Saint Matthias Parish 128 Bryn Mawr Avenue Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania 19004

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1 Saint Matthias Parish 128 Bryn Mawr Avenue Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Founded 1906 W e b s i t e : w w w. s a i n t m a t t h i a s. o r g E m a i l : m a t t h i a s a i n t m a t t h i a s. o r g R e c t o r y : F a x : Parish Religious Education Office and Youth Office: Saturday Vigil: 5:00 p.m. Mass Schedule Monday Friday: 7:30 a.m. Sunday: 8:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m. 7:00 p.m. Saturday: 8:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessions): Saturdays at 4:15 PM, also by appointment Reverend Monsignor Gerard C. Mesure, Pastor Reverend John A. McGinnis, Retired Priest Director of Parish Outreach: Peggy Haley Reverend Mariusz Beczek, O.S.J., Weekend Assistance Director of Liturgical Music: Berthilla Wiscount Deacon Michael J. Kubiak Coordinator of Religious Education: Peggy Haley Brandon M. Artman, Seminarian Director of Youth/Young Adult Ministry: Katie Bryson NEW PARISHIONERS: Welcome to Saint Matthias Parish! Please see Monsignor and register at the Rectory after any weekend Mass. Additional information about registering at Saint Matthias Parish may be found on our website. RECTORY OFFICE HOURS: The office staff is available for business matters Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. APPOINTMENTS: You are asked to arrange an appointment in advance by telephone with the Priest you wish to see. SICK CALLS: Emergencies Please call the Rectory. Hospital Visitation The Parish Priests will be happy to visit any Parishioner who is hospitalized. Please contact the Rectory, since hospitals do not contact the Rectory. SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM: The Sacrament of Baptism is administered most Sundays at 11:30 a.m. Arrangements are made in advance at the Rectory. Sponsors must provide proof of eligibility by a letter from their respective Pastors. First time parents attend a Pre-Jordan Meeting prior to Baptism, which is arranged at a mutually convenient time. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE: Arrangements must be made with the Pastor at least six months before the date of the Wedding. Pre-Cana instructions are required. Weddings may be scheduled on Saturdays between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., or on Friday evenings. M A R C H 20, 2016 PALM SUNDAY OF THE L O R D S P A S S I O N

2 March 20, 2016 Palm Sunday of the Lord s Passion Saturday, March 19 Vigil, Palm Sunday 5:00 Marian Mullahy Sunday, March 20 Palm Sunday of the Lord s Passion *8:30 Health & God s Blessings on the Prendergast Family 10:30 Andrew G. Block 7:00 For Our Parishioners Monday, March 21 Monday of Holy Week 7:30 Louis Nicastro Tuesday, March 22 Tuesday of Holy Week 7:30 Thomas & Bridget McCoy Wednesday, March 23 Wednesday of Holy Week 7:30 Richard Frank Vita Thursday, March 24 Holy Thursday 8:00 AM Morning Prayer 7:00 PM Mass of the Lord s Supper (Adoration until 10:00 PM) Friday, March 25 Good Friday 8:00 AM Morning Prayer 1:00 1:30 Confessions 3:00 PM Celebration of the Lord s Passion 7:00 PM Stations of the Cross Saturday, March 26 Holy Saturday 8:00 AM Morning Prayer 12:00 N Blessing of the Easter Food 1:00 1:30 Confessions 7:00 PM Easter Vigil Sunday, March 27 Easter Sunday 8:30 For Our Parishioners 10:30 For Our Parishioners 12 N For Our Parishioners * Extraordinary support through the Saint Matthias Day Program LIVING LIGHTS: On the side of the Sanctuary near the statue of the Sacred Heart is a place where three candles burn for special intentions. If you wish to have one of these candles burning for your intention, please bring your donation and intention to the sacristy or the rectory office. The Donation for these candles is $10. This week s candles are lit for: Our Youth, Marriage & Family, and Special Intention. H.O.P.E. Helping Other People Enthusiastically H.O.P.E. volunteers assist fellow Parishioners by providing transportation to doctors offices, banks, and supermarkets. The Captain for March is Juanita Harmon: PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK: Carmel Bane, Joseph Butler, Tom Hennessey, Jr., Marie D. Fratini, Martha Eckert, Richard Knorr, Stephen Williams, Ryan Williams, Wyn Marino, Thomas Liciardella, Jeanne Glick, Nita Dransfield, Anthony Massini, Louise Rascioli, Paul Snyder, Joe Casino, Irma Bates, Mary Takacs, John Lynch, Dorothy Rubincam, Eugene Scotti, Catherine O Connor, Tom Klemick, Alec Boult, Frank Diebold, Louise Grato, Bernie, Katherine, Jordan Damas, John DiVivo, Baby Michael Anthony Siniscalchi, Mary Rowland, Joan Grzeskowiak, Gerry Gregory, Roger & Lelene Lifleur, Josette Brun, Eleanor Kuhl, Jacqueline Gregory, Christine Ambrose, Lorraine Beaulieu, Dr. Joan Hurlock, Theresa Jandrositz, Raymond Sullivan, Rev. Thomas Wheeler, SJ, Maryhelen Hogan, Thomas O Connor, Jr., Dante Scott, Gerard Hilard, Gabriel Minders, Chadd