SIXTH
SUNDAY of EASTER
MAY 13,
2007
(M -
Memorial, A - Anniversary)
6:45 MOTHER’S DAY NOVENA
9:00
BERTHE and LOUIS BREUIL--M
req.
by the Shields Family
TUESDAY, MAY 15
6:45 CATHERINE LEONE--M
9:00 MOTHER’S DAY NOVENA
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16
6:45 MOTHER’S DAY
NOVENA
9:00 JEAN O’BRIEN--M
reg. by Alice Mulderrig
7:30 ANA
BALLESTER--A
req. by Nancy & Bill
Winnis
THURSDAY, MAY 17
ASCENSION
of the LORD
6:45 BERNARD
BROOKS--M
req.
by the Family
9:00 MOTHER’S
DAY NOVENA
12:00 MAY
and JOSEPH MC PEAK--M
req. by the McPeak Family
7:30 MARGARET
MAGUIRE--M
req. by Venice Barrett
JOHN I, pope, martyr
6:45 MOTHER’S DAY NOVENA
9:00 NORMAN
WALBRIDGE--A
req. by Claire Pushkal
9:00 MOTHER’S DAY
NOVENA
5:30 JOHN
J. MC NEIL--A
req. by the Family
SUNDAY, MAY
20
7:30 JACK
MC CARTHY--M
req. by the DeGennaro Family
9:00 MOTHER’S
DAY NOVENA
10:30 FOR
THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
12:00 J.
EDWARD WENKS--M
req. by the McPeak Family
5:00 CYRIL
MC DERMOTT--M
req. by Peg McDermott
PRAYERFUL
REMEMBRANCES
Your prayers are requested for
the sick at home, and in the hospitals, especially: John Bave, Haydee Bitter, Betty
Berrigan, Skylar Bahrenburg, F. Peter
O’Hara, Taylor Shea, Ben Pariea, James
Curtin, Carmella Musumeci, Msgr. Joseph
J. Boyd, Ramona Murill, Patricia Kuhr, Theresa
Astorino, Joseph Mileti, Dotty Doherty, Caroline Weldon, Lenny Cavalieri, Jenna
Mussolini, Teresa Civetta, Frank Maiola, Aileen O’Brien, Ed Lenard, Pam Hissey, Alice Nasta, Mildred Traub, Catherine Ann
Brennan, Sarah Butler, Mimi Cosgrove, Kristen Long, Patrick Lamont, Elizabeth
Kim, for our service men and women at
home and abroad; for the faithful departed, PAUL LA STAO, JANE CARROLL and DON
TROJAN, 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 (05—06—07)
$ 9,718
Maintenance: $2,850
Attendance: 937
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.
BANNS of
MARRIAGE
III – Anthony J. Fiducia – Calla DeGennaro
II -- Scott Mastocciolo –
Stephanie Anson
ASCENSION
THURSDAY
May 17th is Ascension Thursday, a Holy Day of
Obligation. There will be a Vigil Mass
on Wednesday, May 16th, at 7:30 PM. The masses on the Holy Day are
as follows: 6:45 and 9:00 AM, 12 Noon and 7:30 PM.
10:30 AM
MASS MUSIC NOTES
As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, we honor Mary, our Holy Mother,
with the Anthem “Ave Maria” by Jacques Arcadelt.
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 next
class is: June 2nd.
FR.
BRIAN’S BIBLE CLASS
Father Brian’s final class
on the new Catechism for Adults will be held on Monday, May 20th, at
7:30 PM in the rectory.
VOCATIONS
Happy
Mother’s Day! Yesterday 14 new priests were ordained at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
and today they offer their “First Masses.” Please pray for them, but also for
their Mothers and Fathers who have the privilege and honor of a son a priest!
If you are a young man interested in the priesthood, please contact Father Luke
Sweeney or Father Luis Saldana at the Vocation Office in the Archdiocese of New
York at 968-1340 or www.archnyvocations.org.
