Page 2 Sunday, November 02, 2014 Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 8:30 AM 10:00 AM 12:00 PM 6:00 PM Monday 8:30 AM 12:00 PM Tuesday 8:30 AM 12:00 PM Wednesday 8:30 AM 12:00 PM Thursday 8:30 AM 12:00 PM Friday 8:30 AM 12:00 PM Saturday 8:30 AM 5:00 PM Sunday 8:30 AM 10:00 AM 12:00 PM 6:00 PM MASS INTENTIONS November 1st Gabriella Fojtik November 2nd Nellie Arceo Parish Mass Jack Bernardone Maria Antonia Patti November 3rd Dorothy Mele Victoria DeMarco November 4th Edmund Forno George D’Antonio November 5th John Vecchione (Birthday Remembrance) Joan Smolinski November 6th Robert Casaccio Robert Hogan November 7th Bambino Diplacido Rita Keane November 8th Niccolo Gianni Joan Sauro November 9th Michael Minischetti Parish Mass Louis Adissi Michael & Ursula Perricone & Deceased Family Members ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PRAY FOR THE SICK Cecilia Koluch, Carolyn Kalnberg, Christopher Kasten, Philip Aniguili, Elvira Klein, Susan Davis, Frank Kalnberg, Sharon Kalnberg, Marge Hefferon, Vincent Lucanie, Bill Heilman, May Chocko, Michael & Sasha Epter, Kimberly Salotti, Jim Redmond, Robert Ryan, Patricia O’Sullivan, Giuseppina Bellina, Susan VanRemmen, Rosalind Rapoport, Roberta Papagni, and for all of our parishioners who are currently hospitalized or homebound. PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Irene Berchtoldt THIS WEEK IN THE PARISH SUNDAY – November 2nd All Souls Day -Remembrance of Deceased-10:00am Mass -Duo Concert-Church at 7:30pm MONDAY – November 3rd Ordinary Time Weekday -Scripture Study-Convent at 7:30pm -Zumba-School Gym at 8:00pm TUESDAY – November 4th Saint Charles Borromeo -Cub Scouts-Parish Hall at 7:00pm WEDNESDAY – November 5th Ordinary Time Weekday -Golden Age-Parish Hall at 12:00 Noon-ALL WELCOME -CCD-Church at 2:30pm -Divine Mercy Healing Mass-Church at 7:30pm THURSDAY – November 6th Ordinary Time Weekday -Boy Scouts-Parish Hall at 7:30pm FRIDAY – November 7th Ordinary Time Weekday -Girl Scouts-Parish Hall at 4:20pm SATURDAY – November 8th Ordinary Time Weekday -Youth Group-Parish Hall at 6:30pm MARRIAGES Congratulations to the couple married during the month of October 2014: Daniel John Wooding & Victoria C. Inting BAPTISMS We welcome into our faith community all those who were baptized in the month of October 2014: Klaudio Joseph Nikolla Lucas Duvier Saracino Thomas James Corrigan Timothy Sebastian Wang PRAY FOR THE ARMED SERVICES PFC Cody Glass, U.S. Army; Capt. Peter Sulewski, U.S. Army; Major Patrick Davis, U.S. Army (JAG); P.O.A.C.2 William Kasten, U.S. Navy; Vincent Adamovich, U.S. Navy; Chief Ajay James, U.S. Navy NSW; and all parishioners in the Military. Pray for all of our police, fire and corrections officers, who risk their lives daily to insure our safety. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ MEMORIALIZE A LOVED ONE Consider the possibility of a donation of the Bread & Wine, Flowers for the Altar, Tabernacle Light, or the Memorial Worship Fund in memory of a special person. Names of all those memorialized will be published in the bulletin. Call or stop by the Rectory for more info. ALTAR FLOWERS Many thanks for this week’s flower donation given in loving memory of: Francis Morison by Ann & Family BREAD AND WINE Many thanks for this week’s donation of Bread & Wine given in loving memory of: Francis Morison by Ann & Family TABERNACLE LIGHT Many thanks for this week’s donation of the Tabernacle Light given in loving memory of: Francis Morison by Ann & Family The Commemoration Of All The Faithful Departed Page 3 Dear Parishioners, This weekend we celebrate two related feasts: on Saturday, November 1st, All Saints' Day and on Sunday, November 2nd, All Souls' Day. Oddly the All Souls' liturgy trumps the usual liturgy for the thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Also in an odd development, because it falls on a Saturday, All Saints' Day which is normally a day of obligation is not so this year. In recent years Hallowe'en receives a great deal of attention - yet I wonder does anyone really know what we are celebrating in these rather overdone Hallowe'en festivities? One gentleman told me that after Mass last Sunday that Hallowe'en is nothing more than devil worship. It's not the first time I have heard that objection. I do think that it is a stretch to equate the silly puerile celebrations of