ST. CLARE OF ASSISI CATHOLIC PARISH Rectory: 1918 Paulding Avenue Bronx, New York 10462 Church: 1027 Rhinelander Avenue Bronx, New York 10461 Phone: 718-863-8974 Fax: 718-931-6909 www.stclarebronx.org stclareofassisi@aol.com December 9, 2018 His Holiness, Pope Francis Our Holy Father His Eminence, Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan Our Archbishop SUNDAY MASS Saturday Vigil: 5:30pm Sunday: 7am, 9am, 11:00am, 1pm 9am Vietnamese Mass in Msgr. Raimondo Hall: once a month as announced MONDAY- FRIDAY MASS: 7am, 9am SATURDAY MORNING MASS: 9am HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION: As announced CIVIC HOLIDAYS: 9am SACRAMENT OF PENANCE Saturday: 4:00 to 5:00pm Confessions will be heard at other times upon request. SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 2:15pm on designated Sundays Contact us for an Interview and Preparation Session. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE Contact us at least six months in advance. Please do not decide on a Reception date and time until you first consult with us. ROSARY FOR VOCATIONS Wednesdays: 8:30 am VISITS TO THE HOMEBOUND Inform us about our sick and the elderly. MINISTRIES Altar Servers Choir Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion Folk Group Lectors Nursing Home Team Ushers SPIRITUAL PROGRAMS Bible Study Book Club Couples for Christ Our Lady of Guadalupe Society Our Lady of La Vang Society San Pedro Calungsod Society San Silverio Committee Lord, Teach Me To Pray Women s and Men s Groups Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults YOUTH ACTIVITIES Cub, Boy and Girl Scouts Basketball, Bowling, Cheerleaders and Volleyball PASTORAL STAFF: Father Salvatore DeStefano, Pastor Father Matthew Reiman, Parochial Vicar Father Paul Waddell, Parochial Vicar Assisted by the Priests of the Jesuit Community Lloyd B. Thompkins, Director of Music TRUSTEES Geraldine Proto and Susan Schoepp RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Ellen Capellan and Anne Leone, Secretaries Monday thru Thursday: 9am-7:30pm Friday & Saturday: 9am-7pm Sunday: 9am-3pm SAINT CLARE REGIONAL CATHOLIC SCHOOL 1911 Hone Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. 10461 Office-718-892-4080 Fax-718-239-1007 Mrs. Theresa Bivona, Principal B232@adnyeducation.org www.stclareofassisischool.org RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAM 1925 Hone Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461 718-829-9624 Sister Linda Jean Marie Giovanelly, P.V.M.I., Director Tuesday: 3:30pm & 6:30pm Wednesday: 3:30pm FATHER VINCENT TAGLIENTI CENTER & CHAPEL 1925 Hone Ave, Bronx, N.Y. 10461 SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS Home School Association ORGANIZATIONS Altar Guild Buildings and Grounds Finance Council Holy Name Society Making All Things New Cluster Team Parish Council Pro-Life Group Senior Citizens TWELVE STEP GROUPS Alcoholics Anonymous Gamblers Anonymous Overeaters Anonymous
CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12th AT 5:00 PM MASS IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH Join us Invite your friends and neighbors CELEBREMOS LA FIESTA DE NUESTRA SENORA DE GUADALUPE MIERCOLES, 12 de DICIEMBRE A LAS 5:00PM MISA EN ESPAÑOL y INGLES Acompáñanos Invita a tus amigos y vecinos St Clare of Assisi Church 1027 Rhinelander Ave
ST. CLARE S PRO-LIFE GROUP THOUGHT OF THE WEEK: SAT December 8, Vigil, Second Sunday of Advent 5:30 pm Joseph & Mary Miniaci+ And Albert & Rita Mercadante+ SUN, December 9, Second Sunday of Advent 7:00 am For the People of our Parish 9:00 am Ralph, Carolina, Olga & John D Amico+ Joseph Giacobino+ 11:00 am Maria Romano+ Mary Lippiello+ 1:00 pm Emilia Pirraglia+ MON December 10 7:00 am Restituto Salazar+ 9:00 am Giuseppe Avitabile+ TUE December 11, Saint Damasus 7:00 am Fe Balcos+ 9:00 am Gac, Liza, Jak Kola+ WED December 12, Our Lady of Guadalupe 7:00 am William Otero+ 9:00 am Vincenza Barone+ 5:00 pm Father Robert Aufieri+ THURS December 13, Saint Lucy 7:00am Lucio Marini+ 9:00 am Josephine & Stanley Ruffo+ FRI December 14, Saint John of the Cross 7:00 am Intentions for Isabella Gach 9:00 am Aniello DiMeglio+ SAT December 15 9:00 am John Wykowski+ SAT December 15, Vigil, Third Sunday of Advent 5:30 pm Antonio Scotti+ SUN, December 16, Third Sunday of Advent 7:00 am For the People of our Parish 9:00 am Maria, Giuseppe, Diego