The Diocese of Rockville Centre has announced that all Masses and activities are suspended throughout the Diocese due to the COVID-19 Virus through April 14. All other events scheduled at St. Boniface Martyr are cancelled as well.

We have been celebrating Sunday Mass and conducting activities and devotions online. Plans are underway to celebrate Holy Week and Easter liturgies and devotions online.

Media Announcement from the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

Beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 at 3:00 PM, all Masses (weekday and weekend), meetings, and non-essential activities in our parishes are suspended or postponed through Tuesday, April 14, 2020. This will include all Holy Week and Easter Liturgies. However, these will be televised and available online.

The Catholic Faith Network (CFN) will provide televised and online daily Masses, including Holy Week and Easter Liturgies, as well as other devotional and spiritual programs. (Optimum channel 29/137, Verizon FiOS TV channel 296, and Spectrum channel 162/471.)  CFN is also available on selected cable and satellite systems and through 24/7 live stream at CFNtv.org. You can also watch CFN on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, or by downloading the CFN iOS mobile app at the app store by searching “Catholic Faith Network” or “CFN”.

As a health precaution, the Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre announces the following directives effective immediately:

1. Catholics are hereby dispensed from their obligation to attend Sunday Mass for the weekends of March 14-15, March 21-22 and March 28-29. Churches will remain open and Mass schedules will remain mostly unchanged. However, the obligation is lifted for those three weekends. We will continue to monitor official health advisories and update these directives accordingly.

2. We urge everyone who is sick, elderly or vulnerable because of a medical condition, to remain at home. People in these categories are not obliged to attend Mass. Please understand that Mass schedules and availability, as well as parish and diocesan events may change, especially if our clergy is affected by illness. Please check your parish web site for local Mass schedules, updates and changes, and please consult Diocese of Rockville Centre social media (Facebook:@RVCdiocese; Twitter: @RVCDiocese) and webpage (www.drvc.org) for Diocesan updates and changes.

3. Catholics who attend Holy Mass are not required to receive Holy Communion more than once per year. No one is under any obligation to either receive or distribute Holy Communion. Catholics who choose to temporarily refrain from receiving Holy Communion may make an act of Spiritual Communion, uniting themselves worthily to our Lord’s true presence in the Most Holy Eucharist through prayer.

4. Holy Mass can be viewed on the Catholic Faith Network and online. Information regarding schedules and viewing online is provided below.

Please consider volunteering to help at this year’s Tenth Annual “Feast by the Shore”, scheduled for May 14 through May 17, 2020.  ALL ARE WELCOME!! It would be GREAT to see some new faces to help plan this year’s fun-filled family event.

An organizational meeting will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 7 pm at the Parish Center.

One of our Parish’s oldest social traditions! Full corned beef dinner, shepherd’s pie and, beer, wine, soda, dessert and more. Live Irish music by the Kitty Kelly Band, stepdancers and Irish pipers. Tickets Available after Mass, at the Parish Center and online.

March 1, 2020 at the

Knights of Columbus Hall

81 Sea Cliff Avenue, Glen Cove, NY 1542

Click here to buy tickets online.

Please join us at the Senior Citizens Prom after 12 Noon Mass Sunday Feb 2, 2020.

EVENT CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Mingling Mondays… February 3, March 2 and June 1, 2020 at 7 pm in the Faith Formation Office on the first floor of the School building.

This is an opportunity to keep informed about the parish and how you can be a part of it.  Please join us for beverage and conversation. Got questions? Good, bring them with you! All parishioners welcome!

Future Mingling Mondays: February 3, March 2 and June 1, 2020 at 7 pm

EVER WONDER WHAT A PASSOVER SEDER IS ALL ABOUT?

Come to our first MOCK PASSOVER SEDER 

Learn about this special meal and the traditions and meanings within it.

There will be two different days that this  hands-on participation & presentation will be offered:

Thursday, March 5th or Monday, March 9th in the First Floor Classroom, of the school building, both at 7:00 pm.

Please email Belinda: stbonym@gmail.com to reserve your spot(s) with the number of people attending.

Sponsored by the Faith Formation Office

Thank you for your prayers and support on GIVING TUESDAY!  

If you were unable to give on Giving Tuesday, there is still time to join in!  Just click this Faith Direct Button for the easiest way to make your
Giving Tuesday Gift
(select “make a one time gift” and write
“Giving Tuesday” in the note section):

What is “Giving Tuesday”?

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving which has developed in recent years as a positive reaction to the hype of “Black Friday”and “Cyber Monday”.  It is a wonderful antidote to the frantic consumerism which sometimes threatens to swamp the true meaning of our Advent and Christmas seasons.

• Please consider taking this opportunity to assist the mission of St. Boniface Martyr Parish.
• Donations are safe, easy and online.
• This is great chance to avail of the tax advantages provided by year-end giving.

Thank you for considering a gift to our Parish, and please spread the word of this opportunity among your friends and relatives on social media.

Click here to donate

What is “Giving Tuesday”?

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving which has developed in recent years as a positive reaction to the hype of “Black Friday”and “Cyber Monday”.  It is a wonderful antidote to the frantic consumerism which sometimes threatens to swamp the true meaning of our Advent and Christmas seasons.

• Please consider taking this opportunity to assist the mission of St. Boniface Martyr Parish.
• Donations are safe, easy and online.  Click here to donate.
• This is great chance to avail of the tax advantages provided by year-end giving.

• Please consider taking this opportunity to assist the mission of St. Boniface Martyr Parish.
• Donations are safe, easy and online.
• This is great chance to avail of the tax advantages provided by year-end giving.