Kraus, Sr. Rita Powell, Bill Duffy, Rachel Smith, Louis Owens, Lynne Dotsey, Ed Kiefski, Anna Dolores Frank, and Bill Lacon. We also pray for those served by our Parish in Inglis House and Bala Nursing Home. If you wish to have someone s name added to our Sick List, please call the Rectory. Kindly notify the Rectory when a name should be removed from the Sick List. MEMBERS OF THE PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL: Heidi Anderson, Patricia Black, Katherine Bryson (ex-officio), Mike DeMonte, Maggie Duffy, Peggy Haley (ex-officio), Ross Holgado, Ray Nepomuceno, Mark Rooney, Peggy Saeger (Secretary), Gina Sullivan, H. Nelson Keyser III (Finance Council representative), Mike Utkus, Berthilla Wiscount (ex-officio). Sacrificial Giving ~ Stewardship Sunday Collection, March 12/13: $ 4,869 Lenten Sacrifice Collection, March 12/13: $ 1,244 Church in Latin America Collection: $ 439 Catholic Charities Appeal (as of 3/11/16): $ 4,640 (Our Catholic Charities Appeal goal: $ 45,942; we are at 10% of our goal) Thank you for your continued sacrificial generosity! A big THANK YOU to Stacy Barnett and Soo Son for coordinating the recent Family Basketball Nights, and to Gina Sullivan for coordinating last Saturday s Family Movie Night! Kudos to you all! 075 Saint Matthias - 2

3 Saint Matthias Parish Palm Sunday of the Lord s Passion March 19/20 Palm will be blessed at each Mass in memory of Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem (Regular Mass Schedule) Saturday: 5:00 PM (Confessions 4:15-4:45 PM) Sunday: 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 7:00 PM Monday of Holy Week March 21 Mass: 7:30 AM Tuesday of Holy Week March 22 Mass: 7:30 AM Stations of the Cross: 7:00 PM Confessions following Stations of the Cross Wednesday of Holy Week March 23 Mass: 7:30 AM Holy Thursday March 24 Morning Prayer (Lauds): 8:00 AM Mass of the Lord s Supper: 7:00 PM The Church will remain open until 10:00 PM for adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament at the Repository Good Friday March 25 Morning Prayer (Lauds): 8:00 AM The Church will remain open all day for visitation Confessions: 1:00 1:30 PM Solemn Celebration of the Lord s Passion: 3:00 PM (Includes Reading of the Passion, Veneration of the Cross, and Holy Communion) Stations of the Cross: 7:00 PM Holy Saturday March 26 Morning Prayer (Lauds): 8:00 AM Easter Egg Hunt: 11:00 AM Blessing of Easter Food: 12:00 Noon Confessions: 1:00 1:30 PM (No 4:15 PM Confessions) Easter Vigil: 7:00 PM * No 5:00 PM Mass on Holy Saturday * Easter Sunday March 27 Masses at 8:30 AM, 10:30 AM, and 12:00 Noon * No 7:00 PM Mass on Easter Sunday * Dear Parishioners, This weekend we start Holy Week during which we remember and relive the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. These are the most important events in human history. They are also the most important events in our lives. These events have changed the world and changed eternity. The schedule for our Holy Week observances can be found in this bulletin. If you do not usually attend, please try to come to at least one of these special celebrations. Doing so will help to make your celebration of Easter not just another holiday but a true Holy Day. May our ever merciful Lord bless you during this Holy Week. Fr. Mesure The second collection envelopes this weekend are for Catholic Education and Easter Flowers Thank you for your sacrificial generosity to these collections. (All second collection envelopes, clearly marked as such, should be placed in the main collection at the offertory of the Mass next weekend.) Congratulations Confirmation Class of 2016 Join us for a Celebration Breakfast TODAY: Sunday, March 20 th at 9:00 AM in the Parish Center 075 Saint Matthias - 3

4 Easter Egg Hunt and Blessing of the First Food of Easter Congratulations to the Confirmandi who were sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation here at Saint Matthias Church last Saturday, March 12, by Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Senior. Henry Isidore Allen Lauren Cecilia Anderson Ashton Augustine Arellano Isabella Augustine Arellano Jillian Brigid Daly Nestor Vincent Delgado-Quiles Angelina Chiava DeMonte Maeve Bridget Donoghue Fiona Cecilia Duffy Alida Catherine Dunleavy Katherine Elizabeth Eicke Anna Joan Ferdinand Audrey Bernadette Ferdinand Frances Margaret Fitzpatrick Alexander Sebastian Gibbon Olivia Elizabeth Karwoski Ubaldo Francis Martin Ella Cecilia McCormick Krista Martha McCullough Caitlin Teresa McGinty Justin Sebastian Minerva Roberta Cecilia Moger Aristides Patrick Narliotis Orestis Hubertus Narliotis Juliette Elizabeth Palasol Charlotte Cecilia Powell Patrick Lawrence Rooney Madilyn Anthony Rose Ethan Francis Rothberg Katherine Cecilia Schweickert Maretta Veronica Smith Scott Patrick Stuart Annual Easter Egg Hunt Hosted by our Parish Religious Education Students Holy Saturday, March 26 th At 11:00 a.m. SHARP Parish Parking Lot and Rectory Front Lawn All adults must be accompanied by a child! In