Tramontana & Rosa Gloria+ Antonia Artuso+ 11:00 am Benjamin Capaecio+ Leo & Antonette Santoro+ 1:00 pm Donato Martuccio+ MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL Please pray for the following souls who were buried from our Parish: Rosa Amalfitano Nov. 28th Maria Tarantino Nov. 29th Amelia Rotondi Nov. 30th Marilyn Taibi Nov. 30th Ersilia Fraietta Dec 4th Ronald DeLuccia Dec 4th Arsenio Ragone Dec. 5th We are here to be witnesses of love and to celebrate life, because life has been created in the image of God. Life is to love and to be loved....st. Teresa of Calcutta HOW MUCH TO GIVE...FOR GOD LOVES A PERSON WHO GIVES CHEERFULLY. (2 Corinthians 9:7) On the weekend of December 2nd you contributed $5,655.00 in the Regular Parish Collection Thank you for your sacrificial offerings of gratitude! A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU ADVENT BOOKLETS CHRISTMAS FLOWERS Envelopes are available by the Church Entrance. If you would like to defray the expenses for the decoration of the Church, place your offerings in the designated box by the Envelope table. Thank you to German Rosales and his brother Jorge who painstakingly restored the beautiful Nativity we have placed in front of the old Tabernacle. They repaired and hand painted each figure and brought them back to their original splendor. In addition, they built the stable by hand and built a special table for the whole scene. This was truly a labor of love. We are blessed to have such talented people willing to do so much for our Parish. YOUR THANKSGIVING FOOD DONATIONS Thank you to our Parishioners and School Parent s for your most generous response to our Food Drive. We filled many boxes with cans and food. The Mary Clancy Foundation would like to express its gratitude to all our Donors. Thank you to Joe Lucchese of Lucchese Funeral Home, 726 Morris Park Avenue, for his generosity and kindness in providing us with the Meditation Booklets. This is a thoughtful gift on his part and we thank him once again for his wonderful gesture. Extra copies are available at the Rectory. The Vigil Light Burning This Week Is In Memory of Giovanni Fata Eternal Peace Grant Unto Them, O Lord
Second Sunday of Advent December 9, 2018 God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low. Baruch 5:7 Sun, December 9 9:45am Holy Name Society (Msgr. Raimondo Hall) 2:15pm Baptisms (Church) Tues, December 11 9:00am Parenting Group (Msgr. Raimondo Hall) 3:30pm Religious Education (School) 7:30pm Folk Group (Church) Wed, December 12 3:30pm Religious Education (School) 5:00pm Our Lady of Guadalupe Mass (Church) Reception to follow in Msgr. Raimondo Hall Thurs, December 13 7:00pm Choir Rehearsal (Church) 7:30pm Book Club (Fr. DiFalco Room) Fri, December 14 8:30am Women s Prayer Group (Fr. DiFalco Room) Sat, December 15 3:00pm Choir Practice (Church) 4:00pm Confessions (Church) RECONCILIATION MONDAY DECEMBER 17TH CONFESSIONS FROM 4:00PM TO 8:00PM We will be distributing special sheets next weekend to help you make a good confession Join us! Bring a loved one or a friend. REST IN PEACE Eternal Peace Grant Unto Them, O Lord You will notice in this Bulletin a special section entitled Rest In Peace. These names have been memorialized for one year and the names appear in the Bulletin for 52 Sundays. For a modest donation of $110.00, you may enter the name of a beloved Deceased. You can speak with Ellen Capellan or Anne Leone at the Rectory (Monday thru Friday between 9am and 5pm) for complete information. TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION Look around most Catholic churches, and you will discover an image of John the Baptist, often in the old baptistery, or in a window near where the font is or was located. He has two feast days in the calendar: one commemorating his birth, and the other his death. There are only three nativities in our calendar: for Jesus, for Mary, and for the Baptist. John s birthday is reckoned according to the schedule given in Luke s Gospel of the angel s announcement to Mary. The angel tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is in the sixth month of pregnancy, and so Mary hastens to help her. Reckoning Christmas as December 25, we count backwards nine months to March 25 for the Feast of the Annunciation. Then we count forward three months to June 24 for John the Baptist s birth. Halfway to Christmas, his