the yard sale. Drop off begins on June 8. This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year and we need your help to make it a success.
Come to Poetry Camp
CHESTERTON ACADEMY OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
POETRY CAMP
DATES: June 23-27, 2025
TIME: 9 am – noon Monday – Friday
OPEN TO: Rising 9th – 12th grades
SIZE: 6 to 10 students
COST: $100 for non-CASJE students, No cost for CASJE students
REGISTER at www.chestertonsje.org
Do you love poetry? Or do you feel like you just don’t “get” poetry? Either way, this camp is for you. The lucky students who join this camp will get a crash course in reading, writing, and most of all enjoying great poetry. Join Mr. Bond to learn the tools and techniques of the best poets over the ages, from centuries ago to present day. Attendees will keep a poet’s notebook to pen imitations and original works. By the end of the week, you will see how great poems are capable of evoking ideas, emotions and perceptions; speak about them with confidence; and make your own poems. The course will conclude with an “open mic” poetic celebration of words featuring camp members’ own original writing. If you have any questions prior to kick off, just ask! Contact [email protected] or 434-381-4284.
St. Joseph’s Shrine of Katherine of Drexel Catholic Church:
- Good News! St. Joseph’s office is open and staffed by volunteers. The office will be open from 3-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They also have a phone number: 434-842-3970.
Both Saints Peter and Paul and Saint Joseph:
- Don’t forget the car wash fundraiser on Saturday, May 31 from 9:00 to 12:00 PM at Sts. Peter and Paul. There is no set fee, just a donation of your choice. Please come out to support our Youth! Volunteers are needed to help. There is a signup sheet in the commons.
- Vacation Bible School will run from June 9-13, 6-8 PM at St. Joseph. We are in need of volunteers and donations. Thank you for your continued generosity throughout the year! For VBS, we are requesting specific items. Celeste has created cards listing each needed item – please take a card, purchase the item, and return it to the collection box in the hall/commons.
- We are looking ahead to next year and need catechists and volunteers for both CCD and the Youth Group. We would love to launch a preschool CCD class for three-and-four-year-olds, but we need volunteers for it to happen.
- There’s also an interest in offering more activities for our youth and splitting the Youth Group into an elementary and a middle/high school group. We can’t do this alone.
Everyone is busy with sports, scouts, dance, swimming, and more, but let’s continue to make our faith a priority, too. Thank you for all you do to support our youth ministry.
Colleen Smith