St. Polycarp Parish
135 Ransom Lane, Smyrna, DE 19977-1617
WE ARE HERE TO SERVE YOU
Office Hours: 9:30 am - 3 pm weekdays
(302) 653-8279
[email protected]
www.saintpolycarp.org
diocesan website: www.cdow.org
BECAUSE WE SEE CHRIST IN YOU
Rev. Thomas A. Flowers (Fr. Tom), Pastor
Patricia Freedman, DRE, 653-4101
Bernadette Baker, Administrative Assistant
and Bookkeeper
Betty Sloven, Secretary, 653-8279
Lori Vien, Daybreak Counseling, 222-0517
Jack Molyneau, Finance Council
Tom Hopper, Facilities Rentals, 653-2314
The Academy at St. Polycarp
(Pre-School)
499 W. South Street
Nancy Koska, Director, 653-1496
WE CELEBRATE THE EUCHARIST
5 pm Saturday, 8 & 10:45 am Sunday
(4 pm Nov. - Feb.) (10 am June - August)
8:30 am weekdays (except Thursday)
10:30 am Tuesday, DE Home for Chronically Ill
WE FORM ADULTS & YOUTH IN FAITH
Christian Formation Office, 653-4101
Judy Lamborn, DRE’s Assistant
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
St. John Bosco Home School Study Group
Alison Seewald, 378-7198
ChristLife includes three 7-Monday programs
Christ Renews His Parish weekends for men & women
WE CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS
Confessions 3:30-4:30 pm Sat. or by appointment in
Fr. Tom’s office. No matter how long you may have
been away, you are always welcome back!
Image of St. Polycarp is from an original oil painting
by Sean Faust which hangs in Mother Drexel Hall
WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
We will be happy to meet with you in our office or register
you over the phone. You must attend Mass weekly for us to
certify you to stand as a godparent for Baptism or a sponsor for
Confirmation. Working adult children living with parents should
receive envelopes. We mail contribution envelopes and have
two collections every Sunday for diocesan & parish ministries.
WE GATHER FOR PRAYER
Eucharistic Adoration in St. Ann Chapel, 9 am – 9 pm Tuesday
Sacred Heart Devotions, 9 am 1st Friday • Cenacle of Our Lady, 1st Friday, 9:30 am.
Divine Mercy Devotions, 3 pm Friday, September-May
BVM Sodality
Knights of Columbus
Br. Vincent Council
Columbian Squires
4th Deg. Assembly
Columbiettes
Phyllis Ortiz
678-1212
Our Parish Mission
We, are a welcoming Roman Catholic family
of faith, a thankful, holy people sent forth
from our celebration of the Eucharist to walk
in faith, live in hope, and act with love for God
and one another. Through our ministry we
embrace the poor, the suffering, and the lost.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are committed
to justice and peace through prayer, Christian
formation the New Evangelization, and
stewardship.
Bud Whitlock 659-6962
Rich DeZao
677-1999
Rich DeZao
677-1999
Mary Lou Bush 883-2705
Holy Cross Elementary
St. Thomas More Prep
674-5784
697-8100
Diocesan Vocation Office
Rev. Dave Kelly
www.CalledByTheLord.com
378-5800
Help With Pregnancy
Post-Abortion Help
698-9311
472-0649
[email protected]
Day Break Counseling Lori Vien
222-0517
Improve Mail Delivery: Use the ZIP + 4
1883
St. Polycarp Church
February 15th, 2015
6th Sunday in Ordinal Time
World Marriage Day
February 15, 2015
From Our Pastor’s Desk
Someone recently asked if our parish
would ever become a mission of Holy Cross.
“Impossible!” I replied. When questioned why
I was so certain, I replied, “In just a few years,
there may be only 1 priest stationed in Dover!”
In 1977, I became one of 105 diocesan
priests in full-time ministry. Today there are
just 68 of us. With retirements and deaths,
that number could drop by 10 in another few
years. (Remember: no ordinations last year,
this year, or next year!)
Not counting missions, we have 56 parishes (several more than when I became a
priest). Half a dozen are staffed by religious
communities (for how long, no one can
predict). If we were to lose 10 priests within 4
years, the 58 remaining would have to staff at
least 50 parishes. You don’t need to be a
math whiz to see that we are trouble NOW!
