800 Portion Road, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY OUR PARISH MISSION STATEMENT

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1 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church 800 Portion Road, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY OUR PARISH MISSION STATEMENT Striving to make Jesus known by our response to the Gospel, and guided by the Holy Spirit, the community of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is committed to being a vibrant, worshipping family that reaches out in love and friendship to all of God s people. MASSES: Saturday: 5:00PM Sunday: 8:30AM, 10:00AM & 12 Noon Daily: 9:00AM (Monday - Thursday) Holy Days: To Be Announced REV. KEVIN A. THOMPSON, PASTOR REV. RICHARD M. FINEO, TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATOR REV. VITUS EZEIRUAKU, WEEKEND ASSISTANT DEACON JOSEPH MAFFEO DEACON JOHN GREBE DEACON DAVE VALLONE PHYLLIS BENANTI, MUSIC DIRECTOR PAT MYSTKOWSKI, PASTORAL ASSOCIATE MICHELE HAHN, DIR. OF RELIGIOUS FORMATION MARY ANN O CONNOR, OUTREACH COORDINATOR BARBARA WELLS, RELIGIOUS EDUCATION SECRETARY LORI MARANDO, BUSINESS MANAGER Sacrament of Baptism: Visit our website at for information and follow the instructions. It is highly recommended that this be done during the pregnancy. Sacrament of Marriage: A couple must make arrangements for their wedding at least 6 months in advance. ***Please secure your wedding date at the Church before reserving a reception date*** A marriage preparation program is required for every couple intending a Catholic Wedding. Visit our website at for information and follow the instructions. Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday at 4:00 PM & Sunday following the 10:00 AM Mass. The priest will remain in the Reconciliation Room only until the last confession has been heard. SACRAMENTS Parish Office Hours: Monday - Thursday: 9:00am - 12:30pm; l:30pm - 5:00pm Friday: 8:00am - 12:30pm; 1:30pm - 4:00pm Outreach Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30am - 12:30pm, 1:30pm - 3:00pm Tuesday & Thursday: 1:30pm - 4:30pm, CLOSED Friday Religious Education Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:00am - 12:30pm; 1:30pm - 5:00pm. CLOSED Friday PARISH DIRECTORY Office: Fax: Religious Education: Outreach: steas@optonline.net Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick: Is offered to Parishioners who are seriously ill or in danger of death. Please call early in the illness of a loved one to arrange for the Sacrament. The Sacrament is administered to the living. In the event of death prayers are offered. WELCOME New Members (RCIA) Anyone interested in becoming a member of the Catholic Church is invited into the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Process (RCIA). We also invite baptized persons who wish to receive Eucharist and Confirmation to become part of this process. Please call Gerry at Parish Registration: It is important to belong to our parish Family. Please call the office if you are not registered or pick up a registration form after mass. TODAY: First Sunday of Lent February 18, 2018 When he calls on me, I will answer him.

