St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church 1500 DePaul Street Elmont, N.Y. 11003 “A Parish with Heart” Pastoral Staff Rev. Msgr. Richard M. Figliozzi Administrator (516) 352-2127 Parish Social Ministry Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm (516) 354-4976 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time January 25, 2015 From Msgr. Figliozzi Scriptural Reflection for the Week “Then [Simon and Andrew] abandoned their nets and followed [Jesus].” (see Mark 1:14-20) Question: When does one abandon the means of their livelihood? Answer: When it is Jesus who is asking you to do it. Yes, no one gives up something that is so essential to their life such as the means to make their living. However, when one is certain that the Lord wills and wants this we must be ready to do so. Does this seem unrealistic and naive to us? If so, see how far we’ve come from being inspired and full of zeal for the ways of God! Yes, Catholic people have come to be so much a part of the society they inhabit that they look more like that society than like Christ! This is one reason why there are fewer priests and nuns. It can’t be that God is not calling women and men to follow Him therefore it must be that they are resisting the call to abandon everything to follow Him. How little we like to sacrifice or give up things for the sake of a greater good! This may be translated as saying how little we really do love God. And, also, how little we know God. To really know God and love God means that I am ready and willing to abandon all for Him, even my very life! The Season of Lent This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 18th and Holy Week begins on March 29th with Palm Sunday and Easter is on April 5th. Carnevale 2015 at St. Catherine of Sienna Tickets are now available for our Saturday, February 7th celebration. Call the Parish Office at 516-352-0146 for reservations. Tickets are $45 which includes meal with wine and live music. Last Weekend’s Collection and Attendance Parish: $3,747.00 Attendance: 4:00pm—168 8:30am—151 12:30pm—112 Total: 431 Thank you for your support. One Final Thought “Jesus wants us to give of ourselves every moment. You have been taught by those who have given their whole lives to Christ. By their teaching and personal example, they have kindled the light of Christ in your lives. The time has come for you to likewise kindle the same light of Christ in the lives of those around you.” Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Stewardship….. Reflection There is a certain urgency in today’s Gospel as Jesus calls His first disciples Andrew and Simon, James and John. Each one follows Jesus immediately, unhesitatingly abandoning father and fellow - workers, nets and boat. To what is Jesus calling me - at this moment, in these circumstances? What will I need to abandon in order to follow Him? Living Stewardship We are grateful this week for all stewards in our parish who work in parish-based advocacy groups to bring Gospel values and Catholic social teaching to the wider community. MASS INTENTIONS MASS INTENTIONS for the Week for this Weekend Saturday 4:00 pm Sunday 8:30 am 12:30 pm January 24 Michael Aiden Corrigan; Rose Savella January 25 Anne Giacalone ——— SAINTS AND SPECIAL OBSERVANCES Sunday: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time; Catholic Schools Week Monday: Ss. Timothy and Titus Tuesday: St. Angela Merici Wednesday: St. Thomas Aquinas Saturday: St. John Bosco Monday 8:30 am Tuesday 8:30 am Wednesday 8:30 am Thursday 8:30 am Friday 8:30 am Saturday 4:00 pm PARISH ‘IN HOME’ PRAYER PROGRAM Host Family/Individual: PILGRIM STATUE OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA Pascal & Georgette Longchamp CUP OF PRAYER January 26 ——— January 27 John & Antoinette Accardi January 28 Strohm Family; Catherine & James Carrano January 29 For the People of the Parish January 30 ——— January 31 ——— BREAD & WINE For the week of January 25 thru January 31 Is in Loving Memory of Deceased Members of The Kucharczyk & Tomaskovic Families The Megham Family MISSION STATEMENT As members of St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Parish, we are committed to assisting our members in both the spiritual and temporal needs of life. We are a parish with heart who are committed to “Let all things be done with Charity” and show we are disciples of Christ by our love for one another. Please Pray for our sick Relatives and Friends: Rev. Msgr. Thomas Hartman Matthew Haygood ; Anthony Gangemella Madelyn Kushner; Maria Scuccimarra Linda Rome; Charlotte Orlando Bob Soveign; Maria Gloe Helen Strohm; Ann Parazelli Patricia DeRosa; Sean Bennett Kaelyn Judith Donlon; Larry Blumberg Ann Mitarotonda; Margaret McCabe Arlindo Marcelino; Jack Musolino; Janet Falco Diane Drescher; Ralph Wilson; Diane Wilson Brittany Wilson; Raul Matos; Mary Italo Penny Wyckoff; Matthew Noah; Karen Hoffmeyer Tommy Lannan; Vincente Mejias; William Ross George McAuliffe; Michael O’Malley Ann Donahue; Thomas McCreight; Jean Henry Dominick Consolazio; Theresa Chevalier Frank Saccone; Eugenia Lane Barbara Ostipwko; Dorie Harbin; Carlos Mackey Shane Harbin; Gerry Petrella; Veronica Dixon Bill Gilbert; Madeline Corrigan Karen Carlucci Tom Camberiarti Maria Rossi Pashayen Howard Wirth Albert Bartlett Anna Marie Orlando Dorothy Mink Honald Please Pray for our Men & Women in the U.S. Armed Forces: Diane Rosemary Patrick, USAF Aaron J. Shattuck Thomas Bradshaw Arlindo Almida Thomas Lainis Peter Dilos Frankie Umile Rev. David Kruse (Chaplain) Joseph Giordano, USMC