February 19, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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1 Rectory: 170 Mechanic Street Leominster, Massachusetts Telephone (978) / / Parish Office Hours are Monday thru Thursday 9 am - 5 pm and Friday 9 am - 4 pm Religious Education (C.C.D) Office Telephone (978) Bingo Telephone: (978) February 19, Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Celebration of the Eucharist Saturday Vigil Masses: 4:00 & 6:30 P.M. Sunday Masses: 7:00, 9:45, and 11:15 A.M. Weekday Masses (Monday - Saturday): 6:30 A.M. Holy Day Masses: 4:00 P.M. (Vigil) 6:30 A.M. & 5:30 P.M. Rev. Robert D. Bruso Pastor Rev. Stephen E. Lundrigan In Residence Rev. Richard G. Roger Retired Deacon Ronald J. Aubuchon Deacon Robert S. Connor, Jr. Confessions: Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30 P.M. Fridays, 6:00-7:00 P.M. Saturdays, 3:00-4:00 P.M. Baptisms: Please call the rectory in advance to schedule baptismal instruction. Marriages: Couple should contact the rectory at least one year in advance. A marriage preparation program is required. Mr. David M. Lasky Music Director, Organist Mrs. Patricia A. Secino, Religious Education Director and Director of Evangelization and RCIA

2 Saturday February 18 Vigil Masses Mass on pg :00 p.m. Rev. Eugene Pelletier (anniv.) by Theresa 6:30 p.m. Roger LeBlanc (15th anniv.) by his brothers & sisters Sunday February 19 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass on pg :00 a.m. Yvette Desharnais by her estate 9:45 a.m. Leo E. Tisdale (16th anniv.) by his wife & children 11:15 a.m. Cecile Leger by Carol & Lena Monday February 20 Weekday (Presidents Day) Mass on pg :30 a.m. Robert F. Dube, Sr. by his wife & children Tuesday February 21 St. Peter Damian, Bishop & Doctor of the Church Mass on pg :30 a.m. Alice Girardin by Eileen Farineau Wednesday February 22 The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle Mass on pg :30 a.m. Gabrielle Grenache by her estate 4:30-5:30 p.m. Confession Thursday February 23 St. Polycarp, Bishop & Martyr Mass on pg :30 a.m. Parishioners of St. Cecilia Parish Friday February 24 Weekday Mass on pg :30 a.m. Lien (Theresa) Le by her family 6:00-7:00 p.m. Confession Saturday February 25 Weekday Mass on pg :30 a.m. Raymond Blanchette by Fernande Desilets 3:00-4:00 p.m. Confession Vigil Masses Mass on pg :00 p.m. Arthur J. Cormier (23rd anniv.) by Jan & Wayne Doucet 6:30 p.m. Rev. Louis & Lillian Randall by Mark & Michelle Randall & family Sunday February 26 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass on pg :00 a.m. James Arsenault (15th anniv.) by his sister, Rosella 9:45 a.m. Theresa Gionet (2nd anniv.) by her children & family 11:15 a.m. Dorothy Lapierre (3rd anniv.) by the Lapierre & Hughes families The Sympathies of the parish community are extended to the family and friends of Wilfred E. Jacques & Geneva M. Roy whose Funeral Masses were held recently. Please remember them in your prayers. 2

3 Dear Friends, A Message From Our Pastor. The Lord tells Moses to tell the people of Israel to be holy, because He, the Lord, is holy. You shall love your neighbor as yourself, he says. In the epistle, St. Paul tells the people of Corinth that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we must treat one another as such. Jesus reminds us of the higher standard to which he calls us. But how do we do that in everyday life? We rarely get a slap in the face, and when is the last time anyone asked you to carry their equipment for a mile? I think we can begin to achieve this through holy moments every day. Every time there is a sarcastic or quick tempered word on our tongue that we do not utter, we have a holy moment. Every time we hear a juicy bit of gossip and do not pass it on but keep it to ourselves, we have a holy moment. Every time we smile at a stranger, every time we hold the elevator door open, every time we offer a word of encouragement, we achieve moments of holiness. Every day, every hour, we have opportunities to make life a little bit better for our neighbor. Every time we make a donation, however small, to a worthy cause we have a holy moment. Praying for some else s intentions while praying for our own becomes a moment of spiritual selfsacrifice. As we string the little moments together and then look back over the day during our nightly examination of our conscience, we see a pattern developing. We are overcoming some of our weaknesses, day by day. We are choosing to open our eyes and see the world around us, and with our eyes wide open, we are seeing the world, the good and the bad, and we are choosing to enhance the good while minimizing the bad. It s not like we re going to change the world with our little acts of kindness, but we can make life a little bit nicer for one person, and that one person can make life better for someone else, and soon, like the ripples in a pond when we toss in a pebble, the whole surface is enlivened by one simple action. St. Thomas Aquinas taught that virtue was a habit, as was vice. What at first seems difficult or at least unusual becomes normal and natural for us. We make it a habit to observe the people around with an eye to seeing how we can help. We overcome our natural shyness and become the one willing to reach out to a stranger. We no longer spend our lives on the sidelines, waiting for someone else to tell us what we should do. We know it instinctively, and we do it as a matter of course. There may come a time in our lives when we are called upon to do an act of heroic charity. Maybe, or maybe not. But there is a time when we are called to a simple act of kindness, and that is today. There is a time when we are called to keep silence rather than to spread evil, and that is every day. There is a time to hold our tongue, even when someone else is addressing us in anger, and that could happen anytime. We are called to be holy. We are called to be saints. To begin with great acts may be beyond our reach at this time. We can, however, choose to begin with little acts, every hour, every day. Let s start today. May God bless you all, Father Bob Bruso 3

