From the Pastor s Desk

Transcription

1 Saint Joan of Arc Church 6414 Montour Street South Park, Pennsylvania (412) Reverend Phillip Pribonic, Pastor Phones Diocese Victim Hotline Parish Office (412) Website CCD (412) Liturgical Schedule Domremy Pavilion (412) Saturday Mass: 5:00 p.m. Fax (412) Sunday Mass: 7:30 a.m. 9:00 a.m. 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon Weekday Mass: 8:00 a.m.

2 ST. JOAN OF ARC Mass Intentions Saturday, December 12 Our Lady of Guadalupe 5:00 P.M. - Joseph Sedon (Sedon Family) Sunday, - December 13 Third Sunday of Advent 7:30 A.M. - Deceased Members of the Pagliai Family (Family) 9:00 A.M. - Edna Marsh (Donna & Joe Lawniczak) 10:30 A.M. - Rosemarie Powers (Husband, Family) 12:00 Noon - Joseph & Mary Rigatti (Family) Monday, December 14 Saint John of the Cross 8:00 A.M. - M/M Joseph Chilzer (Nancy & Mike) Tuesday, December 15 Advent Weekday 8:00 A.M. - Edith Brandl (Children) Wednesday, December 16 Advent Weekday 8:00 A.M. - M/M Raymond Morris (Mike & Nancy) Thursday, December 17 Late Advent Weekday 8:00 A.M. - Temporal & Spiritual Welfare of Chuck & Inez Stanford (Judy Martin) Friday, December 18 NO MASS Saturday, December 19 Late Advent Weekday 5:00 P.M. - Edward Solt (Wife, Patricia) Sunday, December 20 Fourth Sunday of Advent 7:30 A.M. - Peter Gualazzi (M/M Gutrie Taboni) 9:00 A.M. - Janet Schuster & Elmer Hegedus (Mother & Wife) 10:30 A.M. - Frank Mathews (Wife & Family) 12:00 Noon - Cheryl Furno Shorts (Family) Please remember in your prayers those who are sick: Ann Morrison, Bernie Allen Sr., Frank Allen, William & Catherine Reddy, Dale Kragnes, Chuck Stanford, Dorothy Kudla, Jay Briggs, Jim Manion, Gayle Koontz, Roger Antis, Father Joseph Grosko, Tom Scheirer, Mary Ann Vittone, Frank Lewis, Jr., Frank LaValle, Michael Sexton,Asher Mack, Debbie Sweat, Cheryl Hackett, Brad Weber, Mary Godlewski, Mary Rachuba, Robin Ostronic, Julie Schmaltz, Marcy Smith, Joan & Donald Faulkner, Mary Lou Pointer, Geraldine Evans, Dr. Ron Boron, Mary Lou Davis. Help, save, pity and defend your servants O God. From the Pastor s Desk SOUTH PARK, PA As we quickly move toward Christmas, Mr. Kevin again asks for volunteers next Sunday at 1:00 pm to help set up the Christmas crèche thanks to Mary Arrigo who has graciously agreed to direct our altar servers with the help of Ty Brdar and Cameron Carroll, Mary will transition into the training and scheduling of the servers.thanks to Mr. Mike Donahue for his excellent ground-work in training the servers for over ten years, and to Beth Brdar for scheduling. I am sure the kids enjoyed St. Nick last Sunday we are re placing the wall-prints in the Gathering Place, so there are eight of those Kincaid prints( with frames) for the great low price of $30, excellent for Christmas gifts, and the Franklin mint history of the United States from , for those of you who don t know what to get your loved ones for Christmas.as usual, our people are great with response to the angel tree..a lot of kids will be happy this Christmas, thanks to the traditional generosity of our good parishioners Father Pribonic *********************************************** Second Collection today is for Repairs and Replacements. GREAT CHRISTMAS GIFTS AVAILABLE: Entire collection of Franklin Mint commemorative coins of the history of the United States, , (200, one for each year), made in the USA, comes with a beautiful mahogany case, for only $100!, great gift for a history buff. Wall prints from the Gathering Place there are eight at $30 a piece (we are replacing them). Sanctuary Lamp will burn for one week for John the Baptist in memory of Tom R. Murtha, requested by Sedon Family. Altar Bread & Wine for one week in memory of Edna Marsh, requested by Pisula Family. Congratulations to Carol & John Marshall on their 50th Wedding Anniversary CALENDARS are available in the vestibule courtesy David Henney Funeral Home. Financial Statement Regular Offertory $9, Immaculate Conception..$1, THANK YOU For Your Generosity. VOLUNTEERS REQUESTED: to set up the church for Christmas on Sunday, December 20 at 1:00 pm.

