Third Sunday of Lent March 4, 2018 Pastoral Staff Pastor Father Vincent T. Euk Parochial Vicar Fr. John Chang Weekend Assistant Fr. Bill O Brien Deacons Tom Cechulski, Sr. Charles R. Daye, Jr. John Franey Gino (Louis) Esposito School Principal Sister Cherree Power, C.R. Religious Education Sr. Ann Norton, D.R.E. Linda Clayton Business Manager Deacon Gino Esposito Director of Music Emer O Mahony Youth Ministry Coordinator Sister Ann Norton Phone Contacts Rectory 732-363-4200 Convent 732-364-2361 School 732-364-4130 Religious Education 732-364-4137 Rectory Fax 732-370-3891 Rectory Office Hours: M-F 9:00-4:30 PM Second & Fourth Saturday 9AM 12:30 PM Baptisms: Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month,. Weekend Masses: Saturdays: 4:00 PM Sundays: 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, 12 noon, 5PM Daily Masses: Mon-Fri 7:20 AM & 12 Noon, Sat: 8AM Holy Days: As announced in the bulletin. Healing Mass every first Friday at 7:30PM Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays from 3:00 to 3:45PM and before each Sunday Mass
Mass Intentions for this Week March 4, 2018 7:20 Madaline Rieker....Family 12:00 Stella Ochmanski...Horvath Family TUESDAY 7:20 Mary Welsh...Mr. and Mrs. John Ryan 12:00 Suzanne McGrath... Moore Family WEDNESDAY 7:20 Eleanor Kellner... Christa McCauslin & Family 12:00 Rose Corneliussen....Karen & Russ Gilbert THURSDAY 7:20 Deborah Mossa... John & Mary Kulig 12:00 Mary Ann McCarthy...Ramos Family 7:20 Alex J. Yuka...MCDSS Committee Members 12:00 Frank Ciranni......Dorothy Costello Events for this coming Week 8AM Int. of Olga Hubble... Bob & Diana Morris 4PM Bonnie Yuro... Donna Ryder SUNDAY 7:30 Bonnie Yuro... Revoir Family 9:00 Bonnie Yuro... Prayer Shawl Ministry 10:30 Susan Termine... Ann Tierney & Family 12:00 For the People of the Parish 5:00pm Chester Kasnia... Masini Family Sanctuary Candle Week of March 4, 2018 Intentions of John Dublon... Family Chapel Candles Week of March 4, 2018 Intentions of Lt. Brian Dublon, atty... Mom and Dad See our website www.stveronica.com Sacrificial Offering Update Readings for the Week of March 4, 2018 Sunday: Ex 20:1-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; Jn 2:13-25 Monday: 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Lk 4:24-30 Tuesday: Dn 3:25, 34-43; Mt 18:21-35 Wednesday: Dt 4:1, 5-9; Mt 5:17-19 Thursday: Jer 7:23-28; Lk 11:14-23 Friday: Hos 14:2-10; Mk 12:28-34 Saturday: Hos 6:1-6; Lk 18:9-14 Next Sunday: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21
Pastor s Notes The Gospel reveals a very deep truth about our inner selves. He knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for He knew what was in man (Jn 2:25 RSV). Jesus, being God, has supernatural powers to read our hearts to see who we really are. The reading from Exodus enumerates the Ten Commandments. These supreme laws are the key to salvation. Over time we mostly learn to follow them by a kind of brute force. We must discipline ourselves to follow them by developing self-control at first. The danger is that we can congratulate ourselves for being able to attain this level of discipline. But Jesus is going a step further. He tests us just before our personal endurance to these laws runs out, like Abraham s sacrifice of Isaac. He does it in such a fashion that we begin to humbly recognize our human frailty and see that it is He Who gives us our strength to endure. We begin to see that He is the force that sustains us in the time of temptation which now requires faith. While we may feel that everything is out of control at the time of the trial, we come to recognize that He is the one supporting us only if we are willing to trust Him. Upon reflection of our sucessful experience of trial, He also increases our faith and hope, making us recognize that it is He Who passes the test for us. We come to recognize that nothing is impossible for God unless it is against His will or we lack faith to have Him do the impossible through us. Our secular society is divorced from God and relies on materialism, that is things that belong to earth. In a tyrannical fashion, it makes a lot of assumptions about us and attempts to manipulate us. Have you noticed that homosexual marriages are already accepted on the media? In their dictation, you would think this is a civil right. Now a behavior instead of a person is made a civil right. In the secular eye, it is really silly to follow the prohibitions that God reveals to us. Today prohibitions do not get us very excited, even when they are from God. With technology we constantly search for ways to get around most of them. The secularists recognize that people will get excited about ideologies. Ideologies easily corrupt us. In fact, we can even be convince to die for them or kill for them. Being divorced from God, ideologies make us begin to deny human dignity and loose respect for human life. Those who are willing to die for their ideologies also are willing to kill for their ideologies. In the news there is a lot of discussion of young people joining the ISIS ideology to kill what they perceive as an enemy. Under the guise of religion these children and and the like. They feel justified in punishing those doing these behaviors while not seeing that they too are engaged in an ungodly behavior. Jesus tells us the solution. Obviously we must follow the commandments. He says, If you love me, keep my commandments. But His love cannot be kept by following prohibitions. Jesus wants to take our sins away from us so we can live in Him. He gives us the Eucharist and the Sacrament of Reconciliation to get His strength, not ours, to get us to not sin during our trials. The great example of the repentance of the people of Nineveh shows how God can avert national disasters. The Rosary (Our Lady of Victory) was the prime tool used in stopping the invasion of Rome by the Moors. We really need to rely more on God to keep us safe. Only He can change minds, but we must become people of faith obedient to God to gain His favor. Sunday Mass is not enough. We need not only to pray in our homes, but to actively evangelize those around us by our good example that flows from God Himself, and not our egos. May our journey through Lent help us to achieve this goal. Fr. Euk Scripture Meditation "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" What can keep us from the presence of God? Jesus' dramatic cleansing of the temple was seen by his disciples as a prophetic sign of God's work to purify and restore true worship and holiness among his people. The temple was understood as the dwelling place of God among his people. When God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, he brought them safely through the Red Sea, and led them to Mount Sinai where he made a covenant with them and gave them a new way of living in moral goodness and holiness embodied in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). God also gave Moses instruction for how his people were to worship him in holiness and he instructed them to make a Tabernacle, which was also referred to as the "tent of meeting" where the people gathered to offer sacrifice and worship to God. The tent of meeting was later replaced by the construction of the temple at Jerusalem. The New Testament Scripture tells us that these "serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary" - God's true Temple in heaven (Hebrews 8:5). Jesus' cleansing of the temple is also a prophetic sign of what he wants to do with each of us. He ever seeks to cleanse us of our sinful ways in order to make us into living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). God desires that we be holy as he is holy. Do you thirst and hunger for God's holiness?
OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE Please Pray for Our Sick Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross are every Friday from February 16th through March 23rd at 7:30PM. All are welcome! Sacrament of Reconciliation On Saturday, March 24th, there will be extended hours for confession: 1:30PM 3:45PM. Theology of the Body Please join Fr. Euk on Sunday nights for a lecture series on the Theology of the Body. Meetings held in the Narthex at 6:30PM Topics: 3/4 Adultery in the Heart 3/18 Living According to the Spirit 4/15 Purity of the Heart is the Discovery of Human Dignity. 4/29 Creating a Climate Favorable to Purity Baptism Seder Meal-We Need Help!! Plans are underway for our annual Passover Supper to held on Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 7PM in the school cafeteria. This special celebration is the kick-off, preparing us for our solemn Holy Week liturgies the following week. As in the past years, we are in need of many hands. This is probably one of those few times When too many hands do NOT spoil the broth. Please consider becoming part of the beautiful celebration of remembering God s saving power. Join us as we prepare for the holiest of weeks in St. Veronica Church. Please contact Maria Dublon at 848-221-5980 or email at mfdublon@gmail.com Seder Meal Passover Celebration Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at 7:00PM Celebrating the Seder Meal is a traditional and most pleasant form of fellowship and shared learning experience. It is a meal that not only commemorates the Jews deliverance but also hope for the coming kingdom of God. It draws relationships between the Passover and important New Testament truths. Tickets are $5.00 on sale after Masses the weekends of March 4th and March 11th
Air Conditioner Replacement Campaign Goal- $200,000.00 To Date Donations: $39,682.00 Please continue to help reach our goal to replace the AC system. Thank you to those who have donated and for your continued support. Divine Mercy Prayers Jesus said to St. Faustina: I desire to unite Myself with human souls. My great delight is to unite Myself with souls. Know, My daughter, that when I come to human heart in Holy Communion, My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. Please come and join us this Sunday (Mar. 4th) for Divine Mercy Prayer Service at 1 30 in the Church. Holy Shroud of Turin: Face of the Living God Palm Sunday, March 25th from 2-3:30PM At St. Martha Church, Point Pleasant, NJ. Presenter: Sharon L. Santos, M.A.. Sharon has been a student of the Holy Shroud since 1978, focusing on ever evolving discoveries of the scientific community. This presentation is both informative and inspirational as we enter the days of Holy week. Come and see an exact replica of an image many believe to be the burial cloth of Christ. Life in the Spirit Seminar St Veronica's is hosting a 7 week Life in the Sprit Seminar beginning April 10th. The series of talks and discussions will transform your life and fuel the fire for the Holy Spirit. Come experience renewal through God's Grace, Mercy and Love and ignite the Power of the Holy Spirit. For more information regarding this year s Seminar call Mary Jean at 732-364-2815. You may register in the narthex the weekends of March 17th and 18th and April 7th and 8th. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God Romans 1:14 Easter Basket Request Adoration Chapel Come to me all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Consider trying to make a Lenten Holy Hour this year. Be still in His presence; it s a personal retreat from the world. I keep up the Holy Hour to grow more and more into His likeness. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain. Archbishop Fulton Sheen Registered adorers insure our commitment to keep the chapel open 24/7. Give Him time and He will give Himself to you. Hours Most Needed: (others available) Sunday : 7AM, 5PM Monday: 1AM Tuesday: 7AM Wednesday: 11AM, 12 midnight Thursday: 2AM Friday: 7PM Saturday: 7PM Contact Debbie drev514@aol.com or leave message 732-367- 7750. Healing Hearts Support Group Healing Hearts Support Group is a support group for adults that are affected by separation and divorce. This Spring/ Summer session will be based on Recovering from Divorce Program. This program is specifically designed to help divorced/ separated Catholics. This program offers support and addresses the most pressing challenges of divorce. The program is designed to help divorced/separated Catholics recover by more fully learning and living their faith. The program will run on Wednesdays from 7:30 PM 9:00 PM, starting April 4, 2018 and ending June 27, 2018 @ St. Veronica s Church Rectory Basement Office. The next information session is Wednesday, March 7 th at 7:30 PM. Please call 732-363-5698 or email stveronicakre4u@gmail.com for additional information and/or directions. Please pre-registration for each session via email or phone. OUR NEEDS Pantry Needs Powdered and boxed milk, coffee, tea