Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Parish

Transcription

1 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Parish Rev. Alfred J. Lampron Administrator PARISH OFFICE: 446 Mount Hope Road Wharton, NJ Main Office: (973) Fax: (973) Peter Helmer, Administrative Assistant Parish Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM INFANT BAPTISM Kevin & Sandy Hayes GRADE SCHOOL & JR. HIGH SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Sr. Thomasine Smith, S.C.C MUSIC MINISTERS Kathleen Carey EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS Joan Moran FINANCE COMMITTEE Raymond Dean FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY Collection every week Lois Bateson PHYSICAL PLANT Michael Hardy READERS Marty Siebold USHERS CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST Sunday: The Lord s Day, Vigil Saturday: 5:00 PM Sunday: 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM Daily Mass, Monday - Saturday, 8:30 AM RECONCILIATION Confessions every Saturday, 4:00-4:30 PM and also at parishioners convenience by appointment. CELEBRATION OF MARRIAGE Arrangements are usually made one year in advance to properly prepare for marriage. Contact the Parish Office for an appointment. PASTORAL CARE OF THE SICK Contact Parish Office for pastoral visits in the hospital or at home. Eucharist ministers are able to visit the sick upon request. The Sacrament of the Sick can be celebrated anytime there is a need. PARISH REGISTRATION Registration Forms are located in back of the church or at the Parish Office. Please register so that we may serve you better. PARISH TRUSTEES Cecile Cole Raymond Dean March 11, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Lent

2 Sunday March 11, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Lent 9:00 Walter Pasuco 10:30 Michael Salagaj Monday, March 12, :30 Rose Sanzari Wednesday, March 14, :30 Intentions of Nicole Salzano Thursday, March 15, :30 People of the Parish Friday, March 16, :30 Rev. Arthur Colaiacovo Saturday, March 17, 2018 SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP 8:30 Special Intention 5:00 Mary Reynolds Sunday March 18, 2018 Fifth Sunday of Lent 9:00 Olga Grivalsky 10:30 Michael Salagaj The inner word What s in your heart? By grace we have been saved by faith, Saint Paul declares. We do well to hear these words, especially when being a Christian can seem at times like such a struggle to believe in God and in the church that is supposed to show and lead us to God; to understand our faith rightly and find the strength to live it out; to find something redeeming beyond the disappointments, losses, and destructiveness of the world. At bottom faith is simply a turning to the God who has already shown love for us. This conversion -- turning around -- can give us the eyes to see through difficulties and relieve us of the burden to have to work so hard to earn God s favor. Have there been times when I refused to believe when I felt unable to believe? Why was belief difficult for me? What did I learn from this time? When have I preferred darkness to light? What attracted me to the darkness? How did I find my way back to the light? How does God show loving kindness to me? How do I show loving kindness to others, especially when others are difficult to love? Reprinted with permission from Prepare the Word (2018), Word.com March 11, 2018 Fourth Sunday of Lent Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson Anyone who has ever imagined himself/herself as the director of a movie knows that he or she will need to say Lights! Camera! Action! many times over. That s the necessary trio of directions to cast and crew for each take of a scene. Arguably, the lighting is the most important. Otherwise the camera lens is blind to any and all action by even the most accomplished actors. Certainly, darkness can be annoying. The victims of it -you and me- find ourselves stumbling around. When we re indoors, we might act like bumper cars colliding with furniture or walls, especially in a strange room, or we knock over a valuable vase, with the crash of the china being our noisy rebuke. All in a frantic search for the light switch. There is a serious psychological condition, a winter time depression that afflicts many people and baffles the scientists who study it. Its official name is seasonal affective disorder, a term that produces the cute acronym SAD. People who suffer from it are particularly sensitive to the lack of light

3 especially during the fall and winter. They rejoice in the other two seasons. How dark had to be the nights in a world lit only by candles! That was the way it was when Our Savior, the Son of God, personally visited our planet. So apt for Him to use light and darkness in His teaching as symbolic of the contrast between sin and sanctity. He wanted our human souls to be loosed from Satan s lies and our gullibility. Despite our discovery and advances in the use of electricity, that enables our engineers to mimic daylight, we can grasp the potential for danger that darkness offers. When we sin, we know for certain that our inner light has either dimmed or gone out. Oh, we can pretend that everything is right between God and ourselves. We are experts at rationalization. After all, we ve been doing it ever since age seven or so. We make excuses that would rival some of our best storytellers, but deep down we know. Naturally, we look for someone or something to blame. The Church is too demanding, or It s my weakness, or I don t need to go to confession for that. On and on it goes. But deep down we know. We could say that Lent is the season that tells us to wake up and turn the lights on. On the matter of light and sound, there is an amusing observation made by Craig Marckwardt that may help us keep our Lenten resolution to guard our speech. He said, Light travels faster than sound. That s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak! First Reading: II Chronicles 36:14-16, The exile of the Jews lasted 70 years, as predicted. The Persian king Cyrus finally releases the captives so that they could return home and rebuild Jerusalem. Second Reading: Ephesians 2:4-10 All Christians have been raised from death and enthroned with Christ in heaven. This salvation is God s pure gift, and not the result of good works. Gospel: John 3:14-21 John interrupts his narrative to discourse on the sending of the Father s Son Jesus to bring life to a dead world. Contrasting light and darkness, the evangelist explains how the light gets lost by sin. As a community of believers, who trust in God s mercy, healing and strength, it is our duty to pray for those who are ill and infirm. The following parishioners or family members of our parishioners are in need of our prayers. We ask God to grant health and peace to: Lois Bateson, Jean Birrell, the Budwick family, Vincent DePalma, Barbara Dietrick, Linda Dosher, Bernice Lawson, Noah Lorencovitz, Sara Maloney, James Matar, Cora Oakley, Nancy Orkin, Kathy Philips, Angela Rios, Andy Secallus, Sister Thomasine Smith, Frances Spilman, Ralph Sutton, Rob Talmadge and Maureen Tuccio. First Friday Adoration TAIZE PRAYER All are invited to gather in candlelight for a time of meditative common prayer with singing that will continue in the silence of your heart. We all need to take a break from the stress of busy and hectic lives to experience a time of inner peace and reflective prayer. Join with parishioners of St. Clement Parish for an hour of prayer and song on Friday, March 23rd at 7:30 P.M. in the Gathering Area. The music of Taize, a small ecumenical community in France, has circled the 2 P age

