CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC CHURCH

Transcription

1 January 12, 2014 The Baptism of the Lord CORPUS CHRISTI CATHOLIC CHURCH 6300 McKenna Drive, Mobile, Alabama Website: TELEPHONE NUMBERS Parish Office: School Office: Rel. Ed. Office: Preschool Office: Youth Ministry: Fax , ext. 1 Fax , ext. 7 Fax Fax Fax PASTORAL STAFF Very Rev. James F. Zoghby, V.F., Pastor Rev. John S. Boudreaux, Associate Pastor Deacon Arthur W. Robbins, Deacon Sr. Donna Cooper, R.S.M., Visitation Chaplain Mrs. Linda M. Hawkins, Pastoral Assistant Mrs. Joan T. McMullen, School Principal Mrs. Kathleen Q. Jester, Parish Catechetical Leader Mrs. Judi B. Ankiewicz, R.C.I.A. Coordinator Mrs. Colleen DeVoe, Youth Ministry Co-Director Mrs. Brenda Martens, Youth Ministry Co-Director Mr. Matthew F. Purvis, Music Director Mr. Jay H. Henley, Gym Manager TO REGISTER AS A MEMBER OF THE PARISH Please fill out a Census Form. Census Forms are available in the church vestibule and parish office. COMMUNITY CENTER RENTALS & SERVICES For rental information and kitchen services, please call the parish office at or SUNDAY MASSES Vigil: 5:30 p.m. Saturday Morning: 7:00, 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. WEEKDAY MASSES 6:30 a.m.: Monday through Friday 8:15 a.m.: Monday through Saturday SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday: 5:00 p.m. and by request, particularly after the 6:30 & 8:15 a.m. weekday Masses. BAPTISM, MARRIAGE, ANOINTING OF SICK Please call the parish office ( ) or information and scheduling baptism, marriage, anointing of sick. ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (R.C.I.A.) Please see published schedule for specific dates and times, or call the parish office ( ). SUNDAY SCHOOL (C.C.D.) Grades K 12, Sundays during school year, 10:05-10:55 a.m. in school bldgs. SCHOOL, SACS-accredited for Grades 3K through 8. For info & registration, please call the school office. FULL-DAY CHILDCARE, for 6-week to 2-yr. olds. For info & registration, please call the preschool office

2 THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD Next Sunday: January 19 3 rd Sunday 5:30 p.m. Mass During the school year (Sept. to May), we have an extra Sunday Mass the 3 rd Sunday of each month. High School students serve. We extend a special welcome to all who wish to join The Catholic Church Call, or Come Call and leave your name & phone number. Church@CorpusChristiParish.com. Come to our class Wednesday, Jan. 8, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Adult Education Room of the Corpus Christi Community Center. For Catholics too: These classes provide continuing education for Catholic adults and others interested in learning more about the faith. Extend a personal invitation... If you know someone who has left the Catholic Church or someone who may want information or who may have questions about the Catholic Church... Extend a personal invitation to them to call to speak with one of the priests who will be more than happy to take time to answer questions and provide information. Also extend a personal invitation to them to come to one of the Masses, or to come to our Adult Religious Education Classes. Or extend a personal invitation to fellow Catholics to learn more about their Catholic Faith in our continuing Adult Education program, or to phone or make an appointment with one of the priests to discuss any question, or request information. Your personal invitation could make all the difference in the world. ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (R.C.I.A.) Continuing Ed. for Catholic and other adults who want to learn about and/or join the Catholic Church Wednesday Nights, 7:00-8:30 in the Adult Ed. Room Help keep YOUR CHURCH neat! When leaving your pew at the end of Mass, please take the song sheets, bulletins, and other materials with you! This will be very helpful to those who tidy up the church after Mass. Thank You! Bulletin Announcements Send bulletin announcements to Bulletin@CorpusChristiParish.com Please support the advertisers on the back of the bulletin Their ads enable us to have our bulletins printed at no cost to the parish. Ads are purchased through Diocesan Publications. For info contact them at or CORPUS CHRISTI SCHOOL Ne w -Stu d e nt Re g istratio n for the School Year Tuesday, Jan. 