ST MARY STAR OF THE SEA PARISH

Transcription

1 ST MARY STAR OF THE SEA PARISH THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME NOVEMBER 3, 2018 MASS SCHEDULE ST. MARY STAR OF THE SEA CHURCH SUNDAY 7AM MASS HOLY SAVIOR CHURCH SUNDAY 8:30AM & 10AM MONDAY THURSDAY AT 8:30AM SATURDAY VIGIL AT 5:15PM CONFESSIONS AT 4:15-5:00PM Mission Statement We the people of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Ocean City, Maryland, want to respond to God s love for us by doing His will, to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to love each other as Jesus loved us. In this way, He can live, as Risen Lord, in our midst and attract all people to the Father. As part of the Church, we want to be a Home and School of Communion where, through the celebration and living out the Sacraments, and various ministries, each member can live in unity as a child of God, building up the Kingdom of God until Jesus will come again in glory.

2 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. (Rev 3:20) Dear brothers and sisters, Last week we were challenged by the story of the blind man Bartimaeus. With him, we were asked to leave behind our cloak, get up and do whatever we can to respond to the invitation of Jesus: to live our lives as Children of God. We were challenged to leave the cloak behind so that our baptismal garment will be our primary source of identity in this new life that God offers us in Christ. Only in the way, the light that Christ gives us (that He is!) can become real to us. Now we understand that this new Life is regulated by its own Laws. The universe is made in this way: everything follows its own nature, regulated by its own laws. We Christians follow our own laws as well, but must understand the context in which these laws are made, given, and expected to be followed. God is love. All that God wills is a reflection of His nature and therefore we know that all that He asks us to do cannot be anything but love. The ten commandments, for example, were given to make sure the people in the desert continued to experience the freedom that God granted them by leading them out of Egypt, the land of slavery. They were not given arbitrarily and randomly: they were expressing the love of God for those people. We understand, now, why someone asks Jesus for the first commandment. Not the one that comes before others, but the one that summarizes all commandments. And it cannot be anything but Love! Yes! The way we must understand our life, our regulating norms and regulations, our morality, etc must be seen from this point of view only: it s a call to experience Love by being Loving. Even the boundaries that laws and commandments create ought to be seen in this light; while we may experience these as limiting our behavior, in reality they are nothing more than an invitation to create an environment of love around us. We experience this in our lives: while the red light may limit my driving, in reality it creates an opportunity for all of the drivers to experience love and respect as we make sure we all have the same opportunity to move forward. together as one commandment: love-god-and-yourneighbor. One must lead to the other, and vice-versa; nobody who calls oneself a Christian can ever separate them, and nobody can add restrictions. If God so loved the world than we must also. But what do they mean? To love God: it means to establish a personal relationship with Him, like that of a child with a loving parent. And this relationship with God necessarily leads to encounter his other children, because God wants us to live as a family, with His family. Loving one's neighbor is not a question of feelings or emotions (that s why Jesus told us even to love our enemies). It means to walk together with others, giving a helping hand, listening, sharing, making friends... it is encouraging, helping those in need, welcoming and a thousand other way that can say: here is my loving heart, let s build up the family of God in the world. Jesus, by putting these two commands together, has showed us a new way of loving God: by loving our neighbor. Then, we can start doing this this week, and for the rest of our life being the first to love, finding always new ways to reach out to others in love and with loving actions: small or large. At the end of the day, we will feel the love of God increasing in us, and God will feel nearer to us, as a Father is. I would like to join me this week in praying for vocations. This week is Vocation s Awareness Week. Not only we have the responsibility to pray for those God called to say their Yes, but we also want to pray for those who have already said Yes, and those who are in discernment (like in the seminary or in the house of formation as religious men and women). Vocation is everybody s business! Mark Your Calendar: Thursday, Nov 8 th Movie Night, beginning at 6pm at Hall. The movie is I can only Imagine. Nov 16 & 17: our famous Christmas Bazaar! You don t want to miss it. And make sure your friends know the dates as well. The law of God, in the old testament, places two points very clearly one next to each other: Love God and neighbor. Jesus takes these two points and puts them