2 SUNDAY, February 18th, 2018 MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK Today, Sunday, February 18th 8:30 a.m. - +Catherine Palermo 10:00 a.m. +Thomas Sollecito, 12 Noon +Robert Batewell Monday, February 19th 9:00a.m +People of the Parish Tuesday, February 20th 9:00a.m +Angelina Casale Wednesday, February 21st 9:00 a.m. +Keri LoGiudice Thursday, February 22nd 9:00 a.m. +Carmela Messina Friday, February 23rd 9:00 a.m. + 7:30 p.m. Stations of the Cross Saturday, February 24th 9:00a.m. - 5:00 p.m. +Maurice & Helen Collins, +Keri LoGiudice Sunday, February 25th 8:30 a.m. - Gerhard Meyer 10:00 a.m. +Francesca Gallo, +Ray Hirt, +Calogero& Rosalia Bavetta, +Dolores Lucidi 12 Noon People of the Parish PARISH OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19th in OBSERVANCE OF PRESIDENTS DAY LENTEN REGULATIONS FOR 2018 Ash Wednesday and Good Friday: Days of Fast and Abstinence. All Catholics between the ages of eighteen and fifty-nine inclusive are bound to observe the law of fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This means limiting oneself to a single full meal and avoiding food between meals. Two other light meals, which together do not equal a full meal, may be taken during the day Ash Wednesday and All Fridays in Lent: Days of Abstinence. All Catholics who have reached their 14th year are bound to abstain entirely from meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent. Weekdays of Lent: There is no obligation to fast. However, voluntary acts of self-denial are recommended. Easter Duty Obligation: After they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, Catholics are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year. This precept should be fulfilled during the Easter Season. Catholics are also bound to confess serious (mortal) sins at least once a year, but this is not limited to the Lenten/Easter Season. Wedding Banns 1st Time Kerri Ann Hughes St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Anthony James Denimark - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton CELEBRANTS weekend of February 24th 25th Saturday February 24th 5:00 PM: Fr. Vitus Ezeiruaka Sunday, February 25th 8:30 AM: Fr. Vitus Ezeiruaka 10 AM: Fr. Richard Fineo (Deacon John Grebe preaching) 12 PM: Fr. Richard Fineo (Deacon Joe Maffeo preaching) NOTE: SUBJECT TO CHANGE WIT HOUT NOTICE WEEKLY SACRIFICE for the PARISH This week /11/18: $8, Last year this week 2017: $7, Thank you for your continued generosity.

3 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, This year Ash Wednesday and Valentine s Day coincided. Is this just a coincidence? I doubt it, as the Catechism reminds us, The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history (CCC 303). So nothing is random with God. He has something to tell us through this coincidence. What is it? Maybe he is hoping to receive a Valentine from each one of us. We are all familiar with how Valentine s Day gifts use hearts: a heart on a card, a candy in the shape of a heart, roses the color of blood to symbolize the depths of one s passionate love It s all about the heart. And that s how the liturgy for this first day of Lent begins. The Lord tells us in Ash Wednesday s First Reading: return to me with your whole heart (Joel 2:12). Do you hear the Lord s plea? He doesn t want us seeking our happiness where it can t be found! He doesn t want us investing our love in things that end up perishing like ashes passing pleasures, popularity and the approval of others, wealth and worldly success and the right car or home or promotion. He wants us for himself, because he knows that living in a deep, intimate communion with him is the only way to find our heart s true desire: Find your delight in the Lord, who will give you your heart s desire (Psalm 37:4). Lent is an invitation from Mother Church for us to stop, quiet down, and look calmly and deeply at the condition of our hearts as we prepare for the grace-filled days of Holy Week. My hope and prayer is that during this Season of Lent each of us will continue to find fresh and encouraging ways to go deeper in our intimate friendship with Jesus Christ as we plod through the ordinariness of our days, a friendship more beautiful than roses and much, so much more lasting than ashes. Remember to pray well, pray hard, pray often, save souls and don't lose yours in the process. AMEN Wishing all y'all a God Glorious Lent. God bless you! Fr. Richard

