KINGSTON — As part of the efforts by St. Mary-St. Peter Parish to offer Catholic alternatives to children and to form their imagination in contrast to the reigning secular understanding of Halloween, 136 participants, including children, took part in a solemn Mass and then a joyful celebration of the devotion to St. Jude Thaddeus, also known as a patron of impossible causes, at St. Mary’s Church in Kingston on the night of Tuesday, October 28.
“We are encouraging families and children to find heroes in the saints of the Catholic Church, this week starting with St. Jude the Apostle,” stated Father Arthur F. Rojas, pastor of St. Mary-St. Peter-Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary-Sacred Heart Parish, which serves lower Kingston and the town of Esopus. The parish is grateful for the cooperation of the team led by Mireya Rosas and the Hispanic charismatic prayer group, Grupo de Oracion, for [Tuesday’s] liturgical and social devotion.
“We will follow [Tuesday’s] devotion with a program on October 31 at St. Mary’s Church to give a Catholic alternative to Halloween with All Saints Day as the reference in two parts. First, a Holy Hour of Reparation and Prayer at 7 p.m. for our adults in light of the normalization of the occult and witchcraft that finds its peak on the Vigil of All Saints, also known as Halloween. Simultaneously, for the children, whom we invite to come dressed as angels, saints, and positive figures, to a fun program where they will be encouraged to form their imagination in a Christian way instead of what the secular culture offers young minds and souls around Halloween,” added Father Rojas.
All Saints’ Eve program open to all
Adults and children in good faith are welcome to participate at St. Mary’s Church on Friday at 7 p.m. The programs are free of charge and are being supported by the Grupo de Oración, the Hispanic Catholic charismatic prayer group at the parish. However, English speakers will be made most welcome as well as Spanish speakers to the program.
Father Rojas further noted that parishes in Ellenville and Rhinebeck will be having similar programs for children regarding the vigil of All Saints Day on October 31. “It is good that more Catholic parishes are engaging more creatively and vigorously in the formation of a Catholic imagination of our children and teens.”
St. Mary-St. Peter-Presentation-Sacred Heart Parish includes the churches of St. Mary and St. Peter in lower Kingston, as well as Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church at Port Ewen and Sacred Heart Church at Esopus. Port Ewen is also home to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Hudson on the grounds of Presentation Church. The multilingual and multicultural parish is served by its pastor, Father Rojas, as well as a parochial vicar, Father Thomas DeSimone, a retired priest, Father Marc Oliver, and Deacons John Carr and Timothy Dean.
For more information, please visit the websites of St. Mary-St. Peter and Presentation-Sacred Heart Parish.