Church of St. Theresa

Transcription

1 Church of St. Theresa A Caring Community Reaching Out To One Another in Christ SUNDAY MASSES Saturday at 5:00pm, Sunday at 7:30am, 9:00am(Italian), 10:30am(Family Mass) 12:15pm, 1:30PM(Spanish) & 5:00pm WEEKDAY MASSES Monday thru Saturday 8:00am & 9:00am DEVOTIONS Miraculous Medal & St. Theresa Novenas after Monday morning Masses St. Anthony Novena after Tuesday morning Masses. Thursday 12 Noon Mass & Eucharistic Adoration Exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament First Friday 7:30pm to 8:30pm followed by silent adoration until 9:00pm St. Theresa Avenue, Bronx, New York CONFESSION Saturdays from 4:00pm to 5:00pm and by appointment BAPTISMS Baptisms take place most Sundays after the 1:30pm Mass. We ask parents to attend the Baptism preparation meeting. Register at the Rectory for the meeting. The date of the Baptism will be discussed at the Baptism meeting. MARRIAGES Call the Rectory at least six months in advance of the wedding date to make an appointment with parish clergy. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Derivan, Pastor Rev. Joseph Ligory, Parochial Vicar Rev. Thomas D Angelo, In Residence Msgr. Neil Graham, Retired, Spanish Mass Rev. Robert Imbelli, Weekend Associate Rev. Chrales Szivos, Parochial Vicar Mrs. Josephine Fanelli, Principal Mrs. Marie McCarrick, Dir. of Religious Education RECTORY: /1901 WEBSITE: SCHOOL: FAX: rectorystc@aol.com RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

2 CHURCH OF ST. THERESA, BRONX A NEW YEAR S PRAYER FROM YOUR PRIESTS AND DEACON: Dear Lord, you sent your Son to bring us newness of life. As we end this old year and begin a New Year, we pray that you will help us to live in that newness of life that Jesus continually brings us. Help us to appreciate each New Year, each new day, each new moment as a time of your grace. Let us not waste any day of this New Year, with foolish pursuits, with resentments and grudges, with so much looking back that we fail to look ahead and see you right there before us, waiting for our love. Help us to remember that this New Year is not ours, but yoursyour gift to us your people. Help us to give back this year to you filled with our faith, hop and love. Help us to proclaim your love to others in this New Year, to invite them to our church, to encourage them in faith. Let us remember that our faith must always be shared, not just kept to ourselves. Help us to be in this New Year what you want us to be alwaysyour family, your Church. Help us to give glory to you by the way we pray, the way we worship, the way we serve, the way we love. We make this prayer, for ourselves, for all the members of our parish, and for all your people, through Our Lord Jesus Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen May God bless you and your families for a holy and healthy New Year. You are always in our prayers. Father Thomas B. Derivan Father Joseph Ligory Msgr. Neil Graham Father Thomas D Angelo Father Robert Imbelli Father Charles Szivos Deacon Anthony Cassaneto Salesian Fathers John Serio, Bill Ferruzzi, Abraham Feliciano S.D.B. SOME WORDS OF CHRISTMAS THANKS We owe a great deal of thanks to all who made our celebration of Christmas so beautiful. Of course we thank our priests, Father Charles, Father Joseph, Msgr. Graham, Father Imbelli and the Salesian Fathers for celebrating with us the solemnity and the beauty of this Christmas Season. We thank our new Music Director, Helena Kim, and our leaders of song Myra Spero and Gina Gentile, along with our beautiful Children s, Adults and Spanish Choirs and our guest musicians. Of course we are always grateful to our Ushers, Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers and Altar Servers for assisting us with such devotion at Mass not only on Christmas, but every Sunday. All of these people have made our celebration of Christmas here at St. Theresa s a fitting act of praise to the Lord who was born for us in Bethlehem and who is with us always in the Blessed Sacrament. But most of all, we thank you, our St. Theresa parishioners, for your love and devotion to the Lord in our celebration of the Mass. When visitors come here (and some of you brought visitors with you at Christmas), they often comment to me how reverently our people participate in the Mass, with strong responses, with energetic singing, and most of all with prayerful devotion. Thank you for the love and devotion that we see from you not only at Christmas time, but every Sunday. May the Lord continue to help our parish to be strong in faith, strong in worship, strong in love in the New Year ahead. Father Thomas B. Derivan A SUGGESTION FROM CARDINAL DOLAN FOR THE NEW YEAR: Dear Friends: Spend some time on FORMED.org, if you haven t already signed up. Thanks to a generous benefactor, all parishes in the Archdiocese of New York are currently signed up for this online platform that provides Catholic content such as movies, Ebooks, audio talks, Bible studies, and more! There is a Bible study, as well as a new program on the Sacrament of Confession, called Forgiven. FORMED.org is a website that you log into with a parish access code that allows you to view all the content. This means that you can view this great Catholic material anywhere you have internet access. All you need to do is enter the access code that your parish has provided. Whether it is an activity at your parish or sitting down at home to watch something on FORMED.org, this is an opportunity to receive many graces and keep our focus on what really matters. It is good for us to show our gratitude to God by spending some time reflecting on His great act of love sending us His Son to be our Savior. Faithfully in Christ, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Archbishop of New York The access code for St. Theresa Parish is: Y3XRMH

