FIRST
SUNDAY in LENT
FEBRUARY
25, 2007
(M -
Memorial, A - Anniversary)
6:45 WALTER LEONE--M
9:00 CARMELA MANGIERI—M
Req.
by Mary Lu Murray
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27
6:45 JOHN CONDON—M
req. by Anne Ritz
9:00 TIMNOTHY J. MARA--M
req. by Maura & Richard Concannon
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28
6:45 DAMINAO FAZIO--M
req. by Bianca Fazio
9:00 DAMIANO
CIRILLO--M
reg. by Annita Fiorito
THURSDAY, MARCH 1
6:45 WALTER
WASSELL--M
req.
by Albert & Kathleen Wassell
9:00 ZOILA
PEREZ--A
req. by Melissa Perez
6:45 DR. ANTHONY
POSTERARO--M
req.
by the Clergy & the People of Sts.
John & Paul Parish
9:00 MARGARET MAGUIRE--M
req.
by Ken & Sheila Nixon
9:00 CECELIA
TRIGLIA--M
req. by Angela & Jo Bruno
5:30 MARGARET
MAGUIRE--M
req. by Alice & Henry Malgrande
SUNDAY, MARCH
4
7:30 AGNES
DORAN--M
9:00 FOR
THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
10:30 PHYLLIS
del VECCHIO--M
req. by the Senior Choir
12:00 SOPHIA
BRANSFIELD--M
req. by Lorraine Stratis
5:00 THOMAS CASEY--A
req. by the Family
PRAYERFUL
REMEMBRANCES
Your prayers are requested for
the sick at home, and in the hospitals, especially: Carmella Musumeci, Eliane Kiami, Michael Francella, Msgr. Joseph
J. Boyd, J. Kevin Dymes, Jr. Winnie Mullin, Ramona Murill, Debra Abrahamsen, Patricia
Kuhr, Theresa Astorino, Joseph Mileti, Dotty
Doherty, Caroline Weldon, Brenda McWeeney, Lenny Cavalieri, Jenna Mussolini, Teresa
Civetta, Frank Maiola, Aileen O’Brien, Sister
Margaret Coakley, Ed Lenard, Pam Hissey, Tricia Eigo, Frank Diaz-Balart, Alice Nasta, Mildred
Traub, Catherine Ann Brennan, Mary & Tony Fraioli, Hank Lawlor, Sarah Butler,
Mimi Cosgrove, Kristen Long, Patrick Lamont, Elizabeth Kim, Eloise Selby,
Thomas M. Lamb, for our service men and women at home and abroad; for the
faithful departed, REV. THOMAS M. MCDONALD, and those who have no one to
pray for them; and for the honored dead of the Armed Services.
SUNDAY COLLECTION
Last week’s collection (2—18--07)
$9,374
Attendance: 896
The parish of Saints John and Paul thanks you for
your support. We are grateful to our parishioners who use our envelope system.
If you wish to receive Church support envelopes, please call the Rectory at
834-5458.
10:30 AM
MASS MUSIC NOTES
As we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent, the words from today’s Anthem
prepare us for the entire season and remind us of Christ’s sacrifice –
“Adoramus Te, Christie” from “The Seven Last Words of Christ” by Theodore
Dubois: “Christ, we all adore Thee, and do praise Thee forever; for on the Holy
Cross hast Thou the world from sin redeemed.”
BAPTISM
PREPARATION for PARENTS of INFANTS
To arrange for a
Baptism, please call the rectory and you will be given an appointment with one
of the parish priests.
Water in
the Word
Baptismal
Preparation Session Schedule
All sessions are
offered on the following Saturday mornings from 10 AM – 11:30 AM. Please call
the rectory to attend. We will begin new sessions in 2007. The date for the upcoming
class is as follows: March 3rd,
April 14th, FRIDAY, MAY 4th
at 7:30 pm, and June 2nd.
STATIONS
of the CROSS
There will be Stations
of the Cross at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM on all Fridays during Lent.
ST.
URSULA’S LEARNING CENTER
St.
Ursula’s learning Center, a school for learning disabled children ages 8 – 13,
will have a few openings for the 2007/08 school year. St. Ursula’s is a private
Catholic school dedicated to providing an excellent differentiated
instructional program using multisensory approaches in reading and writing. The
students are exposed to a full academic curriculum modified to the goals and
objectives of their IEP.
For
further information, please call Sister Marie Morris at 212-371-1011 x2854 or
Mrs. Donna Taylor at 664-6654 or
email sturslc@adnyschools.org.