4 Religious Education/CCD Classes The Gospel in Action Helping Families at Their Most Difficult Time Please consider joining St. Cecilia s Team of Volunteers For MIHN (Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network) Volunteer ONE EVENING (approx. 4 hours) FOUR or FIVE times per YEAR Learn more about it at a meeting at the Parish Hall this Thursday, February 23 at 7:00 PM Call the rectory for more information or just drop by for the meeting Centennial of the Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima PILGRIMAGE to FATIMA, LOURDES and SPAIN Sept , 2017 Cost: $3199, double occupancy Father Bob Bruso is leading a pilgrimage in honor of the Centennial of the apparitions at Fatima. Price includes airfare, taxes, ground transportation, four star hotels, all breakfasts and 7 dinners. Daily Mass. Fatima Coimbra Salamanca Alba de Tormes Avila Madrid Lourdes Montserrat Barcelona Call Father Bob at for a brochure. No Monday Classes for Grades 7-10 this week. Classes will resume on Feb. 27th at 7:00 pm. Sunday Classes for Grades 1-6 resume next week, Feb. 26th at 10 am. Attending the 11:15 am Mass is included in the program. Join us next Sunday, February 26th after the 9:45 Mass for our monthly Coffee And in the vestibule of the church (Mechanic St. entrance). This is a wonderful opportunity to socialize with fellow parishioners and to meet and welcome new parishioners into our parish family. 4

5 The Congratulations of the parish community are extended to Brogan Buckley and Matthew Schafer who were married recently. St. Cecilia s Bingo Friday Evenings at 6:30 PM Doors Open at 4 PM Come Try Your Luck! (check St. Cecilia s Church facebook page or call the rectory for Bingo cancellations especially during the winter season) Due to weather, the Leominster City Wide Respect Life Quarterly Meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 28th, 6:30pm at St. Cecilia Parish Center. Please join us in welcoming Lee Crowley of 40 Days for Life, as she speaks to us about this wonderful organization. Learn about their great success across the country and about their upcoming campaign of prayer! 2016 St. Cecilia s Parish Contribution Statements Now available. To request a contribution letter, please BettyAnn at bettyann.stc@verizon.net, if you are unable to your request, please call the rectory and leave your name and address. The parish is very grateful for all your generosity throughout the year! St. Cecilia Parish now provides Online Giving a convenient and safe way to make a one-time or recurring donation. Getting started is easy just visit our website, and click our Online Giving link. When you participate, your gift will be securely transferred directly into the parish bank account. And you won t have to remember to write a check or stop by the ATM on Sundays! Last Week s Stewardship Collection was $ 6,686. Thank You!! 7 th Sunday in Ordinary Time But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44) Love your enemies, easier said than done, no doubt. But, remember, the foundation of stewardship is prayer. When we are in close communication with God, it opens our heart and it turns our attention away from me and moves it towards God and others. It allows us to have a little more empathy for our enemy. When we pray for others, even our enemies, maybe it softens their hearts as well. Please Patronize Our Advertisers who sponsor our colorful weekly bulletin at no cost to the parish. Mention to them that you saw their ad in the bulletin. Besides providing the bulletin free of charge to the parish, funds from bulletin sponsors help needy families in our area through the St. Vincent de Paul Society. More Sponsors Are Welcome - if you or someone you know would like to sponsor our parish bulletin please call the rectory at

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