TWENTY-SEVENTH
SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER
7, 2007
(M -
Memorial, A - Anniversary)
COLUMBUS DAY
9:00 BEATRICE J. SMITH--M
req. by the Dinger Family
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9
DENIS & companions, martyrs
JOHN LEONARDI, priest
6:45 THE WENZEL FAMILY
9:00 KATHY JO TAMAGNA--M
req. by Joseph & Katherine Tamagna
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10
6:45 MARIA DE ALBURGQUERQUE—M
req. by the
Clergy & the People of Sts. John
& Paul
9:00 TED SAPORITO--A
reg. by the Family
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11
6:45 THE FONTANA
FAMILY
9:00 GREGORY
J. GORUP--A
req. by the Group Family
6:45 MARY A. and
EDWARD S. LADIN and ROSE DUDEK--M
req.
by the Ladin Family
9:00 BERTHE and LOUISE BREUIL--M
req.
by the Shields Family
9:00 MARGARET MAGUIRE--A
req. by Alice Mulderrig
5:30 MARIA
FAZIO--M
req. by Bianco
Fazio
SUNDAY, OCTOBER
14
7:30 AGNES
DORAN--M
9:00 GUIDO
GULLA--M
req. by the Gulla Family
10:30 HOWARD
FITZ GERALD--M
req. by the FitzGerald
Family
12:00 FRANK
GIACOMO—M
req. by Lucille Giacomo
5:00 FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH
PRAYERFUL
REMEMBRANCES
Your prayers are requested for
the sick at home, and in the hospitals, especially: Alfred Liverzani, Bill
Sabia, Rev. Robert Gannon, Beth Hersh, Rita Clarke, Judy Kelly, Maria Leal, Charles Donovan, Msgr. Joseph
Boyd, Joey Mileti, Patricia Kuhr, Theresa Astorino, Dotty Doherty, Joan Porrazzo,
Lenny Cavalieri, Jenna Mussolini, Teresa
Civetta, Frank Maiola, Aileen O’Brien, Ed Lenard, Pam Hissey, Tricia Eigo, Skylar
Bahrenburg, F. Peter O’Hara, Alice
Nasta, Mildred Traub, Mary & Tony
Fraioli, Hank Lawlor, Sarah Butler, Mimi Cosgrove, Kristen Long, Patrick
Lamont, Elizabeth Kim, for our service
men and women at home and abroad; for the faithful departed, MARGE KEELAN, 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 (09—30—07)
$10,419
Attendance: 877
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
II – John Paul Ancuso – Lauren Gombar
COLUMBUS
DAY
Monday, October 8th, is Columbus Day, a national holiday.
There will be NO 6:45 AM Mass. The Parish Office, the school and the Religious
Education Office will all be closed. Enjoy the day!
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. The dates for the upcoming classes are as follows: November 3rd, and December 1st.
CALENDAR
of EVENTS for the WEEK
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7th:
7:00 AM: Breakfast Run
MONDAY, OCTOBER 8th:
COLUMBUS DAY
TUESDAY,
OCTOBER 9th:
3:00 & 8:00 PM AUD: Choir practice
5:00 PM AUD: Cub Scouts
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10th:
10:30 AM SARAH NEUMAN: Service followed by Mass
12:45 PM RMR: Brownies
2:50 & 7:15 PM SCH: Religious Education classes
All Day: SJP Book Fair
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11th:
STS. JOHN & PAUL SCHOOL closed
SATURDAY, OCCTOBER 13th:
9:00 AM GYM: Basketball
10:30 AM
MASS MUSIC NOTES
Once again the Gospel
story inspired the choral selection for today: “The Faith We Sing Was Sown” by
Michael Connolly. Jesus said: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and
it would obey you.”
FOOD BANK
NEWS…
Please remember to
bring a non-perishable food with you each time you come to Mass. The needs of
those less fortunate than us are great.
CAN YOU
HELP?
Volunteers are need at
Sarah Neumann Nursing Home on Wednesday mornings to help bring patients to the
Mass. if you are interested in helping in this very important ministry, please
go to the main entrance of Sarah Neumann on Wednesday morning at 10:30 AM and
look for Mr. Anthony Chiodo, a parishioner who will show you what to do. If you
have any questions, please call the Rectory and ask for Charlotte.
RELGIOUS
EDUCATION NEWS…
CONFIRMATION
Confirmation will be on May 17, 2007. Schedules for preparation and
registration forms will soon be distributed in all religious education and
school classes. For private school students, the schedule and the form are
available online at Catholic-Church.org/sjp or by mail if you call our office.
Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, November 27th, for both the
confirmation candidates and their parents.
