We are followers of Jesus Christ living in joyful, loving fellowship within his Catholic Church through the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.
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Dear Faithful and Friends of St Alban's,
Grace and peace to you through Our Lord Jesus Christ!
I am Father Nathan Davis, the new Parochial Administrator of St Alban's Catholic Church. I was recently ordained to the priesthood for the Ordinariate by Bishop Lopes and assigned to St Alban's because Fr. Evan was assigned to St John Henry Newman Church in Irvine, CA. So it is a real joy and an honor for me, a new priest, to be here in the Rochester area, to have the opportunity to serve you, and to continue the good work that Fr. Evan has done here on behalf of the Ordinariate and the whole Church. Thank you all for the warm welcome you have already given me!Unfortunately, this pandemic has forced me to self-quarantine as a precaution for 14 days, until July 15. I am truly heart-broken that I cannot celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass with you on these two Sundays, July 5 and 12, which will instead be broadcast only on St. Alban's Facebook, website and YouTube. Being a priest who can neither celebrate the Sacraments publicly, nor be truly present to the faithful is totally unnatural and causes me great anguish. Nothing could have prepared me for this type of suffering, but Our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to unite our sufferings to his; to place ourselves at the foot of his Cross, and to beseech his Most Sacred Heart to heal our broken hearts. If you are suffering today, please know that I am in solidarity with you, and I offer our united sufferings daily in the Masses I am celebrating privately. You are in my prayers [see below].
During the remainder of my quarantine time, I do not plan to sit around idle! I hope to communicate with you all via social media, phone calls, or carefully social-distanced visits. I want to meet and greet all of you, to hear your stories, and to share the love of God and his many blessings with you. Fellowship and communion are vital, life-giving elements of our patrimony as Ordinariate Catholics. Put simply: it's what we DO.
In closing, I offer a thought from my patron, Saint John Henry Newman, writing about the angels, "The heavenly hosts, who see what is going on upon earth, well understand... They have seen, again and again, in numberless instances, that suffering is the path to peace; that they that sow in tears shall reap in joy; and that what was true of Christ is fulfilled in a measure in His followers." (Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol 6, No. 16)
With prayerful best wishes, I am
Sincerely Yours In Christ,
Father Nathan Davis
"O Heart of Jesus, all Love, I offer Thee these humble prayers for myself, and for all those who unite themselves with me in Spirit to adore Thee. O holiest Heart of Jesus most lovely, I intend to renew and to offer to Thee these acts of adoration and these prayers, for myself a wretched sinner, and for all those who are associated with me in Thy adoration, through all moments while I breathe, even to the end of my life. I recommend to Thee, O my Jesus, Holy Church, Thy dear spouse and our true Mother, all just souls and all poor sinners, the afflicted, the dying, and all mankind. Let not Thy Blood be shed for them in vain. Finally, deign to apply it in relief of the souls in Purgatory, of those in particular who have practised in the course of their life this holy devotion of adoring Thee."
Parochial Administrator
St. Alban's Catholic Church
Prayer for Our United Sufferings:
-- St John Henry Newman