This year, our Parish Mission preacher is Fr. Dermot S. Roache, SMA. Fr. Roache is a member of the Society of African Missions (SMA Fathers) since 2001. He is a native of Brooklyn, New York and a former middle school teacher. After ordination, Fr. Roache spent several years serving as a missionary priest in Kenya, as well as in the northern region of South Africa following the charism of his founder reaching out and proclaiming the Gospel to “the poorest of the poor.” The SMA Fathers serve the Church in more than 16 countries on the African continent.
While working with the broken families of South Africa, Fr. Roache, a devotee to The Divine Mercy, was guided by the Holy Spirit to author a prayer entitled, “Act of Consecration of the Family to The Divine Mercy”, calling on God’s Mercy (through the merits of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection) to help families heal; and amidst the
trials and pains, to surrender in complete trust all their family members past, present, and future, to the Mercy of God.
The prayer received a nihil obstat and imprimatur in July 2013. Subsequently, a lay
apostolate, Family Divine Mercy Ministries (FDM) was established to assist in the growing demand for the prayer and its intimate link to healing broken families through The Divine Mercy. The demand for this particular prayer extends to all 5 continents in parishes and homes from South Korea to the USA, in over 12 translations.
As interest in the prayer and devotion rapidly grew, Fr. Roache has been invited to speak in many dioceses about the crucial work we have as the Church in restoring the dignity of the family through The Divine Mercy. In addition, his testimony has been given on radio programs such as: Relevant Radio, Ave Maria Radio, and In His Sign (Philadelphia). He addressed the participants of the annual International Week of Prayer and Fasting at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. Fr. Roache is currently the Vice Provincial of the Eastern Province of the Society of African Missions in the USA.
Having addressed the topic of family consecration here at St. Peter’s in 2017, he has
chosen a different theme for this year’s mission at St. Peter’s: Made in His Image and Likeness… But Different.
The schedule of the mission will be as follows:
Tuesday, March 15
Confessions Noon – 1:00 p.m. – All Priests
Confessions 6:00 – 6:45 p.m. – All Priests
Sermon and Benediction 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 16
Mass 9:00 a.m. – Fr. Roache
Confessions 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. – Fr. Roache
Confessions 6:00 – 6:45 p.m. – All Priests
Sermon and Benediction 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 17
No Morning Mass
Closing Mass 7:00 p.m.
Fr. Roache will preach each evening. Make this year’s parish mission the centerpiece of your Lenten devotions and be inspired by the extraordinary preaching of Fr. Roache.
See you then!
Fr. Tim Byerley, Pastor