Blessed Sacrament Church

May 1, 2020
Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Parishioner and Friend of Blessed Sacrament Church:

Christ is truly Risen!  As I mentioned in my previous letter, I want to stay in touch with you every couple of weeks by letter. The parish is also communicating frequently via our website, social media, and emails.  If we do not yet have you on our email list, please contact the rectory and we will add you as soon as possible. We have our weekly call-in prayer service with Spiritual Communion on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.  To join us, simply call 716-214-3776 a few minutes beforehand.

With Mother’s Day coming up on May 10th, we recognize the sacrifice and commitment of mothers, grandmothers, adopted mothers, and those who take on the role of mothers. We wish all of you a Happy Mother’s Day!

As we recall the loving service mothers provide, we turn our attention to those still in need. During this time, the need for food for the food bank is still great. The parish is having a non-perishable food drive from Sunday May 3rd through Sunday May 10th. Bins are available on the church steps when the church is open for personal prayer on Wednesdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. We will also have a bin for donations on the rectory side porch for other times during the week.

Another act of service would be to check in with each other.  Call your friends, family members, fellow parishioners, and neighbors just to say hello.  It might be a good time to offer to pray with them right then and there too. Let us not lose our sense of community during this trying time.

Enclosed you will find a flyer from Catholic Charities reminding us of the good work our parish has done supporting Catholic Charities last year and all the good work Catholic Charities does throughout our diocese.  It is dependent on all of us to help out to the level we are able.

It was so wonderful to see so many of you  during Holy Week. Dozens of parishioners and friends stopped by to pray in front of the decorated church vestibule. Many more joined us via conference calls during the Triduum.  We received many positive comments. Some of my favorites include: “it was so good to hear everyone’s voices again!”  and “the smell of the incense made Holy Thursday real for me!”  One comment in particular summed up what many of us thought: “I sensed a certain peace and happiness in the services on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. People had a sense of some normality in praying together and reading the scriptures of the day.”

Thank you for all you do for our parish community.  Let us continue to pray for each other as we celebrate that “Christ is truly risen!”

Pax et bonum,
Fr. Joe Porpiglia

Blessed Sacrament Buffalo is the joyful, vibrant, and welcoming Catholic Church present in the Elmwood Village and Delaware District, serving the Buffalo and Western New York Community.