CATHOLIC
HIGH SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAM
The registration forms
for this test (now called “TACHS”) are available for public school students in
the office of the Religious Education Program. These forms must be sent in no
later than October 10th. The exam will be given on Friday, November
9, 2007. (We also have info about a prep course at Mark Murphy Schools –
718-229-9292.)
WESTCHESTER
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL FAIR
All eighth graders and
their parents are invited to attend the Westchester Catholic High School Fair
to be held at the County Center in White Plains on Thursday, October 11th,
from 6:00 to 8:30pm.
STS. JOHN
AND PAUL SCHOOL BOOK FAIR
Please come to the
Saints John and Paul Book Fair. It is open Sunday, October 14th,
from 9:30 – 1:30, Monday, October 15th 8:30 – 3:30 and 6:00 – 8:00
pm, and Tuesday, October 16th: 8:30 – 3:30. Buy a Klutz Build a Book
and your little author can work on it at the special table after Mass on
Sunday! All proceeds go to our new media center.
NEEDED for
BREAKFAST RUN
As you know the Youth Group of our parish along with adult chaperones
participate in a Breakfast Run once a month. The Run is in need of certain
items: packages of new men’s t-shirts size XT, men’s underwear sizes 36 – 38,
men’s white socks, and backpacks. There is a box in the hall between the school
and the church labeled BREAKFAST RUN. Please place the items there.
BEREAVEMENT
MASS – NOVEMBER 3rd
On Saturday, November
3rd, at 9:00 AM, we will once again have our annual Bereavement
Mass. During the past year, we prayed for the following individuals: Robert
Callagy, Jack Carroll, Laura Kerzic, Jane Carroll, Joe Pata, Louise Russo, John
O’Connor, Gloria Nicastri, Julie Giblin, Marie Terranova and Josephine Pace.
Unfortunately, these names are not familiar to us. If any one of them is a
loved one of yours or if a loved one of yours died during the past year and you
would like he/she remembered at this special Liturgy, please call the Rectory,
ask for Charlotte, and give her the information regarding the deceased person.
Thank you for your help in this matter.
WOMAN of
SPIRIT AWARD LUNCHEON
This annual luncheon
will be held on Thursday, October 18th, at 11:30 am at the Larchmont
Yacht Club. Sister Marie Pappas, C.R., Superintendent of Schools of the
Archdiocese of New York, will be honored. The cost is $35.00 per person and
checks should be made out to SJP Women’s Guild. Reservations can be sent to
Patricia Howard, 223 Rockingstone Ave., Larchmont, NY 10538. Tel: 833-2434
before October 15th. Telephone reservations will be accepted, if
paid by October 17th. All are most welcome.
MISSING
The parish had a
portable microphone that has been misplaced. If you know where is it is, please
let us know. You can call Charlotte at the rectory and give her the
information. Thank you for your help in this matter.
YOUTH
GROUP NEWS…
The first meeting of the Youth Group will take place on SUNDAY, OCTOBER
14th, after the 5:00 PM Mass. All high school students of the parish
are invited to attend and learn what events and activities are on the agenda
for the upcoming year. Bring your thoughts and ideas as to what you, perhaps,
would like to do. The meeting will be held in the RMR beginning at 6:00 PM.
PANCAKE
BREAKFAST
SAVE THE
DATE
The Youth Group of the
parish is once again holding a Pancake Breakfast on SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21st, at 10:00 AM in the Gym. Look in
next week’s bulletin for more details
ST.
AUGUSTINE’S/STS. JOHN & PAUL CANCER SEWING GROUP
The Cancer Sewing
Group will begin on Monday, October 15, 2007. The group provides pads for the patients
at Rosary Hill Hospital. New members are welcome to participate in this
charitable undertaking.
The group meets
Mondays in the French School Cafeteria, at St. Augustine’s, from 1:30 to 3:00
PM. No sewing ability or experience is required. Materials are provided. For
further information. call Irene Byrne at 834-7630.
GOOD
COUNSEL
Joe Quattrocchi, a
staff member of Good Counsel, will speak at Masses next weekend. Good Counsel
operates five Catholic pro-life homes in the Archdiocese of NY for pregnant
women and their children and a national crisis pregnancy help line
(800-723-8331). A door collection will be taken next weekend for their
ministry.