CALENDAR of EVENTS for WEEK OF FEBRUARY 25th:
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25th:
12 NOON GYM: Basketball
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26th:
3:00 PM GYM & AUD: PSPA after school
activities
7:30 PM RMR: Fr. Brian’s class
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27th:
1:00 PM RMR: Women’s Club
3:00 PM GYM & AUD: PSPA after school activities
6:00 PM RMR: Cub Scouts
7:30 PM RECTORY: RCIA
7:30 PM AUD: Conformation Meeting
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28th:
11:00 AM SARAH NEUMAN: Mass
12:45 PM RMR: 3rd grade Brownies
12:45 PM GYM & AUD: PSPA after school activities
2:50 & 7:30 PM: Religious Education classes
THURSDAY, MARCH 1st:
9:30 AM RMR: Interfaith
FRIDAY, MARCH 2nd:
2 :00 PM CHURCH: Stations of the
Cross
3:00 PM RMR: 4th grade Girl Scouts
8:00 PM CHURCH: Stations of the
Cross
SATURDAY, MARCH 3rd:
10:00 AM RMR: Baptism Preparation class
11:00 AM & 1:30 PM CHURCH: First Penance
SPIRITUAL
NEWS…
The Most Precious
Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ Novena will not be conducted during Lent but
will return after Easter.
The weekly recitation
of the Holy Rosary takes place in the Church each Thursday at 5:15 PM. The
church community continues to pray the Rosary every Wednesday following the
9:00 AM Mass. Every one is encouraged to pray the Rosary.
FOOD BANK
NEWS…
Let’s help Fr.
Groeschel re-stock his shelves for his Easter food deliveries.
When you come to Mass
this week, please bring peanut butter and jelly for our Food Bank.
Attention all CCD
students and their parents: When you come to class, please bring a can of tuna
fish or a box of a rice mix.
Thank you to all who
are most generous to those less fortunate than themselves.
FR.
BRIAN’S BIBLE CLASS
Father Brian’s class on
the new Catechism for Adults will be held on Monday evening, February 26th, at
7:30. Come one and all even if you have
not been previously attending. This program takes place in the rectory meeting
room.
RCIA
The RCIA class will be
held on Tuesday, February 27th, at 7:30 PM in the rectory.
STS. JOHN
and PAUL SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE
Sts John and Paul
School is hosting an open house for new families on Tuesday, March 6th, beginning at 7 p.m. Parents will have the unique opportunity to sit in the
Kindergarten classrooms for a “Back to School” night with the kindergarten
teachers, who will present the school’s full-day curriculum for this grade and
answer questions. Upper class teachers will also be present to discuss their
programs and parents will give guided tours of the building. The architectural
plans for the school’s new Multi-Media Library, which will be built this year,
will also be presented. For more information, please call 834-6332 or visit www.sjpchurch.org.
CYO
BASEBALL/SOFTBALL
All boys and girls, 5th
through 8th grade, are invited to play on Saints John and Paul CYO
baseball and softball teams. We will have two teams in teach sport – JV (5th
and 6th graders) and Varsity (7th and 8th
graders). Season runs from April to early June.
If interested, please
contact John Hannaway at 914-948-2540 or hannawayjj@aol.com.
RELIGIOUS
EDUCATION NEWS…
CONFIRMATION
RETREAT
The next and last meeting for all Confirmation candidates and their
parents will be on Tuesday, February 27th, at 7:30 pm in the
Auditorium.
FIRST
PENANCE
First Penance for children making their First Communion in May will be
held on Saturday, March 3rd, at 11:00 AM for students in the
Wednesday Religious Education classes and at 1:30 PM for the students in Sts.
John and Paul School. On Saturday, March 10th, the students in the
Sunday Religious Education classes will receive First Penance at 11:00 AM.
ANNUAL
WOMEN’S RETREAT
The annual Sts. John
& Paul women’s retreat weekend, at the Passionist Spiritual Center will be
held from Friday, April 13th, until Sunday, April 15th.
This year’s retreat theme is:” For God So Loved The World…”
The weekend retreat donation
is $175, of which a $75 reservation deposit is included. If you have not
received your reservation form or are interested in attending for the first
time, please contact Karen, reservation secretary (718-549-6500) or Linda Heine
(698-7664).
DANCING
for SIGHT
The Rye City Lyons
Club will host an evening of spirited Irish music and dance on Friday, March 9th,
from 7:30 to 9:00 PM at the Dunn Auditorium of the Rye Country Day School. For
tickets or further information, please contact the Rye Lyons Club at 967-0319
or P.O. Box 633, Rye, NY 10580.
KNIGHTS of
COLUMBUS FREE THROW CONTEST WINNER
Congratulations to
Bobby Santariello of Sts. John and Paul who won the Westchester Putnam Regional
championship for boys age 12, with 20 out of 25 free throws made. This follows
Bobby’s two prior wins in the Larchmont and District K of C championship. Bobby
moves on to the Downstate Regional Championship on March 10th at
Shrub Oak. Winners of that event then compete in the New York State
Championship at West Point.
THE
PASTOR’S COLUMN
As we commence our Lenten observance we
recognize that the Stations of the Cross is its keynote devotion. Since the
time of Saint Francis of Assisi, Catholics have been able to walk in the steps
of Jesus when they enter their parish church. Prior to the Apostle of the Poor
appealing to papal authority for their installation in local venues, the only
way a penitent could satisfy the violation of the deadly sins of murder,
idolatry, and adultery was to journey to the place of the Lord’s crucifixion
and resurrection.