case of rain, the hunt will be held in the Parish Center. Teen Volunteers needed for Annual Egg Hunt. If you are available on Holy Saturday at 10:00 to help at the Egg Hunt please contact Peggy Haley at or peggyh@saintmatthias.org Blessing of Easter Food and Easter Baskets in Church at Noon on Holy Saturday Lenten Fasting and Abstinence The Bishops of the United States prescribe, as a minimal obligation, that all persons who are fourteen years of age and older are bound to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent and Good Friday. Further, all persons eighteen years of age and older, up to and including their fifty-ninth birthday, are bound to fast by limiting themselves to a single full meal on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, while the other two meals on those days are to be light. 075 Saint Matthias - 4

5 Casseroles for Saint John s Hospice We are grateful to those who make a casserole, freeze it in a foil pan (pans & recipes available in the church vestibules), then place it in the gym lobby on the morning of the third Monday of each month. The next pickup will be tomorrow, Monday, March 21. Many thanks to those who exercise this Corporal Work of Mercy to ensure the homeless of Philadelphia have a hot meal each weekday. I Have Seen the Lord Presentation given by Sr. Marie Gipprich, IHM on Tuesday, April 5 at the IHM Conference Center, 401 Bryn Mawr Ave, Bryn Mawr. Consider the aspects of the empty tomb and Jesus post-resurrection appearances on the disciples and us. $40 includes talk, light breakfast, dinner, and Mass. Information: Camp Matthias Save the Dates! June 20 th to July 1 st from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Grade K through 4 Youth Altar Server Ministry We cherish our youth and hope that they will start at a very young age to serve others. Service is the heart of the gospel. Serving at the altar is a great way for our youth to serve God and His Church. Encourage your children, grandchildren, and all boys and girls in grade 4 and above to become altar servers. For more information contact Peggy Haley at the Rectory. Adult Altar Server Ministry The Adult altar servers liturgical ministry of St. Matthias Church is designed to serve God first, and our priests, during funerals in our parish. Married couples or individuals and are highly encouraged to join. Ministers find spiritual fulfillment, as well as a strong sense of community and belonging, knowing that they are serving God and His church. For more information about the Adult Servers Liturgical Ministry, please call Peggy Haley, Training will be provided and you will be fully prepared before you are scheduled to serve. Divine Mercy Celebration at St. Anastasia Church, 3101 West Chester Pk., Newtown Square. Celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday on April 3 rd at 2 PM starting with Confession, Exposition, the Rosary, singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Benediction, and Holy Mass at 3 PM. More information: Good to have you with us! Been away from Church? Welcome home! We offer a profound welcome to all our visitors, family members and friends of our parishioners who are with us! For some of our visitors and friends, perhaps it has been a while since you last attended Mass or went to Confession. No matter how long you may have been away from Church, no matter what the reason, you will find a warm welcome here at Saint Matthias Parish! God never forces Himself but He is always inviting you (and so do we!) to come back to Him, to draw closer to Him. You re cordially invited to join us each weekend for Holy Mass (Masses are at 5 p.m. on Saturday evening and at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Sundays). Confessions are heard on Saturday, 4:15 p.m. and by appointment. Come, see what Jesus is all about and what we strive to be all about. community! We are a vibrant worshiping and caring Of course, the decision is yours, but once you meet the friendly, faith-filled people who are Saint Matthias Parish, we re sure you will want to keep coming back again and again, growing in your relationship with God, our loving Father. For more information on coming back to the Catholic Church, we invite you to visit If you have any questions, or would like to speak to one of our priests, call the Rectory, , or matthias@saintmatthias.org. Please check out our parish website, Saint Matthias - 5