3 THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Two history books to celebrate the diocesan 150 th anniversary are now available through parishes and diocese. Two history books, Rejoicing in the Lord, and Family of Faith have been published to help commemorate the 150 th anniversary of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington. Rejoicing in the Lord is a hard-cover, 336-page, full-color, glossy 10 inch by 10 inch book that features histories and photographs of all Catholic churches in Delaware and Maryland s Eastern Shore, plus biographies of all nine Wilmington bishops, with important ministries and events highlighted. Family of Faith is a 35-page, color diocesan history done in the comic book or graphic novel style that would appeal to middle schoolers and teens. These books are available through our parish office. The hard cover Rejoicing in the Lord is $30. and the Family of Faith is $12.00 This week, Nov 4-10 is National Vocations Awareness Week. Continue to pray for Vocations to the Priesthood, Consecrated Religious Life, and the Permanent Diaconate. Prayer works not only to surface those who are called but prayer has been the place where they encounter that call. God calls and we have the responsibility to draw it out, encourage and support it in our young people. All young people are looking for confirmation and validation as they discern their futures. When you see a young person at prayer, pray for them and find an opportunity to ask them if they have considered a vocation to priesthood, consecrated religious life or the permanent diaconate. For more information see or vocations@cdow.org. BAKER S AND CANDY MAKER S ARE NEEDED TO HELP MAKE OUR CHRISTMAS BAZAAR A SUC- CESS! We will have our Sweet table once again this year and we need your talent! As you may know, the Bazaar is November 16th & 17th and we will be accepting home made sweets the morning of Thursday, November 15, Friday, November 16 and Saturday, November 17th. Mark your calendars for our Next Movie Night on Thursday, November 8th at 6pm. We will be showing I can only imagine and hope that you all can join us! Thank you to everyone who has brought in pillows this week.! We will continue to collect pillows, pillow cases and blankets for the next two weekends. We have a drop off for you in the parish center lobby and once again, thank you for your generosity! PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS Loving and Generous God, it is You who call us by name and ask us to follow You. Help us to grow in the Love and Service of our Church as we experience it today. Give us the energy and courage of Your Spirit to shape its future Grant us faith-filled leaders who will embrace Christ's Mission of love and justice. Bless the Church of Wilmington by raising up dedicated and generous leaders from our families and friends who will serve Your people as, Priests, Brothers, Sisters, Deacons and Lay Ministers. Inspire us to know You better and open our hearts to hear Your call. We ask this through our Lord.

4 MASS INTENTIONS Readings for the Week of November 4, 2018 November 3 Saturday 5:15pm Parishioners November 4 Sunday St. Mary Star of the Sea 7:00am 10:00a.m. November 5 November 6 November 7 November 8 8:30am November 9 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday No Mass November 10 Saturday 5:15pm Parishioners November 11 Sunday St. Mary Star of the Sea 7:00am Chansky & Vales Families Jean & Henry Montague 10:00a.m. Patricia & Lugene Cleary If you would like a Sanctuary Candle lit for the week for a special intention or in memory of a loved one, please contact the parish office. A donation of $10.00 is appreciated. Sunday: Dt 6:2-6/Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 [2]/Heb 7:23-28/Mk 12:28b-34 Monday: Phil 2:1-4/Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3/Lk 14:12-14 Tuesday: Phil 2:5-11/Ps 22:26b-27, 28-30ab, 30e, [26a]/Lk 14:15-24 Wednesday: Phil 2:12-18/Ps 27:1, 4, [1a]/Lk 14:25-33 Thursday: Phil 3:3-8a/Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 [3b]/Lk 15:1-10 Friday: Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12/Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9 [5]/1 Cor 3:9c- 11, 16-17/Jn 2:13-22 Saturday: Phil 4:10-19/Ps 112:1b-2, 5-6, 8a and 9/Lk 16:9-15 Next Sunday: 1 Kgs 17:10-16/Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10 [1b]/Heb 9:24-28/Mk 12:38-44 or 12:41-44 Sharing the Gospel The man in today's Gospel reading was a scribe. It was his job to write out copies of God's word. Many of the scribes did not care for Jesus, but this one man really understood the heart of God's law-love. To love God and to love others is more important than anything else. Prayer Dear God, help us to love you and love others the way you want us to. Something to Draw Draw a picture of the scribe talking to Jesus. Mission for the Week Pretend you are a scribe. Copy Mark 12:32-33 in your own handwriting. Hang it up in a place where you will read it every day PO Box , New Berlin, WI x LPiResourceCenter.com If you would like to have flowers placed on the altar in honor of a loved one, please contact the parish office. Baptisms are held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month. Please contact Rita Danhardt for additional information.