3 Scripture Reflection The One Thing We Must Do about Paris, Terrorism, and Religion November 19, 2015 Frederick Schmidt Did the events in Paris have anything to do with religion? In the surreal world that is modern discourse, some writers and leaders strangely suggest that religion had nothing to do with the attacks in Paris. Paralyzed by political correctness, they do everything possible to avoid discussing the connection between the attack and Islam, even when the rallying cry that the murderers used was explicitly religious. On the other end of the spectrum, for some of the same reasons, some argue that religion everyone s religion is the problem. Recently, for example, author Diana Butler Bass suggested that religion and, in particular, a belief in a transcendent God accounts for the terror attacks in Paris and, pretty much, violence of every kind. Blaming not just Islam, but Christianity, Judaism, and anyone else who believes in a God that is transcendent, she writes: One of the most poignant moments in the wake of the Paris attacks was the street musician who played a moving rendition of John Lennon s Imagine. As the melody sounded, the familiar words rang in my mind: Imagine there s no countries, It isn t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people, Living life in peace The Paris attacks reignited an argument we have been having for a long time, but most especially since 9/11. Religion, particularly when twinned with nationalism, is to blame for division, terrorism, violence and war. Not just Islam. Religion. As Lennon lyrically opined, the planet would be better off without it. Religion is the problem. There are at least four difficulties with this line of reasoning: One: There have been murderous secularists throughout history: Pol Pot, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao, to name a few. In those cases, religion was not only not the cause, it wasn t a factor at all. Two: Many (if not most) of the world s greatest peacemakers have been people who believe in a transcendent God: Martin Luther King, Dag Hammarskjold, and Mother Theresa, to name a few, not to mention the Prince of Peace. Three: The universalism of Judaism and Christianity albeit reluctantly, at times embraced the whole of humankind. (See Genesis 1-3, the Book of Jonah, Jeremiah the Prophet, the Gospel of Matthew, Paul, and the Book of Revelation) Four: From religion to religion and even within the three Abrahamic faiths, the way in which the transcendent God of each is portrayed varies. Indeed, in many cases it is precisely the appeal to a transcendent God of love that trumps our personal preferences, requiring more, not less of us morally and spiritually. Then there s the less important, but painfully domestic reality: John Lennon could sing about a reconciled world, but he couldn t even manage around his own ego effectively enough to hold the Beatles together, never mind engineer world peace. So, unlike my friend and colleague, I don t expect the spiritual-notreligious movement around the world to lead to global harmony. The painful, difficult, daunting truth is that there is no great body of thought, no virtue, no institution, no conviction that has not been turned to evil purposes by people with evil intent: motherhood, family, freedom, justice, love, scholarship, patriotism, peace, and, yes, spirituality have all been corrupted, subverted, or misused. People are the problem. Not religion. Religion is simply the pretext that some murderous souls use for the evil that they do. There are undoubtedly other things we can do, but the one, necessary task before every one of our religious communities is to be morally and theologically resolute on this one point: Murderers may seek shelter in our respective faiths, but if they do, they are mistaken, they are impostors, and we stand in opposition to them. What that will look like for each of us will vary. But this much moral clarity we can and should offer the world. ********************************************** DEAR JOAN: Several weeks ago I was at our 5 pm Mass and saw our choir. At least I thought it was our choir, except no one looked familiar. Did our choir quit? Were they fired? What happened to them? Does our new choir director have his own choir that travels with him? Signed: St. Joan s choir fan Dear St. Joan s choir fan: No, our choir didn t quit. The choir that attended that Saturday evening was from a previous position that Mr. Tom held at St. Catherine of Sweden Parish in Wildwood (Gibsonia). Mr. Tom worked with a contemporary choir there for a good number of years and they like to sing with him on occasion so we are very happy that they join us from time to time, even though they are from the North Hills. Our choir is still singing (and welcomes new members) on Sunday mornings. Signed: Joan d Arc Altar Server Schedule December 12 5:00 Alaina, Joseph & Julia Nypaver December 13 7:30 Pat Swindell 9:00 Ty, Clare, & Cole Brdar 10:30 Carlos & Sammy Jess 12:00 Cameron Carroll