Hallowe'en as "devil worship”. If it is, then the devil apparently expects very little from his adherents! In fact the modern celebration of Hallowe'en is an amalgam rooted in European pre-Christian celebrations particularly among the Celtic people who occupy the fringes of Europe. The Celtic nations are Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, the province of Brittany in northern France and the province of Galicia in northern Spain. The advance of other tribes around the fall of the Roman Empire drove the Celts, who once dominated central Europe, to the fringes of the continent. Nonetheless, among them there was a consistency of culture and to a degree there still is. Pre-Christian Celts celebrated the new year around what is now early November. In the Celtic calendar the New year is called "Samhain". As the winter drew closer it was thought that the veil separating the next life from this life was thinner and more permeable. The "Old Ones" could return and sometimes assume different shapes. Things appeared one way but in reality they were something else. Life-giving water enjoyed a high regard. Some of these beliefs were the stepping stones on which Saint Patrick and other early evangelists among the Celts were able to build. The belief in the efficacy of Baptism, the transubstantiation of the Eucharistic elements (they appear to be bread and wine but in fact they are the Lord Jesus), the after-life and Communion all had resonances in Celtic culture and thus were easily accepted. But old habitual beliefs do not simply disappear overnight. Many of the customs of Halloween are distant echoes of former beliefs: the jack o' lantern (in this county a pumpkin, in Europe often a gourd), the disguise as "monsters" or ghosts combined with folks customs such as dunking for apples. For most people the celebrations is just silly fun and is not taken seriously. Certainly for most people it does not involve worshipping the devil or his cohorts. The word "Hallowe'en" is a contraction of Hallow (Old English for "holy" as in …"hallowed be Thy Name”…in the Lord's Prayer) and the word "evening". The "holy evening" was the Vigil of All Saints Day. While the Church formally recognizes certain individuals as saints, it does not "make" them saints. After a lengthy process it declares this person to be (already) in heaven. The vast majority of human beings never appear on that list (or canon - thus the word "canonization”); however, they are no less in heaven if they have led lives pleasing to Almighty God. This cloud of heavenly witnesses can include parishioners who have died, our parents, our friends and others close to us when they were on earth. All of those Saints, canonized or not, are venerated for their virtue on All Saints Day! Like all the saints they are reflections of God's love, which passes through them as if the rays of the sun through a window. They are not God but they lived "godly" lives and show us how to do likewise. All Souls Day goes hand in hand with All Saints' Day. On this feast we remember those who have gone ahead of us but have yet to attain the fullness of life in God's Presence. They have some housecleaning to do first! This group is on the front porch of heaven and probably most of us will make that scene sooner or later. But we have every hope of leaving the front porch and entering the living room of heaven after those housecleaning chores are resolved. Purgatory, as it is called, is where the final imperfections are "purged". Purgatory has been represented in various ways. A representation that I find appealing often appears on our Diocesan NET TV Station. A large airport hangar is pictured, which might have housed a dirigible or zeppelin. In this hanger there is large movie screen and in front of it a recliner chair. Individual people are shown entering the hanger and sitting in the chair while their life is unfolded on the screen before them. A husband sees how he may have unfairly yelled at his wife and brought her to the point of tears. A woman sees herself in her office engaging in brutal gossip about a co-worker. A young person sees her dangerous involvement with the drugs which in effect ended her earthly life. These and others have a chance to repent of these life-destroying activities. And when they do so, they are bidden to come out of the huge doors of the hanger into a