Tue, 08/26/2008 - 10:24pm

Being a former Woodbiner, as well to have made my First Communion and Confirmation at St. Casimir's in Woodbine, I am deeply saddened to learn the parish may no longer exist in due time; a true shame indeed for their parishioners to have to travel further for worship; especially with the recession. I leave this heartfelt poem in dedication:

~Th’ Hymn of Saint Casimir~

~Saint Casimir~
Feast Day: March 4
Patron of: Poland, homeland of our Pope! Also Lithuania
Symbol: Lily (for purity)

~Mary Magdalene~
Seat of wisdom, Gate of heaven, Morning star upon th’ sea

~*~
Her morning star ‘pon th’ Holy sea,
His gate of Heaven aloft pious melody.
Seat of wisdom, O’ call ‘pon her lovingly;
singing in her songs of peace, ‘pon Her lea.
~*~
Gracious woman of miracles, wholesome
Mother of Creation’s King, a tender child.
So sweet, Her newborne; genteel and mild;
our graces flow thro’ Mary, ev’r lovesome.
~*~
Call her Mother, call her Virgin, Happy Mother;
a bless’ed oracle of our prayer, all Hail to Mary!
Daily sing, daily sing, sing my soul, sing to Mary!
Her Virgin blest, ‘tis Her sweet love aloft th’ nether.
~* ~
Mediatrix of all grace: bestowed Her sacral dress;
languid in th’ tear of Her pastoral, spiritual truth.
Saint Casimir, special patron saint of all th’ youth;
his heart’s devotion lain amidst his soul, so blessed.
~*~
'Pon th' hymn of St. Casimir~

Copyright ©2008 Barbara V. Fidler

Author’s comments: A divine dedication to th’ church I attended as a child in Woodbine, New Jersey of Saint Casimir’s, and to the late Father Darby, where I ascertained my First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Saint Casimir was born Prince Casimir on October 5, 1458. He was the third child of thirteen children in the family of King Casimir 111 of Poland. His mother was named Elizabeth, she was a princess of Austria. Even when Casimir was a young boy, he preferred prayer and good works to the luxury and comfort of the court life. He practiced many mortifications in secret. A mortification is something you do to make yourself a little bit uncomfortable all the time. It helps to remind you to be aware of God, to pray all the time, and offer the discomfort to God for the suffering of souls. Casimir was educated by John Dugloss, a holy man called the Canon of Cracow. He was also very good friends with John, and asked his advice on many things. He was especially devoted to the Blessed Virgin, and sang a hymn to Mary so often, and of his love for the song, it became known as the 'Hymn of Saint Casimir.' Some people say that he composed the hymn himself. "Omni die dic Mariae" which we know as "Daily, Daily Sing to Mary.”. Speculation would have it though, as we have so learned, that he did not write this said hymn. When Saint Casimir was almost fifteen years old, his father ordered him to lead an army into Hungary. The people there were dissatisfied with their king and had asked King Casimir 111 for Saint Casimir to become their king. Casimir didn't want to go, but in obedience to his king and father, he went to Hungary. By the time he got there, the people of Hungary had settled their disagreements with their king, Matthias. King Casimir wanted Saint Casimir to take over Hungary anyway, but the saint refused to replace a lawful monarch. He returned to Poland and went to the castle of Dobzki, where he stayed for the rest of his life, praying, fasting, and helping the poor. Casimir died in 1482, of tuberculosis when he was 24 years old, having spent his life serving a King higher than his father. On June 11, 1948 Pope Pius X11 named Saint Casimir the special patron of all youth, because of his firmly kept purity. A copy of the hymn by Bernard of Cluny was found beneath the right temple of St. Casimir's incorrupt body when his grave was opened. Thank you.

Tue, 08/26/2008 - 8:46pm

Don't trust his guy! Read this article from Hearld few weeks back.

http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/31936-council-bishop-halt-clo...

Mon, 04/14/2008 - 8:24am

God Bless the Bishop in needing to make these decisions. There were not easy I can assure you. Being a leader of the church is now like running a business and the leaders need to think beyond the box. Change is never easy but if you are part of this show your true faith in God's plan. Pray for vocations, Pray for conversions and make sure you are tithing both with your money and time. Complaining and degrading the church leaders certainly is not an example to others of your Faith in God. Do not hold the church of today accountable for the sins of the past and truly a few of the total. They do the best they can. Remember - All things work together for the good of those that Love God!