John Marco Militano, USA Joseph A. Galante, USMC Jimmy Bustamante Latasha Coward Nicholas Russo James E. Allen Brian Kevin Corrigan Michael Borg Christopher Messano Carlos Felix Michael Arana St. Vincent de Paul Parish Office – (516) 352-2127 Hours: Monday thru Thursday - 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Saturday - 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Friday and Sunday – Closed Fax – (516) 305-5474 Email: [email protected] Web: www.stvincentdepaulparish.org For Emergency relating to death or dying after 2 pm call St. Catherine of Sienna - (516) 352-0146 We Celebrate the Eucharist Saturday Vigil – 4:00 pm Sunday – 8:30 am & 12:30 pm Weekdays: Monday thru Friday 8:30 am Holy Day Mass Schedules will be announced in the Bulletin on the prior Sunday. We Celebrate the Sacraments Sacrament of ReconciliaƟon – Saturdays immediately after celebration of the Vigil Mass, or by calling the Parish Office for an appointment with a Priest. Sacrament of BapƟsm – call the Parish Office to arrange for an interview. This should be done while awaiting the birth of your child. Sacrament of Marriage – call the Parish Office to make an appointment with a priest before making social arrangements. Visitation of the Sick and Homebound call the Parish Office to arrange for a visit by a Priest to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, and also to receive Holy Communion. Holy Hour – on the first Friday of the month after the 8:30 am Mass with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and concluding with Benediction. Devotions The Rosary – is recited daily before the 8:30 am Weekday Masses. Miraculous Medal Novena and Special Prayers to St. Anthony are said on Thursdays after the 8:30 am Mass. The Clergy from St. Catherine of Sienna who serve us here at St. Vincent de Paul are as follows: Pastor/Administrator Rev. Msgr. Richard M. Figliozzi Associate Pastors Rev. Allan Arneaud Rev. Johnny Mendonca Rev. Charles N. Srion Deacons Joseph Benincasa Frank Gonzalez Aid worker becomes a nun after assisting tsunami and Fukushima victims Sawako Inae conducted a successful professional life first as an official of the United Nations Development Programme, and then in a position of responsibility at Caritas Japan. The encounter with and the assistance provided to victims of the 2011 earthquake changed her life, and pushed her to devote herself to God. Her bishop: "A story of inner conversion. God has wonderful plans for all of us." Niigata (AsiaNews) - A successful career at the United Nations Development Programme, then a senior post at Caritas Japan. Finally, the profession of her first religious vows to become a nun and dedicate her life to God. This is the story of Sister Sawako Inae, described as "one of the most talented officers in the field", and whom, after spending a year with survivors of the Fukushima disaster, has chosen religious life. Her bishop, Msgr. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, describes her as "one of the biggest surprises of my life". Prior to joining Caritas Japan, Ms. Sawako had done an excellent job at UNDP. Thanks to the United Nations programme she visited developing nations, setting up economic and social policies aimed at improving community life. A fervent Catholic, she left the UN to become part of the Church's charitable organization. For Msgr. Kikuchi "she was one of the most efficient programme officers I've ever worked with". On 15 March 2011, a few days after the disastrous earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan, the Bishop of Niigata travelled to the Diocese of Sendai with a select group of Caritas workers. Amongst them Sawako, who was charged with "taking pictures" of the situation and proposing the first rehabilitation and relief programmes for the local population. From that day on, a new journey began for the future nun, who together with Verbite Father Daisuke Naru - who was Secretary of the Caritas Commission - set up the first emergency response center. During her stay in Sendai, the official was hosted by the Charity Sisters of Ottawa: "One day - Msgr. Kikuchi says - without any warning, she called me and told me she wanted to become a nun. It was one of the biggest surprises of my life. Such a strong lady who could withstand any harsh environment.. God has his own plan for us". "In Deus Caritas Est - says the prelate - Pope Benedict XVI writes: The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. Those Catholics who work in relief activities translate these three concepts of the nature of the Church into reality everyday. Doing good in itself is a witness of the gospel". Now for Sister Sawako, who has professed her first vows, there are two years of religious life before final consecration: "I am sure that this sister had deep experience of conversion in her faith and decided to dedicate herself entirely to God. God really has his own plan for us". Pope: mothers are not adequately appreciated or helped in society, sometimes even in the Church Mothers "are not adequately appreciated in their central role in society. On the contrary, the availability of mothers to sacrifice themselves for their children is often used to 'save' on social spending". Pontiff told Golden Circus performers that they are "creators of beauty" that the world "needs". For him, "Humanity thinks, feels, does, but today it greatly needs beauty. Let us not forget this!" Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Mothers, to whom "every human person be indebted for his or her life" and almost always much of his or her human and spiritual education, "are rarely heeded or helped in daily life. They are little appreciated in their central role in society. On the contrary, the availability of mothers to sacrifice themselves for their children is often used to 'save' on social spending". Even "in the Christian community, mothers do not always receive their dues or are not appreciated enough." The catechesis on the family was at the centre of the first general audience of 2015, which Pope Francis dedicated to "mothers", without whom society "would be an inhumane society, since mothers always know how to show, even in the worst moments, tenderness, dedication, and moral strength." A festive atmosphere pervaded the meeting in the Paul VI Hall, partly because of the Golden Circus and the performances by its acrobats, jugglers and other artists. In thanking them, the pope called them "creators of beauty" that the world "needs". "Circus performers," he said, "create beauty; they are creators of beauty. This is good for the soul." "How much we need beauty! It is true; our life is very practical, doing things, carrying out our work. This must be done: doing, speaking with the hands . . . Our life is also thinking, reason . . . speaking through the mind. We are also people who love, who have this capacity to love, speaking through the heart. Thinking is the language of the mind; loving is the language of the heart; doing is the language of the hands. All three languages come together to create the harmony of the person. That is where beauty lies. The people who performed today for us are creators of harmony, creators of beauty, who teach us the higher road of beauty. God is certainly true; God is certainly good; God knows certainly how to do things; he created the world; but above all God is beautiful! God's beauty. Very often, we forget about beauty, do we not? Humanity thinks, feels, does, but today it greatly needs beauty. Let us not forget this!" In his address to the 8,000 people present in the audience hall, Francis said that "perhaps mothers, ready to sacrifice so much for their children, and often for those of others as well, should get more attention. We should better understand their daily struggle to be efficient at work as well as attentive and loving in the family. We should better understand what they aspire to in order to express the best and truest results of their emancipation". "A mother with children always has problems; she is always working. I remember at home, we were five. If one did one thing, another thought about doing something else. Our poor mother went from one to the other; yet she was happy. She gave us so much." "Mothers are the strongest antidote to the spread of selfish individualism. [. . .] Individual means 'what cannot be split. Mothers split themselves, from child bearing and giving the child to the world to raising him or her. Mothers hate war the most for it kills their children. I thought so many times about mothers, when they received a letter that says, '. . . your son fell in defense of the country . . .'. Poor women, how much do mothers suffer! They bear witness to the beauty of life". In his address, the Holy Father also cited Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, assassinated in 1980, who spoke of the "martyrdom of mothers." During the homily at the funeral of a priest killed by death squads, the prelate said that being martyrs also means "giving life gradually, [. . .] in silence, in prayer, in the honest fulfillment of one's duty, in the silence of everyday life" as a mother does, "who, without fear, with the simplicity of motherly martyrdom conceives a child in her womb, gives birth, nurses, raises and cares for him or her with affection. This is giving life. This is martyrdom'. "Being a mother does not mean only giving birth to a child, but it is also a way of life," the "choice of giving life," the pontiff said. Hence, "A society without mothers would be an inhumane society, since mothers always know how to show, even in the worst moments, tenderness, dedication, and moral strength." "Mothers often pass on the deepest sense of religious practice. The value of faith in the life of a human being is written in the first prayers, in the early acts of devotion that a child learns. It is a message that believing mothers know how to pass on without too many explanations. These will come later, but the seed of faith is in those first precious moments. Without mothers, not only there would be no new believers, but faith would lose much of its simple and profound warmth." The Church "is our mother! We are not orphans; we have a mother! Our Lady, Mother Church and our mother. We are not orphans; we are children of the Church; we are children of Our Lady; and we are children of our mothers": "Dear mothers," the pope said, "thank you; thank you for what you are in the family and for what you give to the Church and the world. To you, beloved Church, thank you, thank you for being a mother. To you Mary, Mother of God, thank you for making us see Jesus. Equally, we salute all the mothers present here with an applause." After the catechesis, the pope also greeted a delegation of French imams involved in Christian-Muslim relations. In his address, he urged them to maintain with courage their commitment "in the service of peace, brotherhood and truth." The pontiff also greeted pilgrims from Poland, in particular a delegation of survivors from the Auschwitz concentration camp, which was liberated seventy years ago this month. The Office of Multicultural