blinding light which symbolizes the life they now have with God. Indeed they have stepped off the front porch and joined the banquet of the Lord. Of course all of this is imagery. Once we leave this world time and space are not as they are here. Jesus often spoke of a judgment and yet He also consistently spoke of God's loving mercy. From that the Church over the centuries developed the sense of a "waiting" place before our accession into the fullness of Life. Part of this development was Biblical references regarding prayers for the dead. If the dead are in heaven, they need no prayers; unfortunately if they have condemned themselves to hell, they need no prayers. Prayers are meant for those in a transitory state but still on the journey to heaven All our images limp, including those that spoke of "days, or years or months in purgatory" or punishment in flames not dissimilar to the images of hell. In any event on All Souls Day we remember all those who are still in that last lap of the race. They are heaven bound but they are not yet perfected by God's searing and all encompassing love. But they will be and so they (and we ) live in hope Often in the past the saints in Heaven were called "The Church Triumphant"; those in purgatory, "The Church Suffering" and those yet in the earthly struggle, " The Church Militant". Every time we say the Nicene Creed at Mass, we profess a belief in the "communion of the saints". The "communion of the saints" means that we are in one large family called by God through Christ to share His life. Some already enjoy that new life fully; some on earth are striving to be worthy of it and some are well on the road but not quite there. Our familiar associations do not die completely at death. Our prayers offer comfort and support to those in purgatory while the saints clamor around the Throne of Mercy with our names on their lips. This weekend we celebrate two feasts that manage to encompass all of us. Hallowe'en (the holy evening) can have its place but we should not lose a sense of its origins nor the true purposes of All Souls and All Saints Days. Let us hold our deceased brothers and sisters in prayer, ever hopeful of God's paternal love. May the saints hold all of us in prayer until we join them in the fulfillment of Life with Our Lord Jesus the Christ. In Christ, Monsignor John A. McGuirl Page 4 Sunday, November 02, 2014 MEMORIAL WORSHIP FUND Many thanks for donations to the Parish Memorial Worship fund given in memory of: Father John J. Cremins by Sue Karcher by Macapinlac Family by Diane McGinley & Maria Saab Sal Bullaro by The Gorman Family CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD Children’s Liturgy of the Word will not be held today, Sunday, November 2 as we are celebrating our annual All Souls Day Parish Remembrance liturgy at the 10:00 AM Mass today (please see the Parish All Souls Remembrance Mass message in this bulletin). Children’s Liturgy will be held next Sunday, November 9. All children are invited to join our catechists in the Parish Hall to hear the Sunday readings at their level of understanding. We are still looking for some of our 7th graders (you will get Confirmation service time) to help us as puppeteers so we can make the gospel stories come alive for our younger children. If you are interested in helping as a puppeteer, please call Sue Karcher in the Religious Education Office at 718-261-6285. We are planning a Family Mass for Sunday, November 16. Watch for further details ADVANCE NOTICE THANKSGIVING CLOTHING DRIVE As we did at Thanksgiving time last year and also during Lent, we are again conducting a Clothing Drive in conjunction with Blessed Sacrament Parish in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Since Hurricane Sandy hit the New York area in 2012, one of our faithful parishioners, Mrs. Susan McCabe, has been bringing clothing donated by our parishioners to Blessed Sacrament on a weekly basis. The people there are extremely grateful for all of the assistance we have provided and they have received. On Saturday, November 22, we will be conducting our Thanksgiving Clothing Drive. We will be renting a U-Haul truck for the day to bring the used clothing to Blessed Sacrament. The truck will be in front of the Church from 10:00 AM until 12:00 PM to collect clean clothing in good condition. Take time to do some Fall Cleaning of