St. Francis of Assisi Parish

Transcription

1 St. Francis of Assisi Parish March 25, 2018 Liturgical Celebrations Saturday Vigil: 4 p.m. Sundays: 8, 9:30 & 11 a.m. Monday Thursday: 9 a.m. Civic Holidays: 9 a.m. only Contact: Parish Office: Parish fax: stfrancisswansea@comcast.net Website: Religious Education: / religiouseducation@stfrancisswansea.com St. Vincent de Paul: Youth Ministry: Week Club: Bill & Kathy Sullivan Parish Staff Pastor: Rev. Michael A. Ciryak Maintenance: Tony Roderigues Faith Formation/Office: Christine Patota Finance/Office/Notary: Fran Kelley Music Director: Ada Simpson Cantors: Allison Messier, Mike Moniz and Christine Patota Youth Ministry: Justin & Amanda La Croix Parish Council President: Wayne Gray Parish Address: Church: 530 Gardners Neck Road Office/Rectory: 270 Ocean Grove Avenue Swansea, MA Office hours: 9:30 a.m. 4 p.m. or by appointment

2 St. Francis of Assisi Parish Swansea, MA Parish Mission Statement: In the spirit of our patron, St. Francis of Assisi, we dedicate ourselves as living stones to building our parish family with Christ as our foundation. Enlivened by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves by sharing God s transforming love with our families, our community and our world. Sacraments: Baptism: Arrangements must be made in advance. Please call the Parish Office to arrange a date and supply pertinent information. Individual Baptismal preparation is required. Sponsors: must receive from their respective Catholic pastors a sponsor certificate, which is the signed word of one priest to another that the proposed godparent is a Confirmed, fully-practicing Catholic who is qualified to be a godparent by living in harmony with our faith. Reconciliation: Saturday from 3:15PM to 3:40PM or call the rectory for an appointment. First Eucharist & Confirmation: Preparation two years prior to receiving each Sacrament is mandatory as a registered student in the Faith Formation Program. Matrimony: Couples are asked to consult with our priest at least six months in advance of the intended date to allow time for marriage preparation, including the Diocesan Program. Ministry to the Sick: Please notify us if someone you know is homebound and would like to be added to our Communion call list, or would like to receive the Sacrament of the Sick. Low gluten hosts available: Please let us know before Mass if you have a need to receive this type of host. If you are a new parishioner please introduce yourself to the pastor after Mass and call the parish office to register. Attend our monthly coffee & donut social to meet your new parish family. We are so pleased you re here! Saint Francis of Assisi Memorial Fund *Since placing this announcement in the bulletin three years ago, we have only received TWO offerings! In making funeral arrangements, you may wish to consider enrolling the deceased in the Saint Francis of Assisi Memorial Fund. Relatives and friends who donate to the fund in memory of the deceased receive a thank you card from the parish, and another card is sent notifying the bereaved of the gift. The gifts are charitable contributions and may be a supplement or a substitute for flowers. Those whose names are enrolled in the Saint Francis of Assisi Memorial Fund are remembered in the Masses and prayers of the parish. A special Mass is celebrated once a year for all the souls enrolled. All the monies of this Fund are used to purchase materials needed to make our church more inspiring and beautiful for community prayer and celebrations of the sacraments. Sat., Mar Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord 4:00 p.m. Mal & Glenn Furtado by wife and mother Charles Kadlec by Chris & Helen Kadlec Sun., Mar Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord 8:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m. Stephen Higgins by wife 11:00 a.m. Ted Silvia by wife, Annette Mon., Mar. 26 9:00 a.m. Emilia Soares by Rose Pacheco Tues., Mar. 27 9:00 a.m. Wed., Mar. 28 9:00 a.m. Desiree Choquette Thurs., Mar Mass of the Lord s Supper 7:00 p.m. For all priests who have served our parish Fri., Mar Friday of the Passion of the Lord 3:00 p.m. Veneration of the Cross and Liturgy of the Passion 7:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross Sat., Mar Vigil of Easter 8:00 p.m. Parish family, living and deceased Sun., April 1 - Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord 8:00 a.m. All our loved ones, living and deceased 9:30 a.m. Clergy of the diocese, living and deceased 11:00 a.m. Parish family, living and deceased *The Feast of the Annunciation, usually celebrated on March 25th, is celebrated on Monday, April 9th this year.