6 Walk With the Lord: Palm Sunday to Easter Vigil At the heart of our faith is the Paschal Mystery: the Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ. All of salvation history leads up to and goes forth from these saving events. Plan to attend some or all of the special liturgies of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday and Saturday at your parish. By celebrating them in community, we make them present today and learn again, in a new way, the reality of our Risen Lord alive in our midst. Palm Sunday: Our celebration of Holy Week began Sunday as we remembered and made present the triumphal entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin his final week and initiate his Passion. All four Gospels recount this triumphant entry that Sunday morning so long ago, but made present to us on this day. As you received your palms, I hope you considered that you are part of that vast crowd. How will you journey with Jesus this week? Let the palm remind you to praise him with your prayerful presence during the sacred Triduum. According to Mark 11:11, Jesus returned that evening to Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Perhaps he stayed with his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Pray with Jesus as he considers the difficult days ahead of him. Holy Thursday: This marks the beginning of the sacred Triduum, or "three days." Earlier this day Jesus had given instructions to the disciples on how to prepare for this most holy meal, which will be his last supper. Through the day they make these preparations (cf Mt 26:17). In the Mass of the Lord s Supper conducted at our parishes, we remember and make present that Last Supper which Jesus shared with his disciples. We are in the upper room with Jesus and the Apostles and do what they did. Through the ritual of washing the feet (Jn 13:1) of 12 parishioners, we unite in service to one another. Through our celebration of this first Mass and Holy Eucharist (Mt 26:26), we unite ourselves to Jesus and receive his Body and Blood as if for the first time. At this Eucharist, we especially thank God for his gift of the ministerial priesthood. After the Last Supper (First Mass), the apostles and Jesus made a short journey across the Kidron Valley to the Garden, where he asks them to pray and he experiences his agony (cf Mt 26:30). We too will process in Church with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to a garden (the altar of repose) which has been prepared. The liturgy ends in silence. It is an ancient custom to spend an hour before the reposed Blessed Sacrament tonight. We are with Jesus in the Garden and pray as he goes through his agony. Most of our parish churches remain open late. It was near Midnight that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, was arrested and taken to the house of the High Priest (cf Mt. 26:47). Good Friday: All through the night Jesus has been locked in the dungeon of the high priest s house. Early this morning he was bought before Pilate who transferred his case to Herod. Herod sent him back to Pilate who, sometime in the mid-morning, bowed to the pressure of the Temple leadership and the crowds, and condemned Jesus to a horrible death by crucifixion. In the late morning, Jesus was taken by the soldiers through the city and up the hillside of Golgotha. By noon he is nailed to the cross where he hangs in agony for some three hours. He dies around three in the afternoon. He is taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb hastily before sundown. Today is a day of prayer, fasting and abstinence. Whenever possible, Christians are urged to keep today free of work, of social engagements, of entertainment, and to devote themselves to communal prayer and worship. We gather quietly in our parish churches to enter into time of prayer as we reflect on Jesus' death on the cross. We also pray for the needs of the world. To acknowledge the power of the cross in our lives today, we one by one come forward to venerate the cross with a kiss. Our hunger from this day of fasting is satisfied with Holy Communion distributed at the end of this liturgy. Consider, too, how the apostles might have gathered that night together in fear and prayer reflecting on all that happened. Holy Saturday: The body of Jesus is in the tomb but His soul is among the dead to announce the kingdom. The hour is coming, and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live (John 5:25). Consider what it must have been like for the dead in Sheol to awaken to the voice of Jesus! Meanwhile, the Disciples, heartbroken at the death of Jesus, observed the Jewish Sabbath in sorrow. They had forgotten the promise of Jesus that He would rise. We cannot forget His promise. We cannot forget. Tonight in our parishes after sundown we gather for the Great Easter Vigil where we will experience Jesus rising from the dead. We gather in darkness and light the Easter fire which reminds us that Jesus is light in the darkness. He is the light of the world. We enter into the church and attentively listen to Bible stories describing God s saving work of the past. Suddenly, the church lights are lit and the Gloria is sung as we celebrate the moment of Christ s resurrection. He Lives! In the joy of the resurrection we then celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist for our Catechumens and Candidates who have prepared for many weeks for this night. As a Church we sing "Alleluia" for the first time in 40 days. Do everything you can to be present on this evening. Our vigil ushers in an Easter joy that never ends! 075 Saint Matthias - 6