May 7, 2023

Fifth Sunday of Easter

by Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P

Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,

I have news to announce regarding the assignments for the Dominicans here. No worries though—no one is leaving, but rather our community is growing. Fr. Jonah Teller OP, whom you may remember was our summer deacon here in 2019, will be joining us as our new parish vicar. He’ll be replacing Fr. Clement Dickie OP, who will now head the Catholic Center at NYU. Fr. Isaiah Beiter OP will remain with us, continuing to serve at the Catholic Center. In all we’ll be adding a new friar here and no one is being reassigned to another community. When Fr. Jonah arrives, we’ll have five friars serving here.

Also, our summer brothers will be coming at the end of this month. Our summer deacon will be Br. Cornelius Avarritt OP and our student brothers will be Br. Cassian Iozzo OP and Br. Augustine Buckner OP. They’ll be with us for the summer. 

Please make them feel welcome here. I always enjoyed my summers when still in formation because it was great to be away from house of studies and helping in our ministries.

Mass Tidbit:

After the Preface Dialogue, we have the text of the Preface itself. The text is proper to the liturgical season we’re in, so it changes throughout the year. It starts by responding to the Preface Dialogue, so for Easter Preface I, it responds to the people saying “It is right and just” with “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, at all times to acclaim you, O Lord, but in this time above all to laud you yet more gloriously, when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.” The purpose of the Preface is to give thanks to God, and here we acclaim that it is right and just to do so as we give thanks, especially during Easter when our salvation was won.

The next part of the preface then gives a theological explanation of why we give thanks to God at this time, based on the liturgical season we’re celebrating. So, Easter Preface I continues: “For he is the true Lamb who has taken away the sins of the world; by dying he has destroyed our death, and by rising, restored our life.”

The Preface ends by joining our praise and thanksgiving to that of all the Church and the heavenly choirs. So Easter Preface I ends: “Therefore, overcome with paschal joy, every land, every people exults in your praise and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts, sing together the unending hymn of your glory, as they acclaim…” Here we move into the Sanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy…), but we’ll get to that later!

God Bless,
Fr. Boniface