Diversity Catholics of African Ancestry – Haitian American Apostolate Diocese of Rockville Centre Presents the 34 Annual Anniversary Mass of Thanksgiving in honor of th BLACK HISTORY MONTH Sharing faith through the eyes of our Catechists: I began volunteering for Saint Catherine of Sienna as a Catechist in the fall of 2013. I had been asked to volunteer as a Catechist for the faith formation program. I thought that with my career in education and having attended Catholic school myself I would have so much to offer. I figured I was knowledgeable enough to teach and explain the message Jesus had wanted us to share. Then a preparation class was given that further explained materials and curriculum. That gave me even greater confidence. Finally the first day of classes arrived. I was a little nervous but prepared. The day went wonderfully. The entire class was excited, each of us alike. Each class that followed was better then the last. Therefore it was certain to me that I would continue my service as a Catechist. This year the first day jitters came and went quickly. The day was superb and again each class since has been the same. I finally realized exactly why this experience is so fulfilling. I started this story with what I had intended to do, volunteer my time and provide a service for others. However, being in these rooms and this environment has given so much to me. Every time the stories are read, lessons are learned and we participate, I am learning. I am learning again the things I had forgotten, but more than that, I have been and continue to be inspired. Michelle Colallela 4th grade Catechist St. Agnes Cathedral 29 Quealy Place, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 TIME: 2:00PM On Saturday, February 7, 2015 The Eve of the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita Principle Celebrant: Most Rev. Andrzej Zglejszewski Homilist & Celebrant: Rev. Maurice J. Nutt, C.Ss.R., D.Min. St. Vincent de Paul Society & Parish Social Quote of the Day, from Lombardi: "Its what he would want to do in his life – meet all the street children in Manila" Ministry (Outreach) We are called to continue God’s work on earth. As a parish we do this by continuing to take care of those who are in need. This week the pantry is in need of: ∗ Instant potatoes ∗ Syrup ∗ Coffee ∗ Pasta sauce ∗ Brown gravy ∗ Canned meats. We will no longer be open on the last Saturday of the month. No more than 3 people came when we were open. Thank you for all you do. Faith Formation News Level 7 Confirmation Retreat Level 7 First Year Confirmation Preparation students are required to go on Retreat. We have retreat Saturday, January 31st. The schedule was mailed home. Level 5 Mass All fifth grade students and their families are invited to attend Mass on: Sunday, February 1, 2015 @9:30 am Sienna Center at St. Catherine’s First Year Confirmation Level 7 Mass We will be asking our parish community to pray for our First Year Candidates as they continue their Confirmation Journey. A special blessing will be given to those students present at this Mass: Sunday, February 1, 2015 @11:00 am —Sienna Center at St. Catherine’s UPCOMING EVENTS & NEWS January 20, 2015 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated around our nation from January 25 -31, 2015. Once again, the theme for this year is Catholic Schools - Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. This theme truly captures the essence of Catholic schools. Our schools strive to build community, share faith, increase our students’ knowledge and encourage them to give service. It has been my experience as I visit the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Rockville Centre that our administrators, teachers and parents are committed to making sure that each student lives up to his or her potential to learn and to be formed in the Catholic faith. During my time as Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, I have been so impressed by the dedication to, interest in, and concern for each student that the administrators and teachers show each day. To each of them I say thank you for all that you do to make our schools places where academic excellence is expected of all and where the faith is taught, experienced and lived out on a daily basis. Parents have a fundamental right and responsibility to make sure that their children are educated. All parents, whether they choose independent, religious or public school for their children, bear additional expenses beyond what they pay in state and local taxes. As we see more and more, all schools need additional revenue to offset the rising costs of educating our children today. I continue to encourage you to go to the New York State Catholic Conference web site (www.nyscatholic.org) and become a member of the Catholic Advocacy Network. We need to work together so that we can strengthen both public and non-public schools in the State of New York. Many of our educational programs are needed to insure that all students meet and have the opportunity to exceed the standards for 21st century learning and working. Our Diocese has much to be proud of. Our Catholic elementary and high schools are wonderful examples of academic and spiritual excellence. Our schools are committed to always growing in faith and living the Gospel. We invite you to come and see this for yourselves during Catholic Schools Week where you will experience our Communities of Faith, Knowledge and Service. Yours sincerely in Christ, Bishop of Rockville Centre
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