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. For further information, please call , ext. 1 School News Jan. 12: Students attending the 9 a.m. Mass in full uniform will have an out-of-uniform day tomorrow, Monday, Jan. 13. Jan. 13: Kiddie Mail: Registration Packets. Report cards. Jan : In-house registration. Jan. 14: Second quarter awards Mass Jan. 21 & 22: New student registration Jan. 22: March for Life - 2:30 p.m. SUNDAY SCHOOL (CCD) Classes: 10:05-10:55 a.m. Sunday School participants who are at the 9:00 a.m. Mass are dismissed with the final blessing. Info: Kathleen Jester, SundaySchool@CorpusChristiParish.com. A Christmas/New Year s Baby Shower Ends today: Sunday, Jan. 12 for 2B Choices for Women Crisis Pregnancy Center Diapers of all sizes, but especially Size 3 and Size 4, are needed. Also needed: Items, such as baby wipes, shampoo, wash, powder, oil and bottles. Please no food or formula. Thanks to all who have been donating year-round at Corpus Christi. 2B greatly appreciates your donations to help babies and women. Bib le Stud y Gro up s Sundays, 8:45-10:45 a.m. in the school counselor's conference room. Breakfast is served also. We are studying Mark s Gospel. Tuesdays, 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Parish House (except on the 2 nd Tuesday, in the school library). Info: Dave Burchette, Women s Bible Study: Thursdays, 9:00-10:45 a.m., Conference Rm., Com.Ctr. Penny Claiborne, , claiborneps@aol.com or Joanne Donaghey, , joannekd@aol.com The Rome Sweet Home books in the vestibule & atrium are from members of the Tuesday Night Bible Study Group Having read the book and finding it inspirational, they wanted to give copies of the book to fellow parishioners and others interested, free of charge. Receive s from the Parish Please send your to church@corpuschristiparish.com.

3 CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH, MOBILE, ALABAMA JANUARY 12, 2014 High School Youth Next Sunday: All high school students are invited to join the Corpus Christi High School Youth Ministry next Sunday for the 5:30 p.m. Mass, followed by our meeting. If you can help sing or play with the choir for Mass, please come to church at 4:30 p.m. for a short practice session. Remember, bring $1 and bring a friend! Krispy Kreme Coupons! On sale next weekend to support our High School Teens Next weekend, high school teens will be selling coupons for One Dozen Krispy Kreme donuts after all Masses to raise money for the upcoming Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Conference (ACYC) to be held February Please help support their efforts. Donations will also be accepted. Archdiocesan Youth Conference The Archdiocesan Youth Conference (ACYC) is coming up February at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Resort in Destin, FL. Any high school student is welcome to attend and must register through the parish youth group. The total cost will run between $ depending on the number of teens that register from our parish. The Corpus Christi deadline to register will be Tuesday, January 28th. Your registrations can be turned into the parish office, but please shoot us an and let us know you have dropped them off so we can be sure it made its way into our mailbox. Because we are required to take one chaperone for every seven teens, we may have to limit the number of teens we take unless we have adults volunteer to Chaperone. For this reason, also, we will take registrations on a first-come, first-serve basis so get your registrations in. There will be one fundraising event for the Conference. We will be selling Krispy Kreme coupons please see separate bulletin announcement. Men of St. Joseph Tuesdays, 7 to 8 a.m. in the Family Room