Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Transcription

1 January 15, 2017 Page 1 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time T h i s We e k ' s Mass Intentions 8:00AM 9:30AM 11:00AM 12:30PM Sunday, January 15, 2017 George & Ann Papandrea Nancy Camelliri (Miltakis Family) Charles Monastero (Vita & Paul) Karl Albrecht (Margaret & Tony Russo) For The Parishioners Monday, January 16, 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Lillian & August Merola (Cesario Family) Tuesday, January 17, 2017 St. Anthony, Abbot Antoinette Tomasello (Linda Tomasello) Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Joseph Villano (JoAnn & Mike Cesario) Thursday, January 19, 2017 Miriam Americo, Lisa B., Baby Alexandra Bachert, Caroline Bachert, Frances Baio, Dolores Barbieri, Catherine Capato, Sally Capoziello, Shang Cheng, Antoinette & Catherine Chiarelli, Marge D Auria, Mary Ann D Angelo, Baby Christopher Brian Demmerle, Domenica DeVito, Virginia DiGangi, Francesca Gaudino, Ian Genovese-Williams, Joseph Gentile, Anthony Giampietro, 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, Louise Ruggiero, Anthony Russo, 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: Lucy DeCrescenzo, Emily Maisano, Edna Maniscalco, Rocco Miranti Emilio & Paolina Gallo (Maria DaRita) Friday, January 20, 2017 Sts. Fabian & Sebastian Joseph Quagliariello (Joan, Thomas & Michael) Saturday, January 21, 2017 St. Agnes Raffaela Battaglia (M/M Tony DiPiazza) Barbara Berger (Kerry Jo & Glenn) Nancy Camelliri (Hellstrom Family) Rose Ambrosio, Joseph Miranti, Phyllis Zehro Sunday, January 22, :00AM 9:30AM 11:00AM 12:30PM Vincent Lukra (Rachele Sannino) Florence Ragusa (M/M Alan Camhi) Joseph Nizza (St. Helen Adult Choir) Peter Branchina (Loving Family) For The Parishioners GOOD SHEPHERD STATUE We would like to thank Marge Rosina, 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. If you are new to St. Helen Parish, please remember to stop in at the Rectory to register your family! PLEASE NOTE: The Rectory office will be closed Monday, January 16th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. s Birthday and will reopen on Tuesday morning at. St. Helen s Purgatorial Society Mass Starting this month, all parishioners will 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 offer ing to be enr olled in the Purgatorial Society is $120 per name (a total of 12 Masses for the 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 first Purgatorial Mass will be held Friday, January 27, 2016! 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 January 15, 2017 Page 2 UPDATE ON CHURCH RENOVATION #2 If you have been visiting the Parish Facebook page, you will have noticed a transformation taking place in the Church! As I pen these words, the church looks quite empty. The rugs are being removed as I write! All the pews have been removed and placed on a tractor trailer. They will be shipped to North Carolina and be given a facelift! This pew renovation company will strip and refinish the pews to a mahogany color, matching the wooden beams in the ceiling of the church. Everything of value that will be reused has been securely wrapped and tucked away for safe keeping. A local HVAC (Heating Vent and AC) company has been working feverishly culling a number of pipes and vents that have not been in operation for some time. Pipes that were part of a previous system left to rot in the ceiling they were filled with water and eventually would have been a problem in the future! They are all gone. The added benefit to this culling of excess hardware is having drop ceilings that will not have to drop as far, thus adding height to all drop ceilings! The color of the drop ceiling will no longer be office white, but instead will match the lighter wood in the ceiling Today I met with the terrazzo floor company discussing colors. There will no longer be a rug in the Church, unless one is used for accent; the floors will be made of terrazzo. Terrazzo is a common flooring used in high traffic locations such as schools, hospitals, auditoriums and churches. The school has terrazzo, and in fact many of the colors found in the school floor will be incorporated into flooring of our Church. Some have made the comment isn t terrazzo slippery? the answer is simply NO. Children are not slipping all over the school building on this snowy day and people are not falling down in the cafeteria; terrazzo is slippery when it is improperly waxed. Improper waxing of terrazzo makes it slippery. The terrazzo will include a beautifully crafted medallion of the cross and crown, a symbol of who Saint Helen is and who we are as Catholics. Saint Helen was the mother of Constantine, member of the imperial household of Rome, and it was she who was first to discover relics of the true Cross of Christ. If you recall, the statue of Saint Helen includes her wearing a crown and holding the cross. When you enter the Church it will be one of the first symbols you encounter, reminding us of the old adage No Cross, no Crown! As for the permits I am told this week. The permit applications received a few minor objections from the NYC Dept. Of Buildings, which was to be expected. None of which are major and in fact have already been resolved by the architect. Please continue to visit our Facebook page, for the most up to date pictures of the renovation, and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Fr. Colamaria

