April 3, 2016 Page 1 Second Sunday of Easter Divine Mercy Sunday T h i s We e k ' s M a s s I n t e n t i o n s Sunday, April 3, 2016 Divine Mercy Sunday 8:00AM Lorenza Bello (Dr. Aida Jocson) 9:30AM In Thanksgiving (Rosetta Liuba) 11:00AM Frank Serpico (Loving Family) 12:30PM Catherine Lumetta (Santina Fogliano) 5:00PM For The Parishioners Monday, April 4, 2016 The Annunciation of the Lord 9:00AM Raffaele DiSilvestro (Giuseppe Meccariello) Tuesday, April 5, 2016 St. Vincent Ferrer 9:00AM Rita Ginty 30th Anniversary in Heaven (Liz & Richard DeFrank) Wednesday, April 6, 2016 9:00AM Louise & Vincent Festa (Annette & Marty) Thursday, April 7, 2016 St. John Baptist de la Salle 9:00AM Dorothy Schmitt (Raffaela Digristina & Family) Friday, April 8, 2016 9:00AM Florence Greco (Eugene Greco) Saturday, April 9, 2016 9:00AM Alfonso Chiarello (Santina Fogliano) Michael Guido (Jessica Romano) Walter & Kay Schretzman (John Schretzman) 5:00PM Antonia Kos, Anthony Messina, Rita Novello, George Luis Rivera, Antonino Sannino Sunday, April 10, 2016 8:00AM Elmia Sadiky (Patty & Kevin Harold) 9:30AM Christopher Maniscalco (Loving Family) 11:00AM DeRiso & Mendolia Family (John & Joan DeRiso) 12:30PM Raffaelo Moscatiello (Elvira Moscatiello) 5:00PM For The Parishioners GOOD SHEPHERD STATUE We would like to thank all families who have kept the statue in past weeks. 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! Joseph Albergo, Karl Albrecht, Lisa B., Baby Alexandra Bachert, Caroline Bachert, Frances Baio, Helen Banas, Dolores Barbieri, Catherine Capato, Sally Capoziello, Marge D Auria, Mary Ann D Angelo, Baby Christopher Brian Demmerle, Domenica DeVito, Virginia DiGangi, Francesca Gaudino, Ian Genovese-Williams, Joseph Gentile, John Joseph Gleeson, John Pierce Gleeson, Christine Healy, Aurea Hernandez, Maria Hernandez, Rosemary Hogan, Elizabeth Isolano, Keri & Baby Tristan, Amelia Kalb, Pam Karwan, John Killcommons, Baby T.J. Krieg, Kathleen Krieg, Klavdia Krieg, Anthony Lamantia, Thomas & Patricia Lipari, William J. Litt, Ralph Maresco, Mary Mastrangelo, Camillo Mazella, Rosemary Menechella, John Myers, Salvatore Noto, Angela Ottomanelli-Hubbs, Michael Palermo, Santo Pantina, Doris & Carlo Pecchillo, Joseph Questore, Mary Romano, Jake Rothman, Anthony Russo, Felice Scimeca, Rosemarie Secreti, Fred Sepulveda, Rosalia Sindone, Dolores Stone, Michael Tamburo, Chrissie Tremblay, Paul Tremblay, Paul John Tremblay, Ann Marie Vayda, Sr. Joanne Walters, Elizabeth Weimer, Brittany Zaita. Deceased: Rose Elaine Gafney, Joseph Iuvara, Clara Mendolia, Theresa Montelbano The Daughters of St Paul, Catholic Sisters who are missioned in New York City at the Pauline Book & Media Center at 64 W. 38th St., will hold a Book Fair next weekend, April 9th & 10th after all the Masses. The Sisters will have a selection of religious books, music CDs, and DVDs, which will include Bibles, lives of Saints, prayer books, and reading material for all ages. This is a good opportunity to obtain spiritual materials for yourself and your family to deepen your knowledge of the Catholic faith. If you have any special requests, please call the Pauline Book & Media Center at 212-754- 1110. Training For New Altar Servers Saint Helen Parish is seeking to train new altar servers. Any boy or girl in second grade or higher, whether he or she attends a Catholic school or a public school, may become an altar server. Potential new servers must be available to attend all of the following training sessions: Monday, April 4, 4-6 p.m. Monday, April 25, 4-6 p.m. Monday, April 11, 4-6 p.m. Monday, May 2, 4-6 p.m. Monday, April 18, 4-6 p.m. Blessing and installation of the new servers will take place at the 5 p.m. Mass on Saturday, May 7. A parent or guardian must be present for the beginning of the first session on Monday, April 4 to fill out paperwork. Please contact Father Joe Zwosta with any questions at 718-738-1616, ext. 212 or at fatherzwosta@gmail.com.