3 SOLEMNITY OF MARY JANUARY 1 Mary, Mother of God Mary s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:2638). Elizabeth proclaims: Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? (Luke 1:4243,). Mary s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God s redemptive plan. Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4). Paul s further statement that God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out Abba, Father! helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus. Some theologians also insist that Mary s motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God s creative plan. God s first thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was first in God s mind, Mary was second insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his mother. The precise title Mother of God goes back at least to third or fourth century. In the Greek form Theotokos (Godbearer), it became the touchstone of the Church s teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: Praised be the Theotokos! The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary s role in the Church, Vatican II s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary Mother of God 12 times. Other themes come together at today s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas. Our remembrance of Mary s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her childrenwho are also God s children. The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord s humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61). Ask the Mother of God for the Gift of Mature Faith By Pope Benedict XVI At the end of a year, we feel a special need to call on the motherly intercession of Mary Most Holy for the city of Rome, for Italy, for Europe and for the whole world. Let us entrust to Mary, who is the Mother of Mercy incarnate, particularly those situations to which the Lord s grace alone can bring peace, comfort and justice. The Virgin heard the Angel announcing her divine Motherhood saying to her, With God nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). Mary believed and for this reason she is blessed (cf. Luke 1:45). What is impossible to man becomes possible to the one who believes (cf. Mark 9:23). Let us ask the Mother of God to obtain for us the gift of a mature faith: a faith that we would like to resemble hers as far as possible; a faith that is clear, genuine, humble and, at the same time, courageous; a faith, steeped in hope and enthusiasm for the Kingdom of God; A faith devoid of all fatalism and wholly set on cooperating with the divine will in full and joyful obedience and with the absolute certainty that God wants nothing but love and life, always and for everyone. Obtain for us, O Mary, an authentic pure faith. May you always be thanked and blessed, Holy Mother of God! Amen!

