PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD

Transcription

1 PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD REV. JOHN A. SEDLAK Pastor/Trust Administrator March 25, 2018 PARISH MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to build up the Kingdom of God by offering ourselves with Jesus for the true good of every person. Mass Schedule Weekday & Sat. Morning: 8:00 am Saturday Vigil: 5:00 pm Sunday: 9:00 & 11:00 am Holy Days: As Announced Sacrament of Reconciliation Weekday & Sat. Morning: 7:30-7:50 am Saturday Vigil: 4:00-4:45 pm Sunday: 8:30-8:45 am & 10:30-10:45 am (30 minutes before all other Masses) Office Hours Monday-Thursday: 8:15 am - 3:45 pm Mailing Address PO Box Route 981 United PA Website Phone Numbers Parish Office/Rectory: FAX: Pastoral Emergencies: Catechesis, Faith Formation & Evangelization (CFFE) Office: Preschool: St. Vincent de Paul Helpline: Staff CFFE Director: Dr. Joseph Dreliszak Preschool Director: Lottie Hirak Preschool Aide: Karen Dlugos Music Director: Steven Makar Organist: Mary Jane Makar Parish Secretary and Bookkeeper: Angela Reese Pastoral Council Terry Foriska Mike Reese Don Scekeres *Recorder Tammy Sofranko* Nicole Stull Dave Shimko Finance Council John Boggess Robert Zelenak Mike Johnson David Lazor* *Chair Kathy Sobinsky Stephanie Soflak Jerry Yasher Emily Uhrin EUCHARISTIC SELF-OFFERING PRAYER I am all Yours, O most loving Jesus, through Mary, Your Mother.

2 Page 2 March 25, 2018 Sat., Mar. 24 5:00 PM Sun., Mar. 25 9:00 AM 11:00 AM Mon., Mar. 26 Tue., Mar. 27 Wed., Mar. 28 Thu., Mar. 29 7:00 PM Fri., Mar. 30 3:00 PM 7:00 PM Sat., Mar. 31 8:30 PM Sun., Apr. 1 9:00 AM 11:00 AM MASS INTENTIONS (Request Form on back of bulletin) Lenten Weekday +Mary Tandaric by Sister, Marge Palcic +Leonard Lucotch, Birthday Remembrance, by Loving Wife Rita, Children & Grandchildren Palm Sunday of The Passion of the Lord For the Parishioners +Ray Myslewski by Myslewski Family Monday of Holy Week Virginia Vahaly, 90th Birthday, by Family Tuesday of Holy Week +Martha Palcic by Liz Shay Wednesday of Holy Week Living and Deceased members of the Catholic Daughters of America Thursday of Holy Week (Holy Thursday) Mass of the Lord s Supper Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday) **Day of Fast and Abstinence** Celebration of the Lord s Passion Stations of the Cross Holy Saturday The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night Easter Sunday of The Resurrection of the Lord ST. FLORIAN OFFERTORY STEWARDSHIP: March 17-18: Adults: $ ; Loose: $198.00; Candles: $114.00; Parish Endowment: $55.00; Catholic Accent: $25.00; St. Vincent de Paul: $25.00; Easter: $250.00; Easter Flowers: $130.00; Uniontown Tornado: $ TOTAL: $ God Bless you! Financial Report for February 2018 Income Expenses Ordinary 21, , Extraordinary * 36, *** Other Parish Endowment Parish Campaign 6, Catholic Accent DLA Refund Miscellaneous ** Second Collections Catholic Reflief Services Eastern European Home Missions DLA 2, , TOTAL $32, $66, *Extraordinary Income includes $ profit from Youth