THE BODY and BLOOD of CHRIST
JUNE 18, 2006
(M - Memorial, A - Anniversary)
6:45 FATHER’S DAY NOVENA
9:00 MARY PERNESIGLIO--M
req. by Dorothy Doherty
TUESDAY,
JUNE 20
6:45 FATHER’S DAY NOVENA
9:00 JOSEPHINE and CORNELIUS S SHIELDS and PAUL V. SHIELDS--M
req. by the Shields Family
6:45 FATHER’S
DAY NOVENA
9:00 HELEN MARA NUGENT and JOSEPH NUGENT--M
reg. by Maura & Richard Concannon
THURSDAY,
JUNE 22
PAULINUS, bishop
THOMAS MORE and JOHN FISHER, martyrs
6:45 FATHER’S DAY NOVENA
9:00 MICHAEL JOYCE--M
req. by Mr. & Mrs. Albert Wassell
6:45 FATHER’S
DAY NOVENA
9:00 FRANK and MARY WINNIS--M
req. by Bill & Nancy Winnis
9:00 FATHER’S
DAY NOVENA
5:30 CHARLOTTE and MALACHY CONCANNON--M
req. by Maura & Richard Concannon
7:30 DANIEL WARD and LANCE
HUGELMEYER--M
req. by Alison & Timothy Hugelmeyer
9:00 FATHER’S DAY NOVENA
10:30 FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
12:00 JAMES JOSEPH LYNCH--M
req. by Kathleen & Peter Marcon
5:00 NORMA
H. ROUGHT--M
req. by Brian & Linda Harrington
PRAYERFUL REMEMBRANCES
Your prayers are requested for the sick at home,
and in the hospitals, especially: Dana Infelice, Winifred Mullin, Patrice
McAuliffe, Francis “Charlie” Abrahamsen, Dorothy Blaney, Jimmy Bairaktaris,
Lisa Scholl, Frank Diaz-Balart, Alice Nasta, Mildred Traub, Catherine Ann
Brennan, Mary & Tony Fraioli, Hank Lawlor, William Matthews, 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 for
the faithful departed, IRENE TOFFEY,
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 (06 --11 -- 06): $12,231
Cathedraticum: $ 2,237
Attendance: 859
The parish of Sts. 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.
THE
BODY and BLOOD of CHRIST
JUNE
18, 2006
Receiving the Eucharist is a real sign of unity in our Church. God nourishes us with the “Bread from Heaven”, only if we have ordained priests to celebrate the Liturgy. If you feel the inclination towards a Church vocation, please call Fr. Charles Szivos at 968-1340 (priesthood), Sr. Deanna Sabetta at 212-371-1000 ext. 2803 (religious), and Deacon Anthony Cassaneto at 968-6200 ext. 8269 (deaconate).
BANNS
of MARRIAGE
I – Ryan Webler – Jessica Walling
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 2006. The dates for the class are as follows: July 1st, Aug. 5th, Sept. 2nd, Oct 7th, Nov. 4th and Dec. 2nd.
10:30 AM MASS MUSIC NOTES
Today, we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ with the Anthem “Panis Angelicus” (“Bread of Angels”) by Cesar Frank, perhaps the most famous composer from Belgium. We also honor our fathers with the hymn “Faith of Our Fathers”. The choir will be on summer break until after Labor Day. See you in September!
CALENDAR of EVENTS for the WEEK of JUNE 18th:
SUNDAY, JUNE 18th:
9:00 AM CHURCH: Family Mass
TUESDAY, JUNE 20th:
8:00 PM GYM: Basketball
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21st:
11:00 AM SARAH NEUMANN:
Mass
8:00 PM RMR: Boy Scouts
Leadership Meeting
FRIDAY, JUNE 23rd:
10:30 AM: SJP School
dismissed for the summer
11:30 AM: Altar Sever Trip
to Playland
SATURDAY, JUNE 24th:
12 Noon Flint Park: SJP
Parish Picnic
6:30 PM AUD: Movie
BICENTENNIAL
CAMPAIGN at STS. JOHN and PAUL
We are off to a great start with the campaign at Sts. John and Paul! There has been amazing response thus far and we have some great news to announce. To date we have raised $580,000 or 43% of our $1,348,506 goal! Every parish family has received a letter with information about this campaign.