LIFE CHAIN
Sunday, October 7th, is Respect Life
Sunday. There will be several Life Chains held throughout
Westchester. The ones is this area are:
Scarsdale: In
front of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 1 – 2 PM
Tuckahoe:
In front of Immaculate Conception Church, 2 – 3:30 PM
White Plains: Mamaroneck Avenue at Maple Avenue, 2 – 3:30 PM
THE
PASTOR’S COLUMN
The month of October sees the Church focus
on two realities of significance. She directs our attention to the figure of
Mary in general, but specifically, in her title as Queen of the Rosary. This
time of the year should remind us of the sublime beauty of devotion to the
mysteries of faith encountered when we pray recalling the Blessed Mother’s wish
that we remain close to her. The late Holy Father, John Paul II, gave us an
immeasurable gift when he codified the Luminous Mysteries (sometimes called the
mysteries of light). By their introduction, the void in the meditation upon the
life of the Savior between His being found in the Temple and the agony in the
garden is filled. They begin with His Baptism in the Jordan. The public
ministry of Jesus receives divine approbation as the Spirit descends and the
Father proclaims from the heavens: “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased.” The temptations of the Evil One had not distracted Him from His
mission of reconciling creation with Creator. As He was called to make all
things new, so He shows in the miracle at the wedding feast of Cana His
apostles that the Messiah is prepared to respond to every need of His people.
Healings of the blind or lame, exorcisms of those plagued with demons, and
debates with scribes and Pharisees were all mere preambles to the Proclamation
of the Kingdom of God and the divine invitation to all to enter its precincts
as it has broken into the temporal and as it is awaited. The impulsive Peter,
along with James and John are shown a great theophany: Jesus is manifested as
Son of God in the presence of Moses and Elijah. The Transfiguration reminds us
that the Lord is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Before He mounts
His Cross and ends His earthly ministry, Jesus gathered His Apostles in the
Upper Room and gave them and us a gift of inestimable value: His Body and
Blood. The Eucharist is His presence among us until He comes again. When we
recall these events along with those portrayed in the joyful, sorrowful, and
glorious mysteries, we can say the Word of God is known and celebrated
entirely.
A few weeks ago, Brother Charles of the
Friars of the Renewal called upon all of us to pray for vocations. Is there a
more effective family practice at this time than to pray at least a few times a
week, if not each night in October, the rosary? Is there a better way in which
parents can fulfill their roles as the primary teachers of their children in
the ways of faith? Is there a grander summary of the love of God for us as
Jesus lives, suffers, and dies; as Mary continually expresses her faith and
serves God, and as the church is formed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit?
And as we contemplate God’s providential care as we pray, is there not great
reason to celebrate the gift of Life, both here and now and for all eternity?
The Bishops of our country have in the
recent decades acknowledged October as Respect Life Month with special emphasis
on the first Sunday of the Month. From conception to natural death as the
Servant of God, Terence Cardinal Cooke, reminded us we are in possession of and
responsible for “God’s precious gift.” We must certainly be saddened by the
hubris of modern man is rejecting the unborn as worthy of existence among us.
Abortion is the most profound form of child abuse. As Catholics, we must not
continue to stand idlely by as a person’s most human right is violated. In
another part of this bulletin, there is mention of the annual Life Chain which
is quiet witness to the need to end abortion as an option and to support “the
culture of life.” It would be an error, however, to believe that our obligation
ends with one event on one day. We must petition our government and confront
our leaders by active letter writing and lobbying. We must assist our neighbors
in understanding what is at stake when we lose a generation of young people. We
must inform our children of their obligations to participate in the defense of
human dignity.
Next week, we shall hear from a speaker who
represents Good Counsel Homes. Some years ago, Chris Bell and our beloved
friend, Father Benedict Groeschel, established a refuge for pregnant mothers
and their children. From Bayonne to Staten Island, from Spring Valley to
Poughkeepsie, and from New York City to Harrison, they marshaled men and women
to put a lie to the claim that pro-life people are only concerned about those
in the womb. How privileged we are to have Day Star in our community: the only
group experience which assists women who have mental health struggles and have
made the choice for life!
Our efforts to support humanity’s dignity
should be revealed in many other ways. For example, our seniors who are
homebound should not be forgotten. They sometimes require someone to shop for
them; they might need rides to doctors’ offices; but always they would
appreciate a visit and someone to share a cup of coffee or meal. The parish
always needs volunteers who will come to Sarah Neumann Nursing Home on
Wednesdays at 11:00 AM to bring residents to Mass.
As costs rise, there is much discussion
about health care rationing. In the public square, there must not be a lack of
appreciation of the life of every individual. As people suffer infirmity, there
is no lessening of their dignity. Science and medicine have made many advances
in our time. We laud the essential conquering of polio, the alleviation of
suffering for many cancer patients, and the development of many options for
amputees and other disabilities. But progress must never come through the
destruction of cells of an aborted life.
As we reflect on these areas of concern,
let us not forget that in respecting life, we respect the life-giver, Almighty
God. May we do so every day God gives us.
Jesus vivat,
Fr. Brian