Also Wednesdays, 7-8 p.m. in the Parish House All men are welcome to meet for prayer, reading the Gospel, and discussion. Info: Jim Donaghey, jbd@orthomobile.com or Wed Evening Info: Walter Bracewell, or walter.bracewell@yahoo.com Women of Mary Wednesdays, 7 to 8 p.m. Room 3 (2 nd Floor of the Community Center) All women are welcome to meet for prayer, reading the Gospel, and discussion. Info: Sr. Deborah Kennedy, R.S.M., Knights of Columbus Meeting: 2 nd Tues., Jan. 14, at 7 p.m., at the Parish House. Contact: Grand Knight, Bob Wheat, Pack 29 Cub Scouts Jan. 12 Pack 29 Olympics and Den Meetings 3:00 4:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Pinewood Derby 12:30-3:00 p.m. To Join Cub Scouts or for info contact Walter Bracewell or Mike Martin or visit ccspack29.scoutlander.com. The Women s Club Tomorrow night, Monday, Jan. 13: Meeting in The Parish House. All women welcome. Info: Pres. Brittany Comiskey, What do you get for the person who has everything? PURPOSE. Give the ones you love an opportunity to live life with Purpose. Internationally acclaimed speaker and author Matthew Kelly and local musician Eliot Morris will be in Mobile to share with us his Passion and Purpose event. This is not your typical church event! It has been a life changing event for tens of thousands of people. It will be held at McGill-Toolen on May 10th from 9-1:30pm. Tickets are $ For tickets or more information call Susie Veasey at or Susie@icscommunications.com. Society of St. Vincent de Paul Poor Box, Food, Clothing donations put in the designated places in the vestibule are distributed by our St. Vincent de Paul Society. In-Need Drop Box: This In-need drop box is next to the food pantry drop-off box in the vestibule. Parishioners are encouraged to fill out a card with your need and contact information, and deposit it in the locked drop box. Your information will be held in strict confidence and a member of our society will contact you. Join the Society of St. Vincent de Paul by attending a meeting. Meetings: 1 st & 3 rd Wed., 6:30 p.m., Com. Ctr. Conf. Rm. (2 nd Flr.) To obtain assistance, call and leave name & phone no. AA Alanon OA CODA AA: Sun., 7 p.m., and Wed., 7 p.m., Cougar Den. Alanon: Sun., 7 p.m., and Wed., 7 p.m., Arts & Sciences Bldg. OA: Sat., 9 a.m., Arts & Sciences Bldg. CODA: Tues., 6:45 p.m., Arts & Sciences Bldg. Wednesday Night Dinner 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Banquet Hall $9.00 for Adults! $4.00 for Children (Age 12 & under) Jan. 15 ~ Smothered Pork Chops, Shrimp Creole w/rice, Seasoned Green Beans, Cauliflower Au Gratin, Garden Salad, Fresh French Bread, Bananas Foster w/ice Cream. Iced Tea, Lemonade, Coffee. Kids Meal upon request: Chicken Tenders & French Fries. Must RSVP no later than TUESDAY EVENING Return an RSVP Card, or call or WedNightDinner@CorpusChristiParish.com Breakfast Monday through Friday, 7:00 to 9:30 a.m. In the Banquet Hall Scrambled or Shell Eggs - 99 Hash Brown Patty - 89 Sausage or Bacon Biscuit - $1.59 Sausage Patty - $1.10 Bacon (2 Slices) - $1.10 Pancakes (2 per order) - $1.29 Grits - $1.09 French Toast Sticks (4) - $1.69 Cereal $1.15 Fresh Fruit - 99 Fresh Fruit Cup - $1.99 Small Juice - 59 Fresh Fruit Parfait - $2.19 Yogurt 99 Bottled Juice $1.39 Nutri Grain Bar - $1.09 Bottled W ater: Large- 99 / Small- 59 ALSO: Fresh Hot Beignets on Tuesdays! ($2.29 per order)

4 CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH, MOBILE, ALABAMA JANUARY 12, 2014 Alabama s Got Sisters Nun Run Friday-Saturday, Jan A point-to-point excursion for single women, ages 18-40, to visit Sisters homes/convents throughout Mobile. At each stop, enjoy the Sisters cooking as you learn, first hand, how each Community is making a difference for the people in the Mobile area and beyond. Transportation provided. No fee for the weekend. The event begins at 5:45 p.m. Friday and concludes at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Contact Sr. Theresa Sullivan, DC at or SisterTheresa.Sullivan@doc.org for a