Saint Philip Parish February 3, 2013 Year of Faith Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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1 Saint Philip Parish February 3, 2013 Year of Faith Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 50 West Crafton Avenue Pittsburgh PA STAFF Rev. Walter W. Dworak, Pastor School Principal Geri Marr, S.C ext.# 4 gmarr@spsangelway.org; Coordinator of Religious Education Walter Schulte ext. #6 stphilipreled@gmail.com Director of Music Tim Ignatz ext.#7 St. Vincent de Paul Society ext. #2 Parish Office PHONE: FAX: parishoffice@saintphilipchurch.org Church Website: School Website: Mass Schedule Saturday Evening: 4:00 p.m. Sunday:7:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.-12:00noon Daily Mass: 8:30 a.m. Holy Days: Anticipated Mass 4:00 p.m. 8:30 a.m. 12:00 Noon 7:00 p.m. (except Christmas and New Year s Day) Devotions Mission Statement Both as a community of the Body of Christ and as individuals who are attempting to follow and obey Him, we do so by reflecting the Light of Christ through the prism and life of our beloved Apostle Saint Philip. Like him, we, too, are working to bring others to Christ as did he, saying, come and see Jesus of Nazareth along with us (John 1:43 ff). We also are present and at work in Sunday: 3:00 p.m. Rosary & Devotions our community ministering as did Saint Philip who Tuesday: 8:25 a.m. Our Lady of Miraculous helped to feed the hungry multitudes (John 6:5ff). And Medal Novena most important of all, we gather for worship, prayer, Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturday between 12:30-1:00 p.m. and after the and celebration of the Eucharist as did Saint Philip Saturday evening anticipated Mass. Appointments when he met with the risen Christ and his disciples in can be made for private reconciliation by calling the Upper Room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:13ff). the Parish Office.

2 February 3, 2013 St. Philip, pray for us! Page 2 It s hard to forgive others. Imagine what it must have been like to have been a Christian within a decade or two after Jesus death and resurrection. A man by the name of Saul approaches you and claims that he too is now a Christian. But you are wary. After all, you know for a fact that he is the one who authorized the stoning of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Those who killed him not only disobeyed the law of Rome and more importantly the Law of God. They had also placed their robes at the feet of Saul, indicating that he was taking full responsibility for the crime. To put it bluntly, Saul is a murderer. But now he is telling Christians that he too has come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. Still, you are not convinced. Surely it s a trick to ingratiate himself with Christians in order to arrest and possibly kill you too. Then you discover that his conversion is genuine. (Incidentally, we just celebrated the feast of Paul s conversion on January 25 th.) So what do you do now? Do you accept a murderer into your midst in fellowship? Do you give him a period of probation in which to prove himself? Or do you just tell him to get lost? After all, he killed one of your brothers in Christ. If you were one of the first Christians, you would have (amazingly) accepted him as one of your own. He had repented of his sin. Besides, he would soon suffer greatly in preaching the Gospel, just as he had made others suffer for doing the same. If Our Lord had forgiven him, how could you not accept his repentance as sincere? He was no longer Saul, but Paul. The early Christian writers were ecstatic about the mercy God had extended to Paul. They pointed out that when Paul was eventually martyred, both the murderer and the one murdered were now in heaven. That may seem hard for us to believe. But stop and think about it. Not only did Christ forgive Paul, so did Stephen with his dying breath. Of course, as a Christian, you had the far greater example of Jesus Himself forgiving his executioners from the cross. You would also eventually read letters from Paul asking you to pray for the emperor and other Roman officials, the very ones persecuting you. The Gospel that was being preached would also remind you that Jesus taught us to love even our enemies and to pray for our persecutors. In addition, you may have witnessed your fellow Christians being martyred in the Coliseum