Tue, 04/08/2008 - 12:19pm

Having lived in Avalon & Stone harbor, year round, for a number of years, I understand that seashore Churches can be very empty most Sunday mornings in the winter. Yet come Summer, the shore churches are bursting at the seams at every Mass. That is symptomatic of the resort nature of these communities. Between the homeowners, who spend summers only at the shore, and summer visitors (okay - we can call some of them shoobies - that's what I am - now) most parishoners are absent from September 'till May. I don't see that it is good management sense shutting down these viable parishes, even if they only operate at capacity for a few months of the year. Cape May County (even in its worst light) is not a decaying inner city environment, where the parishes have dried of financially, and been abandoned by all but a few old parishoners.
It makes very little sense to close down these churches, when most of the people at Sunday mass are senior citizens, who ought not have to travel any farther than necessary for anything, let alone worship. Instead of shutting down parishes, the Bishop might better spend time devising a way to get people back in those pews for Sunday Mass. Statistics nationwide show that only 20 % of practicing Catholics attend Sunday Mass regularly. I know that shutting down viable seashore parishes is NOT a step toward bringing people back to Church.

Tue, 04/08/2008 - 8:43am

How can they consider closing St. Raymond's in the Villas or St. John of God in North Cape May both of which have plenty of parking and accessibility? Have you ever tried to find a parking spot in Cape May? Our Lady Star of the Sea may be a beautiful old church but there is nowhere to park. Who were the brains behind this thinking?

Sat, 04/05/2008 - 8:33am

The catholic church must evangelize more...

The demographic winter is coming to the US.

Aging workforce.
geocities(dot)com/demographic_ crash

Good information on the subject. Welcome for a visit.
Have a nice day.

Sincerely,
Solange Miller

Fri, 04/04/2008 - 10:02pm

Your right, Star of the Sea never will never merge. I went to St. Ray's and and that was the best school in the world! Star of the Sea is so tucked in on the corner and when school opens and closes the traffic is terrible. They should have kept St. Rays open.

Thu, 04/03/2008 - 9:09pm

I would of bet my house that the good Bishop would not touch Cape May's Star of The Sea. Once again Lower Township gets the shaft. First St. Raymond's school and now the church. Why did they not make Cape May merge with someone? They have less members than St. Raymond's.

Thu, 04/03/2008 - 4:36pm

The reason these consolidations are occurring is a MASS EXODUS of laity, voting wilth their feet and wallets, in a NO CONFIDENCE VOTE, of all pedophile enabling Roman Catholic Bishops & Cardinals, costing the laity mutiple billions of dollars already, and no end in site, without removal of very guilty miters and red hats, and child endagerment still very pervasive, domestically (USA), and globally.

www.bishop-accountability.org/abusetracker for daily verfied coverage on why NO laity should be donating money, or time, for any reason, until guilty clerics like Egan, Law, George, Mahony, Hummes, Rivera, Pell, O'Malley, McCormack, MacCarrick, Brown, Brom, Chaput, Burke, Weigland, Walsh, Steinbock, Barnes, Soto, Curry, Cummins, and a long list, are removed from office, canonically censored, and placed under life house arrest, like recently deceased (off to Hades) Maricel was, known and proven pedophile, and serial pedophile enabler, as well as founder of the Mexican cult-like Legion of Christ.

No Curia Accountability? No Laity Monies!

Benedict XVI th
Pontiff, Sinner, & Surrounded By Evil & Filth In The JP II Appointed Curia

Thu, 04/03/2008 - 3:51pm

Bishop Galante has successfully reduced 6 fully operational parishes in Salem County to ONE parish that will be self-contained within the county. Now the catholic faithful here have ONE elementary catholic school, NO catholic high school, and ONE catholic parish for the ENTIRE county. Luckily, I am a healthy adult able to travel the great distance to attend mass at a worship site that is now so far away from my home; how are all of our elderly going to make the same trip?

I feel the need to vent my frustration at this - I feel as though Salem County has been pushed by the wayside by our diocese, and in particular our bishop. The one good thing I did see in this aricle is that Our Lady Star of the Sea - my spring and summer parish - is still intact!

Thu, 04/03/2008 - 2:33pm

It looks like the GatheringGodsGifts.org site, the one for closings, is dynamically generated. Not a smart idea if you're going to make a big announcement. Is the live video being hosted somewhere they could have sent people (i.e., ustream..)?
Martin in Hammonton

Wed, 04/02/2008 - 6:07pm

Joe is on a power trip! His figures are misleading, as he only includes diocesan priests serving within the diocese and he never includes the number of religious priests or priests from other dioceses that are working in the Diocese of Camden (or the priests from our diocese assigned to other dioceses). There is no current priest shortage and the diocese is not in any kind of financial difficulty. This is ridiculous! he just wants to leave his legacy by building mega-churches, which most people do not want!