Ministry Hoagie Sale, $10.00 from cookbook sales, and $0.58 in bank interest. ** Miscellaneous Income includes $ from the Adult Book Club ***Extraordinary Expenses include $25, to JBL Contractors for Phase II Construction, $8,245 to Lettrich Group for Architectural Services for Phase III, $2,550 tp AT Merhaut for St. Stan Picture Restoration, and $ to Marodi Transfer and Storage for use of Storage Container. Operating Surplus / (Deficit) (5,465.05) Overall Surplus/ (Deficit) (34,532.36) Transfer to B&G Upgrade Fund 0 B&G Upgrade Fund Balance 116, St. Vincent de Paul Society Donations for February 2018: $63.00 MINISTRY SCHEDULE Saturday, March 24, 2018 ~ 5:00 PM Lector... R. Mizikar, J. Lesko Eucharistic Ministers... G. Kovacina, C. Kelly, C. Gricheck Altar Servers M. Reese, A. Kelly Greeters F. Kernicky, J. & E. Kovalik Ushers E. Carpenter, P. Bitner, T. & D. Ulishney Sunday, March 25, 2018 ~ 9:00 AM Lector... T. Stercho, T. Jackson Eucharistic Ministers... K. Kitz, M. Ceroni, H. Szewczyk Altar Servers J. & J. Kitz Greeters N. Tracy, C. Szewczyk, V. Swiderski Ushers..Ron Mizikar, M. Bilik, G. & D Vidakovich Sunday, March 25, 2018 ~ 11:00 AM Lector... A. Reese, B. Mizikar Eucharistic Ministers... D. Shimko, R. & B. Obusek Altar Servers J. & M. Labuda Greeters D. Scekeres Ushers D. Scekeres, E. Uhrin, K. Labuda Thursday, March 29, 2018 ~ 7:00 PM Lector... C. Stercho Eucharistic Ministers... J. Lesko, S. King, C. Szewczyk Altar Servers T. & G. Sofranko, J. & L. King Greeters F. Kernicky, E. Carpenter, R. Mizikar Ushers.. Carpenter, Szewczyk, Stercho, Richard Mizikar Friday, March 30, 2018 ~ 3:00 PM Lector... M. Sopko, A. Reese Eucharistic Ministers... M. Monticue Altar Servers E. & J. Hornyak, A.& M. Reese Greeters B. Mondock, J. Mott, V. Swiderski Ushers..T. & D. Ulishney, Ron Mizikar, E. Uhrin Saturday, March 31, 2018~ 8:30 PM Lector....B. Mizikar, J. Lesko, J. Lawrence Eucharistic Ministers....D. Mizikar, R. Mizikar, K. Kitz Altar Servers...R. Vidakovich, J. & J. Kitz, S. Etling, T. Dillon Greeters... J. & E. Kovalik, C. Mizikar Ushers E. Kovalik, C. Mizikar, S. Snively, A. Smail Sunday, April 1, 2018 ~ 9:00 AM Lector...E. Zider Eucharistic Ministers... T. Jackson, C. & H. Szewczyk,... J. Mizikar, M. Ceroni, J. Lesko, S. King Altar Servers Z. & M. Koch Greeters N. Logan, S. Jackson, N. Tracy Ushers...K. Labuda, M. Bilik, D. & G. Vidakovich Sunday, April ~ 11:00 AM Lector... M. Sopko Eucharistic Ministers... D. Neiderhiser, C. Gricheck, W. Back,... G. Kovcina, R. & B. Obusek, D. Shimko Altar Servers M. Reese, C. Shaffer Greeters D. Scekeres Ushers... D. Scekeres, J. & J. Mylant, J. Mizikar Second Collection The Pontifical Good Friday Collection March 30, 2018 Pope Francis has asked our parish to support the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, which helps Christians in the Holy Land. When you contribute to the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, you become an instrument of peace and join with Catholics around the world in solidarity with the Church in the Holy Land. Please be generous.