in Rome, yet still praying for their persecutors and forgiving them. You had truly come to believe that an essential part of being a follower of Christ is offering forgiveness to others, even when it is hard to do. It s still hard to do, of course. How do the parents and relatives of the children and teachers killed at Sandy Hook School in Connecticut forgive the young man who took the lives of their loved ones? How can anyone forgive someone who takes the life of another deliberately, or through carelessness, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol? Perhaps some of the offenses we ve experienced in our own lives are not as grave as the killing of a loved one. But the hurt can still be devastating. Perhaps we were made the deliberate object of someone s hatred. So now although we yearn to have others forgive us when we offend them, it s not so easy to reciprocate. The Roman Emperor Nero decided to persecute the first Christians because they were an obscure group of people who seemed to hold to beliefs that pagans considered ridiculous. He thought that entertaining crowds by killing the first followers of Christ would shift the blame for the burning of Rome to others. They were made his convenient scapegoats. Yet their heroism in the face of death actually did the opposite. It evoked the sympathy of the onlookers. Some even became Christians themselves. The blood and forgiveness of the martyrs did not destroy the Faith. It helped to spread it. Can you imagine how different the world would be if we were willing to forgive others and so end the cycle of violence that continues to consume us? We know that it is extremely difficult to say I forgive you, just as it is to say I m sorry. But isn t that part of what makes us Christians? If Christ forgives us, just as He forgave His executioners from the cross, how can we not do the same? Not everyone wants our forgiveness. We know that. But to offer it anyways, at least in our hearts, is to prevent hatred from increasing. Then, like the first Christians and Christ Himself we give this world the example of love we so desperately need. Forty Days for Life Feb.13 March 24 St. Philip Parish participates, along with Christians throughout Pittsburgh, in the national 40 Days for Life Campaign. We recite the rosary daily and special prayers following the 8:30 morning daily Mass. All are encouraged to attend. The mission of 40 Days for Life is to unite the Body of Christ in the spiritual battle to end abortion. Kick-off event is Sunday, Feb. 10th at 6:00 P.M. in First Presbyterian Church, 633 Liberty Ave. For a companion or transportation to this event, call Pat Collins at , Parish Pre-Cana Program All couples planning their wedding are required to attend an approved pre-marriage program. St. Philip Parish will conduct a Pre-Cana Class on Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9th. All couples must pre-register. Please call the Religious Education Office for more information.

3 Sunday Collection (1-27) $ 6,296 Parish Share $ 1,577 Bell Tower $ 325 Cemetery Collection $ 596 Thank you for your generous donation. ST. PHILIP LITURGICAL MINISTRY SCHEDULE Sat. Feb. 9 /Sun. Feb. 10 Altar Servers 4:00 P.M Joseph Kretz, Benny Rodriquez, Loren Rodriquez 7:00 A.M. Adult Server 10:00 A.M. Aubrey Robb, Samuel Tirone, Bella Tirone 12:00 Noon Conner Gaitens, Coulton Gaitens, Carson Gaitens Lectors 4:00 P.M. Art Bannon 7:00 A.M. Mary Jo Auth 10:00 A.M Bob Brown 12:00 Noon Chris Blatt Eucharistic Ministers 4:00 P.M. Bill & Carol Solt, Caren Surlow, Walter Schulte, Sue Solt-Lonsinger 7:00 A.M. Karen Rozeck, Beth Ayres, Don Wolbert Sr. 10:00 A.M Joe Allen, Mary Gerlowski, Mary Lou McNamee, Ron & Mary Stacy 12:00 Noon Mike Calorie, Marie Kelly, Paula Kelly, Mary Jane Roth, Marie Smith Sanctuary Light Burns this week for: Andrew Sherbaugh Jr Requested by: Claudia Koral Sat./Sun., February 2/3: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 4:00 P.M Ken Adams (Tom & Lorraine) 7:00 A.M. Florence Knapp (Gerlowski family) 10:00 A.M. Nellie Patsko (M/M Edward Patsko) 12:00 Noon Rudy DiPasquale (M/M J Csizmadia) (The Blessing of Throats will take place after all the Sunday Masses.) Monday, February 4: Weekday 8:30 A.M. Canel family (family ) Tuesday, February 5: St. Agatha 8:30 A.M. Jack Twyman (Phillips family) Wednesday, February 6: St. Paul Miki & Companions 8:30 A.M. Raymond Drozak (Janet & Ruh