Fifth Sunday of Easter

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1 Page 1 Fifth Sunday of Easter T h i s We e k ' s Mass Intentions Sunday, Mother s Day 8:00AM 9:30AM 11:00AM 12:30PM 5:00PM ALL MASSES FOR MOTHER S DAY INTENTIONS Monday, May 15, 2017 St. Isidore Frank Vigliarolo (Loving Daughter, Ann) Tuesday, May 16, 2017 Elvira Santo (Carotenuto Family) Wednesday, May 17, 2017 Lisa B., Baby Alexandra Bachert, Caroline Bachert, Frances Baio, Al Barton, Catherine Capato, Sally Capoziello, Shang Cheng, Antoinette & Catherine Chiarelli, Marge D Auria, Mary Ann D Angelo, Baby Christopher Brian Demmerle, Domenica DeVito, Virginia DiGangi, Mary Divers, Francesca Gaudino, Ian Genovese-Williams, Joseph Gentile, John Joseph Gleeson, John Pierce Gleeson, Christine Healy, Aurea Hernandez, Maria Hernandez, Rosemary Hogan, Elizabeth Isolano, Jennie Iuggiano, Keri & Baby Tristan, Amelia Kalb, Pam Karwan, Baby T.J. Krieg, Kathleen Krieg, Klavdia Krieg, Anthony Lamantia, James Leung, Valerie Librizzo, Thomas & Patricia Lipari, William J. Litt, Cindy Maione, Maryann Maione, Ralph Maresco, Mary Mastrangelo, Camillo Mazella, Rosemary Menechella, Jordan Miller, John Myers, Salvatore Noto, Angela Ottomanelli-Hubbs, Michael Palermo, Gina Palya, Santo Pantina, Ann Parsell, Anna Petito, Doris, Carlo, Philip & Frank Pecchillo, Vivian Puglissi, Joseph Questore, Mary Romano, Jake Rothman, Bill Sangirardi, Felice Scimeca, Fred Sepulveda, Rosalia Sindone, Michael Tamburo, Chrissie Tremblay, Paul Tremblay, Paul John Tremblay, Ann Marie Vayda, Sr. Joanne Walters, Elizabeth Weimer. Deceased: Jean Bacotti, Mary Corrigan Rose Marie & Son Joseph G. Questore (Joseph & Steven Questore) Thursday, May 18, 2017 St. John I Ralph Messina (Vincent & Susan Messina) Friday, May 19, 2017 Rosemarie Secreti (Andrew & Linda Mastrangelo) Saturday, May 20, 2017 St. Bernardine of Siena Adriano Bello (Loving Family) Salvatore & Emily Manno (Corrado Family) Victor Mario Salas (Vita & Paul) 5:00PM Dolores Barberi, Joseph Cervone, Ola Mae Edwards, Margaret Rosina, Joseph John Savoca Sunday, May 21, :00AM 9:30AM 11:00AM 12:30PM 5:00PM George & Claire Cox Edward Weltick (Loving Family) Gaspare Cacioppo (Fina Caruso) James & Linda Scagnelli (Loving Family) For The Parishioners The Altar Bread & Wine for this week are donated in memory of Edna Maniscalco, requested by Philip & Michele Macri. GOOD SHEPHERD STATUE We would like to thank Maryann Kellen, who kept the statue this past week. Anyone interested in keeping the statue in their home and praying for vocations for one week should contact the Rectory. St. Helen s Purgatorial Society Mass All parishioners have the opportunity to enroll the names of loved ones in the Purgatorial Society. The Purgatorial Society Mass will be held on the last Friday of each month. The offering to be enrolled in the Purgatorial Society is $120 per name (a total of 12 Masses for one year will be said for your loved one). Aside from listing one name, a husband and wife together, or a family name is also acceptable. Having a Purgatorial Society is wonderful way of living out the Scriptures and will be a relief for those who desire to have their loved ones remembered with prayers all year long at God s Altar. Please stop in at the Rectory if you are interested in having a loved one enrolled in the Purgatorial Society. The next Purgatorial Society Mass will be held Friday, May 26, 2017! One of our Altar Servers, Sean Hernandez, is working on his Eagle Scout project for Troop 139. Next weekend at all Masses, Sean will give a brief summary of his community project of creating Dog Waste Bag dispensers for parks. Sean is in need of monetary donations in order to achieve his goal. Please consider helping him in his efforts to complete his Eagle Scout project. The Order of Franciscans Secular meet on the 3rd Saturday of every month in St. Helen s Rectory after the 9AM Mass. Come and learn more about the Franciscan way of life.

2 Page 2 With warm thoughts and cheerful wishes for a bright, blessed and special Update ON Church Renovation #16 "Humpty Dumpty" Well, unlike Humpty Dumpty, we are putting it all back together again! In terms of progress, it may not appear as a church, but all is in place and ready to go! Drop ceilings are ready for tiles and the tiles have been cut. Lighting will be installed as well in the new seating areas. By the time you read this, the pews will probably be in place. Electricians are in their finishing phases, and the organ should be installed. The bathroom tiles are done and fixtures installed. Now for the major last push... Certificate of Occupancy. On Wednesday, May 3rd, I had a bridge phone call, called a Close Out Coordination Meeting. On the phone was the architectural team, liturgical designer, engineers, structural engineers, plumbers, and electrical engineer. In this phone call, each had to assure that their work was complete so that the expeditors can sign off to close out the work permit on the job. All seems to be in order... except: a small issue. A work permit pulled in 1997 for a ramp was never closed. Guess what? You can't close a current permit until all past permits are closed. We are on it! But to be quite honest, we were not expecting this. It will most likely not cause a delay, but will cause more work... and the famous phrase... minimal cost. If this causes a delay in the Certificate of Occupancy, I have been assured it should not be cause for alarm to obtain a Temporary Certificate (TCO). To obtain the CO and public assembly permit, we will be inspected by the Department of Buildings (DOB), and that means every department of the DOB. We have already engaged in an Asbestos inspection, an HVAC inspection, and soon will have a plumbing inspector, energy inspector, emergency lighting inspector, probably a FDNY inspection, and get this... the elevator department of the DOB is required to inspect! Yes, you read that correctly... the elevator department!!!! There are no stairs, no basements, no second floor, no other levels... but they will still have to sign off on the job... talk about bureaucracy! Now I know why I keep my hair short... so I don't pull it out. So, while we put the church back together again, a tremendous amount of background work is happening as well. Humpty Dumpty should have had an expeditor; maybe then they could have put him back together again! We now are preparing for the consecration of the Altar. Bishop DiMarzio is scheduled to consecrate the Altar in June a ceremony that is very special to the history of any parish. More will be announced about the day of consecration, but do realize we will be in the Church before the Bishop consecrates the Altar! Fr. Colamaria

