Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 17, 2019

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1 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time February 17, 2019 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK Feb. 18 Carolyn Brady by Eileen Sullivan Feb. 19 Marie De Angelis by William De Angelis Feb. 20 Mary & Lawrence Russo by Daughter Christine Flynn Feb. 21 St. Peter Damian, Bishop & Doctor of the Church Theodore Henderson by Jeannine Henderson Feb. 22 The Chair of St. Peter the Apostle Eucharistic Service Saturday Feb. 23 St. Polycarp, Bishop & Martyr 4:00 p.m. Jim McFadden by Wife, Gerry & Family Sunday Feb. 24 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 7:30 a.m. Intentions of Mary Lesko & Family by Al Chalker 9:00 a.m. James P. Campbell, Jr. by Jean Fedor 11:00 a.m. Bernadette Nicholson by Beers Family Candle & Flower Offerings The Sanctuary candle and flowers are offered for the People of the Parish. Statements for your 2018 donations are available upon request. Call the parish office , ext. 15. The Collection amount for the weekend of February 10 th was $13,226. Thank you for your continued support of our parish! PARISH CALENDAR Feb. 20 Woman s Faith Sharing 9:00am RE Monthly Obligation Grades 3-7 6:00-7:30pm Feb. 21 Choir Practice 7:30pm Feb. 22 RE 6 th grade Service Night - Cookie Bake with the WoN 6:00pm in the Hall Feb. 24 Men s Spirituality Group 7:00pm Feb. 26 Prayer Shawl 1:30pm Feb. 27 Woman s Faith Sharing 9:00am RE 2 nd grade Blessing Cup Retreat 5:00pm in the Hall Feb. 28 RE 8 th grade Confirmation Practice 6:00 7:30pm in the Church Choir Practice 7:30pm March 1 JYG 6:00 9:00pm March 2 Fair Trade/Food Pantry Children s Liturgy 4:00pm Rice Bowls Distribution March 3 Fair Trade/Food Pantry Rice Bowls Distribution 2 nd grade Bread Share 11:00am Mass SYG Pancake Breakfast Daily Readings Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday Jer 17:5-8; 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20; Lk 6:17, Monday Gn 4:1-15, 25; Mk 8:11-13 Tuesday Gn 6:5-8, 7:1-5, 10; Mk 8:14-21 Wednesday Gn 8:6-13, 20-22; Mk 8:22-26 Thursday Gn 9:1-13; Mk 8:27-33 Friday 1 Pt 5:1-4; Mt 16:13-19 Saturday Heb 11:1-7; Mk 9:2-13

2 HIS WORD TODAY by Rev. William J. Reilly Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said We are so familiar with the Sermon on the Mount, and the beatitudes of St. Matthew. They summarize the entire message of Jesus and provide the pattern for a healthy examination of conscience. Today we meet St. Luke s teaching, the Sermon on the Plain, addressed to the disciples and to us. Instead of eight positive directives, we are given four, and then four warnings to help us move from the now to the promised reward. How helpful for us to fix our eyes on what the Lord has in store for us, to make us less complacent, eager to rejoice and leap for joy on that day! We know well the obstacles, barriers and challenges of the Christian life. St. Ignatius asks us to discern both the positive and negative to help us make good decisions. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REMINDERS FOR FEBRUARY 2019 February 20 th Monthly obligation - Grades 3-7; 6:00 7:30pm February 22 nd 6 th grade service night Woman of Nativity Cookie Bake 6:00 9:00 pm February 27 th 2 nd grade Blessing Cup Retreat 5:00 pm in Father Congdon Hall February 28 th 8 th grade Confirmation Practice 6:00 7:30pm in the church MESSAGE FROM FATHER ED Dear Family and Friends, Well, it s finally official: I now have the body of a post-menopausal woman! Yes, on Thursday, 2/7 I traveled into the City to meet with my new medical oncologist at MSK. During the course of our conversation, I learned of yet another new issue that I must deal with a fracture in my lower vertebrae. The doctor informed me that this is quite normal in post-menopausal women, but it appears to be the result of the amount of chemo and the kind of radiation that I have received over the past two years. We all had a good chuckle over this one! Praise God, that I have not lost my sense of humor throughout this journey with cancer. I have begun to experience difficulty once again with eating, drinking and swallowing which has caused me alarm and I shared this with the oncologist. He is confident that this is not the result of the return of cancer. My recent PET scan showed absolutely no new traces of cancerous cells. Instead, I traveled back to the city on Wednesday, 2/13 to have another endoscopy to correct what the doctor believed to be a stricture in the esophagus. The procedure allowed a balloon to expand my esophagus to no longer experience pain when swallowing/digesting food. Finally, on March 21 st, a meeting with the entire medical team composed of the neurosurgeon, medical oncologist, radiologist and the surgeon who treated my esophageal cancer, will occur. Further scans will then be taken to monitor my condition. I hope and pray to return to active ministry sometime after this date. Know that I share your joy in welcoming Father Lancelot McGrath to our parish! Father is truly a God-send to us during this time. His priestly ministry will allow our parish to continue daily to celebrate the Eucharist, open the Holy Scriptures to guide us on the road to discipleship through his preaching and challenge us to be more compassionate and gentler in our relationships by his Irish demeanor, wit and personal spirituality. We sincerely thank Father Lance for his willingness to come and serve among us. Let us continue to remember each other in prayer. Fondly, Fr. Ed

