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APRIL 12, 2015
WWW.OURLADYSTARTOFTHESEASTAMFORD.ORG
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
The Sanctuary Candle burns this week
For All Parishioners
SATURDAY, APRIL 11
Acts 4:13-21/Mk 16:9-15
5:30pm Karen C. 12th anniversary
SUNDAY, APRIL 12 DIVINE MERCY
Acts 4:32-35/1 Jn 5:1-6/Jn 20:19-31
9:00am deceased members of Mallozzi & Grossi family
(req. by family)
11:00am continuous blessings for Adele Kopper
(req. by family)
MONDAY, APRIL 13
Acts 4:23-31/Jn 3:1-8
8:00am Frank Cavaliere (req. by Bob & Terry Unnold)
TUESDAY, APRIL 14
Acts 4:32-37/Jn 3:7b-15
8:00am Gary Stanziano (req. by Michael Kepcher)
WENESDAY, APRIL 15
Acts 5:17-26/Jn 3:16-21
8:00am Pat Crossin (req. by Laure Aubuchon)
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
Acts 5:27-33/Jn 3:31-36
7:00pm Felicitas Cody (req. by Lois Pontbriant)
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
Acts 5:34-42/Jn 6:1-15
8:00am Eileen Sheilds (req. by O’Halloran family)
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
Acts 6:1-7/Jn 6:16-21
5:30pm Patrick Queally (req. by Betty & Sean Queally)
SUNDAY, APRIL 19
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19/1 Jn 2:1-5a/Lk 24:35-48
9:00am Marie Sarni (req. by Dorothy Rich)
11:00am Elena Villareal Reyes (req. by family)
WEEKLY SANCTUARY CANDLES INTENTIONS
What better way to remember a friend or loved
one then with a candle? Till now Our Lady Star of
the Sea had only the Blessed Mother candles available, yet they are lit for only an hour and a half.
Please notice that the Church Sanctuary Candle
burns the entire week for individual intentions
noted in our bulletin during the week requested.
We’re on Facebook!
We have a facebook page which we will update with
what’s going on around our parish!
www.facebook.com/pages/Our-Lady-Star-of-the-Sea
WEEKLY COLLECTION:
Last week: 13,082; Last year: 13,621; YTD: -3.1%
An old Latin maxim says, “Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex
vivendi” - how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we live. Liturgy, the public prayer of the
Church, and the worship we offer God in this prayer is at
the heart of our lives as Catholic Christians. This is true of
every liturgy, but especially true of the liturgies of Holy
Week. I extend the heartfelt thanks to all who were a part of
making these very special liturgies so beautiful. At each
service, I was grateful for the many people who gave their
time and talent for the parish’s observance of this most solemn time of the year. Many thanks to our music director,
cantors, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, altar servers and
ushers and those who decorated the altar for Easter. A special word of thanks to the children choir for their joyous
praise on Holy Thursday anwd to our confirmation students
who on Good Friday reenacted the Lord’s Passion. Thank
you to all for making our celebration of the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ such a profoundly moving experience.
As a parish community we are happy to welcome and to
congratulate Amanda and Ryan Day, Kevin Pleines, Darlene Feliciano and Sean O’Connell. Their diligence and
prayerful journey in out RCIA program brought them at the
Easter Vigil to all the sacraments of initiation, to full communion with the Catholic Church with their first Eucharist
and confirmation, or to their confirmation. As we continue
our celebration of Easter, the focus on “doubting Thomas”
is such a powerful reminder of the meaning of faith. Faith, in
the end, is a gift. Thank you all for accepting this great gift,
and for helping to pass it on.