CALENDAR of EVENTS for WEEK OF MAY 13th:
SUNDAY, MAY 13th:
10:15 AM SCH: Religious Education classes
MONDAY, MAY 14th:
7:30 PM RECTORY: Fr. Brian’s class
TUESDAY, MAY 15th:
9:30 AM RMR: Catechetical Regional office
3:00 PM AUD & GYM: PSPA after school activities
6:30 PM AUD: Cub Scouts
8:00 PM AUD: John Serrano rehearsal
WEDNESDAY, MAY 16th:
11:00 AM SARAH NEUMAN: Mass
12:45 PM RMR: 3rd grade Brownies
12:45 PM AUD & GYM: PSPA after school activities
2:50 & 7:30 PM SCH: Religious Education classes
7:00 PM RMR: Boy Scouts
THURSDAY, MAY 17th:
3:30 PM CH: Rehearsal for First Communion
7:00 PM AUD: John Serrano rehearsal
FRIDAY, MAY 18th:
3:00 PM RMR: 4th grade Girl Scouts
SATURDAY, MAY 19th:
11:00 AM CH: First Communion
FIRST
COMMUNION
Between this weekend
and next, ninety-four children will receive their first Communion at our
parish. Please keep them and their families in your prayers.
Upcoming rehearsal for
those ceremonies will be: THURSDAY, MAY 17, the Sunday classes
will rehearse from 3:30 – 4:30 PM.
UP DATE on
STS. JOHN
and PAUL FAMILIES
UNITE to
help FAMILIES of ST. VITO’S
Chrissy Fay and her
group of volunteers would like to express their great appreciation to all who
answered the call for help. They were able to assist the 6 families that our
parish adopted in numerous ways. They will keep us posted on the on going needs
of these families.
Right now there is a
need for volunteers to help Habitat for Humanity which working in the flood
area of Mamaroneck to rebuild and fix homes that suffered devastating losses in
the recent flood. If you wish to give of your time and talents, please call
Habitat at 636-8335 to find out how you can help.
SAVE THE
DATE
The Pastor’s Dinner
will be held on THURSDAY, JUNE 7th, at 7:00 PM at the Larchmont
Shore Club. Mark your calendars and be part of a fun filled evening. All men of
the parish received a letter in the mail last week with complete details about
the dinner.
MOTHER’S
DAY PLANT SALE
The Sts John and Paul School 8th grade will be hosting a
plant sale in the hallway between the school and the church for Mother’s Day on
Saturday, May 12th, after the 5:30 PM Mass and again on Sunday, May
13th, after all the masses. Prices will range from $1.00 to $20.00.
Please support our students in this endeavor. Thank you!
MAMARONECK
FLOOD RELIEF – FURNITURE SHAREHOUSE
Westchester’s
furniture Bank is working to set up a furniture collection and distribution
site in Mamaroneck to assist flood victims. If you have furniture to donate,
please visit their website at www.furnituresharehouse.org
to review their donation guidelines submit a donation form.
A VERY
IMPORTANT MEETING for
LECTORS
and SPECIAL MINISTERS of the EUCHARIST
There will be a very
important meeting on Thursday, May 24th, at 7:00 PM in the rectory
meeting room for all Lectors and Special Ministers of the Eucharist. All should
plan to be there. The EME’s will begin
their meeting at 7:00 PM and the Lectors will begin their meeting at 7:30PM.
MAMARONECK
HIGH SCHOOL CLASS of 1987
20th REUNION
If you or someone you
know graduated in 1987 from Mamaroneck High School, please contact John Mannix
at johnamannix@optonline.net or
go to www.mhs87.us for information on the
reunion to be held on Saturday, June 2, 2007 at the Larchmont Yacht Club.
5 K RUN
& FAMILY FUN DAY
MINT, Mental Health
Initiative, a foundation for mental health, will be held on Sunday, May 20th,
at the New York Botanical Garden. Registration available on the web site www.mintfoundation.org or you can call Melissa at 738-2482.
THE
PASTOR’S COLUMN
For the last few weeks, we have written
about the post-synodal exhortation on the Eucharist. The Theological concepts
discussed took on a deeper significance as we participated in the Masses during
which our parochial school and religious education students received Holy
Communion for the first time. It was not hard to detect their excitement as
they approached the altar. I am sure that as their families viewed this
significant event, they reflected on that day when Jesus first came to them
sacramentally. In my case, I recall receiving Penance on the Friday before the
big day. Though it was cloudy that Saturday morning, my heart rejoiced at the
opportunity which was to be mine. Sister Georegeann made sure that we looked
our best as we lined up in the school hallway. We entered the church as Mr.