In order to reach this goal, we will need the help of every family. We ask that you prayerfully consider your pledge.
EARLY
BIRD CAR RAFFLE SPECIAL
Raffle tickets went on pre-sale Monday, May 1st, for the ticket holder’s choice of a Brand New 2007 automobile or $30,000 CA$H that will be won at this year’s Halloweekend Family Festival. Do you have a favorite number or numbers that you like? How about your birthday, your anniversary, or the month and day your child was born? If so, send a $100.00 check made out to Sts. John & Paul, with your lucky numbers that you want on your raffle ticket(s) on the memo line of your check and return it to the rectory. Don’t wait too long or your numbers may be gone. Number requests will not be honored after June 23, 2006. Only numbers from 0001-1000 please.
Please send these requests ATTN: Car Raffle. Thank you.
UPCOMING
FAMILY MASSES
The final Family Mass of the year will be this Sunday, June 18th, and the theme will be “Son’s day Mass”.
WITH GRATEFUL
APPRECIATION!!!
The entire parish community of Sts. John and Paul would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Patrick McNulty, a parishioner, for the work he did on repairing the doors between the school and the church.
CAN YOU HELP?
Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, is very much in need of volunteers to help send out the Friars semi-annual appeal and newsletter. The work will be done at Trinity Retreat House in Larchmont. We will start at 9:30 am and hope to finish by 12:30. If you are able to come on Monday, June 26th, please call Cathy Hickey, 834-6907, and leave word on her answering machine. Thanks and prayers from Fr. Benedict.
The Catholic
Widows and Widowers
Cordially invite all
Widows and Widowers
To attend the
Monthly Mass at 7:00 PM for Deceased Spouses
Followed by the monthly Meeting
Monday, June 26, 2006
St. Pius Parish
Scarsdale
For more information, please call 921-2168 or 793-4868
CELBRATIONS
FOR THE FEAST of SAINTS JOHN and PAUL
On Saturday, June 24th, our parish will celebrate the patronal feast day of Saints John and Paul. There will be a Parish Picnic at Flint Park from 12:30 to 4:30 PM. We’ll have hamburgers and hot dogs, chicken, salads, and corn. Plan on bringing your entire family -- and a dessert! The cost is $25 per family or $30, the day of the picnic. The cost for a single will be $15. The celebration will continue at the 5:30 PM Mass and then a Family Movies will be held in the auditorium at 6:30 PM (Courtesy of the Knights of Columbus)
RSVP by Monday, June 19th. Please use the tear off below and return it in an envelope marked Parish Picnic to the Rectory or drop it in the basket marked “Picnic” in the rear of the Church.
NAME:____________________________________________
#in family______________ Phone______________________
Dessert:___________________________________________
Please make check out to Sts. John and Paul.
PASTOR’S
COLUMN
Last weekend, I had a great privilege. I commissioned and re-commissioned our extraordinary eucharistic ministers. These generous men and women distribute the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ to the residents of Sarah Neumann Nursing facility after attending the 9:00 A.M. Mass. (Many of them also assist at the Wednesday celebration of the Eucharist.) Additionally, they visit and pray with those parishioners who are homebound. At least some of them have no other contact with the community save these people who touch them with both divine and human compassion. Of course, their participation in our liturgies is their most visible service. It is most disturbing to realize that so many believers do not understand this latter role.