3 Sunday March 25, 2018 Our memorial candles burn in remembrance of: March Sanctuary Lamp: Joseph Fonseca by wife and sons Altar Candles: Tabernacle Candles: Deceased members of Carreiro & Aguiar Families by Dorvalino & Maria Luisa Carreiro Crucifix Candles: Manuel Blue Miranda Sr. by Mary Anne Tuttle What is it and how is celebrated? Is the reenacting the Passion of Our Lord Dates: Holy Week is the last week of Lent. Colors: In most churches, the decorations are red to symbolize the blood of martyrdom. Some churches remove all decorations on Good Friday, veiling anything that can t be removed in black or purple. Holy water is also removed from the fonts in churches on Good Friday and Holy Saturday in preparation for the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil. This removal also corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated. Days: Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday) Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday) Good Friday Holy Saturday The time from sundown on Holy Thursday to sundown on Easter Day is also known as the Triduum, which is Latin for three days. Parish Support Collected the Weekend of March 17 th & 18 th Budget: $3, Easter Flower Fund: $2, Pope Francis has asked our parish to support the Pontifical Good Friday Collection, which helps Christians in the Holy Land. Your support helps the church minister in parishes, provide Catholic schools and offer religious education. The Pontifical Good Friday Collection also helps to preserve the sacred shrines. The second collection Easter weekend, 3/31 & 4/1 is for our retired and infirm priests. Please be generous. Thank you for your continuous support. Some History Holy Week observances began in Jerusalem in the earliest days of the Church, when devout people traveled to Jerusalem at Passover to reenact the events of the week leading up to the Resurrection. Egeria was a Christian who traveled widely during the period of and wrote about Christian customs and observances in Egypt, Palestine, and Asia Minor. She described how religious tourists to Jerusalem reenacted the events of Holy Week. On Palm Sunday afternoon, the crowds waved palm fronds as they made a procession from the Mount of Olives into the city. Of course, the observances must have begun quite a number of years before Egeria witnessed them, or they wouldn t have been so elaborate. It s just that Egeria s description is the earliest we still have. The tourists took the customs home with them. Holy week observances spread to Spain by the fifth century, to Gaul and England by the early seventh century. They didn t spread to Rome until the twelfth century. The purpose of Holy Week is to reenact, relive, and participate in the passion of Jesus Christ. Palm Sunday (or Passion Sunday), the entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday), the institution of Communion and the betrayal by Judas. Good Friday, the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. Holy Saturday, the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave. Source: Catholic News Agency

4 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Schedule Sun., Mar Grade 7 class after the 9:30 a.m. Mass until 11:30 a.m. Confirmation I & II meet at 9:30 a.m. and attend Mass at 11:00. Tues., Mar Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30 5:30 p.m. Thurs., Mar Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tues., April 3 - Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30 5:30 p.m. Thurs., April 5 - Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. There will be a Confirmation Rehearsal for Confirmandi and their sponsors at 7:00 p.m. in the church. Sat., April 7 - The Sacrament of Confirmation will be celebrated at the 4:00 p.m. Mass. Sun., April 8 - Grades 6 & 7 class after the 9:30 a.m. Mass until 11:30 a.m. The First Holy Communion retreat day will take place following the 11:00 a.m. Mass until about 3:00 p.m. Tues., April 10 - Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30 5:30 p.m. Thurs., April 12 - Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tues., April 24 - Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30 5:30 p.m. Thurs., April 26 - Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Sun., April 29 - Grades 6 & 7 class after the 9:30 a.m. Mass until 11:30 a.m. Tues., May 1 - Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Thurs., May 3 - Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Sun., May 6 - Grades 6 & 7 class after the 9:30 a.m. Mass until 11:30 a.m. (Last class) Tues., May 8 - Grades 3, 4 & 5 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. This is the last class of the year. Thurs., May 10 - Grades 1 & 2 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. This is the last class of the year. Thurs., May 17 - Mandatory First Holy Communion Rehearsal from 4:30-6:00 p.m. Sun., May 20 - First Holy Communion at 11:00 a.m. Mass. Children should arrive no later than 10:15 a.m. in the church hall. Next meeting: Sun., March 25th 5:00-6:30 p.m. We need our young people to accept this invitation. Encourage your sons and daughters to Easter Triduum Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord s Supper Thursday, March 29 th at 7:00 p.m. Good Friday Friday of the Passion of the Lord Friday, March 30 Veneration of the Cross & Communion Service at 3:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m. Holy Saturday/Easter Vigil Saturday, March 31 th at 8:00 p.m. Easter Sunday, April 1 st at 8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. 50 Week Club It s almost time for the annual 50 Week Club banquet. Don t delay buying your guest tickets for this event. It will take place on Saturday, April 28th at the Venus de Milo. Put on your dancing shoes and get ready for a fun evening of good food, great friends, awesome raffles and DANCING! Congratulations to: Maria Allahua Winner for March 25, 2018 St. Vincent de Paul Help is available if you are in need of money for heat, rent, utilities. Call the rectory today!

5 Sunday March 25, 2018 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Matthew Talbot with his shillelagh, Vivian Talbot, Hannah and Madison and Chuck Doyle. Everybody is Irish on St. Patrick s Day! A look at the crowd of parishioners and friends who enjoyed the delicious meal hosted by members of the Family Life Committee. Thanks to everyone who made our annual Corned Beef & Cabbage dinner a great success!