Posts from September 2020

Having a mystical encounter with the Blessed Mother was not what Marge Hagan expected when she traveled to Ireland in 1993 to attend a wedding in Sligo.  Afterwards, she agreed to accompany some Irish friends to the Knock Shrine in Mayo County. “I always loved Jesus,” explained the lifelong devout Catholic.  “But I was so attached to my own mother that I felt less devotion to the Blessed Mother.” That relationship changed when Marge stepped out of a car at…

As the Saint Damien Parish religious education program begins with all-remote learning this fall, parent volunteers Lorie and Brad Rice are optimistic. “We have a beautiful, new curriculum,” Lorie explained.  “Every grade will be learning the same thing at the same time, just at different age levels, so it should really bring families together.”  As the parents of eleven-year-old Anna and nine-year-old Rocco, the Rices gained insight into remote learning when the Ocean City public schools went to all on-line…

Say hello to Ursula Russo, the newest adult Catholic in Saint Damien Parish.   Ursula’s confirmation was delayed when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered the church during Lent. But in June, when masses resumed, she was received into the church.  Her sponsor was her daughter, Christine Leonetti.  In the Fall of 2019, Ursula entered into the process known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a period of study and reflection that she called “stimulating” and “enlightening.” She was led through…