St. John Neumann Church

Transcription

1 St. John Neumann Church 157 Middleboro Road / P.O. Box 718 East Freetown, MA (phone) (Fax) Rev. Gregory A. Mathias, Pastor Rev. Msgr. John J. Smith, (Assistant in Retirement) WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE Sunday: 8:00, 9:30, 11:00A.M. Saturday Vigil: 5:00 P.M. DAILY MASS SCHEDULE Monday Thursday: 7:30 A.M. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday: 4:00 4:30 P.M. or by appointment EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Mary, Mother of All Nations Chapel Weekdays: 8:00 A.M. 9:00 P.M. Mondays (except civil holidays) Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament PARISH OFFFICE / RECTORY YOUTH MINISTRY OFFICE contact@sjnfreetown.org NEUMANN HALL sjnyouthministry@sjnfreetown.org Monday Friday: 8:30 A.M. 4:30 P.M. (Closed holidays) Lisa Johnson Youth Ministry Mrs. Diane Whelan Parish Secretary JoAnn Violette Jr. Youth Ministry OFFICE OF FAITH FORMATION MUSIC MINISTRY NEUMANN HALL sjnreled@sjnfreetown.org Ms. Linda Johnston Director Mrs. Suzanne Medeiros Director Mrs. Anna Manny Coordinator for Confirmation MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES Raymond Bedard SACRAMENTS AND CHURCH PROGRAMS PARISH ORGANIZATIONS AND MINISTRIES Please go the parish website or contact the office for more complete information. BAPTISM: Celebrated Sundays after 11:00 Mass on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays of the month. Baptism Catechesis is required of all parents MARRIAGE: Please contact the pastor at least 8 months prior to the intended date and prior to other plans. MINISTRY TO THE SICK: Please notify us if a homebound or hospitalized family member would like a visit. PRAYER LINE: Call the rectory to include your intention. RCIA: We welcome adults who wish to complete their initiation into the Catholic Church. Please contact the office. WOMEN S GUILD: 1 st Mondays ST. VINCENT de PAUL: 1 st Wednesdays YOUTH MINISTRY: see website for events and times. Junior (Gr. 6 8): Every Tuesday Senior (Gr. 9 12) Every Monday COUPLES CLUB: Once a Month ADULT CHOIR: Rehearsal on Thursdays 7:00 P.M. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: 1st Saturday of the month TROOP 333: Every Saturday Welcome to St. John Neumann Parish. Thank You for joining us in worship today. We hope you will join us on the spiritual journey, in ministry to all God s people. Please contact the parish office to register. Click on the QRC to connect to the parish website.

2 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time January 26, 2014 January 25: Vigil: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 5:00PM Jacqueline Mathieu January 26: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00AM Romeo Parent by Denise Sherman 9:30AM Romeo Carrier by Marjorie & Walter Carrier 11:00AM Ligia Leblanc by Roger & Jean Soucy January 27: Weekday, Saint Angela Merici, Virgin and Religious Founder 7:30AM John Laronda Sr. January 28: Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church 7:30AM Benjamin Luzzo by Dennis & Sue Medeiros January 29: Weekday 7:30AM Emily Gonsalves by Ann & Andrew Martin January 30: Weekday 7:30AM Joshua Brightman 2nd Ann. By family February 1: Vigil: The Presentation Of The Lord 5:00PM Doris Lawrence by Donald & Bette Messier February 2: The Presentation Of The Lord 8:00AM Richie & Gary Lopes by Al & Alberta Sequeira 9:30AM Agnes (Reggie) Castanho by Lisa & Victoria 11:00AM Jacqueline Mathieu We will continue offering the "cup" at all Masses. We do ask that if you are experiencing flu or cold like symptoms that you refrain from receiving from the cup. St James-St John School, 180 Orchard St New Bedford, (508) is now accepting registrations for the school year for grades Preschool through Grade 8. We offer a rigorous academic program rooted in gospel values. Our program also offers weekly classes in art, music, Portuguese, technology, Physical education. In addition we offer before and after school extended care, a full-time nurse, peer tutoring, hot lunch program in a welcoming family atmosphere. We are an accredited institution by NEASC. Please join us for our Open House Today, Sunday January 26 th, from 11AM to 1PM. Stop in Neumann Hall after the 8:00AM and 9:30AM Mass and enjoy Coffee & Donuts!! The next Women s Guild meeting will be held on Monday, February 3rd in the Library. We will be playing games for prizes. We will also have malassadas this Sunday!!! Need Assistance?? Are you a parishioner in need of assistance? If so please contact the Saint Vincent DePaul Society by calling the rectory at St. John Neumann Catholic Parish Need healing? Or Know Someone That Needs Healing: Mass with Sacrament of the Sick World Day of the Sick on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes Tuesday, Feb. 11, Mass at Noon with the Sacrament of the Sick for those who wish to receive. All are invited to join us for this special day of prayer and remembrance for all who are sick and suffering. Held at St. Joseph s Chapel, 500 Washington St., N. Easton, MA For more information you can call Holy Cross Ministries at