brochure and to register. The Archdiocese of Mobile presents: ONE FAITH. ONE FAMILY One Faith in Jesus. One Family of God. April 4-5, at the Mobile Convention Center An Archdiocesan event to cultivate, unite, and inspire leadership within the Archdiocese. Featuring Chris Stefanick, Ike Ndolo, Todd Sylvester, and special keynote by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi. The Can t Miss event for all involved in the life & mission of the Church. For further information visit: Free admission for ages 0-12, & High School Students accompanied by a parent. Tickets may be purchased at the online site for $25, or they may be purchased for at the parish office for $20. Widowed Persons Support Group For information call parishioner Glen Porter at Lighthouse Catholic 80 CD Kiosk In the vestibule Provided by the Men of St. Joseph CD s are $3 each, or two for $5. Drop payments in the kiosk. Make checks payable to Lighthouse. Info: Jerry Scott tjscott007@comcast.net or Welcome New Parishioners Kyle & Kim Callaghan and their daughter, Fonde Jim & Lisa Hancock and their daughter, Norah BAPTIZED IN CHRIST Isabelle Ruth Hanna (daughter of Brant Charles Hanna & Claire Ruth Christensen Hanna) Margaret Cecilia Presley (daughter of Benjamin Tennant Presley & Rachel Anne Kopf Presley) MARRIED IN CHRIST Benjamin Lloyd Mayfield, II & Andrea Cvitanovic Flowers The flowers before the altar this weekend have been placed in memory of Gertrudis Hernandez Given by her family. Flowers The flowers before the pulpit this weekend have been placed in memory of Rosa Mercedes on the first anniversary of her death. Given by her daughter, Sara Logsdon. Around the Archdiocese: Mobile Deanery ACCW (Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women) Winter Quarterly Meeting: Wednesday, Jan. 15, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Registration begins at 9:15 a.m.; meeting starts at 10 a.m.; Mass at 11:15 a.m.; luncheon to follow. Cost of luncheon is $ Reservations must be made by Monday, Jan. 13, with Beth Cain at , or bethrcain@bellsouth.net or with Margie Bunch at , or with Betty Russell at Open to all Catholic women! Call Shirley Norton at for information. RETIRED RELIGIOUS ONLINE & COLLECTION FINAL: $3, CHRISTMAS FLOWERS ONLINE & COLLECTION: $1, CHRISTMAS ONLINE & COLLECTION: $31, DEC. 29 TH BUILDING FUND ONLINE & COLLECTION: $16, DEC. 29 TH TITHING ONLINE & COLLECTION: $45, END-OF-YEAR DEC. 31 ST BUILDING FUND: $1, END-OF-YEAR DEC. 31 ST TITHING: $13, JAN. 5 TH TITHING ONLINE & COLLECTION: $3, JAN. 5 TH BUILDING FUND ONLINE & COLLECTION: $28, Thank You and God Bless You To all who tithe and contribute to support God's work here, those who make a special bequest in their will for Corpus Christi Church. Offering Envelopes To receive Offering Envelopes, just notify the parish office ( ). An initial set will be sent to you right away, and then, every two months, you will receive a two-month s supply of envelopes. Online Giving With Online Giving you can either make a one-time contribution or set up a recurring automatic withdrawal from a checking or saving or credit card account: Go to click Church ; then click the green Online Giving icon on the side left of the church s homepage. Follow the instructions to contribute to the tithing or building fund or special collections. For assistance, call , ext 4, or the parish office, The Lord does not proselytize God loves us: we are his children. He loves us and wants to liberate us from evil, from sickness, from death, and take us to his home in his kingdom. The Lord does not proselytize, he gives love. And this love seeks you and waits for you, you who at this moment do not believe or are far away. This is the love of God. Inquisitional clobbering... True faith is marked by the daring desire to change the world with the loving heart of Jesus. This zealous proclamation of the Gospel must never be coupled with inquisitional clobbering, with condemnation. No, the Gospel is proclaimed with kindness, fraternity and love.