3 CATECHESIS, FAITH FORMATION AND EVANGELIZATION Week to Week: March 25th to April 1st, 2108 Sunday - Youth Ministry Viewing The Passion of the Christ Monday - Faith Formation for K-7 from 6:00 7:15 pm Evening for Parents Holy Week Time for Reflection, Discussion and Prayer 6:00 7:00 pm Wednesday- Consoling the Heart of Jesus - 9:00 to 10:30 am Thursday - Car-Pooling to Chrism Mass Leaving at 9:00 AM Sunday EASTER SUNDAY CHRIST IS RISEN, ALLEULIA! Faith Formation News Elementary Faith Formation (K-7) Elementary Faith Formation Classes will be held on Monday, March 26th from 6:00-7:15 pm. Dr. Dreliszak will be offering an hour of discussion, reflection and prayers for parents of our children as we begin Holy Week. Our Youth Ministry (grades 8-12) will meet this Sunday, Palm Sunday following the 11:00 am mass to watch The Passion of the Christ. Students, their families and other interested parishioners are invited to come and share in this movie as we begin the most solemn week of the church year. All are welcome. Vacation Bible School Mark your calendars for July 9 13th from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Interested in volunteering, contact the CFFE Office! Your help is greatly appreciated! Adult Education Opportunities Adult Faith Sharing will resume on Sunday April 8th after the 9:00 am Mass. New members are always welcome! Our Faith In Action: Today s Society of St. Vincent de Paul TV Series on EWTN The next episode will air on Sunday April 8 at 6:30 am and again on Saturday, April 14 at 6:00 pm. Topic for this week: Lifting Up People in Need See Vincentians doing God s work from a pueblo in New Mexico, taking steps to end poverty in an annual walk event, helping a young girl gain the freedom to move around in her own home and teaching a class to promote healthy eating on a budget. Find out why members say they receive more than they give as they put their Catholic faith into action and see the face of Christ in those they serve. These episodes, with various topics, will run through June 2. We will provide the weekly topics for your information. Please consider watching this special series. May we continue to pray and support our parish St. Vincent de Paul Society. Prayer Chain Please Note: If you have a particular prayer intention, please contact the FAITH FORMATION CENTER at and your request will be forwarded to those who have agreed to take part in this special ministry. New members on our Parish Prayer Chain are always welcome to join! Please contact the CFFE office for more information. Members of the parish are asked to pray for the following individuals who called our Prayer Chain for the past week: Rose Roberta Megan Fr. Sergio Davey Lottie Kim Matt Theresa Bruce Stanley Nancy Tom Nick Josh Marilyn Robert Connie Martha May we continue to remember these individuals in our daily prayers! CAR-POOLING TO CHRISM MASS HOLY THURSDAY BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHERDAL Holy Thursday, March 29th Leave at 9:00 am St. Florian Parking Lot Due to a low response for the bus, we will be car-pooling to the Cathedral for the Chrism mass. Anyone interested in joining us is asked to contact Dr. Dreliszak for details PLEASE HELP YOUR PARISH by obtaining your Diocesan Child Protection Clearance. This enables you to volunteer in many different ways (including the 2018 parish festival!) in service to our parish and elsewhere. We now have 133 parishioners with the necessary clearances and 90 of those are signed up to help at the 2018 Festival. Call the parish office to obtain a packet for getting your Clearances. Next Virtus and Mandated Reporter Training: April 14th 9:00 am to 2:30 pm Call the Parish Office to register FESTIVAL NEWS & UPDATE: COUNTDOWN TO FESTIVAL 2018 ONLY 20 WEEKS! SUNDAY, AUGUST 12TH, NOON TO 8 PM Next Festival Planning Meeting Wednesday, April 18th at 6:30 PM Faith Formation Center Please save cups/glasses for our Dime Pitch in the Children s center. Please keep until July but start gathering now! Thanks MAY WE PRAY FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR FESTIVAL!