Thank you for considering a gift to our Parish, and please spread the word of this opportunity among your friends and relatives on social media.

Diocese of Rockville Centre

OFFICE  OF  THE BISHOP

August 11, 2019

Dear  Brothers and Sisters  in Christ:

Our Church continues to suffer as a result of past sins of sexual abuse of minors. Victim survivors of abuse and their families also continue to carry the terrible effects of that abuse. We pray that the fire of the Holy Spirit may descend upon the Church to purify and sanctify her. It is also important that we are all aware of recent developments that will cause uncertainty and present serious challenges for us in the months and perhaps years ahead.

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act  (CVA)  into  law  last  February.  The CVA suspends for one year any statute of limitations associated with  alleged  sexual  abuse of a minor. This law  will allow currently time-barred lawsuits to be brought against individuals as well as public and private institutions, regardless of how many years or even decades ago the abuse may have taken place.

When the one-year window to file lawsuits opens on August 14, 2019, hundreds, if not thousands of  lawsuits are expected to be filed across New York State against dioceses, parishes, municipalities, public schools, hospitals and a broad range of not-for-profit charitable organizations, both religious and non­religious. The financial impact of this law may  be far reaching.

However, if we are people of the Paschal Mystery,  we enter the unknown with what we do know –  that  the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ will sustain and strengthen us in the days ahead. The power of the Resurrection overcomes despair.

No doubt, we will hear about many past failures. We will again hear the heart wrenching stories of victim survivors. I have personally met with survivors of abuse, their families, friends and loved ones.  I have listened at a deep level to their stories of tragedy, betrayal, trauma and their heroic efforts to engage in the process of healing. Their lifelong wounds of trauma run so deep, that only the warmth  of the Holy Spirit  can begin to touch, relieve and heal  them. Together, we pray that the fire of the Holy  Spirit brings the light of true repentance and reform, moving the Church to continue listening and  responding with the humility and compassion of Jesus Christ.

It is also important that we be aware of what is already happening and has been happening for many years in our Diocese as to the extraordinary work that goes into child protection. First, the Diocesan Office for the Protection of Children and Young People was established in 2003. Many years of hard work have made this office one which puts the safety and well-being of children first, and seeks to reach out to and support victim survivors of abuse. It works to ensure the screening and training of every person who works in or volunteers for the Church. If you are an employee or a volunteer in your parish, you know about background checks, VIRTUS training and the call for every member of the Church to be vigilant in protecting children.

For years, we have worked closely with law enforcement whenever an allegation of abuse is made against a member of the clergy, an employee or volunteer in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. Our confidential hotline (516-594-9063) is closely monitored, and calls made to it are returned within 24 hours by a licensed mental health professional. Allegations of abuse are promptly reported to the appropriate district attorney’s office and are thoroughly investigated. In addition, pastoral care and mental health support is offered to any abuse survivor who needs assistance.

These are just a few of the reforms, efforts and safeguards that have been in place since 2002 in our Diocese, and have made the Church on Long Island a truly safe environment. And we do not rest there. We continually work to discern the best ways to adjust and enhance our child protection practices, to raise consciousness in the Church and society about vigilance and to support survivors of abuse.

In 2017, we initiated our Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) to provide a confidential mechanism for survivors to receive compensation and some measure of healing and justice. We intend to continue this program for the foreseeable future, even after the CVA takes effect, so survivors can, if they wish, be heard in a fair, respectful, confidential and timely  way.  To date, 370 people have filed claims with our IRCP. The vast majority of claimants—277 to be exact – have accepted compensation totaling just over $50 million, with 75-80 claims still being processed.

We have worked diligently with our financial and legal advisors to assess our financial position and maximize the availability of insurance coverage to meet the demands that will likely be imposed by anticipated CVA litigation. Please also know that parish collections and financial donations made through the Catholic Ministries Appeal will continue to be used, consistent with our commitment to our parishioners, to support the Diocese, and its ministries and pursue the goals of the Catholic Ministry Appeal. The parish offertory and Catholic Ministry Appeal funds have not and will not be used to resolve claims for clergy sexual abuse.

The work of the Church – of administering the Sacraments, of teaching, healing, advocating, serving, and ministering to the poor and vulnerable – can and must continue, despite the sins of the past. I speak in greater detail about all of this, and about the Diocese’s robust safe environment practices and commitment to them, in a Catholic Faith Network (CFN) special video which you can view on CFN television, the Diocesan website (www.drvc.org) and on Diocese of Rockville Centre social media platforms.

The coming months will require perseverance and prayer if we are to  emerge  even  more  dedicated  to Christ’s saving mission. As the opening of the CVA window takes place near the Solemnity of  the  Assumption of the Blessed Virgin,  we are reminded  to tum  to Mary  our  Mother  and  draw  courage  from the one who did not look away from her suffering  Son.  She  waited  patiently,  suffered  with  Him,  and shared  in His victory over sin and  death.

This is the same Mary who, as Mother of the Church, gathered with the Apostles in the locked room, waiting for the power of the Holy Spirit to descend at Pentecost. As we enter a time of Paschal Mystery suffering, may Mary guide us, so that together we may continue to carry out the mission of her Son: the building up of the Kingdom of God throughout Long Island and the world.

Sincerely in Christ,

John O. Barres

Most Reverend John O. Barres

Bishop of Rockville Centre

PO Box 9023, Rockville Centre, NY 11571-0023

Bishopsoffice@drvc.org; 516-678-5800