4 globe and is noted for its simple repetitive words that make quiet rhythm in the spirit. Lent 2018 Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross will be prayed each Friday afternoon during Lent, beginning at 3:00 P.M. in the church. This traditional Catholic devotion is a meaningful way to grow closer to the Lord in His passion and death for our salvation. Please consider making this prayer a part of your spiritual journey during these forty days of renewal. Reconciliation throughout Lent 2018 Welcome Home is a diocesan initiative to invite all Catholics to experience the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Confession is a wonderful opportunity to set aside our sinful ways and to draw closer to our Lord. Confessions will be held every Monday during Lent, from February 19 th to March 12 th, from 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in every Catholic Church in the Diocese of Paterson. Don t be afraid! Information will be provided. Ask the priest to help you. Experience the gracious mercy of God! Our parish Penance service with St. Mary s in Dover will be held on Monday, March 19 th at 7:00 p.m. Chrism Mass This year s celebration of the Chrism Mass will take place on Monday night of Holy Week, March 26, 2018, beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. Bishop Serratelli extends an invitation to all people of the diocese to participate in this Eucharist. During the Mass our bishop will bless the Oil of Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick and consecrate the Sacred Chrism for use in the sacramental life of the Church throughout the diocese. Lenten Penance Service Our communal Reconciliation Service for Lent will take place at 7:00 P.M. on Monday, March19th. This Sacrament, which is a celebration of the tender mercy of God in Jesus Christ, will be held at Saint Mary s in Dover. A number of priests, including Fr. Derek Anderson, Pastor at St. Mary s, Fr. Patrick, Parochial Vicar and myself, will be available for individual confessions after our common prayer. Families are encouraged to make time to be together for this experience of worship and forgiveness. Celebrating and accepting God s pardon motivates us to reach out to others with a sincere offer of mercy and healing, mending broken relationships and welcoming those who have hurt or wronged us back into our lives. Acknowledging that we are all sinners, we rejoice in God s abundant compassion and His longing to welcome us home to the embrace of His peace. Recalling the message of last year s Jubilee of Mercy, may our hunger for oneness with our loving and forgiving God send us running, with joy, into the arms of Jesus unconditional and total love, ever grateful for the absolution we receive in this Sacrament of Penance. Mark your calendars now. Please be aware that there will not be individual confessions on that Monday night here at St. Bernard s, as part of the Welcome Home to Healing initiative. Morris Catholic High School Spring Auction On March 24, Morris Catholic High School will hold its Spring Auction at Hanover Marriot. Doors open at 5:30 pm. Live, silent, basket auctions. $85 includes sheet of basket tickets and a sit-down dinner. Contact ftuite@morriscatholic. RETURN - Our Children Back to the Church Would you like your child to come back to Jesus, in the Church He founded? We have a small group at our church, St. Virgil's, dealing with this question. Perhaps you read about it in the Jan 18 th Beacon? Everyone is welcome to visit our group, examining ways that could possibly help parents bring their loved ones back to the faith. 3 P age

5 We pray together, share our stories, and support each ones efforts. We use a book entitled Return, How to Draw Your Children Back to the Church, which recommends steps a parent could take to encourage dialogue and create an environment in which parent and child are comfortable discussing matters of faith. We welcome you to stop in to see if this approach makes sense in your life and offers you hope. Please call the St Virgil Church office, , and join us on Thursday mornings at 11AM in the School Library. St. Virgil s Church; 250 Speedwell Ave, Morris Plains NJ Array of Hope Awakening Hearts We are excited to announce the Array of Hope is coming to our deanery! Morris Catholic High School, Friday, April 13 th, :30pm! Array of Hope is a multimedia concert experience that features multiple musical acts, motivational speakers and thoughprovoking film presentations which joyously provide a counterweight to the negative media surrounding today s society. It brings Christ s message of faith, hope and love to its audiences; it celebrates family life and the joy that comes from a relationship with God. Please join us in celebrating an appreciation of family. It will be a wonderful night that you won t want to miss. For tickets are being sold thru Eventbrite, go to on the internet to purchase tickets. For more information contact Sue Drew sdrew@morriscatholic.org Easter Flowers for the Altar Once again, we will be memorializing Easter flowers to be used in Church. If you wish to remember loved ones with flowers, please fill out the form below, PRINT all names, mail it to the rectory, or drop it in the collection basket. Please have it reach us by March 19, The names of those being remembered and donor s name will appear in the Easter Bulletin. Easter Flowers PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION In Memory of: Or For the Special Intention of: Given By: Donation Amount: 4 P age

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