4 SUNDAY, February 18th, th ANNUAL SUPER BONANZA $25 winners Sunday, 2/11/18 #09879 Tony Alberico Monday, 2/12/18 #11703 Michael Lawlor Tuesday, 2/13/18 #17172 Kathy & Larry Wednesday, 2/14/18 #09482 Karol Albano Thursday, 2/15/18 #10739 Frankie D Esposito Friday, 2/16/18 #08903 Madeline Vaspe Saturday, 2/17/18 #01722 D. Groneman CONGRATULATIONS! Payment will be mailed to all Winners on the following Thursday after results are posted in Bulletin. BAPTISM Veronica Diane Pizzo 10th Annual Super Daily Bonanza Drawing Every day until May 31, 2018 we will draw a winning ticket number. The owner of that ticket will win the prize for that day. Then the ticket will be put back into the drum for the next drawing, giving you another opportunity to WIN. MEMBERS NAME PHONE NUMBER ADDRESS Number of Tickets $25.00= 5 for $100.00= TOTAL = Please mail your check to: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church, 800 Portion Rd, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY Parish Outreach Ministry Blood Drive: Our 1 st Blood Drive of the year took place on Sunday, February 4, 2018 after all the masses and was very successful! The total units donated came to 56 which was approximately 20 units above our goal. Congratulations to all who took the time and effort by donating the gift of their blood, resulting in saving many lives. A special thank you to all of the volunteers who helped with the sign-ups, setting-up, checking-in, coffee-making, and cleaning up. These would include; Gerry Hoffer, Ken & Gail Caskin, Eileen Cleary, Diane Scheel, Janet Knoblach, Ronnie Reichert and Bob Lewonka. Next Blood Drive; Sunday, April 29, 2018 Food Pantry: Thank you for all the food donated this past week. Presently, the Pantry is in need of the following items; Peanut butter, Jelly, Mayonnaise, Mustard, Macaroni, Tomato Sauce, Instant Potatoes, Pancake Mix, Syrup, Coffee, Shampoo, and Toothpaste. Thank You and God Bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT The Youth Group had a great time at Paint Nite last Friday. They painted a picture for the Lenten season. Thanks to Juliet for hosting and to Jennifer for coming out to assist! THANK YOU The St. Lawrence of Brindisi Fraternity wants to thank all of you for allowing us to speak at the Masses during the weekend of 2/10 and 2/11 about the Secular Franciscan Order. A special thanks to Fr. Richard for allowing us to speak and hand out our vocation brochures. We would also like to thank Fr. Vitus for making us feel so welcome. Our monthly gatherings take place on the first Sunday of each month at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Patchogue at 1PM. We meet in the Daily Mass Chapel in the back of the parking lot. Our Lord may be calling you to the Secular Franciscan Order and is giving you the opportunity to discern this for yourself. Allow the Lord to work by enjoying an afternoon of fellowship and prayer with us. A special information session about the Order will be given for all new people attending. Our Fraternity prays that you will be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Pax et Bonum!! Your Brother and Sisters of the St. Lawrence of Brindisi Fraternity

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8 SUNDAY, February 18th, 2018 Prayer Blanket Ministry Meetings are held on Saturdays from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Contact Janice by Next meeting is Saturday, Feb. 24th 2018 New members are always welcome. Come join this exciting ministry we create prayer blankets, lap robes, baby blankets, preemie hats, Christmas stockings, pink scarves, etc. and donate them to various organizations, nursing homes, etc. We also share ideas, patterns and offer instruction for anyone wishing to learn to knit or crochet or brush up on their skills. For more information call the Parish Outreach. If you have yarn to donate, we will gladly accept it and use it. Thank you! Donations were made to the following: Baby hats to Ronald McDonald House; Shawls, hats, scarves and lap blankets to the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless; Baby Blankets to Winthrop Hospital NICU; Crocheted and Knitted cradles for pre-term babies to Bridget s Cradles in Kansas; Red baby hats to the The American Cancer Society in Plainview; Hats to Chemo for Cancer in Florida; Lap blankets to Bellhaven Nursing Home and Lap Blankets to the VA home in Stony Brook. If anyone has a sick family member or friend and you would like a prayer blanket made in a prayerful, loving environment with our thoughts for healing and grace, please contact us at the address provided.