April 3, 2016 Page 2 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. APRIL MAY 2016 Mornings of Preparation-Required Before a Baptism: (All begin at the 11:00AM Mass and continue in the Msgr. McGinness Room) April 10 & April 24 May 8 & May 29 Schedule for Baptisms: (All begin at 2:00PM) April 10 & April 24 (April 24 only at 3:30PM) May 8 & May 29 Please call 718-738-1616 for more information and/or to schedule an appointment. THANK YOU to all of the parishioners who contributed to the RELAY FOR LIFE PAINT NITE that took place back in February. After calculating the proceeds from that evening, the event raised $1,940. Thank you again for your generosity and participation! St. Helen Catholic Academy invites you to join them for LADIES NITE Tuesday, April 26, 2016 from 7:00-11:00PM Russo s on the Bay 162-45 Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach, NY Sit Down Dinner Unlimited Beer & Wine Cash Bar Dancing with Music by DJ Mike Nappi One door prize raffle ticket included with admission. $80.00 per person Table of 10 Group Discount! $750.00 per table. Enjoy a fun night filled with raffles and prizes!! Pre-sale admission only! Last day to reserve a seat Friday, April 15 th. For more information call 718-835-4155.
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April 3, 2016 Page 5 Homiletic starters and scriptural reflection points for each day of the month Mon., April 4: Isa 7:10-14, 8:10; Luke 1:26-38 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin s name was Mary. Sometimes I wonder what the conversation between God and Gabriel must have been like. Excuse me, Most Holy One, but I ve heard that you plan to go to earth as a baby! That makes no sense. What could you possibly do as a baby? Even assuming you would be a royal baby, it would be years before you grew up and wouldn t that be a waste of time? And I imagine God, trying to explain to Gabriel why it was important to become one of us. Open our eyes and hearts to your presence among us, we pray. Tues., April 5: Acts 4:32-37; John 3:7b-15 Jesus said to Nicodemus, You must be born from above. Nicodemus answered and said to him, How can this happen? Why would someone like Nicodemus go searching for Jesus? Apparently he was successful and respected. Jesus hung out with the tax collectors, the lepers, the misfits of society, not the Pharisees. Perhaps Nicodemus had reached a point in his life when he realized that all he had was not enough. He may not have been sure what he was looking for, but he knew Jesus was doing things that could only be from God, and he wanted to learn more. Jesus response was enigmatic and confusing: You must be born from above. You must be born of water and the Spirit. You must start over with God. May we be willing to follow where you lead, O God. Wed., April 6: Acts 5:17-26; John 3:16-21 The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people. Peter and John were imprisoned and told to keep quiet about Jesus, but an angel released them and exhorted them to tell the people everything about this life. Knowing full well what the consequences might be, Peter and John continued to preach and teach the good news. We too are called to follow Jesus, called to speak and act and live as he did, called to bear witness to the grace and forgiveness God offered the world in him. May others see you in us, Lord Jesus. We must obey God rather than men. The Herods of this world depend on silence and apathy to keep their power and control. Think of Hitler s campaign to purify Germany, apartheid in South Africa, and ISIS in Syria. Think of the U.S presidential candidates condemning all Muslims. The powers-that-be do everything they can to keep dissidents and prophets from speaking, just as the Sanhedrin did thousands of years ago. But Peter boldly defies the Sanhedrin s orders to stop teaching about Jesus. The disciples understood they had to put God first even if it meant openly confronting Jewish authorities. Numerous issues today call us to speak up: Climate change. Racism. Immigration. Human rights. Gun control. God of the prophets, grant us the courage we need to speak and act for justice. SECOND WEEK OF EASTER Fri., April 8: Acts 5:34-42; John 6:1-15 Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. Food is such a regular part of our lives that we tend to take it for granted. It s something we buy at the grocery store or at a restaurant. When we re in a hurry, we go through the drive-thru and eat on the run. Our ancestors, on the other hand, understood the deep significance of food. As a religious symbol, food is a sign of God s providence and care. To this day, our Jewish brothers and sisters remember the Exodus with specific foods that recall the bitterness of slavery and God s mighty deliverance. As Christians, we remember that Jesus fed his disciples with bread and wine, symbols of his body and blood. Feed us, O God; nourish our bodies and spirits for service in your name. Sat., April 9: Acts 6:1-7; John 6:16-21 They saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, It is I. Do not be afraid. After feeding the crowd, Jesus went away by himself. Meanwhile, the disciples headed for Capernaum by boat. A storm blew up, and the disciples were tossed by raging winds and waves. They had little choice but to ride out the storm, but they were scared. And then then they saw Jesus walking out to them! Was it the ghost of some poor person who had drowned in an earlier storm? But then they heard something: the voice of Jesus telling them not to be afraid. Storms come to all of us, literally and figuratively. Sometimes our lives are smooth sailing, and sometimes we live in the midst of chaos and fear and uncertainty. Come to us, Lord Jesus; calm our fears and strengthen our faith. Thurs., April 7: Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36