Liturgy

The communal celebration of the liturgy is the "source and summit" of the life of a parish. It is in the liturgy that we express who we are as Christians. It is in the liturgy that we continue to be formed in the ways of our Christian life. The celebrant of the liturgy is the entire community, from priest to parishioner, from musician to minister of hospitality. The preferred language of the liturgy is art in its many different expressions: architecture, music, movement and poetry.

At the New Kensington parishes of St. Joseph, St. Mary of Czestochowa, and Mt. St. Peter, we hold this mandate to heart. Join us today and experience the joy of life in Christ Jesus.

The Liturgical Year

Starting with the first Sunday of Advent and ending on Christ the King, the Church celebrates the mystery of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in its different facets. The incarnation and the paschal mystery are celebrated during the two main cycles of the year: Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter/Pentecost. Surrounding these two main cycles is ordinary time, which is pointed with other feasts of Christ, the Blessed Mother and the saints.

Advent/Christmas/Epiphany

The incarnation cycle celebrates the mystery of God's choice to join us in our humanity and take on flesh. As with all major feasts, there is a time of preparation (Advent) and a time of celebration (Christmas). Although it is common to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, in effect, Advent (from Adventus Domini, the coming of the Lord) celebrates the first coming and anticipates the second and final coming of the Lord when salvation will be complete.