In Baltimore some parishes see a priest
for only a Mass or two on Sun. Some of you
reading this may find that, when it is time for
the funeral of your mom or dad, a service will
be led by a deacon or a lay person. (At one
parish in Philly, the undertaker does the
committal services at the cemetery.)
We can twin parishes, as was done in
the past couple years with Marydel & Dover
and Our Lady of Fatima & St. Paul in Delaware
City. Doing that, however, still leaves us with
fewer priests trying to cover more people and
more territory.
More critical than a drop in numbers of
priests is the disappearance of young adults.
Every survey shows that those between 18
and 39 are the Catholics we are most likely to
lose in coming years.
In the Diocese of Wilmington (Delaware & the 9 counties of Maryland’s Eastern
Shore), marriages over the past 15 years have
declined by a startling 40%! Some raised
Catholic go to other churches, where rules are
fewer & easier. Others are satisfied with just
a civil union, while the rest simply live together without benefit of legal marriage.
Central Delaware is the fastest growing
part of the state, but most of our newcomers
are retirees. We welcome them, of course, as
they help our parish grow, but the aging of our
parish must concern us.
One of my regrets is my inability these
past 13 years to address the issue of how to
reach out to young adults. Rich Seewald has
done a marvelous job in developing ministry to
teens thru the PSSR, but that must be only a
first step.
Evangelization includes more than converts to the Catholic faith--all of us need to be
evangelized. Evangelium means “Gospel,”
and each one of us needs daily conversion
thru proclamation of the Good News. Our own
personal growth in holiness and our compasssionate and generous service to others will
attract and inspire others to learn about, and
share, our faith.
Lent once again offers us an opportunity to hear & read God’s Word, reflect on our individual relationships with Jesus, and evaluate how much more we can and should do to
live our calling from the Lord.
Let us pray daily for neighbors & family
members who have fallen away from practice
of the Catholic religion. Let us reach out to
the “unchurched” who are searching for answers, meaning, healing, forgiveness, a place
to belong. Let us pray that the R.C.I.A. will
grow each year, drawing more and more folks
to our parish. And let us intercede, too, for
those young people whom the Lord is calling
to serve Him and His Church as priests, deacons, and religious.
May our final Lent together be filled
with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit!
Fr. Tom
301
PAGE TWO
LITURGY
Masses & Prayer
Bread & Wine for the Eucharist Today are
given for couples in our parish who are
faithfully & joyfully living the Sacrament of
Matrimony.
Our Sanctuary Lamp in Church burns for those
preparing for Marriage.
Our Sanctuary Lamp in St. Ann Chapel burns
all of our widows & widowers.
Mon., Feb. 16
Presidents Day
8:30 Jacqueline Perkowski --James Sloven
Readings for Ash Wed.: Joel 12: 2-18, Psalm
51: 3-6b, 12-14, 17, II Corinthians 5: 20-6:2,
and Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18
Tues., Feb. 17
Founders of the Servites
8:30 Mary McCoy --M/M Michael Moran, Jr.
9 am Eucharistic Adoration (St. Ann Chapel)
10:30 Phoebe & Wm Dunn & Family --Terri
Readings Next Sunday: Genesis 9:8-15, Ps
25:4-9, I Peter 3:18-22, and Mark 1:12-15
Wed., Feb. 18
Musicians for Ash Wed.: no music (8:30 am),
Peter on the organ (12:05 pm), Rosanne on
the harp (6:30 pm)
Ash Wednesday
fast & abstain
8:30 Joseph Orlando
--Angel & Al Grasso
12:05 Wanda Mann
--Fran & Chuck Miller
6:30 Tommy Snyder --parents, Tom & Elaine
Musicians Next Weekend: Richie (guitar, 4 pm
& 10:45 am) and Peter (organ, 8 am)
Thurs., Feb. 19
8:30 George Dunn
Let’s Pray for the Sick
Week I
Leon Wallace, Baby Williams,
Susan Mays
Week II Darrin Tanis, Marie Carney,
Eleanor Hartnett
Week III Rev. John Riley
Week IV Deborah Oset, Karen McKenna,
Gerald Wong, Margaret Walters,
Dave Brown
Week V
Diane Harman
Week VI Bobby Bullins, Anthony Lennon,
Lewis Blood
Let’s Pray for Our Deceased
Fr. Michael Kelleher & Msgr. Jan Gulcz (Sun.),
Fr. Edward Wisniewski (Mon.), Deacon John
Seador (Tues.), Fr. Henry Berg (Wed.), and Fr.
