6th Sunday of Lent

Carolyn Kannapel • March 25, 2026

Pastor’s Notes for 29 March 2026 – 6th Sunday of Lent

Next Sunday is Easter!!! Please plan to join us for the whole of the Holy Triduum.

Holy Thursday @ 7p + Good Friday @ 3p + Easter Vigil @ 8:40p

Easter Sunday @ 8a & 10:30a

[Note – No 6p Mass on Easter Sunday]


     Not only does next Sunday mark the remembrance of the most profound moment in our Catholic Christian Faith – the Resurrection of the Lord, it reminds us of the new Life of Grace that flows forth from His Saving Paschal Mystery. Our lives can now be informed by the Word of God in the Scriptures and transformed by the Word of God manifested in the Sacraments of Grace.

     Over the course of the last two decades, the Church has been slowly revising the first English texts of the Sacrament Rituals issued after the Second Vatican Council. In 2011, we received the revised order of the Mass with the 3rd edition, which among other changes (re)introduced such words as consubstantial and with your spirit. Since then, the Order of Celebrating Matrimony, the Order of Baptism of Children, the Order of Celebrating the Initiation of Adults, the Order of Penance, and the Order of Christian Funerals have all been revised & reissued.


     Beginning next Sunday with Easter, a new translation of The Order of the Anointing of the Sick and their Pastoral Care must be used. We have been able to use the new Order since the start of Lent. I have been doing so. It is a little different. Anytime there is a change in the translations and procedures for something you’ve been doing for years, it takes a little time to get used to it. The new Order removes the simple rite for Anointing in hospitals or institutions that most of us priests had used. The intention is to present a fuller expression of the Suffering Christ’s closeness to His people and the ability of the people to unite their sufferings with His for salvation and sanctity. The fuller rite now includes a sprinkling with Holy Water, penitential rite, reading from Scripture, litany, and prayer of thanksgiving for the oil. These were not included in the previous simple Rite.

     Of particular note is the clarification of who is eligible to receive the Anointing of the Sick,  “the faithful who because of sickness, mental illness, or age are seriously ill”:

a. The inclusion of mental illness is still connected to serious illness. IF a mental illness is making someone seriously ill, they can be anointed. This is not intended to open the anointing of the sick to any instance of mental illness.

b. Before a surgical procedure, as long as serious illness is the reason for the procedure.

c. People of advanced age, even if no serious illness is present.

d. Children who have reached the use of reason may be anointed in the case of serious illness (Age 7 per Canon Law). In doubt of whether the child has reached the use of reason, the text encourages to err on the side of anointing. 

e. Anointing should not be conferred to a dead person, but in doubt about whether a person is truly dead, a provisional text is provided to the priest to be used before the anointing.


      The Order also reminds priests that before the celebration of Anointing, the opportunity for the Sacrament of Confession should be offered. It is important to remember that Anointing confers the forgiveness of sins only when necessary, which is to say, when a person has the inability to confess. All the faithful are to be reminded of the great importance of confession in danger of death. After confession, the apostolic pardon is given.


      The Church also emphasizes anew with this Rite the importance of Viaticum (last reception of Holy Eucharist) accompanied beforehand by confession as the central Sacrament for the dying. So often, we priests are called to the hospital or to the bedside of the dying only after the sick person can no longer confess or receive Holy Communion as Viaticum. Please be attentive to the needs of your sick loved ones and contact us well before your sick loved one’s death is imminent, i.e., they are still conscious and able to partake in all three Sacraments of Last Rites: Confession, Anointing, & Holy Communion.


Nothing Less than saints for the Holy Family of God.

Holy Family, Embracing Suffering for Salvation, Pray for us.