nativity gives ample reason for rejoicing in the summer, and his symbols of fire and water are used playfully in bonfires and dives into the sea. Even at the polar opposite of Christmas in the calendar, the energy of Christ s birth in the Incarnation provides cause for rejoicing. CHRISTMAS CONCERT The Choir of the Church of Our Savior, located at 59 Park Ave in Manhattan, will present its annual Christmas concert on the evening of Wednesday, December 19, 2018 at 7:30pm. The concert will feature traditional Christmas Carols, along with music both familiar and unfamiliar. The Choir, under the direction of Paul J. Murray, is a professional ensemble that specializes in sacred music for the roman Catholic liturgy, including but not limited to Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony through contemporary choral works. Don t miss this opportunity to hear some glorious Christmas music! Tickets are $20 For more information call: 212-679-8166 SENIORS TRIP Sands Casino February 12, 2019 $30.00 for Members For more information and reservations call: Schatzie 718-518-8724
BAMBINELLI SUNDAY BLESSING OF THE BABY JESUS STATUES Bring your Baby Jesus Statues to the 12pm Mass next Sunday, December 16th. Father Sal will say a special prayer blessing the statues. Please join us and encourage your friends to do the same.
REST IN PEACE Eternal Peace Grant Unto Them, O Lord Gary Frank Belviso Joseph Cardile Mary & Cesidio Cugini & Monica Erdman Gaetano & Amilia D Arco Ronald Darminio Rose & Paul DeFonzo Dellamonica Family Gennaro & Elizabeth DiPalma Robert & Margaret Engel Joseph, Ines & Michael Falcone & Rachel Panza Furgiuele Family Joseph, Gloria & Thomas Galasso Robert & Elizabeth Haughney Anthony Leone Palladino Family Andrew & Anna Lo Scalzo & Nicholas Sicilia Francesco Mucciacciaro Gildo Paganussi Italo Norman & Adelaide Ida Peduzzi Helen & Martin Reilly Edward & Theresa Rossi Chester Rywalt Bob Salerno PRAY FOR OUR DECEASED PARISH CLERGY AND CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS Fr. Robert Aufieri Fr. Frank Bassett Msgr. Francis Cagnina, P.A. Fr. Anthony D Antonio Fr. Leonard DiFalco Fr. George Giammarino Fr. Richard Gorman Fr. Robert Macchietto Msgr. Louis Mazza Deacon James Oakes Msgr. Joseph Raimondo Sr. Josephine Stabile, OBT Fr. Vincent Taglienti Deacon Joseph Weckbach OUR SCRIPTURE READING AT MASS THIS WEEKEND The Book of the Prophet Baruch Chap 5, Verses 1-9 Take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God. The Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians Chap 1 Verses 4-6,8-11 I am confident that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. The Gospel of Luke Chap 3, Verses 1-6 The winding roads shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth. Dear Brothers and Sisters, What happened to Advent? We all know that as each year passes the secular culture around us pushes the celebration of Christmas back even earlier. A lot of this is commercially driven by stores that want us to shop early and often. But some of it has to do with the fact that our society is actually losing its roots and its faith. By the time Christmas actually arrives we ve become tired because we ve been hearing Christmas music for weeks, Santa has been in the mall for over a month, and maybe the tree is already dropping a few needles on the ground. We are missing something! We are missing Advent. Advent is the holy season of joyful expectation and preparation for the coming feast. Just as in Lent, we spend time to spiritually prepare for the celebration to come. It is no mistake that violet vestments are used, that flowers do not adorn the altar, that the music at Mass is subdued, that confessions are offered with greater frequency, or that churches seem to be the last ones to put up decorations. We believe that we need this time of increased prayer, penance, and expectation to properly orient ourselves to receive as many graces as possible in the celebrations to come. I would like to encourage each and every family of our parish to be creative in coming up with a special work of charity to do during Advent, to put up the decorations a little later, to come back to confession! The sacrament of penance is the way to begin the coming season of Christmas with souls made pure, minds at peace, and hearts on fire with the love of the Lord s grace. Happy Advent! Fr. Matt