3 MESSAGE FROM FATHER LANCELOT I was born in Limerick, Ireland and grew up in a truly wonderful family. I was blessed to have great parents and five siblings. My dad passed away in 2000 and my mom is still alive in her 95 th year. I got back from Ireland recently where I worked in the diocese of Killaloe for three months. I left Ireland having joined a religious order in 1974 and had never worked in Ireland. It was so good to be back there for this recent period of time but there have been so many changes except for the magnificent beauty of West Ireland. I was ordained a priest on December 24, 1985 in Rome. It was a blessing to have all my family present on that special day. I did studies in Dublin Ireland, Salamanca Spain, and all my philosophy and theology in Rome. I really enjoyed the studies and continue to do so but I wish I could retain more of the books and lectures that I was fortunate to experience. As a priest, I enjoyed priestly work in many different countries: Spain, Italy, Mexico, Chile, and here in the US. Often asked, where was your favorite place, I can honestly say I have felt blessed to enjoy each assignment. I was incardinated into the Diocese of Metuchen a few years back and worked in New Brunswick (St. Peters Church), Hillsborough (Mary Mother of God Parish), and N. Plainfield (St. Luke Parish) and more recently at Our Lady of Mt. Virgin in Bound Brook. Bishop Checchio asked me to help here at Nativity of Our Lord Parish during Father Ed s illness. I am delighted to serve here and have enjoyed the warmth and enthusiasm of the Parish. In the time that God grants me here, I hope I can support Fr. Ed as he recovers and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. I ask you for your prayers and your patience. Attention Amazon Shoppers Each time you shop on Amazon and have Nativity selected as your chosen charity, Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase directly to Nativity of our Lord Church. Follow the link and start shopping!!! A live link can also be found on our website and Facebook page. LENTEN 2019 SCHEDULE ASH WEDNESDAY March 6, 2019 Mass 8:30AM; 12 Noon; 7:00PM STATIONS OF THE CROSS FOLLOWED BY ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT Fridays 7:00PM March 8, 15, 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 MORNING PRAYER Tuesdays and Thursday 8AM WOMEN S FAITH SHARING Wednesdays 9:00-10:30AM SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Parish Penance Service Wednesday, April 10 7:00PM HOLY THURSDAY April 18 Mass of the Lord s Supper 7:00PM Adoration at the Repository until 10:00PM Sung Compline 10:00PM GOOD FRIDAY April 19 Liturgy of the Lord s Passion and Death 3:00PM Prayer at the Cross 7:00PM HOLY SATURDAY April 20 Blessing of Easter Food 12 Noon Great Vigil of Easter 7:30PM EASTER SUNDAY April 21 Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord 7:30 AM 9:00 AM 11:00 AM Community Reminder The township zoning board will be hearing the expansion request of the Gardens of Monroe on February 26 th. The meeting will take place at 7:00pm in the municipal courtroom.