How fortunate we are that we, as
contemporary believers, may spend many moments going from image to image
reflecting on each aspect of the final moments of Jesus’ earthly existence!
Before meditating upon the events of that first Good Friday, let us recall the
Last Supper and its ensuing crisis points. Though they had prepared the Seder
meal to recall joyfully the birth of freedom for the Jewish people who had been
oppressed by the Egyptians, there was a sense of foreboding in that upper room.
They had seen the almost hysteric reaction of the crowds on Sunday as they
entered the city’s gates but heard as well the undercurrent of anger and
derision of the community’s leaders and the concern of the alien occupying
force. He had told them that the Son of Man had to face death in order for
glory to reign. Peter, in the name of all, had challenged his negative
assessment of the future. He rebuffed him and did not alter his prediction.
Now, at this time, Jesus told them the hour is at hand. He asked them to be
good to each other and serve all. He told them to recognize his presence in the
elements of unleavened bread and wine and to continually celebrate it in every
community of his followers. Their protests of faithfulness were met by a sad
countenance and the statement that he knows his betrayer and theirs. He adds
that his awareness extends to a point where they will all abandon him. As the
ritual reached its climax and the hymns ceased, all of them, save Judas,
escorted him to a familiar meeting place. It was a comfortable shelter in the
midst of a large olive grove. After a while with his inner circle of Peter,
James, and John, he went into the deeper recesses of the garden. It was there
after he prayed that the drama reached its first crescendo with the coming of
the party of conspirators who would seek his life. After a religious tribunal
headed by the high priest conducted its toothless proceedings, Jesus is handed
over to the civil authorities for adjudication. The stage is set.
The first station speaks of the
condemnation of Pilate. The governor was a disappointed bureaucrat who still
cherished the hope that one day he might regain the favor of Rome and be
recalled from this backwater assignment. Keeping the peace between rival
parties of the indigenous population and between them and their occupiers was
the highest priority. For him this Messiah was a major inconvenience: the essential
no-win situation. The leaders of the Sanhedrin chose an optimum time to put him
on the spot. At Passover, the population of the city had quadrupled. They were
expert at rousing the crowds. A wrong decision could cause a riot and possibly
end his career. Besides the fact that this Christ has many followers himself,
the Roman procurator knew that there was no violation of the civil law present.
Ultimately, after attempting to appease the blood lust of the community’s
leaders, Pilate literally washes his hands of the situation and permits the
execution of Jesus to take place as an ersatz governmental operation. Were we
in Jerusalem at that time where would we find ourselves? Would we have stood
with the Savior? Would we have acceded to the point of view that “it is better
for one man to die for the nation?” or would we consider the whole matter as
irrelevant to our lives? We cannot take comfort in the fact that we live twenty
centuries later for these very questions must still be answered by us. Are we
willing to witness to Christian values in our home, in our work place, and in
the voting booth? Are we willing to put aside an earthly profit motive for the
sake of eternal life? Are we willing to state explicitly our allegiance to the
Way, the Truth, and the Life?
We now move to the second station which
occurs soon after the cowardly decision of Rome’s representative. Because of
our confidence in the sentiments of St. Paul that Jesus was “like us in all
things but sin” with trepidation we enter his consciousness and raise the
possibility of certain thoughts. As he departs the praetorium and enters the
streets, he might have well questioned why venomous words were being directed
at him. He sees some of the same people who were casting palms before him just
a few days before. He notices in the crush a few whom he had healed of both
physical and spiritual maladies. The weight of the Cross he carried was heavy
but not as burdensome as the rejection of even his closest associates and even
some family members. Many times in his travels he had challenged his listeners
to take upon their shoulders whatever crosses might be theirs. To some, it
might take the form of a personal illness or of a family member. To some, it
might be the abandonment of a spouse or departure of a child from the home. To
some, it might be a financial reversal or loss of a position. We might cry out
as to how unfair life is. No one would be more justified in this assessment
than Jesus himself. Completely obedient to his Father’s will, he did not
deserve the fate he was in the process of experiencing. In the greatest of
pain, he chose to focus on the benefit to be achieved in the salvation of
humankind.
At the third station, we see him fall for
the first time. Not only was he bearing the wood of the cross but also the
effects of the whips of his persecutors. As he sought relief from the flailings
and moved from side to side, he tripped over the uneven surface, was pushed by
the out-of-control crowd, and began to lose consciousness as the blood flowed
from the crown of thorns which they embedded in his skull. What was incredible
was not that he fell but that he arose and moved on. So many times lesser
troubles have stopped us in our tracks. No matter what our goals might be, we
let them fade from our minds when we face challenge. We must realize that our
destiny as a follower of Christ demands that we do not take our eyes from the
prize. We must not let ourselves be distracted by persons or circumstances,
positive or negative, from God’s holy will.
May our lives reflect our gratitude for the
Paschal Mystery recalled by these stations.
Jesus vivat
Fr. Brian