4 JANUARY 1, 2017 Basil was on his way to becoming a famous teacher when he decided to begin a religious life of gospel poverty. After studying various modes of religious life, he founded what was probably the first monastery in Asia Minor. He is to monks of the East what Saint Benedict is to the West, and his principles influence Eastern monasticism today. He was ordained a priest, assisted the archbishop of Caesarea (now southeastern Turkey) and ultimately became archbishop himself, in spite of opposition from some of his suffregan bishops, probably because they foresaw coming reforms. One of the most damaging heresies in the history of the church, Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ, was at its height. Emperor Valens persecuted orthodox believers and put great pressure on Basil to remain silent and admit the heretics to communion. Basil remained firm, and Valens backed down. But trouble remained. When the great Saint Athanasius (May 2) died, the mantle of defender of the faith against Arianism fell upon Basil. He strove mightily to unite and rally his fellow Catholics who were crushed by tyranny and torn by internal dissension. He was misunderstood, misrepresented, accused of heresy and ambition. Even appeals to the pope brought no response. For my sins I seem to be unsuccessful in everything. He was tireless in pastoral care. He preached twice a day to huge crowds, built a hospital that was called a wonder of the world (as a youth he had organized famine relief and worked in a soup kitchen himself) and fought the prostitution business. Basil was best known as an orator. His writings, though not recognized greatly in his lifetime, rightly place him among the great teachers of the church. Seventytwo years after his death, the Council of Chalcedon described him as the great Basil, minister of grace who has expounded the truth to the whole earth. Saint Basil said: The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit. ST. BASIL THE GREAT (329379) BISHOP AND DOCTOR ST. GREGORY NAZIANZEN (329390) After his baptism at thirty, Gregory gladly accepted his friend Basil s invitation to join him in a newly founded monastery. The solitude was broken when Gregory s father, a bishop, needed help in his diocese and estate. It seems that Gregory was ordained a priest practically by force and only reluctantly accepted the responsibility. He skillfully avoided a schism that threatened when his own father made compromises with Arianism. At fortyone, Gregory was chosen as bishop of a diocese near Caesarea and at once came into conflict with Valens, the emperor, who supported the Arians. An unfortunate byproduct of the battle was the cooling of the friendship of two saints. Basil, his archbishop, sent him to a miserable and unhealthy town on the border because of unjustly created divisions in his diocese. Basil reproached Gregory for not going to his see. When protection for Arianism ended with the death of Valens, Gregory was called to rebuild the faith in the great see of Constantinople, which had been under Arian teachers for three decades. Retiring and sensitive, he dreaded being drawn into the whirlpool of corruption and violence. He first stayed at a friend s home, which became the only orthodox church in the city. In such surroundings, he began giving the great sermons on the Trinity for which he is famous. In time, Gregory did rebuild the faith in the city, but at the cost of great suffering, slander, insults and even personal violence. An interloper even tried to take over his archdiocese. His last days were spent in solitude and austerity. He wrote religious poetry, some of it autobiographical, of great depth and beauty. He was acclaimed simply as the Theologian. It may be small comfort, but turmoil in the church today is a mild storm compared to the devastation caused by the Arian heresy, a trauma the church has never forgotten. Christ did not promise the kind of peace we would love to haveno problems, no opposition, no pain. In one way or another, holiness is always the way of the cross. God accepts our desires as though they were a great value. He longs ardently for us to desire and love him. He accepts our petitions for benefits as though we were doing him a favor. His joy in giving is greater than ours in receiving. So let us not be apathetic in our asking, nor set too narrow bounds to our requests; nor ask for frivolous things unworthy of God s greatness. PETITION BOOK Have you noticed our Petition Book in the vestibule of the Church? Every Saturday before the 5:00PM Mass, the petitions entered into the book for that week are brought up to the altar of the Blessed Mother, where they remain for all the weekend Masses. Please pray for these intentions. REMINDER If you have a Sunday Mass offered for a loved one and are present at the Mass and would like to bring up the Offertory Gifts to the Altar, please let one of the ushers know before the Mass begins.

5 JANUARY 4 ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON Born into wealth in 1774, Elizabeth Bailey was baptized in the Episcopalian Church. She married William Seton when she was 19. Together they had five children, and because of William s illness and failure in business, life was difficult for them. William died while they were traveling in Italy, and it was at that time Elizabeth became acquainted with Catholicism through friends. She was a widow at age 30, and entered the Catholic Church, drawn by her belief in the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and her devotion to Mary. She was for her the ideal of a woman of faith, and later called Mary the first Sister of Charity on earth. Because of her conversion her Episcopal family opposed her; friends abandoned her and she found herself in dire financial straits. She started a school and later a boarding house in New York City. A priest from Baltimore hearing of her plight invited her to open up a school for girls there. After she did so she gathered round her a group of likeminded women and established a congregation of nuns. On March 25, 1809 she took her first vows as a religious. The community adapted a religious habit and took the name of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and from then on Elizabeth was known as Mother Seton. Later they took the rule of the Daughters of Charity. In June 1809 she moved her school and new community to Emmitsburg, Maryland. The order grew and she eventually also opened orphanages in Philadelphia and New York. Wherever she went she opened schools and started orphanages. Mother Seton wrote textbooks, translated books from French into English, and composed hymns and spiritual discourses, many of which have been published. She and her Order are rightly regarded as founders of the American parochial school system. Mother Seton died in Emmitsburg on January 4, 1821, by which time her congregation, the first to be founded in America, had spread to some twenty houses across the United States. Their work and influence has grown ever since. There are now five independent communities of the Sisters of Charity. They staff hospitals like St. Mary s in Milwaukee and Mequon, childcare institutions and homes for the aged and handicapped, and schools at every level. There are houses in South as well as North America, in Italy and mission countries. She was canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, She is buried under the altar in the chapel of the National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Seton in the provincial house of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Prayer at the Beginning of the New Year Heavenly Father, You assist all things, and You search for the best guide for human hearts. Make us responsive in this time of grief and disintegration. May this New Year be for all of us a year of edification and sanctification, of interior life and reparation, a year of great return and of great pardon. May Your grace enkindle in all people a love for the many unfortunate ones whom poverty and misery reduce to a condition of life that is unworthy of human beings. Arouse in the hearts of those who call You Father a hunger and thirst for social justice and for fraternal charity in deed and in truth. O Lord, grant peace in our days: peace to our souls, peace to our families, peace to our country, and peace among nations. Pope Pius XII ( ) Please continue to share the peace and joy of our faith with others. There are so many that are in the need of Jesus. Can you be for all of us a living sign to all our parishioners and neighbors, and tell them for us we need them and love them. Someone may hear and accept the invitation from you and return home to worship the Lord with us. So please invite a friend, relative, or neighbor to come with you to Church next Sunday. God will do the rest. Let us share our treasure of faith with others. HANDICAP ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH The side entrance to the Church on Pilgrim Avenue will be open every Sunday for anyone who is handicapped or in a wheelchair. Also this same entrance will be opened every weekday until 9:30AM. SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS: Please support our advertisers; it is their support that makes this bulletin possible, and when you visit them, please let them know that you read their advertisement in St. Theresa s bulletin.