3 January 15, 2017 Page 3 Policies Regarding Infant Baptism at St. Helen Parish Parents seeking Baptism for their children who live within the territory of St. Helen Parish are asked to register as members of the parish before requesting an initial interview for Baptism. Registration is easily done at the parish office anytime during business hours. Parents seeking Baptism for their children who live outside the territory of St. Helen Parish are asked to obtain a letter from the parish in which they live authorizing the Baptism to take place at St. Helen. Initial meetings with parents seeking Baptism for their children will normally take place on the second Wednesday of each month from 7:00 9:00PM and on the fourth Saturday of each month from 10:30AM 12:30PM. Please realize that the Church building of Saint Helen will undergo a renovation January April The Church will be closed and Fr. Dooley Hall will be used as a worship space in the interim. Baptisms will still be offered in this time period in the Hall. Some may choose to wait for Baptism until the construction is completed and this is fully understandable. If there are any questions please contact the Deacons who can give more details as to the renovation period. Please call for more information and/or to schedule an appointment. Catholic Charities Senior Center The Howard Beach Senior Center, located across from Stop & Shop on Crossbay Blvd., invites seniors aged 60 and older to become members. Activities and services are offered Monday-Friday from to 4:00PM. Daily delicious and nutritional hot lunches catered by Russo s on the Bay ($2 donation requested), as well as educational and recreational activities, case assistance, entitlement counseling and advocacy are also available. The Center also offers health promotional classes such as stay-well fitness, chair aerobics, yoga, Tai Chi, and walking groups. Dances are held weekly, as well as card games, Wii bowling, bridge lessons and, of course, Bingo. On Tuesday, January 17 th at 10:30am, the Center will be conducting a FALLS PREVENTION workshop. This workshop will be given by Asha Jacob from Outreach L.I.J. Valley Stream Hospital. All seniors should plan on attending this informative session. On Thursday, January 19, at 10:30am, the Center will have a HEALTH TALK from a representative from Humana. Try to attend this very informative seminar. On Tuesday, January 24, at 10:30am, the Center will be having a workshop on TRAFFIC SAFETY FOR SENIORS. This workshop will be conducted by the NYC Department of Transportation. All seniors are invited. Every Friday from 1:00-3:00PM the Center hosts Karaoke by Fernando. We will be singing all popular songs selected by the seniors. Come and enjoy the fun! Weekly Exercise Classes: Mondays 9:30AM to 10:30AM: Tai Chi with Elaine Fleischman Mondays 10:45AM to 11:45AM: Chair Aerobics with Charlie Roemer Wednesdays 1:00PM to 2:00PM: Zumba with Juan Fridays 9:30AM to 10:30AM: Cardio Exercise with Dwayne Fridays 10:30AM to 11:30AM: Yoga with Charlie Roemer The Catholic Charities neighborhood Services Howard Beach Senior Center is located at Crossbay Blvd., across from Stop N Shop. For further information please contact Rosalie at Sister Ave Clark, O.P., will be presenting a Women s New Year Retreat on Saturday, February 4th from 9:45AM to Noon in Sullivan Hall at American Martyrs Parish (79-43 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY). The theme for the Retreat will be inspiration and transformation. A mini brunch will be served. To register please call Bring a friend, relative, or a neighbor!

4 January 15, 2017 Page 4 Votive Candles Please be advised that due to the renovation of the Church, no annual votive candles will be renewed at this time. You will be informed by phone or mail for renewals prior to the re-opening of the Church. We Would Greatly Appreciate Your Help! If you are a registered parishioner with St. Helen s you receive printed envelopes with your name and I.D. number for you to use when making your offering at Sunday Mass. To help us out, we would greatly appreciate if you would kindly use these envelopes rather than a blank envelope with only your name, as we rely on your I.D. number to properly credit you for your offerings. Thank you for your help in this matter. NOTICE: Please be advised that if you already have made your pledge to the Generations of Faith campaign, we are kindly requesting that you send your monthly payment directly to their office. Please do not drop your envelope with payment off at the Rectory or put it in the Sunday collection basket. Thank you. The 2017 Lay Ministry Conference will be held Saturday, February 25th from 10AM-2PM in the lower Church of St. Andrew Avellino Parish ( th St., Flushing, NY). The focus of the Conference will be ministering to the family in light of Amoris Laetitia. The presenter will be Valerie Torres from Fordham University. The Most Rev, Paul Sanchez, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn, will celebrate Morning Prayer. Lunch will be provided. This Conference is hosted by The Pastoral Institute, School of Evangelization. For more information, or to register, you may visit or St. Helen will share in the profits! For each car, truck or van, running or not, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul will give back to our Church $50/$100 per vehicle. Call The Society today if you have a vehicle to donate! Sponsor Certificates Any parishioner in need of a priest s signature for a Sponsor Certificate (to be a godparent or Confirmation Sponsor) should have that document signed by any of the priests celebrating Mass on Sunday. Just stop in the Sacristy after Mass and a priest will be able to help you. The sponsor must be present you cannot send someone to pick up the form for you! ST. HELEN SCHOOL ALUMNAE 50 th Anniversary of St. Helen School Help us make our 50 th Anniversary one to remember! St. Helen Catholic Academy is in the process of updating our contact information for all graduates of St. Helen School. If you are a graduate or a family member, we are asking for your help by providing us with your name, , address, and phone number. Please fill out the form below and return it to the rectory or your information to mariaford216@gmail.com. Thank you. ST. HELEN SCHOOL ALUMNAE Name: Maiden Name if Married: Graduation Year: Address: Phone Number:

5 January 15, 2017 Page 5 Homiletic starters and scriptural reflection points for each day of the month Mon. Jan. 16: Heb 5:1-10; Mk 2:18-22 New wine is poured into fresh wineskins. The Letter to the Hebrews defines Jesus as a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. The difference from the traditional priesthood is stunning: Jesus offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears. More alarming to pious ears even today, Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered. This Melchizedek Code lay unnoticed for centuries in Psalm 110, already regarded as a key messianic psalm. Jesus defines himself as the bridegroom, partying happily with his guests, till he is taken away another shocking image in its own way. Both images are new wine for new wineskins. It s Ordinary Time, but this almost feels like a penitential examination of one s life! How am I doing, wineskin-wise? Am I fresh enough for Jesus? Your power, Lord, stretches forth from Zion! Tues. Jan. 17: Heb 6:10-20; Mk 2:23-28 The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath. The Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus an anchor of the soul, a steadfast weight hung on a spirit s wing. But this anchor moves! Jesus is the forerunner, reaching behind the veil to open a way to salvation on our behalf. Jesus pulls the curtain open in more mundane ways as well, when bitter Pharisees forbid a simple snack of crunchy kernels that the disciples are plucking in an open field, just because it s the Sabbath! Back in the day, Jesus reminds them of how David s troops burst into the Temple and ate the bread of offering reserved strictly for the priests. Am I sometimes just a weight without the light touch of kindness for freer spirits? I will give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart! Wed. Jan. 18: Heb 7:1-3, 15-17; Mk 3:1-6 His name [Melchizedek] first means righteous king, and he was also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. The Letter to the Hebrews is nothing if not repetitive; it keeps refilling its key image of Jesus as another Melchizedek, maybe because no other Christian Scripture author had broken this ground. A priesthood not by physical or tribal descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed, it is forever. Dogmatic theology taken at a stately pace. Things move a lot faster in the Gospel of Mark, where by the third chapter, Jesus is already targeted for death, just because he did good on the Sabbath, healing a poor man s withered hand. Can I be a person of peace, flexing my withered heart to serve others? Sweet Lord, freshen me like the dew! through him. According to the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is always our priest; he lives forever to make intercession for [us]. What s more, Jesus sacrifice was once for all, so do we need any other priests or ministers? The Catholic Church, of course, sees a crucial link between the ministerial priesthood and the Eucharist, a topic unmentioned in the Letter to the Hebrews. In today s Gospel, the crowds threaten to crush Jesus as they long to touch him. They are sick, they have unclean spirits, they are so needy. There s plenty of ministry right there for anyone who wants to be a priest! As Pope Francis has said so often, ministry binds us to the poor, close enough to smell. To do your will, O God, is my delight! SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Fri. Jan. 20: Heb 8:6-13; Mk 3:13-19 When he speaks of a new covenant, he declares the first one obsolete. The Letter to the Hebrews takes its time. Today we have a long quotation from the prophet Jeremiah about the new covenant that God will establish after those days. It s a beautiful image, God writing on our hearts, no need for teachers, our longing satisfied, because all shall know me, from least to greatest. Jesus surely believed the prophecy, but he does summon apostles to send forth in his name. Can we trust the church to write faithfully on our hearts? And, once written, do I just step back or write on others hearts as well? Not proselytizing Pope Francis warns against that! but the delicate touch of loving service. In you, O Lord, kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Sat. Jan. 21: Heb 9:2-3, 11-14; Mk 3:20-21 When Christ came as high priest, he entered once for all into the sanctuary. If we didn t call Hebrews a letter, we might call it a Gospel. It s a life of Christ, all right, though it narrates only one event, Jesus time on the cross. But it sets that once for all moment in the context of Israel s whole history, and spins its significance forward to the end of the world. Jesus no doubt longed for such understanding as he poured himself out in service of others, the crowd so demanding, so urgent, so helpless, a teeming mob. No wonder his family tried to fight their way in, to seize him. How could anyone embrace that swarm? He is out of his mind! But they ain t seen nothing yet! Dear Jesus, let me sing your praise! Thur. Jan. 19: Heb 7:25-8:6; Mk 3:7-12 Jesus is always able to save those who approach God