4 Celebrate the Feast of: St. Joseph Patrick s Day Saturday March 16 th 5:30 PM in Fr. Congdon Hall Music DJ 50/50 Raffle $25.00 per person Children 16 and under $10.00 (under 6 years old Free) Pasta, Roasted Chicken Corned Beef and Cabbage, Potatoes, Shepherd s Pie, Irish Soda Bread Beer, Wine, Refreshments, Coffee, Tea & Dessert St. Joseph s Pastry & Pistachio Cake Feel free to BYOB th ****** ****** RSVP by March 10 Call or Ini Udom or iniudoms@gmail.com Please list names and place this stub and check in K of C Drop-Box located in the Narthex. Make checks payable to the Knights of Columbus # Total Amount enclosed: (Please put age of child next to name) Name: Name: This event is hosted by the Knights of Columbus on behalf of our Parish. We look forward to seeing you! CONGRATULATIONS 2 nd Grade Students on Receiving their First Reconciliation February 7, 2019 Shreya Angappan Desmond Gil Justin April Alex Jordan Caroline Cerniglia Victoria Latilla Ethan Cutinho Cara Lombardi Anthony DelPrete Breylin Masters Ruhitha Gajulapali Leah Matias Arianna Gargano Katelyn Miguel Alyna George Gregory Rosta Krystyna Siwik The Women of Nativity would like you to join us for our Lenten Reflection on March 13 th at 9am in Father Congdon Hall. Our speaker will be Mary Ann Sullivan. Breakfast will be served, consisting of Deep- Dish Pancakes with apples and cranberries, Belgium waffles with syrup and butter, Scrambled eggs, Bacon, Home Fries, Croissants, Mini Muffins, and Bagels with cream cheese and butter, Orange Juice and Coffee. The cost will be $12. Please complete the form below, and return with your check made out to Nativity of Our Lord Church, and place in your envelope in the WON no later than March 7th. Questions, call Pam Chauvin, Phone: Amt.: Check# Pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico with Bishop James F. Checchio October 20-24, 2019 In preparation for the Consecration of The Diocese of Metuchen to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop James F. Checchio will lead a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, October 20-24, Information meetings will be held on Tuesday February 19 th at 7:30 p.m. as well as Saturday, February 23 rd at 10:00 a.m. at the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, 146 Metlars Lane, Piscataway. All are welcome!

5 CHURCH ACTIVITIES For our trip in March, we are planning to go the Brownstone House of Patterson, NJ on March 19 th for the Feast of St. Joseph. Included in the cost of $83.00 pp is bus transportation, complete family style luncheon consisting of salad, pasta, chicken parmigiana, sausage and peppers, roasted potatoes, vegetables, rolls and focaccia, special dessert, coffee, tea and soda. Two complimentary drinks are included; also, taxes and meal gratuity. A live band for dancing, entertainment and some surprises will make for a fun-filled day. Please make checks out to NATIVITY CHURCH ACTIVITIES. Departure from the rear of the church parking lot would be 9:30am. Please arrive by 9:15am. Departure from the restaurant would be about 3:30pm. If you would like to go, please call Janet Mascio at as soon as possible as time is short to firm up this reservation. PARISH MINISTRIES St. Vincent De Paul Society: If you are experiencing financial hardship due to a temporary loss of employment, illness, or disability, the St. Vincent de Paul Society is available to provide assistance for your everyday needs such as food, utility assistance, or agency referrals. Please dial the parish number , then press 8, and leave a message with your name and phone number. Someone will return your call. All calls are handled in strict confidence. Food Pantry: After all you have given, just be your usual generous selves. We thank you. Prayer Shawl: Our next get-together is Tuesday February 26 th at 1:30 pm in the church hall. Join us as we create shawls for the sick and homebound members of the parish (and beyond!) New members are always welcome. Questions? Call Dorothy Kopil at or Liz Coulston at Caring Meals: The Caring Meals group delivers soup year-round to our homebound parishioners and provides short-term help to parishioners who are recuperating from an illness or hospital stay with deliveries of home-cooked meals. If you like to cook or know of someone who could benefit from either of these two services, please call Maryanne Sheerin at Helping Hands: Do you need a helping hand with minor tasks around the house? There are parishioners who are willing to help in these situations. Please contact Esther Wolff by phone at Rosary Group: Please join us every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7:50 a.m. to recite the Holy Rosary. We are seated at the right side of the church near the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Simple Soup Supper Bring your Friends and Family to enjoy homemade soup every Friday in Lent. Fridays March 8 April 12 Father Congdon Hall 5:30-7:00 pm Simple Soup Suppers (Donations accepted) 7 pm Stations of the Cross In the Church Drop off RSVP at Narthex by March 5 th. For Questions, please contact Franny Sicat at (917) or famsmnj@gmail.com Phone: Check dates and indicate number of people attending: March 8 March 29 March 15 April 5 March 22 April 12