6 PLEASE PRAY FOR THE RECENTLY DECEASED MEMBERS OF OUR PARISH AND THER FAMILIES MARISA CANZANO & MARIA RUSSO THE SANCTUARY LAMP BURNING NEAR THE TABERNACLE THIS WEEK IS IN LOVING MEMORY OF MARIA BRUNO LOVE, MARYANN & JOE HANDICAP ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH The side entrance to the Church on Pilgrim Avenue will be open every Sunday for anyone who is handicapped or in a wheelchair. Also this same entrance will be opened every weekday until 9:30AM. MANY THANKS We are most grateful to all our wonderful parishioners who have sacrificed so generously by increasing their weekly Sunday Contributions. Please know that your weekly increase is for the betterment of St. Theresa Parish, for the building up and improvement of our parish. We are most grateful to all of you who have helped to make a difference in our community. Please continue to help us in order to keep St. Theresa Parish the vital, growing parish that it is. ARE YOU A REGISTERED PARISHIONER All new or unregistered parishioners are asked to please register by phone or in person at the Rectory or fill out the information below. Many items of importance will be mailed home in the course of the year. NAME ADDRESS PHONE# CELL# PLEASE RETURN TO THE RECTORY OFFICE. SATURDAY DECEMBER 31, :00PM Giuseppe Giuliano SUNDAY JANUARY 1, :30AM Luke Turrisi 9:00AM Maria Bruno 10:30AM Maria Aleth DiMercado 12:15PM Nicholas DeGennaro 1:30PM Susanna Hernandez & Milton Anton 5:00PM Huldah Gordon MONDAY JANUARY 2, :00AM Parishioners of St. Theresa 9:00AM Msgr. Bonaventure Felitti TUESDAY JANUARY 3, :00AM Msgr. Robert Mazziotta 9:00AM Mary Cea WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4, :00AM Msgr. Mario Ponsiglione 9:00AM Pasqua Delveccio THURSDAY JANUARY 5, :00AM Msgr. Augustine Jannarone 9:00AM Rev. Dominic Jacolino 12:00PM Holy Souls in Purgatory FRIDAY JANUARY 6, :00AM John Soli 9:00AM Mary Cea SATURDAY JANUARY 7, :00AM Patricia Jack 9:00AM Benedetto DiBartolo 5:00PM Dominick Capelli SUNDAY JANUARY 8, :30AM Luigi D Aloia 9:00AM Flora Pisano 10:30AM David Vega 12:15PM Antonio Cipollone 1:30PM Elpidia Reynoso 5:00PM Arlene Knapp PRAY FOR THE SICK OF OUR PARISH: Phyllis Amitrano, Maryann Cale Bannan, Nancy Cardone, Elaine Reiss Cina, Joseph Cina, Phyllis Caruso, Peter Corbo, Marie DiPolo, Daley Gribbon, Sean Howell, William Keenan, Sal Lanza, Frank Maiorana, Maryann Maiorana, Diane Martino, Joe Martino, Theresa Martino, Tina Maskara, Vincent Mastrogiovanni, Jeannete Montalbano, Isabelle O Brien, Joan Ricci, Marie Russillo, William Scanno, Mario Simeone, Toni Spahr, Bina Trerotola, Florence Valentine, Nicholas Vasti, Irene Vesely.

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