John Connelly (Fri.)
--wife, Terri
Fri., Feb. 20
abstain
8:30 No Mass
3 pm Divine Mercy devotions (chapel)
6:30 Stations & Benediction
Sat., Feb. 21
1:30 Reconciliation (2 hours)
4 pm the Wallaces
--Terri Dunn
Sun., Feb. 22
1st Sunday in Lent
8 am Missa pro Populo
10:45 Mario & Erminia DiNozzi
--Fred & Anita Keyton
Burning Alive & Beheading of People by the
Islamist extremists calls all of us to more frequent & fervent prayer for the success of efforts to fight the war on terrorism and evils
being propagated not only throughout the Middle East but on the city streets of the U.S. and
our allies.
301
PAGE THREE
Lent Has Its Origins in preparing catechumens
for the Easter sacraments. Prior to the
Council (1962-66), “the popular idea of Lent
was a prolonged meditation on the Passion,
with special emphasis on Christ’s physical
sufferings. Understood only in light of the
feast for which it prepares us, Lent is “the
great Paschal retreat.” Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says, “By recalling
or preparing for Baptism and by penance, it
disposes the faithful, who more diligently hear
the Word of God and devote themselves to
prayer, to celebrate the Paschal Mystery.”
Fasting initially lasted only a day or two; by
the late 4th century, a 40-day fast (which
mirrored Jesus’ fast in the desert) was observed. Christians ate one meal a day, abstaining from meat, fish, & dairy products.
These rules grew less severe thru the years,
and recent trends include greater emphasis
on exercises of piety & works of charity.
Making penance & discipline an end in themselves obscure the real purpose of Lent.
(Instead of eating less just to lose weight,
giving up food can provide money to give to
charity; giving up cigarettes shouldn’t end in
an Easter orgy of smoking 3 packs but rather
lead to remaining free of cigarettes and fostering better health for the rest of one’s life.)
Lent purifies us by weaning us away from sin
& selfishness through self-denial and prayer,
creating in us a desire to do God’s will and
advances His kingdom by making it come first
in our hearts. We who are baptized share our
faith with catechumens, and the eagerness &
joy of our elect inspire & challenge us to renew our faith & baptismal promises so that
the entire Church experiences renewal of Her
youth. Lent is not a preparation for confession
but more ideally a period that follows
confession, at the beginning of the season,
reinforcing, thru Lenten practices, good
intentions which otherwise can so easily
whither on the vine.
Our Long-Awaited Vestments have arrived. A
new funeral pall (the cloth placed over the
coffin as a reminder of Baptism) and a cope
(the cape used for Benediction, processions,
and for Baptisms & Weddings outside of
Mass) were lovingly and reverently made by
the Poor Clare Sisters in Wilmington. Our
sincerest thanks to Sharon & Mike Gismonde
for donating the pall (draped over the Communion rail) and an anonymous parishioner for
donating the cope (hanging on the side wall).
PARISH & FAMILY LIFE
This Week in Our Parish
Today 9 am PSR (gr. 1-4), 10:45 am baptisms
at Mass, Noon wedding co-validation,
1:30 basket Bingo
Mon.
12:30 pm Academy,
Tues.
9 am adoration in chapel, 10:30 am
DHCI Mass, staff Mardi gras lunch,
12:30 pm Academy, 6:30 pm R.C.I.A.
& Finance Council, 7 pm PSR (Gr. 5-8)
Wed.
8:30 am Mass/ashes & Academy,
9:15 ashes only, 12:05 Mass/ashes,
12:30 pm Academy, 6:30 pm pastors
meeting on racial harmony, Mass/
ashes
Thurs. 8:30 am & 12:30 pm Academy, 5 pm
counseling
Fri.