Grady played the organ. Our hands remained folded as each moment passed until
it was time to approach the altar rail. I know you would want me to share with
you my thoughts as my tongue was touched by the Body and Blood of Christ.
Unfortunately, this first grader, because he had not tasted the host
previously, could only say to himself: “This tastes like cardboard. (As a
priest on Staten Island, I gave unconsecrated bread to those who were about to
make their First Communion. One child is a statement of one upmanship stated:
“This is like paper with lines.” Twenty years after that June 3, 1953, I found
myself saying one of my first masses at Saint Mary’s Church in Wappingers Falls
where I had served as a deacon for a year. As I sat in the celebrants’ chair
and looked out at the congregation, I wondered whether the seed of a priestly
or religious vocation was being planted by the Holy Spirit.
As I had the privilege to welcome our
children to the Lord’s Table, His Eminence Edward Cardinal Egan was ordaining
fourteen men to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, seven for the service of the
Church of New York. One of them grew up in the Larchmont Community. Some have
never considered another vocation while others are accepting the challenge of
ministry as a second career. Why have they chosen to give themselves completely
to the People of God? What is their vision for their future and that of the
faithful to whom they are sent? How will the Trinity of Persons utilize their
gifts to bring forth the Kingdom?
In all probability, each of the ordandi would
not be able to answer these questions completely but each day their thoughts,
words, and actions will flesh out a response. The priest of today must
recognize that he must be fundamentally a man of prayer. We live according to
the ancient dictum: One cannot give, what one does not have. Prior to his
seminary training and during his years of pastoral formation, the future sacred
minister communicates with the divine as he participates in Mass, receives the
sacraments, follows the suggestions of a spiritual director, and reads the
classics of holy wisdom. He judges his ability to live the existence of a celibate.
To become a devoted souse to a loving woman and a supportive father to their
children is a most honorable calling. To surrender it in favor of guiding a
much larger family is truly sacrificial. Though, at times, he might experience
loneliness, a priest realizes he is never alone for he walks with the High
Priest of Hebrews who “was sacrificed once for all.” As he daily reads, the
psalms and the writings of Scripture and the Church Fathers, he is comforted
and strengthened for the multi-faceted tasks of ministry.
When I visit the classrooms of our school
and religious education program, the students often ask me what is the most
difficult part of being a priest? At different times I answer alternately. When
one is assigned to a certain task by one’s superiors, the challenge is happily
accepted but after years of work with a certain coterie of people, it is hard
to say farewell and go elsewhere. But one must because of a sacred promise of
obedience made to the bishop and his successors. At times, the shepherd of a
flock is confronted by the tragic occurrences of their lives: the still-birth
of a child, the painful death of a young father, the suicide attempt of a teen,
the disintegrating of a marriage of devoted friends, and the disruption of parent
and child disagreements. It is for the alter Christus to bring hope to each
situation. When there is a ring of the rectory bell, it is sometimes the obligation
of the priest to be not only a teacher but a challenge to the prevailing wisdom
of the day and the erroneous opinion of a visitor. Parents seeking the Baptism
of their newborn must be advised that the Church requires moral certainty that
they will raise their offspring in the faith. The young engaged couple must be
instructed that cohabitation before marriage is not morally acceptable. The
business man or woman must be encouraged never to abandon their ethics in favor
of a quick profit no matter what purpose it is to serve.
Each of those upon whom the bishops and
their fellow priests will lay their hands will soon realize as well what great
joy awaits them in the Lord’s service. Over the years, they will receive back
into the Church souls who have sought salvation in materialism and secularity:
worshipping at the altar of ego. Having seen the emptiness of their existence,
they confess their sin and weaknesses and seek grace. They will witness God’s
love shared between a man and woman who intend to be the image of Christ and
His Church. They will be able to guide young people as they seek the joy of a
life of faith and integrity. They will be the voice of Christ sharing the Good
News of salvation. They will move,
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, their congregations towards their
ultimate destiny.
Pray for the men who have said “yes” to
Christ. Pray for all priests who serve you. May we be ever worthy of the
calling we have received. May we always act in a way which reveals to all the
love of God for them. May we never lose the perspective that we have received a
great gift of grace of which we are unworthy. May we be always generous,
patient, and loving servants of Christ and His Church.
Jesus
Vivat,
Fr. Brian