3 Nemasket Get Together Souper Bowl Sunday!!! sponsored by Junior Youth Group To Benefit St. Anthony's Food Pantry Junior Youth Group will be collecting cans of soup and any non-perishable food items in the Narthex before and after all masses on Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2, 2014 The Anchor The Women s Guild will be hosting a party at the Nemasket Nursing Home on Tuesday, January 28th. We will be meeting at the church parking lot at 1:45pm. Please call Marlene Johnson at for more information. E-GIVING E-Giving is short for electronic giving. It is an automatic transfer program that allows you to make contributions without the hassle of writing checks. How does it work? Go to our website, and click on Donate Online. Then, simply follow the directions to authorize an ACH deduction and you can make a donation via your checking or savings account or credit/debit card; it will be transferred directly to the church s account. For more information on E-Giving, please visit our website at All parishioners are encouraged to subscribe to The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River. This is a great means to grow in faith and stay informed of issues of relevant to the faith that secular newspapers neglect or distort. Subscriptions are only $20 a year. Anchor subscription envelopes are available in the Narthex. Those of you who already subscribe to The Anchor will be receiving your renewal envelope in the mail. Please enclose $20 cash or check payable to the parish and drop it Are you Cleaning Out?? Bring your clean reusable items to the barn. Please do not leave any items at the barn. Please call Marlene Johnson at first to arrange time to drop off items. Our next sale will be March 8th. We collect items all year round. in the collection basket. Thank you.

4 Your Offertory Trust Thank you for your Parish Support through your Offertory Trust. BUDGET: $ Catholic Communication: $ Thanking you for your continuing generosity. A Day With Mary A day of instruction, devotion & intersession based on the message given at Fatima in Holy Family Parish, 370 Middleborough Ave., East Taunton, MA Saturday, February 1, :50 am 3:00 pm Adult Faith Formation meeting will be held on February 4th at 7 pm in the library. New members are welcome. Have you made your First Communion? Would you like to get involved at Mass? If you answered yes then I have the perfect opportunity for you! Please consider giving a bit of your time and talent and become an altar server. There will be a New Altar Server Training on Wednesday, January 6:30pm in the church. Help is requested from any veteran servers willing to come that evening. Home Missions Second Collection: At all Masses next weekend February 1-2 is for the annual Home Mission Collection. One way the Catholic Home Missions Appeal works to support home mission dioceses in the United States is by supporting seminarian formation in poor dioceses and providing special training to mission priests and lay ministers. Pilgrimage to Italy: Msgr. Stephen Avila, along with Fr. Riley Williams and Fr. Jason Brilhante, will be leading a pilgrimage to Italy leaving Thursday evening, September 26 th and returning Friday evening, October 3 rd. The itinerary includes Assisi, Orvieto, Subiaco and ending in Rome where we will attend the ordination of the American deacons (including one from our diocese) at St. Peter s Basilica. Price is $3,250 pp dbl occ. For info, contact Fr. Steve at frsteveavila@gmail.com or visit Attention Parents Do you have a child between the ages of 4 and 10 who loves to play games? Join us for Game Night on Saturday February 8, 2014 Drop by and play card games like Go Fish, Uno, or Spot It, board games like Candyland, Scrabble Jr, or Trouble, and challenging skill games like Toss Across, Perfection, or Jenga. We will provide the games, pizza, snacks, and drinks and you will have 3 hours to go out for dinner, go shopping, or see a movie. To pre-register just fill out the bottom portion and return in the collection basket or you mail it to the parish office. We will have registration forms available in the Narthex February 1st and 2nd and on the parish website.