The bishops charged with the responsibility to see to it that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered in a most reverent way decided that since there was a dramatic increase in the numbers of communicants and a dearth of clerical vocations, the faithful should be invited to assist the celebrant that “the Communion rite be not out of proportion to the total celebration.” This reality arises out of the concerns expressed by Pope Paul VI in the instruction Immensae Caritatis. But our American Bishops are quick to add: “The goal is not, however, to shorten and have more efficient Masses, but to give them their proper value and to avoid the rush it takes to distribute Communion to everyone present. “ Some parties still object that such a dispensation should not take place since the laity are not worthy and furthermore, the priest’s hands are consecrated. These criticisms are thoroughly invalid. They truly misinterpret essential eucharist history and theology. One of the great Fathers of the Church: Cyril of Jerusalem called the Eucharist the “medicine of immortality”. Yes, the layperson is unworthy to receive and distribute the Body and Blood of Christ but so is the Pope, Bishop, and Priest who stands at the altar and confects the sacrament. Do we not utter the centurion’s word before reception: “O Lord I am not worthy…” The purpose of consecrating the hand of the ordained is not that he might handle the sacred species but that he might be able to preside and cause the radical transformation of the offering of bread and wine into the life-giving flesh and blood, humanity and divinity of Jesus the Christ.
On this feast of Corpus Christi, it is appropriate not only that we reflect on the Church’s understanding but the manner in which we express our belief internally and externally in regards to the divine mystery. Before his assumption to the papal throne, our Holy Father wrote an amazing spiritual reflection: “On the Way to Jesus Christ.” He states: “The early Christians recognized that the essential thing that took place at the Last Supper was not the eating of the lamb and the other traditional dishes; rather, it was the great prayer of praise that now contained Jesus’ words of institution as its centerpiece. With these words, he had transformed his death into the gift of himself, so that we can now give thanks for this death. Yes, only now is it possible to render thanks to God unconditionally because the most horrible thing – the death of the Redeemer and the death of us – has been transformed by an act of love into the gift of life.” (110-11) It is a grave concern to the Church that recent times have witnessed the overemphasis of “super” or “meal” aspects of the liturgy to the detriment of “worship” or “sacrifice” ones. It is right for us to stress communal participation in the Mass and realize the teaching of the common priesthood arising out of Baptism. However, these teachings should not lead us to the conclusion that the building in which we worship is merely a communal hall in which socialization is the highest priority. It is the focus of God’s interaction with His people. We are commended to listen as His Word is uttered in the liturgy and in the silence of our hearts. Practically, we should make every effort to come to prayer in our homes, reading the Scriptures, and meditating on the divine mysteries. We cannot appreciate fully the significance of the Lord’s sacramental gift if we restrict our spiritual exercises to one hour each Sunday. Early arrival at church should be a consistent practice that we might be able to dismiss worldly distractions. Silently, we can encounter the source of our humanity, redemption, and consolation.
Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk in a Book of Readings on the Eucharist writes concerning the Real Presence of Christ. Too many of our co-religionists by belief and practice neglect this essential dogma. “Our faith teaches that the Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ is not just a symbol, a remembrance of things past such as might be connected with looking at a photograph of a loved one who is long dead. No, it is a real re-presentation of Christ’s self-giving of Calvary – in a different way and in various circumstances, to be sure, but no less really and truly. The sacrifice would lose its force and meaning if Jesus were not really and truly involved in it. Likewise, receiving Holy Communion is not particularly meaningful if Christ is not really there. When we receive the consecrated bread and wine, we receive the real Christ. The appearances are those of bread and wine, but the reality is Christ, Body and Blood, soul and divinity. The presence of Christ persists in the sacred species even beyond the time of the Eucharistic celebration. We reserve the Eucharist in our churches. Originally this reservation was to provide Holy Communion to the dying. In later centuries, the reserved sacrament has appropriately become the focus of adoration on the part of people who come to make a visit to the Lord.” (35 – 6)
Our external deportment must give evidence to our internal confession of faith. With Saint Francis of Assisi, we must knell before the Lord as we enter our pew. With Saint Catherine of Siena and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, we are called to set aside time to make a visit during the day and place our troubles before His throne. Our clothing, as well, demonstrates our respect for the King of Kings. (Sometimes it seems to me that private clubs have made more rules regarding attire than the Catholic Church.) Let us all examine our belief system as well as our ecclesial etiquette.
As one called to be father, I wish all those who have been privileged to bear that title a wish for God’s blessing anthem and for peace and joy in their families. May those who have gone before us be proud of us and pray for us.
Jesus vivat,
Fr. Brian