5 THIRTY FIRST SUNWell! We are in November, the Month of Well! We are in November, the Month of counting our blessing and celebrating family and all that is good! So, with that being said, when was the last time you paused and looked at the blessings in your life? I have to say that at the top of my list of blessings are the members of my parish, this parish family who respond with love, compassion and generosity to every situation. I am humbled and honored to work, live, play and pray with so many outstanding individuals! Then, how could we miss the millions of blessing that we have in this area that we call home! Between the beautiful sunsets and the roaring ocean the wonder of God s majesty abounds. Kiko and I walk the beach on Assateague, we frequently find beautiful treasures! Shells, sand dollars, driftwood and we discover the variety of sea life! All reminder that our blessings are there to be found! We just have to slow down and not hurry past them! Each morning, as the sun rises, I remember too, that our God has given us a reassurance of his Faithfulness to his promises every morning that Sun comes up right on time! And this year in my biological family has had blessings galore this year we started with a new grandson on St. Joseph s day in March ~ Noah Jaxson, a great great nephew in July ~ Lucas Rhett (yes that s 2 greats and he is our little Nashville babe) in August we welcome a great niece Emma Marie the lone girl in the bunch!! Then, just a few weeks ago we ended with a bang twin, great great nephews Joshua Nicholas and Jace Michael!! We are so loved!! Our God is so great! We are so bursting with Blessings!! The most Awesome part of counting your blessings is, it often leaves you no time to track your troubles!! Remember the bumper stick phrase Too Blessed to be stressed! And so, my blessings, start your days thankfully and count those Blessings!!! In Unity, Rita With all of the November/ December Activities we again turn to anyone able to help out with Donations!! For the Bazaar we look for items we can use in the carnival room with craft supplies, Christmas ornaments and prizes we can use!! Gently loved stuffed Animals, toys etc. Cookie Bake flour, sugar, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, butter, pre made cookies, decorations and help if you are able!! November 11th- 11:30 Parent Sacramental Meeting for children preparing for Reconciliation/First Communion 6:00 PM Teen Classes (7 th to 10 th )TOP Bazaar Preparation Parish Service Project 16th to 17th TOP and Parent volunteers Needed to run Kiddie Karnival for the Bazaar Please sign up for times. 18th NO CLASSES- Christmas Bazaar 25th NO Classes Thanksgiving Break ~ December 2 rd ~ ADVENT STARTS No Classes 2 PM Grades 3 to 10 Advent Reconciliation Service CHURCH No Evening Classes 8 th The Feast of the Immaculate Conception ~ Holy Day of Obligation Mass time Vigil Mass (Dec 7 th ) 6:30 PM 8 th~ 8:30 AM 8 th The Feast of the Immaculate Conception ~ Holy Day of Obligation Mass time Vigil Mass (Dec 7 th ) 6:30 PM 8 th~ 8:30 AM 9 th ~ SUPER SUNDAY ADVENT!!! 6:00PM Teen classes TOP CHRISTMAS COOKIE BAKE! Hall 15th 5:15 Mass Los Posadas All children grades k,1, 2 and 3 Will perform before the 515 Mass 16th St. Nick in the Hall 1130 to IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING CLASS~All Parish Families invited to Join the teens as we Carol at Gull creek Nursing Home! No Evening Classes all teens are requested to Join us at the nursing home for Caroling activities! 6:00PM Teen Classes (7 th to 10 th ) 23rd No Classes - Christmas Eve ~ Christmas Pageant 3:30 Before the 4PM Mass for All age Children! From the desk of Mark J. Record, Principal During the month of October, our school focused on the Rosary in our daily prayer. As we close out October and move into November, we will focus our prayers and attention on the Holy Souls who have walked the faith journey before us. We will celebrate the Church Triumpant on All Saints Day and pray for the Church Penitent on All Souls Day. Finally, we will honor our veterans on Veterans Day as we remember their sacrifice and service to our nation. In commemoration of Veteran s day (November 11 th ) and to honor all those men and women who have served our country, our school is collecting names of family members who have served in the armed forces of our nation. Names will be displayed on a bulletin board in our cafeteria and in the school lobby. Names will be displayed throughout the month of November. If you would like to have the name of your loved one or friend included in our display, please forward the name to mostblessedss@yahoo.com before November 10, CAR RAFFLE KICK-OFF! Through the kindness and generosity of Selbyville Holly Kia, MBS is again raffling off a car. This year's prize is a Door Kia Rio or $10,000 CASH. One of our MBS families won last year!! We are kicking off the sale of these tickets at the Fall Festival. Tickets this year are $5 each, $20 for 5 or $50 for 13. Proceeds benefit the technology development fund of MBS. This gives us the ability to purchase more tablets for our third through eighth grades and enables teachers to utilize a one-to-one digital technology ratio within daily instruction. The drawing will be held at STREAM Night, May 22, For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit our website at or call the school office at SAVE THE DATE!!! SAVE THE DATE!!! Back by popular demand, the MBS Fashion Show will be held on Thursday, November 29th from 5:30 to 8:30pm. You'll enjoy dinner by Le Donne Cucina, glass of wine (if you want), dessert by Mio Fratello and of course a night full of Fashion and Flare!! There is a 50/50 Raffle, Chinese Auction items and local vendors selling their merchandise (just in time for the holidays), too. Tickets are $ 40 in advance (you can reserve a table so make it a girls night out!) or $45 at the Door. Contact Rebecca Taylor for tickets (beachmix@comcast.net). We will have online ticket sales available soon, too.

6 T SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME TIME THIRTY HIRTYFIRST THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY Pastor: Rev. Stanislao Esposito Deacons: Rev. Mr. Dave McDowell Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Donna Santoni Faith Formation: Mrs. Rita Danhardt Music Director: Mr. Jordan Pantalone Facilities Manager: Mr. Tony Dicken PARISH OFFICE HOURS Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 9am to 5pm Wednesday & Friday 9am to 3pm Fax: Philadelphia Avenue Ocean City, MD Website: Stmarystaroftheseaocmd.com Facebook: Saint Mary Ocean City, MD Parish Pay: Automated Giving x 4 Parishpay.com