5 From the Pastor s Desk.. Reading the Bible #2 Once you get a sense of the basic categories which characterize the books of the Bible, (historical, wisdom, narrative, etc.), it is helpful to consider certain major themes and to keep these in mind while you read. I think that this advice applies, especially, to the Old Testament, which most people find the more difficult to comprehend. Beginning with the largest categories or ideas, the Old Testament might be considered in terms of the following major themes: Creation/Origins: This theme is not confined to the Genesis account of Creation, but it permeates the Old Testament. The oneness of God is firmly asserted through this aspect as is the inscrutable Lordship of God. Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, as well as the earth and everything on it! (Deut 10:14) Exodus: Again, this is not confined to the pages of the one book called The Book of Exodus, (though it certainly begins there and is anticipated by the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Book of Genesis.) In a sense, the Exodus theme is a sub-category of the Creation theme: It is an act of God creating a people peculiarly His own, (Deut. 7:6). Arguably, it might be said that the Exodus is the formal beginning of the redemption of the human race from the sin of Adam and Eve; whereas the story of Abraham and his offspring could be thought of as a prologue or a kind of bridge from the pre -history, (Adam, Noah, etc.). The Exodus idea isn t just an event for Israel, it is more like a creed and a sacrament rolled up into one. Remember to keep all my commandments and be holy to your God. I, the Lord, am your God who, as God, brought you out of Egypt that I, the Lord, may be your God. (Num 15:41) Kingship: The emergence of the Monarchy in the history of Israel isn t just a historical issue. Thematically it is closely related to the Exodus theme inasmuch as it is about the gathering and maintaining of the Chosen People as such. Upon entering the Promised Land with Joshua, the people scattered to different parts of the country according to tribes. The divine intention was to lay claim to the land, but the side effect seemed to have been disunity. Therefore, God raised up a King to be his special agent for the unification and maintenance of his Chosen People. Ultimately, the object lesson of this period is the deep penetration of sin into the human person and human society: Only David and Solomon maintain the unity of Israel for a period. The country falls into civil war, which paves the way for conquest by other nations. From the perspective of our Christian Faith, we can read this part of the Old Testament as evidence of our need for a Divine King to intervene in human affairs in order to accomplish God s will. We could not be what God required apart from an overhaul of our humanity by the infusion of his divinity. All of the major human corruptions are writ large in the stories of Israel s Kings, punctuated with occasional glimpses of virtue and heroism. Exile: The Babylonian Exile provides the next major theme through which we can understand God s word to Israel. Exile is not merely a tragedy which has befallen the Chosen People; it is a direct result of sin and unfaithfulness. The prophets, like Isaiah, anticipate the Exile and accompany the people through it. You might say that it is a sort of purgatory for the people: It isn t so much punishment as it is the consequences of alienation from God due to injustice, greed, lust, idolatry and all the other manifestations of sin. As Christians, we experience the recapitulation of Exile in a broad sense within our own lives: Life in this world is exile from our true home in the Kingdom of Heaven.