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12 Dear Parishioners, The 2018 Catholic Ministries Appeal is underway and we have already received pledges. Hopefully, many more families will be able to make a contribution to this years Catholic Ministries Appeal so we will be able to reach our goal of $52,300. This effort is much more than a yearly fundraiser that supports the ministries and programs of our Church. It is an expression of our love for one another. Thanks to your generosity, we received $54,047 in pledges to the 2017 Catholic Ministries Appeal. Your donations help meet the needs of people in the Diocese of Rockville Centre and in our own parish. This money helps the poor and the elderly, supports health services, education and counseling programs for people of all ages. It provides for religious education for priests and seminarians, for meals-on-wheels, for chaplain services in hospitals, college campuses and county jails, along with many more ministries intended to help those less fortunate on Long Island. Finally our parish receives a cash rebate which last year amounted to more than $12,000. This money helps offset expenses needed to run our parish and the many programs we offer. During the Lenten Season we are asked to pray, fast and give alms. Lent is the perfect time for us to pray for those in need whether it is for their material, emotional or spiritual needs. And when you practice fasting and abstinence during these forty days, please remember those of our neighbors who are hungry, and consider sharing your gifts with them. One way to do this is by making a gift to the Catholic Ministries Appeal, which supports programs that help to feed people in our community each year through Catholic Charities and our Parishes. God has blessed each of us with so many gifts-our families, friends, talents, abilities, in fact our very lives are gifts from God. As good stewards we recognize that all blessings come from the Lord and that these blessings are to be used to serve all God s children. Let s support our bishop, The Most Reverend John Barres and Fr. Richard in his first CMA campaign, by making a pledge to this years Catholic Ministries Appeal. The programs and services supported by the Appeal have a significant impact on hundreds of thousands of parishioners throughout our Diocese. You have until January 31st, 2019 to pay off your pledge. No down payment is necessary. The Diocese will send monthly reminders. Keep in mind this is not a legal document. If you feel you cannot keep up your payments, simply discontinue them. Whatever you are able to give, large or small, will be accepted gratefully. To help you decide here are some suggested gift plans: **$200 pledge $20 per month ** $100 pledge $10 per month **$50 pledge $5.00 per month To make a pledge, simply fill out the form below and place it in the collection basket in the coming weeks or mail it back to the parish office. Thank you for your support and continued generosity. John Romaine, Catholic Ministries Appeal Chairman

13 SUNDAY, February 18th, 2018 From the Pastor s Desk May the Healing Spirit of Lent bless our Parish Family! Blessings and Peace! The Season of Lent has arrived! Most of us have a tendency to think we must live on Earth here and now, and hope for the Kingdom of Heaven ever afterwards. This could not be further from the truth! We need to recognize that we do not wait until death to enter the Kingdom. Yes, we hope the Kingdom will be our there and then, but it must also be our here and now! As Jesus tells us today, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! That means that we must be prepared to turn from the world around us and turn to God, here and now. In this way, we are prepared to receive the salvation that Jesus wins for us at Easter. As Jesus will, literally, die to the world to give us this great gift, we must be able to die to the world, or worldly things, to receive it. In today s Gospel, Jesus himself retreats to the barren wilderness. He has just been baptized by John the Baptist at the river Jordan, and now, as we are told, The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert. He completely withdraws from worldly society, which provides meals and shelter, friends and family. He instead lives where nothing separates him from the landscape. He literally practices humility. Humility means of the earth. When we are truly humble, we do not elevate ourselves, nor do we consider ourselves loathsome. We are humbly of the earth. We are what we are, no greater, no worse. It is the self-truth of our humanity. Jesus, alone in the wilderness, lives with the truth who he is as a human. However, he also communes with the Ultimate Truth: God. God is a part of who we are as humans, and it is humble truth and wisdom for us to embrace this relationship within us. We also know that Jesus was tempted in the desert, and defeated these temptations. Even for Jesus, temptation is a part of human life, but it can be controlled. This is a lesson for us as well. During the season of Lent, we are guided and inspired by Jesus 40 days in the desert. We, too, try to retreat from the things (temptations) which distract us from God, and involve ourselves in Godly practices. We may give up many pleasures of life, which could include desserts, smoking, alcohol, some parties and, most famously, the dominant food staple of Meat (required on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent). Furthermore, we may try to take part in holy activities that draw us closer to God, such as Sunday Mass (absolutely!), Weekday Mass (when possible), Eucharistic Adoration, and devotions such as praying the Holy Rosary and taking part in parish functions such as the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings, Parish Retreats or sponsored Lenten speakers. Furthermore, as confirmed Catholics, we have promised to attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) at least once during Lent. (Please be sure to check the bulletin carefully each week to see what parish opportunities may be coming up.) As we withdraw from worldly things and advance in the ways of God, we begin to live in the Kingdom of God that Jesus wins for us. There is no need to wait until earthly death. As Children of God, let us claim our citizenship in that Heavenly land and break our chains to the world around us. Let us choose to live hand-in-hand with Christ, now and forever, in the Kingdom of Heaven! My God bless you and your loved ones with spiritual growth and protection. Come home to God, here and now! Blessings and Peace, Fr. Kevin Thompson Joyous in the Lord

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