Scriptural Reflection

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2 Weekly Mass Schedule All Masses will be held in the Church until January 9, 2012 Saturday, December 31 (New Year s Eve) 5:30 p.m. Lillian D Amico (13 th Anniversary) Sunday, January 1 (New Year s Day) 7:30 a.m. Patrick J. Byrne 9:00 a.m. The Intentions of the Rosary Society 10:30 a.m. People of the Parish 12:00 p.m. Jack Marée Monday, January 2 6:30 a.m. Mary & George Heilmann 8:00 a.m. Gertrude Furlong 12:10 p.m. Nancy Gabriele Tuesday, January 3 6:30 a.m. Nancy Gabriele 8:00 a.m. Dorothy Connolly 12:10 p.m. Arthur Ludlow Wednesday, January 4 6:30 a.m. Katica Matesic 8:00 a.m. Primo Tallarida 12:10 p.m. Deacon John Coffey (Birthday) Thursday, January 5 6:30 a.m. Maureen McDermott 8:00 a.m. Maria Nieves Pareja 12:10 p.m. MaryAnn Cawley Friday, January 6 6:30 a.m. Charles Hickey (15 th Anniversary) 8:00 a.m. Doris Reeves 12:10 p.m. Marie Coleman Saturday, January 7 8:00 a.m. Helen Kahn 5:30 p.m. Anna Marie Marques Sunday, January 8 7:30 a.m. Herb Bachmann (1 st Anniversary) 9:00 a.m. William Naughton 10:30 a.m. Francis V. Bigley 10:30 a.m. Katherine A. Duffe - MWH 12:00 p.m. People of the Parish Church Lamp In Memory of Francis H. Reilly (Birthday) Scriptural Reflection Mary, the Holy Mother of God January 1, 2012 January 1 is the oldest celebration of Mary in the Catholic Church. The custom of honoring the Virgin on the first day of the New Year originates in the sixth century, when her celebration was tied to the octave day of Christmas, the eighth day after December 25. In doing so, ancient preachers would remind their congregations about the role that Mary played in the history of salvation. Jesus was born of a woman, and so, as Eucharistic Prayer 4 states, "Made incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, he shared our human nature in all things but sin." The human nature of Christ is rooted in his being born like us. As we round out the Christmas celebration with its Octave Day on January 1, we venerate the woman who gave birth to him. There is a dual action in today's Gospel that is sometimes overlooked. The shepherds find the infant in the manger as has been told to them by the angel. And then they go out to tell others about the child. In the meantime, Mary reflects on all these things in her heart. These are the two complementary stances of the Christian: action and reflection. Both are needed for a balanced spiritual life. It is, in effect, putting into practice the two great commandments: love God and love your neighbor. As we begin the New Year, it is customary to make resolutions: to diet, to exercise, to change something in one's life. Like Mary, who reflected on the events surrounding the birth of her child, we take some time to reflect on our own lives: where we have been, and where we are going. The Gospel gives us the opportunity to situate that reflection in a spiritual context. What does the birth of Jesus mean for me spiritually (time for personal, spiritual reflection), and what do I intend to do about that in my daily life (what actions will I commit to perform)? 2011 Liturgical Publications Inc Hosts For every Mass have been donated by the Rosary Society 2

3 This Week at St. Mary s Sunday, January 1 9:00 a.m. No Religious Education 10:30 a.m. No Family Mass in MWH 11:30 a.m. No RCIA Monday, January 2 Parish Center Closed 5:00 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous MWH Tuesday, January 3 3:45 p.m. Religious Education School 7:00 p.m. Adult Choir Practice Chapel 7:00 p.m. Religious Education School 7:15 p.m. BINGO MWH Wednesday, January 4 7:00 p.m. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena Church 8:00 p.m. Oratory of Divine Love Dcn Coffey Rm Thursday, January 5 7:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Chapel Friday, January p.m. Adoration of the Holy Eucharist Chapel 8 9 p.m. Nocturnal Adoration Devotions and Benedictions Chapel Saturday, January 7 7:00 p.m. Have a Heart Fundraiser School Gym Sunday, January 8 9:00 a.m. Religious Education School 11:30 a.m. Baptismal Prep PCCR 11:30 a.m. RCIA Dcn. Coffey Conf. Room Please Join Us For Fr. Ernest G. Rush s Annual Have A Heart Fundraiser for the benefit of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital s Cardiac Transplantation Program Saturday, January 7th, 2012 at 7:00 P.M. To be held in the Gym of The Phoenix Center/ St. Mary s School Price of $35.00 ticket includes: Salad, Pasta, Chicken Francaise, Wine, Soda, Dessert, Coffee and Tea Advance Sale Dinner Tickets with sheet of 26 Raffle Tickets and 1 Grand Prize Raffle $50.00 Tickets are available for purchase at the Parish Center Flyers are located in the back of the church. Save the Date You are invited to a Catechesis of the Neocatechumenal Way For Youth and Adults St. Mary s Parish Center office will be closed on Monday, January 2. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Friday, January 6 In the Chapel From 1-9 pm Nocturnal Adoration Devotions & Benediction From 8-9 pm Looking for something different to do? Why not join us for Bingo. Every Tuesday evening beginning with the Early Bird Special at 7:15 p.m. and Game 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Msgr. Walsh Hall. Food is also available. Volunteers are needed for the Bingo kitchen. Holy Fathers Prayer Intention for January That the victims of natural disasters may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need to rebuild their lives. Mondays and 8:00 PM Starting January 30 th, 2012 St. Mary s Church 17 Monsignor Owens Place Nutley, NJ For more information please call Fr

4 Save the date & Share the news Feb. 22, 2012 Ash Wednesday St. Mary s Rosary Society will be hosting a Parish Family Fish Fry to kick off the Lenten season. Food provided by Thistle, Lyndhurst, NJ Dine in Msgr. Walsh Hall that afternoon or take it home to enjoy. Either way we hope you will plan to participate in this special parish event. More Complete Details to Follow. Please check the weekly bulletin. Save the Date St. Mary s Knights of Columbus #2346 will hold their Annual German Night on Sat., Jan. 21 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. See next week s bulletin for further information. Sponsored by: Archdiocese of Newark Respect Life Office & St. John the Baptist Respect Life Ministry Friday, January 13, :00pm St. John the Baptist 3026 Kennedy Blvd. Jersey City All of us have been impacted, directly or indirectly, by the terrible lie of abortion and the many ways that human life is often devalued in our society. We take courage in Jesus word and Our Lady s echoing of that word proclaiming the power of persistent prayer to convert & heal broken hearts, transform society and even to change the course of history. We join Our Lady s continuous vigil of prayer for LIFE as we gather for this brief vigil on the 13 th of every month (Mary s final apparition in Fatima was on October 13, 1917) The evening will include: 7-8pm Mass with pro-life homily 8-9 pm Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary, opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Benediction Brief discussion & fellowship following Mass 4 The following spiritual activities are held weekly at St. Mary s. We hope you will join us: Miraculous Medal Novena Every Monday at 12 Noon in the Parish Center Chapel (prior to the 12:10 p.m. Mass). We hope you will join us for this time-honored tradition at our parish. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena All are invited to participate in the beautiful novena and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, each Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the church, moderated by Deacon Trinidad. Come, with your special needs and cares and find some comfort and peace through prayers and songs. The Power of the Picture According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the original picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is painted on wood, with a background of gold. It is Byzantine in style and is supposed to have been painted in the thirteenth century. It represents the Mother of God holding the Divine Child while the Archangels Michael and Gabriel present before Him the instruments of His Passion. Over the figures in the actual picture are some Greek letters, which form the abbreviated words Mother of God, Jesus Christ, Archangel Michael, and Archangel Gabriel, respectively. It was brought to Rome toward the end of the fifteenth century by a pious merchant, who, dying there, ordered by his will that the picture should be exposed in a church for public veneration. A facsimile of the Holy Picture is on display in St. Mary s Church and is placed in front of the altar for the Wednesday novenas. Oratory of Divine Love Our prayer group meets every Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m. in the Parish Center. Meetings include prayer, scripture readings, meditation and group discussions encouraging members to pledge themselves to work towards their own spirituality and the spiritual growth of others. Devotion to the Divine Mercy Every Thursday Jesus appeared to St. Faustina in 1931 and told her that she was to prepare the world for his return. Devotion to the Divine Mercy can help us embrace this hope of salvation. Come and join us every Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in St. Mary s Chapel (in the Parish Center). There will be exposition and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. For additional information, please call Deacon Rey or Edna Trinidad at