5 ~ Sacraments of God s Love ~ Baptism: Don t make unnecessary demands In the pastoral practice of infant Baptism, you have rightly insisted on the need to administer Baptism only when there is a well-founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic faith, so that the sacrament will bear fruit. At times, however, the Church s guidelines are interpreted more strictly than they are meant to be. As a result, parents are told without sufficient reason that their child s baptism must be postponed, or even refused. Prudence and pastoral charity suggest a more understanding attitude towards those who approach the Church with good intentions to request baptism for their child. The same pastoral charity should also restrain pastors from making demands that are not required by the Church s doctrine or law... It is important that the first sacrament of Christian initiation should be seen primarily as God the Father s gift to the child. The free and unmerited nature of grace is never so evident as on the occasion of a child s baptism. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he has loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. (I John 4:10) Pope John Paul II Eucharist: It is right to be generous When I was young I was rather severe. I said, the sacraments are the sacraments of the faith, and when the faith isn t there, where there s not practice of the faith, the sacraments can t be conferred... When I was Archbishop of Munich I always discussed this with my pastors, and there were two factions, one severe and one more generous. I, too, in the course of time have realized that we have to follow instead the example of the Lord, who was very open with the people who were at the margins of the faith at that time. He was a Lord of mercy with sinners too open, according to many of the official authorities welcoming them or allowing himself to be welcomed at their dinners, drawing them to himself in his communion. If we can see even a tiny flame of desire for communion in the Church, a desire from these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems right to be rather generous. The true sense of catechesis, in fact, should be this: to carry the flame of the love of Jesus, even if it s small, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thereby opening anew the places of the faith in our time. Pope Benedict XVI The Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak Pope Francis Some say that they are not worthy to take communion often. We take communion not because we are holy, but in order to become so... Union with Jesus in communion makes us able to share in his holiness. St. John Baptiste de la Salle When attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist, Catholics must be filled with gratitude for God s great gifts. Despite the fact that we have nothing to give in return and we are full of faults, Jesus invites us to his table and wants to be with us. Pope Benedict XVI

6 The Catholic Church should not be closed off to sinners. Pope Francis said the Catholic Church should not be closed off to sinners like a pastoral customs house. We are often controllers of the faith instead of facilitators. The triumphalism of the Church stops the church. It becomes a Church that journeys only halfway to its goal of salvation because people become satisfied with everything being well-organized all the offices, everything in its place, everything beautiful, efficient. The pope spoke about the importance of priests, parish workers and parishioners being open and welcoming to those who come to the parish asking for something. He used several examples, including that of a couple who goes to a parish to arrange their wedding, but before being congratulated, are told how much it will cost and are asked for their baptismal certificates. Too many times, we are faith-checkers instead of facilitators of the people s faith. Jesus instituted seven sacraments and we, with this kind of attitude, institute an eighth: the sacrament of pastoral control. Don t separate the People of God from Salvation! When archbishop in Argentina, Pope Francis accused fellow church leaders of hypocrisy and of forgetting that Jesus touched lepers and ate with prostitutes. And he criticized priests who refused to baptize the babies who were born out of wedlock. He called them modern-day pharisees... people, he said, who congratulate themselves while condemning others. He said: In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who refuse to baptize children of single mothers because their babies were not conceived in the sanctity of marriage. These are today s hypocrites. Pharisees. Those who clericalize the Church those who separate the people of God from salvation. And this poor girl, who, rather than returning the child to it s sender (by abortion), had the courage to continue her pregnancy, she must wander from parish to parish trying to find a priest who would be willing to baptize her baby! And what does she find? A closed door! How can you turn these people away when they belong to us! This is not zeal, this is distance from God! The Confessional must not be a torture chamber! Speaking of the sacrament