THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME

NOVEMBER 4, 2007

(M - Memorial, A - Anniversary)

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5

                   6:45          ALL SOULS NOVENA

                  9:00          THE FONTANA FAMILY                       

 

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6

                 6:45 THE WENZEL FAMILY

                 9:00 ALL SOULS NOVENA

 

   WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7

                 6:45 ALL SOULS NOVENA

                 9:00 JOSEPH AMUSO--M

                        reg. by Gloria Milazzo & Family

                       

      THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8

                 6:45       CATHERINE LEONE--M

                 9:00        ALL SOULS NOVENA

 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9

DEDICATION of the LATERAN BASILICA

                 6:45        ALL SOULS NOVENA

                 9:00              ETHEL WALBRIDGE and LYMAN N.

                          WALBRIDGE--A

                                                     req. by Claire Pushkal

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10

LEO the GREAT, pope, doctor

             9:00 ALL SOULS NOVENA

                  5:30 LOUIS MENNO--M

                        req. by the Provenzano Family

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11

                 7:30 AGNES DORAN--M

                 9:00 GUIDO GULLA--M

                                                req. by the Gulla Family

              10:30 FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE PARISH

               12:00              CHUCK WIEGLUS--A

                                                        req. by the Family

    5:00 SPECIAL INTENTION for the LIVING:

           JOSEPH MILETI

           req. by Maria D. Markey

 

          

PRAYERFUL REMEMBRANCES

Your prayers are requested for the sick at home, and in the hospitals, especially: Robert O. Walcovy, Bill Sabia, Rev. Robert Gannon, Beth Hersh, 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, and those who have no one to pray for them; and for the honored dead of the Armed Services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 date for the upcoming class is:  December 1^st.

 

 

 

10:30 AM MASS MUSIC NOTES

Today’s Gospel Acclamation reads “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” The choral selection for today is the beloved anthem by Sir. John Stainer: “God Sp Loved The World.”

 

 

FOOD BANK NEWS…

Thank you to all who remember to bring food each week. We are in need of certain items: tuna fish, tomato sauce and cereal.

Thank you to our regular financial monthly donors whose contributions enable us to do so much. Why not consider supporting us a monthly basis.

Check the hallway between the church and school for the charts for the Thanksgiving Food Baskets that will be up soon.

 

FAMILY MASS

Family Masses are held on the first and third Sundays of the month. The theme for this week’s Mass is “Keep On Praying”.

 

 

 

 

 

ANNUAL FALL BLOOD DRIVE

On Sunday, November 18^th, our parish will have its annual Fall Blood Drive under the auspices of the Sound Shore Medical Center. Plan to stop by and give the “gift of life”. The drive will begin after the 7:30 AM Mass and last until 1:00 PM. All participants in this drive will be entered into a special drawing for a “free” raffle ticket (grand prize of $25,000) which will be pulled at our parish fundraiser, First Night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS

Saints John and Paul CYO basketball program is hoping to start a High School Girls team to play in the CYO league. Any girls in the 9^th and 10^th grades who are interested in playing need to call me ASAP. Games will be held late afternoon/early evening on Sundays so as not to interfere with school activities. Girls who play Varsity Basketball are not permitted to participate in this league.

We would like to begin play around Thanksgiving Day weekend.

Contact Byrne Sleeper 381-9142 (h), 924- 0730 © or by email: bsleeper@verizon.net

 

 

ADULT WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The gym will be available one evening a week (to be determined) for women interested in playing 3 on 3, half court basketball. It’s fun, fast and a great workout. NO age limit on the far end. Over 18 on the near end!

Call Byrne Sleeper 381-9142 (home), 924-0730 (cell) or email: bsleeper@verizon.net.

 

COLLECTION of BABY GIFTS

During the period of November 4^th through November 11^th, a collection of baby gifts for the newborn infants at Rosalie Hall, a shelter for unwed mothers in the Bronx, will take place. Sister Diane Prusinski, SM, the Director of Rosalie Hall, has been deeply appreciative of the help our parish has given to the shelter over the years. Our gifts enable her to recognize the young women residing at Rosalie Hall at Christmas and on special occasions throughout the year. If you wish to support this project, please bring your unwrapped layette-size gif to the Rectory November 4^th through November 11^th.

 

ADULT EDUCATION

Classes for Adults on the Catholic Catechism produced by the American Bishops will continue on Tuesday evenings at seven-thirty in the Rectory Meeting Room. The next class will be on NOVEMBER 6^th. Come and enjoy coffee, fellowship, and faith sharing. Bring copies, if you have them. If not, they will be provided.

 

RCIA

Preparation for Adults to be received into the church or complete their Sacraments of Initiation of the Eucharist and Confirmation will commence in November. Please register as soon as possible with Nancy in the rectory.

 

HABITAT for HUMANITY WALKATHON

St. Augustine’s Church is sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity Walkathon on Sunday, November 11^th, at 1:00 PM. Go to their web-site for more information: www.habitatwc.org.

 

TRIP to EASTERN EUROPE

Father Brian is planning a trip to Austria and Poland for May 19 – 29, 2008. A highlight will be meeting Fr. Darius in Poland. A meeting to discuss the trip will be held here on November 16^th in the Rectory Meeting Room at 7:30 PM. Brochures are also available in the rectory.

 

YOUTH GROUP NEWS…

The next meeting of the group will be on Sunday, November 11^th, in the rectory meeting room after the 5:00 PM Mass. All high school students are encouraged to attend and become part of this exciting group.