3 Page 3 Open to ALL children from ages 4 through 10 Registration Form Registration Fee: 1 Child: $ children: $60.00 (must be siblings) 3 or more children: $75.00 (must be siblings) Important: for your child s safety, please attach an additional sheet to let us know of any allergies or medical conditions. For more information July 10 July 14 9:30AM 12:00PM All registration forms must be submitted by June 16, 2017 Requirements for 4 year old applicants. A child must be 4 years of age by June 1, 2017 to attend. Please submit a copy of the child s birth certificate with this registration form. please call

4 Page 4 Congratulations to the following children who are receiving the Sacrament of First Holy Communion this weekend on May 13th: Emma Albright Nicolette Cacace Annie Daly Kiera Daly Nicholas Genna Jason Grupposo Tyler Haussermann Abigail Inserillo Antonia Kearney Victoria Ljuba Matthew Martinez Gabriella Minkoff Michael Minkoff Aeres Moran Tagan Moran Raymond Quinn Sophia Quinn Ethan Ramkirath Enrique Rodriguez Logan Russo Hallie Salazar Lila Scheinberg Mia Traina Francesca Tutino

5 Page 5 Homiletic starters and scriptural reflection points for each day of the month Mon., May 15 Acts 14:5-18; Jn 14:21-26 Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them. My neighbor Marta, here in Honduras, is very devoted to San Judas. In English we distinguish between Judas Iscariot, the traitor, and Judas, not the Iscariot, by rebranding the latter as St. Jude. Spanish does not have that option, so we need to spend a few minutes at Marta s celebration every October 28 drawing the distinction. But, you know, most of us probably have a little of each Judas in us, the plotting to deceive Jesus for our own gain, and the humble yearning that emerges in the good Judas question: Master, what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world? Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name give the glory! Tues., May 16 Acts 14:19-28; Jn 14:27-31a The world must know that I love the Father. Is this the dearest line in the Christian Scripture? A lovely, simple declaration that is so open, so sincere, so vulnerable, maybe even heartbreaking, since in just a matter of hours, Jesus himself will cry out to the Father, Why have you abandoned me? Does the world know that we love the Father now? And how would it know? Maybe because we live the peace Jesus left to us as his final testament? My peace, he called it. Not as the world gives, do I give it to you. So, a peace the world would call weakness, failure, surrender? Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let all your faithful ones bless you! Weds., May 17 Acts 15:1-6; Jn 15:1-8 It was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters about this question. The Council of Jerusalem! The infant church is in crisis: must Gentiles be circumcised, or are all Christians created equal? It reminds me of Alcoholics Anonymous, where the 12 Steps are in the past tense because they are the fruit of experience: This is what works! Peter baptized the Roman Cornelius; Paul and Barnabas have blanketed Asia Minor with gentile Christians for over a decade. So it s not a theoretical question. Are we going to re-pharisee the Church? Jesus already warned us: Without me, you can do nothing. I rejoiced because they said to me, We will go up to the House of the Lord! just as he did to us. The Council of Jerusalem was a beautiful thing. Bottom line: We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus. When Pope Francis says that he s labeled a globalist! But Francis is just trying to rev the church up to its first-century speed. Peter asks, Why put a yoke on the shoulders of the disciples that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? James agrees: We ought to stop troubling the Gentiles. Too good to be true? Some scholars say the Council of Jerusalem never happened. But when James calls Peter Symeon, a unique detail otherwise unexplained, it s like a watermark to authenticate Luke s history. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all you lands! FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER Fri., May 19 Acts 15:22-31; Jn 15:12-17 It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you. The Council of Jerusalem issues its final report: It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us, not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities. The audacity! The Holy Spirit and the church equal partners! When Pope Francis set about to open wide the gates of mercy, he felt the same confidence from the original motivation of Pope (now Saint) John XXIII for the Second Vatican Council to the fountainhead of mercy opened by Saints Faustina and John-Paul II. Mercy is the practical application of Jesus word: Love one another as I love you, a commandment because it does not come naturally! I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord, for your mercy towers to the heavens! Sat., May 20 Acts 16:1-10; Jn 15:18-21 We sought passage to Macedonia at once, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them. The Apostles are making history every day in Acts, but this moment is especially meaningful for us. We means that Acts is not just a history. It s a memoir: Luke the Gentile and Paul the Pharisee united in one great mission. Paul has a vision of a man pleading, Come over to Macedonia and help us! And off they go. Jesus has a vision, too, and it s not pretty: If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. Even worse, They will do all these things to you on account of my name. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever, and your faithfulness, to all generations! Thurs., May 18 Acts 15:7-21; Jn 15:9-11 God bore witness by granting the Gentiles the Holy Spirit