4 Reminder this will be the last week for CCD classes until after the holidays. CCD resumes on January 4, 2016 I hope you all have a very blessed Christmas and that the New Year offers a chance for exciting new beginnings. God bless you all! The Youth Group will be selling their delicious hoagies after all Masses TODAY! Christmas Discernment Retreat -- Fr. Joe Freedy along with Frs. Welding, Vaskov, and Noel will be leading a retreat for men who desire a deeper relationship with Christ, are seeking to know their vocation, and are interested in learning more about discerning a vocation to the Priesthood. Weekend will include daily Mass, Adoration, opportunities for Confession, conferences, solid brotherhood, as well as a talk and discussion with Bishop Zubik. Friday Evening, December 18 th Sunday Morning, December 20 th. No Cost. Gilmary Retreat Center. Must be 18 or older. For more information or to register please visit Free Income Tax Assistance: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance will be at The Bible Chapel 300 Gallery Dr. McMurray, Pa Monday, February 1 through Friday April 15. Hours are Monday Friday 8:30 AM until 2PM. No appointments only walk ins. Please bring: Proof of Id for yourself and spouse. Birth dates and Social Security or Individual Taxpayer ID cards for you and your spouse/dependents. Copy of last year s tax return. W-2 forms, 1099 s and all other income and interest forms. Totals of itemized deductions. Receipts for real estate taxes and large purchase items. Total paid to day care provider and their tax ID number. A voided check for direct deposit of refund. Call IRS with questions. Masses still available in 2016, Please contact the Parish Office during business hours to schedule. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 8:30 till 3:30. Tuesday 8:30 till 7PM. Phone St. Francis of Assisi Church, Finleyville Christmas Program: 7:00pm Sunday, December 13th St. Francis choir and Too Many Tubas band. St. Joan of Arc Men s Group: The men s group will be meeting on Tuesday December 15th at 7pm. We will be encountering Jesus and seeking to know him better through his Word, the catechism, Christian fellowship and a workbook. Food and drinks will be provided. We will be meeting on the third floor in the school building. If you have any questions call Ian Valenta at VOLUNTEERS REQUESTED: to set up the church for Christmas on Sunday, December 20 at 1:00 pm. Prayer Shawl Ministry Message to all those that knit and crochet we really need blankets, size 30 inches by 45 please drop off at office during normal business hours 9-4, Monday Friday. Thank you so very much. Any questions please leave a message at the office Blessings to all of you. EARLY PICK-UP: If you would like to pick-up your Christmas order earlier, they will be available for pick-up after ALL WEEKEND MASSES, December 19 and December 20. We will also have extras available for sale in the back of church after all Masses. A Rachel s Vineyard weekend retreat for post-abortion healing will be held on January 22-24, 2016 at the Spiritan Center in Bethel Park. To register or for more information, call Toni Jester at Saturday, Feb. 6th 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. St. Paul Seminary Cardinals Great Hall -- Youth Ministry Leaders, volunteers, parents, young adult professionals, and WYD pilgrims are invited to join Bishop Zubik for a leadership breakfast inspired by Pope Francis Year of Mercy. To register, please visit:

5 Christmas Mass Schedule Christmas Eve: December 24 4PM, 6PM and Midnight Christmas Day: December 25 8AM, 10AM and Noon ************************************************* Parish Office Closed December 24, Christmas Eve December 25, Christmas Day December 31, New Years Eve January 1, New Years Day ******************************************** NO FISH FRY IN JANUARY!!!! SEE YOU FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016 MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR MEMORIALS AVAILABLE: Altar bread and wine for one week $25 New hymnal labels $10 Incense for Christmas Masses $10 Altar candles for one week $5 Sanctuary lamp $5 ******************************************** CONFESSION TIMES AT AREA CHURCHES; St. Francis Finleyville, Saturday at 12:30-1:00 1:00 pm St. Louise de Merillac Saturday 11:30am-12:30 12:30 pm, Tuesday 7:00-8:00 pm St. Thomas More Saturday 10:00-11;00 11;00 am St. Valentine Saturday 11:00-12:00 12:00 Noon Nativity Wednesday 6:15-6:45 6:45 pm St. Germaine Saturday, 12:00-12:30 12:30 Any Parishioner in need of food due to unemployment or hard times, please contact our Saint Vincent de Paul Information is confidential.