 

NOVEMBER – NATIONAL ADOPTION MONTH

November is National adoption Month. Let us give thanks for the families that we are blessed to have and pray for the many children who aren’t fortunate enough to have a family of their own. Downey Side Families for Youth, a non-profit adoption agency for children ages 7 through 17, with offices throughout the country and now open in the Northeast Bronx, is seeking interested single and married adults to become adoptive parents. Application fees include training, home study, support and searching for your child. Monthly subsidies and income tax incentives are available for adoptive parents. For more information, to make a donation or to become a volunteer, call Anna McNamara at 718-822-2343 or email bronxny@downeyside.org.

 

THE PASTOR’S COLUMN

   With the arrival of the month of November, we are called by religious and civil commemorations to look back and celebrate our roots. Last Thursday, the Church reminded us to recognize the contribution to the Church’s life of the Communion of Saints. On that day, we praised God’s goodness in sharing His mercy with those who have gone before us and now are in eternal bliss. Some are canonized, i.e. people universally acclaimed for their virtue whose lives have been examined by various curial congregations and raised to the privileges of the altar. Many more are known only to God and those persons whose paths they crossed and benefited. Today, we are the believers we are, in part, because of their words and deeds. Their example was a great source of encouragement to us. They have been members of the clergy and religious. When I had the opportunity recently to return to my home parish for a reunion, many of us had recollections of the priests who would teach us, play ball with us, and console us when a great loss was experienced as two classmates died of cancer and congenital heart disease. The death of Father Charles McHale a few months back brought forth many stories of his generosity as he took many on weekly roller skating trips and led the altar boys through the intricacies of the pre-Vatican II liturgy. I can truthfully say that were it not for his tutoring me in Latin, I might have given up my thought that the priesthood would be my life’s work. Additionally, throughout the years in whatever assignment he found himself, Father Charles would buy parish seminarians their first cassock as they entered Saints Joseph’s, Dunwoodie. Whether he was singing “Danny Boy” or rushing to the bedside of a dying patient, he was an “altar Christus” to all. Not to be forgotten were our parents: Mr. Stephens who ushered every Sunday, aided the Saint Vincent de Paul Society in caring for the poor; Mrs. O’Brien who volunteered in the school, would care for many of us after school; and Mrs. McWeeney, my mom, who made sure that no holiday meal would be denied a lonely neighbor, would look after the needs of the sisters who taught us. Perhaps, the Church as a whole will never acknowledge their sanctity, but we can and do.

   On November 2^nd, we prayed for the souls still in purgatory. This state of existence is not clearly perceived by many Catholics today. It is a time in which we must come to grips with the consequences of our sinfulness. During their earthly existence, these souls received forgiveness through confession and repentance but evil-doing has negative on-going effects on us and the world. Purification must take place in the individual before he enters heaven’s gate. We realize that though we can never make up for our betrayal of God’s goodness (not must we since Jesus died for our sins) acts of charity, prayerful moments, and sacrificial behavior can alleviate the punishment we receive. This concept is called indulgence. For example, at any time we might enter the Church and reflect upon the Stations of the Cross. Upon their completion, the recitation of he Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, and Glory be…(Doxology), and the reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist one receives a plenary indulgence releasing us from all temporal punishment due to sin. Performing other spiritual tasks might effectuate a partial indulgence. Indulgences can be applied by us as spiritual remedy for ourselves or in favor of someone who has passed beyond our sight. The question is often asked about the happenstance where the one prayed for is already in heaven. The Church teaches that the graces now available would go to someone still in the state of purgation. I identify with the sentiments of my esteemed professor at Iona, Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R. He is quoted as saying when he dies and opens his eyes in purgatory, he will be greatly relieved for he knows that he is on the right road. In this regard, and in this month, may I make a special plea for my brother priests? Because of our life of celibacy, many of us have little or no family to remember or pray for us. It would be most desirable, therefore, if the faithful remember in a special way those clergy and religious who served them. But few of us deserve instantaneous translation to the new Jerusalem. Therefore, let us pray for one another and especially the souls in purgatory that in our time of need there will be those who remember us for remembering them.

   Most of us harbor some regrets we might have done and did not. As we observe Veteran’s Day, formerly known as Armistice Day making the cessation of hostilities of World War I, I am sorry that I did not record in writing the many stories I heard on the street corner of Broadway and Dyckman Street waiting with my father for the Sunday paper to be delivered on Saturday night. Over coffee and an English muffin, Mr. O’Connor, Mr. Quinn, and quite a few others would modestly speak about their experiences as young men serving their country. To my generation, World War II was a matter for the history books but I had these old guys (probably in their 40’s) making it a lived experience. They were at the Bulge; they were at Guadalcanal; and they carried out the half-dead survivors of the Holocaust. They spoke of those who would never come home and of those forever broken. They spoke of the heroism they observed making little reference to their own. Their words have never faded away though my thoughts are also of those with whom I lived, studied, and played. Many of them left the security of Inwood for the forests of Southeast Asia. Quite a few never returned. My Cathedral Prep classmate lost his life on Hamburger Hill. And now as our country and we move through a new millennium, our young people are still sacrificing themselves for liberty’s sake and that elusive peace. As I have said so often before may our remembrance of those who have served not be momentary. May we act on their behalf who were in harm’s way for our nation. Visit them in the hospital. Lobby for proper physical and psychological care. Welcome them with jobs and promises of support. Never fail to appreciate those who stood up and accepted the call to arms.

   Towards the end of the month, we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day. We will write our thoughts about the day later on. For now, let us realize the blessings, we have received from all who have gone before us: loving God and us.

Jesus vivat,

Fr. Brian