Barekszai) Thursday, February 7: Weekday 8:30 A.M. George Nowak (family) Friday, February 8: Weekday 8:30 A.M. Matthew G. Grasha (wife, Rosalie) Saturday, February 9: Weekday 8:30 A.M. Sarah McNamee (Legion of Mary) 12:30 P.M. Confessions Sat./Sun., February 9/10: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 4:00 P.M Richard Robertson (wife, Sue & family) 7:00 A.M. Special Intention (family) 10:00 A.M. John Sebesta (family) 12:00 Noon Thomas Monahan (family) PARISH EVENTS THIS WEEK Tuesday, Feb. 5: 6:45 P.M. St. Vincent de Paul Society Mtg (Kelty Hall) Wednesday, Feb. 6: 7:00 P.M. Catholic Men s Fellowship (Parish Center) 7:00 P.M. Cantor Rehearsal (Choir Loft) 7:20 P.M. Choir Rehearsal (Choir Loft) Saturday, Feb. 9: 9:15 A.M. Legion of Mary (Rectory)

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7 Religious Education Monthly Calendar of Events: Sunday, February 3: CCD from 8:15-9:30 A.M.; R.C.I.A. from Noon Wednesday, February 6: First Eucharist Family Session - 7 P.M. (Church and Father Kelty Hall) Thursday, February 7: Bible Study on Luke, chapters P.M. (Hope House) Friday and Saturday, February 8-9: Pre-Cana in Father Kelty Hall Sunday, February 10: CCD from 8:15-9:30 A.M.; R.C.I.A. from Noon (Church and Hope House); Easter Pageant Rehearsal at 3 P.M. in (Father Kelty Hall) Friday, February 22: After Stations, the Passion Narratives with Pope Benedict (Church) Sunday, February 17: CCD from 8:15-9:30 A.M.; RCIA from Noon Thursday, February 21: Bible Study on Luke, chapters P.M. (Hope House) Saturday, February 23: First Penance - 1:30 P.M. (Church) Sunday, February 24: CCD from 8:15-9:30 A.M.; R.C.I.A. from 10-Noon (Church and Hope House); Baptismal Prep Class for all expectant parents - 1:15 P.M. (Hope House) Gospel Reflection Sometimes we think that when others do not like Jesus words, it is somehow a new reaction, but today s Gospel shows that, among many examples in the Gospels, this is not something new. Why is it that we do not like to hear Jesus words? I think that it is because Jesus challenges the status quo and our norm, something that is uncomfortable, especially when it points to changes that need to be made in our own lives. That is what is amazing about Jesus and the Church: even though it is almost 2,000 years old, its teachings still challenge us to become the best human beings that we can become. Let us ask Jesus in prayer this week about a teaching that we are struggling with and ask for His guidance on how we can better live it. First Eucharist Family Session There will be a very important family session for all children in second grade, both in the CCD and the parochial school, and their families on Wednesday, February 6 at 7 P.M. We will meet in the Church, and the children will be dismissed to Father Kelty Hall for a very special activity that will be part of their First Eucharist Celebration. It is important for both the parents and their children to attend this Family Session. If you have any questions, please contact the Religious Education Office. The Passion Narratives with Pope Benedict XVI Beginning on Friday, February 22, and continuing on the first three Fridays in March, I invite all those who attend Stations of the Cross to stay after for a presentation on the Passion Narratives according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with some commentary from Pope Benedict XVI entitled, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week from the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. Each week, we will talk about a different account. Baptismal Preparation Classes Parents who are expecting their first child are required by the Diocese of Pittsburgh to attend a Baptismal Preparation class prior to the birth of their first child. Sessions are held in the Hope House at 1:15 P.M. by appointment. The next scheduled class is Sunday, February 24, Please contact the Parish Office to schedule an appointment at , ext. 5. First Easter Pageant This year, St. Philip s will present its first-ever Easter Pageant. We will present it on Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 8:20 A.M. in the Church. There will be a practice on Sunday, February at 3 P.M. in Father Kelty Hall. Thoughts from Pope Benedict God is not solitude, but perfect communion. For this reason the human person, the image of God, realizes himself or herself in love, which is a sincere gift of self. -Walter Schulte