SEVENTEENTH
SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME
JULY
29, 2007
(M -
Memorial, A - Anniversary)
PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, bishop, doctor
6:45 CARL
LAMBIASI—M
req. By the Clergy & the People Sts. John &
Paul Parish
9:00 KATHLEEN HYLAND--M
req. by the Family
TUESDAY, JULY 31
IGNATIUS of LOYOLA
6:45 CHRISTINE SCHELLHAMMER--M
req. by Mary & Jim
McGee
9:00 TIMOTHY J. MARA--M
req. by Maura &
Richard Concannon
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1
ALPHONSUS
LIGUORI, bishop, doctor
6:45 LOUIGI LEONE--M
9:00 FRANCES MENZIE--M
reg. by the Judge Family
THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
EUSEBIUS
of VERCELLI, bishop
6:45 THE FONTANA
FAMILY
9:00 CARMELLA
MANGIERI--A
req. by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Malgrande
PETER, JULIAN EYMARD, priest
6:45 AGNES DORAN--M
9:00 JANE
and MICHAEL HARDIMAN--M
req. by Mary Jane &
Paul Krebbs
JOHN MARY VIANNEY, priest
9:00 CELESTE DORIA--M
req. by Peter
& Joseph Doria
5:30 CELESTE DORIA--M
req. by Mr. & Mrs. Henry Malgrande
SUNDAY,
AUGUST 5
7:30 FOR
THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
9:00 GUIDO
GULLA--M
req. by the Gulla Family
10:30 NICHOLAS
DANIELLO--M
req. by Nancy & Bill
Winnis
12:00 ROBERT
FIERRO--M
req. by the Spidalieri
Family
5:00 VERA
and PETER KREBBS--M
req. by Mary Jane &
Paul Krebbs
PRAYERFUL
REMEMBRANCES
Your prayers are requested for
the sick at home, and in the hospitals, especially: Msgr. Joseph J. Boyd, Alberto
Marcus, David Escadales, Richardson
Carrett, Marina Christopher, Ashley M., Terry & Amy Tucker, Grace Welch, Florence Leight, Joseph Maiorama, Jessy Mackey, Charlotte Neuman, Daniel
Patrick Duker, Joan Porrazzo, Kayla
Estelle Kelsh, Betty Berrigan, Skylar
Bahrenburg, F. Peter O’Hara, James Curtin, Carmella Musumeci, Patricia
Kuhr, Theresa Astorino, Joseph Mileti, Dotty
Doherty, 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, REV.
RUDOLPH J. EISLER, 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 (07—22—07)
$8,323
Attendance:
759
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.
CANDIDATE
for the SACRED ORDER of DIACONATE
Patrick Felix Curly, a member of Saints John and Paul Parish, is a
candidate for the Sacred Order of Diaconate for the Archdiocese of New York
which will be conferred on September 1, 2007.
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.
There will be a class
on August 4th.
FOOD BANK
NEEDS
Now that summer is
here, please do not forget to bring non-perishable food items when you come to
Mass.
RELIGIOUS
EDUCATION REGISTRTION
Classes are currently
being formed for the 2007/08 school year. Please register NOW to ensure prompt
placement.
CALENDAR
of EVENTS for the WEEK of JULY 29th:
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1st:
10:30 AM SARAH NEUMAN: Service plus Mass
SATURDAY, AUGUST 4TH:
10:00 AM RMR: Baptism Preparation class
KNIGHTS of
COLUMBUS
Reserve your foursome.
Our Annual Golf outing will be held on Monday, September 24th, at
the Pelham Bay Golf Club, check-in & lunch 11:00 – 12:00, shot gun start
12:30pm, dinner at the Davenport, 6:30pm. Golf, cart, lunch, beverages, prizes,
cocktail hour, buffet dinner w/open bar, all for only $175. Bring a foursome if
you can or come alone or with a friend and we will make the foursome. Call
Craig Skolnick to reserve your spot 212-319-0871 or 914-235-2264.
We need your support
so we can continue the good work of our Council; sponsor a golf hole at our
golf outing for only $125.00. You can also show your support by sponsoring the
golf carts, cocktail hour, or golf prize. This is a great way to give to our
council or to advertise your business; contact Craig Skolnick to reserve your
hole sponsorship or for more information; 212-319-0871 or 914-235-2264.
MARIA
REGINA HIGH SCHOOL
50th
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Calling all Maria
Regina High School alumnae! Please join us as we celebrate 50 golden years as
the first archdiocesan Catholic high school for girls in Westchester County.
The event will be held on Friday, September 21, 2007, from 6:00 – 10:00 pm at
the Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown, NY. Tickets are $110.00 per person. For
further information, please contact N. Mitrione, Director of Development, at
761-3300, x-217 or nmitrione@mariaregina.or.
The website is: www.mariareginea.org.
SUMMERTIME
BEBNEFIT and SCHOLARSHIP to HONOR
MARGARET
MAGUIRE
On Friday evening,
August 17, 2007, Desda’s Grate will launch a new Scholarship Fund to honor the
life of Margaret Maguire and to reflect on her service to others. Please join
with friends at a cocktail hour plus dinner at the Davenport Club in New
Rochelle.
Desda’s Grate is a
home for women with children in need in our neighboring parish of Holy Family
in New Rochelle. This fund raising dinner will seed a work scholarship fund and
continue an existing campaign to build a second home named after Joan Pierce.
The dinner will be
held at the Davenport Club at 7:30 P.M. on Friday, August 17th.
