Tagaste Newsletter
Province of St. Nicholas of Tolentine
OAR
March, 2021
_______________________________________________

Greetings to all our brothers in the Province of St. Nicholas, our Secular Augustinian Recollects, Guild members, and the Hispanic Committee, as well as our parishioners at Sacred Heart Church!

The winter of 2020-21 looked like it was going to be a mild one, but surprised everyone with a walloping storm which lasted from January 31-February 2 with some 15+ inches of snow in the Suffern area and almost two feet in areas nearby. That set a pattern which has led to snow storms almost every weekend. In spite of the bad weather Sacred Heart Church has remained open for regular services, and there were few power outages in Rockland County.



                                Definitely not North Africa! St. Augustine, wearing a coat of white
and buried up to his knees in snow, presided over a three day storm
that left Tagaste Monastery and much of the Northeastern United States
feeling like it was, indeed, a traditional New York winter.

Lent, 2021. After reflecting on the different options offered by the Archdiocese of New York for the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday during the continuing pandemic, which included sprinkling ashes on the heads of the faithful and giving out baggies containing ashes to be self imposed by each recipient or family, the community decided that the best way to administer ashes at Sacred Heart was by using disposable Q-tips. Ashes were given at the conclusion of the 9:00 AM Mass and at different intervals during the course of the day. A considerable number of parishioners were present for each service so that even the gymnasium had to be used for the overflow at the later services. The feedback was good in spite of the “unorthodox” way we opened the Lenten season!



“Repent, and believe in the Gospel!” Fr. Michael Rafferty
gives ashes to Patt Chester, parish secretary, on Ash Wednesday,
February 17 at Sacred Heart Church.

Easter Food Drive: The Sacred Heart staff, Vincent de Paul Society, Suffern Community Foundation, and the Girl Scouts teamed up for a food collection to make up baskets of food for families in need at Easter time. Food items were received on Saturday, March 20. Some 25 baskets were made up for distribution with many many items in store as they are needed.




Easter baskets: Parishioners gather in Sacred Heart parking lot to receive
bags of food dropped off for needy members of the local community.
Lenten Reflection. Fr. Eric Crelencia, assisted by Frs. Michael Rafferty and John Gruben, presented an afternoon of recollection for the Hispanic Lectors and Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist at Sacred Heart on Saturday, March 20. The afternoon was structured around the themes of Calling and Discipleship and consisted of several talks, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with meditation, and discussion. About 12 lay ministers were in attendance.