The Church gives us fifty days to celebrate
our Easter joy! Each Sunday this Easter
Season we begin with the beautiful Rite of
Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water, as a
reminder of our baptism. We go on to joyfully sing the festive Gloria. You’ll notice too
that the first readings normally from the Old
Testament are replaced with readings from the Acts of the
Apostles, inspiring us by the life, growth and witness of
the early Church. Speaking of growth, I want to alert
young singers to our expanding Children’s Choir
ministry. In the fall there will be two choirs: a Cherub
Choir with 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders, and the Chapel Choir
for 4th graders and up into high school. Rehearsals will
be held on Saturday afternoons. The Cherubs will
practice from 4.00 to 4.30, and the Chapel Choir will meet
from 4:30 until 5:15. We can make arrangements for
families with children in each choir. Please encourage your
child(ren) to join this ministry! Be in touch with any
questions: Ruth Rolander 203 981 2510
or [email protected]
The Annual Catholic Appeal (Building
Communities of Faith) is in full swing
and I am hoping that you will support
this important fundraiser. Please keep
in mind that while Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish is our
spiritual home, the Appeal is a great opportunity to look beyond our parish. Together we can do so much to help so
many. Please know that at this point of the campaign 73
families have raised $65,875 bringing our parish to 62.74% of
its $105,000 goal. Thank you to all who have responded.
DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
This Sunday, April 12th
is the Sunday of
Divine Mercy
Divine Mercy
Service will be
at 3:00 pm
Getting tired of the cold temperatures? It's never to
early to start thinking Summer! While you are planning your vacations and confirming summer camps
for your kiddos please be sure to save Monday August
3rd through Friday August 7th
for this years' OLSS Summer
Bible Camp!
Registration starts May 1st.
More info to follow...
Synod Closing Mass
THE HISTORY OF THE FEAST OF THE DIVINE MERCY
One day, as Saint Faustina was offering all her prayers and sufferings so that this feast would be established, as Our Lord desired, she said to Him: "They tell me that there is already such a
feast and so why should I talk about it?" Jesus answered: "And
who knows anything about this feast? No one! Even those who
should be proclaiming My mercy and teaching people about it
often do not know about it themselves. That is why I want the
image to be solemnly blessed on the First Sunday after Easter,
and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may
know about it." (Diary 341)
The idea of this special celebration of God's mercy on the Sunday
after Easter is not a new or radical idea stemming simply from
private revelation. Our Lord, through Saint Faustina, is simply
reemphasizing what was strongly urged by Saint Thomas the
Apostle in the earliest liturgical document in existence, the
"Apostolic Constitutions." There we read: "After eight days
(following the feast of Easter) let there be another feast observed
with honor, the eighth day itself on which He gave me, Thomas,
who was hard of belief, full assurance, by showing me the print
of the nails, and the wound made in His side by the spear."
One of the greatest Doctors of the Church, St. Gregory of Nazianzen, also supports this Feast, declaring that the Octave day of
Easter is even a greater Feast than Easter though it takes nothing
away from the greatness of the Day of the Resurrection itself.
Easter Sunday is the boundary between death and life (a creation). But its eighth day, the Octave, is the fulfillment of what
Easter is all about - perfect life in eternity.
Easter Sunday represents our creation in the life of Grace through
faith in the Risen Savior. The Octave Sunday of Easter represents
the fulfillment of that "creation in grace." Thus it is, as St.
Augustine says, "The most privileged octave-day" and certainly
merits the title "Feast of The Divine Mercy.”
Wedding Jubilee Mass
St. Theresa Church, Trumbull
Sunday, May 17, 2015 at 3:00pm
The Diocese of Bridgeport will celebrate a Mass commemorating significant wedding anniversaries! Bishop Caggiano will
be the Principal Celebrant at this Mass.
Register at our parish office by May 8th!
Preparations are underway for the
Synod Closing Mass that will take
place on Saturday, September 19,
2015 at 11:00 am at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport. Please
plan on joining with Catholics across the Diocese to give thanks
for all the blessings we have received through the work of our
diocesan Synod as we work to renew the spiritual and pastoral life
of the Diocese. Details on the day’s events and how to obtain
tickets will be available soon through our Parish coordinator Bob
Unnold and at www.2014synod.org.
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Washington, D.C.
Please join Bishop Caggiano and 3,000 Catholics from the Diocese on our Synod Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on
Saturday, October 24, 2015. Details on the day’s schedule, bus
pick-up locations, and how to obtain tickets will be available soon
at www.2014synod.org.