~ Fr Jeremy M. Gries

Magdalenes Fall 2026 Registration

By Carolyn Kannapel • August 10, 2026

18th Sunday In Ordinary Time- Letter from Abbi Harbeson, DMO

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 29, 2026
How Do You Share the Gospel? This weekend, the Holy Family Evangelization Team hosted an Evangelization Crash Course for the leaders of the ministries of our parish. This morning of training and learning was an awesome opportunity to remind our leaders of the Gospel mandate: “Go and make disciples of all nations…” And that mandate is not just for those who lead or volunteer for our ministries here at Holy Family. The Great Commission applies to each of us. As baptized Christians, we have taken on the role of sharing the Gospel with the world, just as Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 28 before He ascended into Heaven. For many of us, that command is overwhelming. Our minds may jump to the fear of what it means to share the Gospel with another. Perhaps we think that we must memorize Scripture or understand the Catechism and all of the Church’s teachings before we can evangelize. Allow me to remind you that is not the case. While we must immerse ourselves in Scripture and Tradition, these are meant to aid us in our discipleship, not to be prerequisites for it. The simplest way to evangelize? Live! The Catechism of the Catholic Church sheds light on this reality: “Lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, ‘that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life .’ For lay people, ‘this evangelization…assumes a specific character and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world’” (CCC 905.) The Church herself tells us that while the mandate to share the Gospel is an incredible and necessary responsibility, its efficacy is dependent on the ordinary. This makes the task much less daunting! How do you live the “ordinary”? How do your day-to-day activities and responsibilities represent the Gospel? How can you make the Gospel more present in your daily life? This week I hope you will think of each moment–your drive to work, your grocery store run, your office, your coffee date with a friend, dinner with your family–as an opportunity to share the Gospel. No quotations of Scripture or a lesson on morality needed. Instead, LIVE the Gospel. Mother Mary, the first evangelist, pray for us. In His Joy, Abbi Harbeson, Director of Mission and Outreach

Parishioner Joseph Marguet Passes Away

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 29, 2026
Joseph Isadore Marguet, 94, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2026, at The Villages at Silvercrest in New Albany, Indiana . Born February of 1932, in New Albany, Indiana , Joe was the eldest child of Joseph and Esther Marguet, followed by his beloved siblings, Frank ("Frankie") Marguet and Miriam (Mimi) Paris. New Albany was home for most of his life and remained the community he loved deeply. Please join us at 11 a.m. on August 8, 2026, to celebrate Joe's long and full life with a Catholic mass at Holy Family Church, 129 W Daisy Ln, New Albany, IN 47150. Doors open at 10 a.m.

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 22, 2026
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Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 15, 2026
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Tuesday Apologetics

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 14, 2026
As Catholics, we often get asked questions about why we believe what we believe. People are searching for the truth, and sometimes this comes out as an argumentative question. As Catholic Christians, it is important that we know our faith, not only so we can defend it but also so that we can put it into practice in our daily lives. Join us on the second Tuesday of each month after Mass for Apologetics in the Cafeteria. We will dive into a “common questions” topic, looking at Scripture and the Catechism. Join us for our first Apologetics Session on Tuesday, August 11, from 6:45 to 7:45 pm in the Cafeteria . Our topic is the Three A's: Which one's which? (the Annunciation, the Ascension, and the Assumption). No RSVP is required . Contact Kristina Seipel at the parish office or kseipel@holyfamilynewalbany.org with questions. August 11 - Three A's: Which one's which? (the Annunciation, the Ascension, and the Assumption)- presented by Ryan Albers September 8 - LGBTQIA+: What the Church Teaches - presented by Fr. Jeremy October 13 - The Lord's Messengers: The Role of Angels - presented by Julie Benning November - "Have You Been Saved?": A Catholic Response - presented by Abbi Harbeson No need to sign up; join us for the presentation and discussion!

Grow Your Appreciation of the Mass

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 14, 2026
Grow Your Appreciation of the Mass Have you ever wanted a deeper understanding of the Mass? Why do we do what we do at the Mass? Join us for a six-session exploration of the Liturgy with Bishop Robert Barron. Together we will uncover why we pray and act as we do at Mass, how the liturgy lifts us from the brokenness of the world into the worship of Heaven, and how God’s call meets our response in every moment of the celebration. Together, we will also gain a clearer understanding of the Eucharist as our intimate union with the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. This series will equip you to participate more fully, consciously, and actively in the “source and summit” of the Christian life Join us on Wednesday nights, 6:30-7:30 p.m. from August 19 through September 23, 2026 , in the Day Activity Center to fall more in love with The Mass. Sign up online by August 9 . Please complete one registration per person. There is no fee. Contact Kristina Seipel with questions at kseipel@holyfamilynewalbany.org or 812-944-8283, ext. 4.

Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Carolyn Kannapel • July 8, 2026
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By Carolyn Kannapel • July 1, 2026
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By Carolyn Kannapel • June 16, 2026
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