your closets and share your unused or outgrown clothing with the needy at Blessed Sacrament Parish. Your generosity is greatly appreciated! WEDDING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Did you celebrate your 25th, 50th or any other “significant” wedding anniversary in the years 2013 or 2014? We will be having our parish wedding anniversary celebration at the 10:00 AM Mass on Sunday, November 23, 2014. Any couple who would like to renew wedding vows at that Mass is asked to notify the Rectory Office as soon as possible and submit your names, phone number and the number of years you are celebrating. Couples celebrating a 25th or 50th anniversary will receive a scroll. The Mass will be followed by a reception in the Parish Hall. All parishioners are welcome to attend. PARISH ALL SOULS REMEMBRANCE MASS Each year, on All Souls Day, we celebrate a special candlelight Mass at which we make special remembrance, by name, of all those parishioners who died during the past year. All the names are inscribed in the “Book of the Dead,” which will be enshrined in a special prominent place near the altar during the Mass, and the names will be called solemnly during the liturgy. Since All Souls Day, November 2, falls on a Sunday this year, we will celebrate this special liturgy at the 10:00 AM Mass that day. A simple Coffee Hour will be held in the Parish Hall after Mass. ADVANCE NOTICE THANKSGIVING DAY FAMILY MASS Join us on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, November 27 at 9:00 AM for our annual Thanksgiving Day Family Mass. As a community, let us gather to give thanks to God for all of the abundant gifts and blessings He has bestowed on us and our families. To help us better serve those who come to us for help, we ask that you bring a food or monetary donation to assist our Food Pantry and Human Services outreach. Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day! HELP KEEP OUR FOOD PANTRY SHELVES STOCKED We are extremely grateful to everyone who donated food so abundantly last week. Our shelves had been a bit bare but through your generosity, they are looking a lot better. This week, we still need your help to re-stock the following items: Parmalat milk, jelly, canned fruit, jar tomato sauce, canned hams, plain rice, coffee (regular/decaf/instant), fruit juices, bottled water, cookies/snacks, mayonnaise, shampoo, toothpaste, soap, individually wrapped paper towels, paper napkins, and facial tissues. A continued helpful hint – watch for the weekly specials at our local supermarkets. Taking advantage of them is a great way to help our Food Pantry. If everyone donated just one item each week, we would be able to adequately maintain our Food Pantry inventory. As always, many, many thanks for your continued generosity to our Food Pantry ministry – it is very much appreciated. LEFTOVER HALLOWEEN CANDY If you have any candy or other goodies left after the trick-ortreaters have come and gone on Halloween, please consider donating it to our Food Pantry. We can use your donations to share the holidays with our needy neighbors by providing them with some sweet treats. INFORMATION SESSIONS ON THE PROCESS FOR ANNULMENTS Sessions providing information about the diocesan process for annulments will be held on Saturday, November 8 at 11:00 AM and Wednesday, November 19 at 7:00 PM at ResurrectionAscension Parish, 61-11 85 Street, Rego Park. The sessions will be devoted to clarifying misconceptions about the annulment process in the Diocese. Questions about the process will be answered. You will also hear about annulments from the perspective of what it means for family life and Christian marriage. Page 5 Sunday, November 02, 2014 CONFIRMATION CLASS OF 2014 The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on our current 8th grade Confirmation candidates on Friday, November 14, 2014 at 5:00 PM by retired Auxiliary Bishop Guy Sansaricq. Please continue to pray for the Confirmation candidates as they continue to prepare to receive the sacrament. CONFIRMATION CLASS OF 2015 The 7th Graders in Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy and our CCD Program who are planning to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Fall of 2015 have begun their year-long program preparing them for the reception of the sacrament. Slips of paper with the names of next year’s candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation are in baskets at the doors of the Church. Please take a name and pray for that young person throughout the coming year. • • • • COMMUNITY NEWS Consider joining the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants at the All Women’s Pavilion, 69-30 Austin Street, on Saturdays between 7:00am and 11:30am in a peaceful, prayerful witness to life. Lives are saved and the way to conversion is opened. Join us for any amount of time. Women of Beauty Catholic Women’s Conference will be held on Nov. 8th from 9am – 4pm at St. Joseph Parish, Nolan Hall (39 N. Carll Ave., Babylon, NY). The keynote speaker will be Pat Gohn, author of “Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious-Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood”. Molloy College will host a Fall Open House for prospective students and their guests on November 16th at 1:00pm. For more info contact Molloy College, Rockville Centre, NY (516-323-4000). Theology On Tap will be held on November 24th at the 12th Street Bar & Grill (1123 8th Av., Brooklyn) at 7:00pm. The topic will be Christian-Islamic Interactions in the Middle Ages. Grab a bite to eat and a drink while we discuss important issues to Young Adult Catholics. For more info call 718-965-73 xt.5556. SECOND ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY On Saturday, December 6th we will have our Tree Lighting Ceremony and dedication of a marker in memory of Msgr. Langelier. Since it is St. Nicholas Day as well, we expect a visit from Santa who will join us in festivities in the Parish Hall afterwards. Holiday greenery , craft items, Mrs. Claus baked goods, and original wood carvings will be available. OLM GOLDEN AGE CLUB NEWS The Golden Age Club is sponsoring a trip to Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City on Tues., Dec 2nd. The cost of the trip is $49.00, which includes: coach, $25 buffet $15 slot play & a Christmas show. To reserve a seat, please make checks payable to OLM Golden Age Club and send to the Rectory at 7001 Kessel St., Forest Hills, NY. The coach will leave OLM promptly at 8:00am and from Queen of Martyrs at 8:15am. All are welcome. Any Questions, call Ed (718-849-0234) OLM MUSICAL NOTES On Sunday, November 2nd Josue Pagan & Elena Acosta-Diaz will present a Guitar & Voice Concert at 7:30pm in the Church. On Sunday, Nov.16th, join us in the parish hall for Singer — Songwriter Night. Admission is free. If you have an act that you wish to be included, please e-mail Joseph Martin at [email protected]. CHILDREN’S CHOIR (Ages 9 & Up) meets every Wednesday, from 2:00 to 2:45 in the Church Choir loft. All are welcome. SOCIETY OF ST. VINCENT de PAUL GIVES BACK Our Lady of Mercy will share in the profits. For each donated car, truck or van, running or not, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will give back to our parish $50/$100 per vehicle. Maybe you don’t have a vehicle, but a family member, friend or neighbor has an old or neglected vehicle in their driveway that they would like to dispose of. Call the Society of St. Vincent de Paul at 718-491-2525. Please continue spread the word, and thank you for your support. FAMILY, MARRIAGE AND INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING Professional therapy, provided by New York State licensed therapists, is available to our parish and 148 other parishes. Services are provided by the Catholic Counseling Center, which is independent of and not controlled or supervised by the parish or diocese. Most insurance policies, including Medicare, are honored. Confidential information and appointments are available by calling Dr. George Giuliani at 631-243-2503 or v i s i t t h e w e b s i t e a t h t t p : / / www.thecatholiccounselingcenter.com. 50-50 RAFFLE WINNERS DIVINE MERCY SCHEDULE November 05, 2014 7:00 PM-Devine Mercy Chaplet 7:30 PM-Healing Mass November 12, 2014 7:00 PM-Divine Mercy Cenacle (will be held in Rectory Meeting Room) November 19, 2014 7:00 PM-Divine Mercy Devotion November 26, 2014 7:00 PM- Divine Mercy Cenacle Congratulations to the October Winners of the 50-50 Raffle: 1st Prize: Richard & Joyce Bartz $258.00 2nd Prize: Rami & Maureen Abdel-Misih $129.00 $129.00 3rd Prize: Mildred McSkimming 4th Prize: Matt Fitzgerald $64.00 5th Prize: Mary Beth Colgan $64.00
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