5 Felician Sisters Christmas Concert The Felician Sisters of the Immaculate Conception Convent of Lodi will present a sacred concert entitled The Glory of Christmas. The concert will take place on Sun., Jan. 8 at Immaculate Conception Convent Chapel (260 South Main St, Lodi) at 3:00 p.m. There is no admission charge for this concert, but good will offerings will be accepted and proceeds will be given to the poor. A Good Reason to Use Church Envelopes As the new year begins, just a reminder that with the Internal Revenue Service Pension Act of 2006, the charitable contribution deduction is disallowed for any monetary contributions (cash, check, etc.) unless you, the giver, maintain a record of the contribution. The record of the donation must be in the form of a bank record, cancelled check, or a written communication from the recipient showing the name of the charitable organization, the date of the contribution and the amount of the contribution. When using our church collection envelopes you will receive a tax statement with your yearly total. If you do not receive monthly envelopes at this time but wish to, please call the Parish Center at Vocation Discernment Retreat Do you wonder if God is calling you to a life of service? Is it possible that God might be inviting you to consider priesthood as your vocation? Join us for a weekend retreat designed to help us reflect on these questions of faith and friendship. The Vocations Office of the Archdiocese of Newark is sponsoring a Retreat: Stay with Us, Lord will be held January 6, 7 and 8 at Carmel Retreat House, Mahwah, NJ. The weekend includes prayer, presentations by priests and seminarians, time for silence and the opportunity to meet other young men asking the same questions. Please contact Fr. John Gabriel for more information and to register at SFIC 9 th Annual High School Basketball Festival The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children will hold its 9 th annual High School Basketball Festival on Sat., Jan. 7, and Sun., Jan. 8 at Kean University in Union. For full game schedule, times and ticket information please visit or call The Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children provides economically challenged students in grades K-12 with partial tuition scholarships to attend Catholic School in the Archdiocese of Newark. Recycle Your Old Christmas Cards Don t throw out your old Christmas cards when you are done with them. St. Mary s would like to recycle them to become part of our Christmas Giving Tree You can drop off cards to the Parish Center during office hours or give them to Brian at Religious Education. Any questions call the Religious Ed office at St. Mary s Religious Ed Presents Family Night B-4 long we ll get together with old and new friends for our funtastic Family Bingo Night. Come join us for the fun on Sat., Jan. 28 at 7:00 p.m. in Msgr. Walsh Hall. Free admission; cash ice cream sundae bar; families can bring snacks and drinks. We are looking for volunteers and donated prizes for our prize table. Items for adults and children are welcome. That our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan may be protected by the Holy Spirit and know the prayers of a grateful nation. If any names can be taken off the Sick List, please call the Parish Center to inform us. The Sick Tom Abene, Jaclyn Amorin, Jayce Bergamino, Ronald A. Bergamino, Jr., baby Billy, Jim Blanda, Henry Buklad, John Casale, Sr., Jennifer Chait, Sr. Marie Charitina, Mark P. Connolly, Anthony Costa, Michael Cox Sr., Tommy Coykendall, Rosemary Curran, George Daly, Maureen DeBruyn, Matthew Deo, Donna Dilks, Anthony Divins, Carl Dolitsky, Sylvia Dolitsky, Terri Duffy, Watson Dufresne, Anthony Faccas, Gene Falone, Nicholas, Michele & Paul Fasone, Bernadette Ferraro, Peter Fiala, Thomas Finetti, Mary Ellen Furlong, Gordon C. Gladden, Joanna Jasontek, Gloria Kane, Elizabeth Klotz, Eric Lawton, Karen Mathewson, Martin McKenzie, Edward Menzer, Jacqueline Muglia, Adrian Mulligan, Chinh Nguyen, Helen Nicole, Joseph Oese, Rosemary Pellecchia, Peggy Pisko, Fiore Michael Pucci, Roger Quinlan, Grace Reijers, Jean Reilly, William Rizzo, Mary Romano, Adelaide Rose, Charles Seelman, Mary & Lawrence Simon, Amanda Soda, Michele Spina, Ethel Thomas, Charlet Villanueva, John Weeks, Socorro Yaoto, Karen Zaliwski The Deceased Rosemary McCormack Readings for the Week of January 1, 2012 Sunday: Nm 6:22-27/Gal 4:4-7/Lk 2:16-21 Monday: 1 Jn 2:22-28/Jn 1:19-28 Tuesday: 1 Jn 2:29--3:6/Jn 1:29-34 Wednesday: 1 Jn 3:7-10/Jn 1:35-42 Thursday: 1 Jn 3:11-21/Jn 1:43-51 Friday: 1 Jn 5:5-13/Mk 1:7-11 or Lk 3:23-38 or 3:23, 31-34, 36, 38 Saturday: 1 Jn 5:14-21/Jn 2:1-11 Next Sunday: Is 60:1-6/Eph 3:2-3a, 5-6/Mt 2:1-12 Liturgical Publications Inc