8:30 am Academy, 9 am Altar Guild III,
12:30 pm Academy, 3 pm Divine
Mercy, 6:30 pm Stations of the Cross
Sun.
9 am PSR (gr. 1-4). PSR Gr. 3 confessions, K of C breakfast, 10:45 am PSR
Gr. 5&6 at Mass
301
PAGE FOUR
To Prepare for the Synod on Families, we’ll
meet Mar. 16, in the Patriot Room in the
clergy residence to discuss issues raised at
last Oct.’s Synod. Our input will go to the
diocese & become part of info sent to Rome.
If you want to review a summary in advance,
contact us at [email protected] or 6538279.
SOCIAL CONCERNS
Our Community Food Pantry needs ketchup,
meal helpers, baked beans, canned diced
tomatoes, & jelly. Don’t forget coupons, too!
Ash Wednesday’s Collection provides money
to our parish conference of the St. Vincent de
Paul Society to serve Christ in the neediest in
our midst. Your almsgiving is an excellent way
to begin the Lenten journey. When you look at
the image of Jesus on the linen hanging near
the side door next to the ambo, remember
that you, by your charity, are serving Him.
Next Weekend’s 2nd Collection helps us with
the tremendous cost of fuel during these bitter winter days.
HAPPENING ELSEWHERE
Feb. 22 Catholic Forum of the Air 10:05 am,
1150AM WDEL & www.wdel.com.
CHRISTIAN FORMATION
Bring It Home…
You see a basketball player make a sign of the
cross before a free throw or a batter point to
the heavens after a home run. At awards,
winners often thank God. Today’s readings
remind us to “do everything for the glory of
God.” Take the Word of God and Bring it
Home by pointing to the heavens when you
accomplish something. Share stories of your &
God’s Good News with others.
STEWARDSHIP
5 th Sun. in Ordinal Time $ 5,249
Youth Ministries $ 837
Poor Box $ 252
We Had No 50/50 Winner on Feb. 8 (#928).
Today’s jackpot is $160. Proceeds defray
some of the cost of our Parish School of
Religion. (Tuition covers only a portion of the
huge expense of running our very professional
and very pastoral program.)
Trips With Our Diocesan Priests
Shrines of France with Fr. Brian Lewis, June
8-16. Paris, Vezelay, Nevers, Paray-le-Monial,
Ars, Lyon, Lourdes, & more! Air/and or land
only. 999-0211 or [email protected].
Spain & Provence with Fr. Ed Aigner. Cruise
the Rhone River in scenic South France. Trip
begins June 27 in Barcelona, Spain. Includes
Arles, Lyon, and more. Includes all tours and
beer/wine with meals. Mary Grubert, (800)
275-0935 or [email protected]
Alaska Cruise in August with Fr. Aigner.
Details available soon.
Portugal, Estoril Coast, Azores & Madeira
Islands, Nov. 6-18, with Fr. Tom Flowers.
Fatima, churches & castles, scenic villages,
volcanic lakes, pineapple & tea plantations,
botanical gardens, waterfalls, & hot springs,
and more! (888) 878-8187 or 653-8279 or
[email protected]
301
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29 S. Main St. • Smyrna
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Seewald Woodworks, Inc. Replacement windows
Bridge Way
For all your building needs Framing & Trim
Family Restaurant
Owner & Operator
Decks & Designs
Breakfast • Lunch • Dinner
Renovations & Additions
RICHARD B. SEEWALD
15 E. Glenwood Ave., Smyrna
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Over 20 Yrs experience
Roofing & Siding
(302) 378-7819
302-653-3466
Wedding Invitations
&
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38 Deak Drive
Smyrna, Delaware 19977
Board Certified Pediatricians
Vicenta P.G.-Marquez, M.D.
Ma Caridad P. Rosal, M.D.
Jennifer C. Liquido, M.D.
(302) 653-6174
FAX (302) 653-6029
Board Certified Internist
Rufino V. Rosal, M.D.
Board Certified Internist &
Endocrinologist
Blanca Ocampo-Lim, M.D.
(302) 653-1669
FAX (302) 653-9563
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