4 Connections by Joe Lesko Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Introduction Passion week ends our celebration of Lent. Our Lenten preparation has been focused on improving our response to God s call so that we, His children, will be prepared to come home and live for all eternity with Him. Jesus the eldest brother has shown the way to live an earthly life to gain an eternal life. The readings for today show how Jesus freely became the eternal perfect sacrifice the one sacrifice which could open the gate to heaven so that sins can be forgiven and forgotten. His sacrifice instituted a new Covenant between God and man. This Covenant makes man no longer God s slave. Man can now becomes His child. As with all covenants, this covenant too is sealed with a meal. All parties partake of this meal and offer it to God the Father. Jesus provides this meal (the Eucharist) for man at the Last Supper. This is God s final covenant with man. As His child, man now has a mark on his heart which makes him individually responsible to maintain this new relationships with God. Procession Gospel Mark described the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Although He has been to Jerusalem man times, He has never been treated this way. Previously He had not wanted to be recognized as the Messiah. He had avoided such adulation as he is now receiving. At this moment He accepts the acclaim and feels justified to enter the Holy City in this manner of a peaceful monarch. He has complected his mission which the Father had given. He has taught, preached, worked miracles and selected His disciples who will continue the foundation of His Church He has established. During this brief period of ministry, He has revealed Himself as the one who completes the New Covenant between God the Father and His people. In this jubilant entry into Jerusalem He demonstrates that He is the long awaited Messiah. The scene appears to be a re-enactment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. Jesus will publically profess the claim to the Messiah, the one and only time He has done so. He has come on a lowly donkey as a sign of a man of peace and humility. A warrior king would have mounted a mighty war horse with appropriate victory attachments. The people cry Hosanna! This is a Greek concept of hosa-na, meaning save, please. It had meant as a plea for help in a time of distress. Through its association with the Feast of Tabernacles Psalm 118 has come to be an expression of hope. Hosanna then becomes a liturgical plea to God or to the Messiah as he enters Jerusalem in triumph. The Psalm at verse 26 recognizes the one who comes as an emissary in the name of the one he represents with the ful authority of that person. Here the people recognize that Jesus has come with the full authority of God. The cry Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord is a jubilant and appreciative greeting to someone given a mission from God. In contrast to the Processional passage Isaiah gives a prophetic description of how the Messiah will be treated when He comes. He presents a suffering servant who must be a disciple prayerfully receiving God s words before he can teach others. The people are deaf to the saving words of God, spoken by the servant, for within the Israelite community are saintly men who obediently adhere to God s word and want to relay it to others. These are the prophets. The servant is ignored, mistreated just like the other prophets before him. The servant continues delivering God s word. His heart tells him that God is with him and he is not disgraced. This account of the suffering servant is familiar to how Jesus eventually is treated. Most biblical scholars consider this a prophecy of Jesus Passion and death. The two passages are well situated to celebrate Palm and Passion Sunday of the Lord They give us much to mediate upon for this coming Passion Week. ADDITIONAL REGULAR ADORERS ARE STILL NEEDED. In general, at least two adorers are needed for each hour. For March 5-6, the following hours had only one adorer: 2 pm and 4 pm. All adorers are reminded to call the parish office or Fr. John s cell phone if adorers do not show up after five minutes into the next hour. Please consider one hour of Eucharistic adoration each week for part of your Lenten observance. TURKEYS OR HAMS FOR PARISHIONERS IN NEED We are looking for St. Florian Parish members who need a ham or turkey for Easter. Call the parish office at or areese@dioceseofgreensburg.org by Monday, March 26th to submit the name(s) of anyone from the parish who needs this help to make their holiday happier. CHRISTIANS UNITING SENIORS DINNER April 25, 2018 St. Mary s Hall Trauger 5:00 PM Doors open at 4:30 PM Reservations are required and limited Call the Parish Office for your reservation Agnes Novak Rusinko Memorial Scholarship Now Accepting Applications The following Criteria apply: 1. Active member of St. Florian Roman Catholic Church 2. Incoming freshman college/university 3. Official school transcripts 4. Submit an essay about the biggest influence in your life and the impact of your volunteer/community activities 5. 