Tickets are $100.00 in advance. Please call Ann or Gene Doherty at 636-6099 or
email at genedoh56@aol.com to reserve a
seat or send a check to Desda’s Grate and mail it to 70 Paine Avenue, New
Rochelle, NY 10804
Please reserve now to
help with the seating plans.
THE
PASTOR’S COLUMN
Chapter One of the Pope’s Jesus of Nazareth
provides us with an interesting insight into our time through the prism of the
New Testament. He notes that the evangelist, Luke, takes the trouble to place
the ministries of both John the Baptist and Jesus into an historical
chronology. Benedict states: “the mention of the Roman emperor serves to
indicate Jesus…place in world history. We are not meant to regard Jesus’
activity as taking place in some sort of mythical ‘anytime’ which can mean
always or never. It is a precisely datable historical event having the full
weight that real historical happenings have; like them, too, it happens once
only; it is contemporary with all times, but not in the way that a timeless
myth would be.” (11) We know there is a dearth of secular sources. Little
reference is made to the Jewish rabbi from a backwater town. Josephus and
Tacitus make reference briefly to the new sect and its founder. Only because of
a recent archeological find do we have secular confirmation of the human
existence of Pontius Pilate as a Roman authority. The mere fact that the gospel
writers are the only sources for our knowledge of the Messiah is not sufficient
rationale for dismissal by modern writers who themselves, at times, have axes
to grind. Faithfully, the community remembered one who touches not only their
hearts but the society in which they dwelt. It should be noted as well that no
contemporary texts contradict the assertions of the Scripture.
The Holy Father makes another point about
the mention of historical authorities and their times. “The emperor and Jesus
represent two different orders of reality. They are by no means mutually
exclusive, but their encounter does have the potential to spark a conflict that
has implications for the basic questions facing humanity and human existence.
Jesus will later say ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and the
things that are God’s’ (Mark 12:17), which is a way of expressing the essential
compatibility of the two spheres. But when the imperial power interprets itself
as divine, as Augustus’ claim to be the bringer of world peace and the source
of humanity already implicitly does, then the Christian has to ‘obey God more
than men’ (Acts 5:29).” (11- 12) Though we might not be living in a country
which is autocratic, it is not too much to say that certain decisions of
governmental institutions and individuals have overreached and threaten to
encroach further in areas of moral prerogatives. State legislatures have
removed ‘conscience clauses’ which in the past protected individuals from being
required to do that which they might consider reprehensible. Laws have been
past to keep people from smoking and consuming transfats on the basis of
protecting lives and, yet, any efforts to protect the unborn are deemed
interference with personal liberty. Caesar is very confusing. And what is worse
is the rationalizations of his minions who see the evils of awarding personal
responsibility and yet protest that they cannot inhibit the actions of others.
As a young Catholic, I was carefully
instructed by the sisters regarding the importance of Baptism. They stressed
the necessity of having removed the stain of original sin. They focused on the
power of the sacrament when they taught that if an adult received it then every
evidence not only of the sin of Adam but also actual sin would be eradicated At
the same time, I wondered why Jesus went through such a ritual since He was
without sin. The papal author provides a clear and inspiring explanation: “The
act of descending into the waters of…Baptism implies a confession of guilt and
a plea for forgiveness in order to make a new beginning. In a world marked by
sin, then, this Yes to the entire will of God also expresses solidarity with
men, who have incurred guilt but yearn for righteousness. The significance off
this event could not fully emerge until it was seen in light of the Cross and
Resurrection. Descending into the water the candidates for Baptism confess
their sin and seek to be rid of their burden of guilt. What did Jesus do in
this same situation? Luke, who throughout his Gospel, is keenly attentive to
Jesus’ prayer, and portrays him again and again at prayer – in conversation
with the Father – tells us that Jesus was praying while he received Baptism
(cf. LK 3:21). Looking at the events in the light of the Cross and
Resurrection, the Christian people realize what happened: Jesus loaded the
burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the
depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the
place of sinners. His inaugural gesture is an anticipation of the Cross. He is,
as it were, the true Jonah who said to the crew of the ship, ‘Take me and throw
me into the sea’ (Jon 1:12). The whole significance of Jesus’ Baptism, the fact
that he bears ‘all righteousness’ first came to light on the Cross. The Baptism
is an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity; and the voice that calls
out ‘This is my Beloved son’ over the baptismal waters is an anticipatory
reference to the Resurrection. This also explains why in his own discourses,
Jesus uses the word baptism to refer to his death (cf. MK 10:38; LK
12:50). Only from this starting point can we understand Christian Baptism.
Jesus’ Baptism anticipated his death on the Cross, and the heavenly voice
proclaimed an anticipation of the Resurrection.” (17 – 18) These reflections
should strike a chord with each of us. The pope describes the inner unity of
purpose in which the Savior’s public ministry culminates in the ultimate public
service: accepting the cross for the sake of all. We see further that no one is
disassociated from another. Everything exhibits the Son’s fulfillment of the
Father’s will. Finally, it struck me that Benedict’s words are countercultural
for our time. All too often when outcomes of efforts are not desirable or
foreseen, there is such a rush to judgment: “It’s their fault.” A child is
asked to remove a piece of paper from the floor; the immediate response is “I
didn’t put it there.” How would our salvation ever been accomplished if Jesus
did not “become sin for our sake.” He loved us as John says while we were still
sinners. Thanks be to God He still loves us.
Have a blessed week. Please pray for each
other.
Jesus Vivat,
Fr. Brian