of Reconciliation, Pope Francis said: I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord s mercy which spurs us on to do our best. He said St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the precepts which Christ and the apostles gave to the people of God are very few. Citing St. Augustine, Pope Francis said the precepts enjoined by the Church should be insisted upon with moderation so as not to burden the lives of the faithful making our religion a form of servitude, whereas God s mercy has willed that we should be free. The pope continued: Moreover, pastors must always remember what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches quite clearly: Responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social forces. Everyone needs to be touched by the comfort and attraction of God s saving love, which is mysteriously at work in each person, above and beyond their faults and failings. There is no social condition, no sin or crime of any kind, that can erase from the mind and heart of God any one of his children. God is a loving Father who always forgives, who has a heart of mercy for all of us. Pastors must always remember what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches quite clearly: Responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety, or other psychological or social forces. Pope Francis

7 EVANGELIZATION is the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News of Jesus - the Gospel - to all the people of the world. Because of growing secularization in the world, the Church has recently recognized a need for (in the words of Pope John Paul II) a New Evangelization effort. At a 2012 synod in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI on Evangelization, bishops shared their insights: Philippine bishop Socrates Villegas: Why is there a strong wave of secularization, a storm of antipathy or plain cold indifference towards the Church in some parts of the world necessitating a new wave of evangelization programs. The new evangelization calls for new humility. The Gospel cannot thrive in pride. When pride seeps into the heart of the Church, the Gospel proclamation is harmed. The task of new evangelization must begin with a deep sense of awe and reverence for humanity and her culture. Evangelization has been hurt and continues to be impeded by the arrogance of its messengers. The hierarchy must shun arrogance, hypocrisy and bigotry. We must punish the errant among us instead of covering up our own mistakes. We are human among our human flock. All our beauty and holiness we owe to God. This humility will make us more credible new evangelizers. Our mission is to propose humbly not to impose proudly. Italian Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella: We have lost credibility. We are wrapped up in ourselves... We have turned a life of faith and ritual into bureaucracy. The key to the priest s efforts to evangelize is to live what he preaches, and to resist the temptation of careerism. In the Church, just as in society, the good of the community is harmed by leaders who work primarily for their own interests. The priestly spirit is opposed to careerism, the attempt to arrive high up, to seek out a position through the Church, to serve oneself and not serve others. This is the image of a man who, through the priesthood, seeks to become important and famous. Yet, to be a priest is not to desire to be someone important, but to live for others, for Christ and through Him so that He may use me as He wishes, so that I serve Him and follow His call even when this contrasts with my own desire for self-fulfillment and respect. Pope Benedict XVI Jesus was quite often denounced as a violator of God s law when he showed compassion for the weak, the poor, the sick, the women, and public sinners. He offered new life to those considered impure by eating and mingling with them. He assured them that God was not distant and there was hope in God s loving mercy. Like those who opposed Jesus in the name of authentic religion, we could be blind to God and neighbor because of self-righteousness, spiritual pride and rigidity of mind. Ecclesiastical customs and persons, when deified and glorified, might become hindrances to true worship and compassion. Philipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle Jesus was more severe toward those who condemned the sinners than toward the sinners themselves. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Papal Preacher The Catholic Church must take sin seriously, but it must do so like Jesus did, by emphasizing God s mercy, and trust in the sinner s ability to change. Jesus does not deny that sin and sinners exist, but Jesus was more severe toward those who condemned the sinners than toward the sinners themselves. From the evidence in the Bible, being merciful appears to be an essential aspect of being in the image and likeness of God. Mercy is the form God s love takes in relation to sinners. After we have experienced it, we must demonstrate it to our brothers and sisters, both on the level of the church community as well as on a personal level. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Papal Preacher