2 Letters of Reference Deadline is March 26, 2018 Contact the parish office or areese@dioceseofgreensburg.org for an application Mutual VFD Fish Fry Every Friday in Lent ~ 4PM - 8PM Eat-in/take-out ~ Please return this section in the Sunday collection basket: St. Florian Altar Society 2018 Membership Dues $2 Name Address Phone Number Active Member Associate Member

5 Page 5 March 25, 2018 ST. FLORIAN CAPITAL CAMPAIGN pledge total stands at $688, and the total amount collected through the end of February is $584, We are truly grateful to God and to all who have contributed to or prayed for the success of our Campaign. Please continue to fulfill pledges, sooner rather than later if possible, and to make extra gifts, when able. This will help to reduce the amount of the loan that will be needed to complete our Buildings & Grounds Upgrade Project by June. A monthly Capital Campaign envelope will continue to be included in your packet until April, 2019 when the Campaign window for assessment-free donations will close. This envelope can be used for payments on pledges or new gifts; please indicate one or the other on your envelope. OUR BUILDINGS & GROUNDS UPGRADE PROJECT is progressing. The new social should be done by mid-april. A loan request has been submitted to the Diocese for the completion of Phase III by mid June so that Bishop Malesic could visit later that month and bless our physical improvements. May our prayers bring the Lord s favor upon our efforts and protection for the workers so that this undertaking can proceed safely toward a good and timely outcome. OUR PARISH HERITAGE DISPLAY COMMITTEE will propose a display for our Social Hall that will show and tell through pictures and texts the history of our faith community as the integration of St. Stanislaus Parish, Forty Martyrs Parish and St. Florian Parish. Please call Debbie Brehun ( ) or the parish office if you would like to help with this. Also, if you have historical information or photos for either of these former parishes, please let us know. ST. FLORIAN S INVITE A CATHOLIC BACK TO CHURCH CAMPAIGN is now entering week six. It includes the option of inviting an un-churched person to become a Catholic. The success of this Campaign will depend on the prayers, sacrifices and other offerings made for those to whom we will be reaching out sometime in August.. If you need the name of someone for whom to pray and to extend an invitation, please contact Fr. John. Starting in June some sort of monthly spiritual progress report will be provided DIOCESAN LENTEN APPEAL REPORT Thank you so much for your truly generous response! Our DLA pledge total is now $32, That s 78%of the way to our Parish Goal of $42,000. Also, that pledge amount was made by 148 households which is 74% of the way to our Parish Goal of 200 donors. The average gift is now $223. If you have not already done so, please consider a DLA gift of 1% of household income, if possible, or an amount equal to your gift last year. If we meet our Parish Goal this year, we will have gained $13,500 in assessment-free income to help pay for our Buildings & Grounds Upgrade Project. Just turning in your personalized DLA pledge card, or one of the DLA envelopes in the pews, is helpful. Also, sincere thanks to those who pray for the success this year s DLA.. CHRISTIANS UNITING ECUMENICAL LENTEN PRAYER SERVICES will conclude this Friday at 11 am at St. Paul United Church of Christ. A free-will offering (collection) will be taken up in support of Christians Uniting s free Seniors Dinner in April and other ecumenical community works. HOLY WEEK CONFESSONS will be heard before all Masses as usual and Friday s Celebration of the Lord s Passion, and also after the Blessing of Easter Baskets, and anytime upon request. HOLY WEEK In a distance race, the runner goes all out in the last lap. Holy Week is our Lenten homestretch when we should do the same so that we experience in some measure the discomfort, the exhaustion and the prayerful determination of Jesus as He gave Himself completely for the salvation of all whom the Father loves. Consider participating in all of the Holy Week liturgies if you are able. Let us try to redouble prayers, self-denial and charity. May we make an offering of all this, and of our very selves to and with Jesus to the Father, for the true good of all whom we hold dear. SPONSOR OF THE WEEK POST AVENUE FUNDRAISING Please support our sponsors.