Our Lady of Mount Carmel Building a Christian Community through Gospel Values A Catholic parish community served by the Carmelite Order Fourth Sunday of Easter May 7, 2017 Daily Monday through Saturday Saturday Vigil Sunday Holy Days MASS SCHEDULE 8:00 AM 4:30 PM 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM & 10:30 AM 8:00 AM & 5:30 PM CONFESSIONS Saturday 3:30-4:00 PM May-December PARISH OFFICE HOURS: Monday thru Thursday: 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM Friday: 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM PASTORAL MINISTRY TEAM Rev. Frederick J. Tillotson, O. Carm. Pastor ftillotson@olmc-osprey.org Rev. Richard Supple, O.Carm. Assoc. Pastor rsupple@olmc-osprey.org Rev. Niles Gillen, O. Carm. Assisting Priest Rev. Roger Bonneau, O. Carm. Assisting Priest Deacon Thomas Grant Pastoral Assoc. Margaret McHugh Director of R E & Youth mmchugh@olmc-osprey.org Doris R. Brodeur Adult Faith Development dbrodeur@olmc-osprey.org Darwin Reeck Pastoral Minister to the Sick dreeck@olmc-osprey.org Kathleen Lyda Music Director klyda@olmc-osprey.org Linda Jefferson Business Manager ljefferson@olmc-osprey.org Donna Pierson Pastoral Assistant dpierson@olmc-osprey.org Box 1097, 425 S. Tamiami Trail, Osprey, Florida 34229 Phone: 941-966-0807 Fax: 941-966-3909 Website: www.olmc-osprey.org
E A S T E R T I M E Within the Sound of the Shepherd s Voice Elisabeth Meadows, OSB, Give Us This Day, May 2017 In the outdoor play of childhood summers, my mother insisted we stay within the sound of her voice. She wanted to know that my siblings and I were safe, and she wanted to easily call us home at suppertime. My mother s voice was one among countless other summer sounds the calls and responses of childhood games, the whoosh of a jump rope through the air, the rustling branches of a plum tree as we searched for the choicest fruit. Today, the sounds around me are more complex than those of childhood, and the world is broader than a sheepfold of neighboring backyards. But just as I stayed within the sound of my mother s voice as a child, so now I am called to stay within the sound of the shepherd s voice the loving voice of the Good Shepherd who lays down his life in his care for me. And so, I listen. As the Good Shepherd lays down his life, we are called to a similar laying down of our lives, putting aside all that distracts us from voice of the shepherd. We are called to quiet the countless competing voices. We are called to listen. To listen for the shepherd requires that we stay within the sound of his voice. It also means being ready to hear an unexpected call, like that of Peter in his vision. Peter, and the believers in Jerusalem whom he told, heard the Spirit calling one flock to sup together. They laid down their preconceptions and listened, following the voice of the Good Shepherd. Elisabeth Meadows, OSB, is a member of Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. Pope Francis Prayer Intentions for May General Prayer Intention: During the month of May the month of Mary we feel a special protection of Our Lady that extends to all the faithful; we feel a special joy that shines and illuminates our hearts expressing the universal certainty of Catholics that the indispensable patronage of our heavenly mother becomes even more tender, more loving and more full of visible mercy during her month of May. Christians in Africa. That Christians in Africa, in imitation of the merciful Jesus, may give prophetic witness to reconciliation, justice, and peace.
L O O K I N G A H E A D W I T H F A I T H A N D P R A Y E R MASS INTENTIONS 05-08 8:00 AM Daniel & Marion Kennedy Father Real Gingras 05-09 8:00 AM John Lawrence Louise Epting 05-10 8:00 AM Cathy Bill John Leaden 05-11 8:00 AM Mary O Connor Margaret A. McCombs 05-12 8:00 AM Lynn Gallagher Joe Dangelo 05-13 8:00 AM The People of the Parish 4:30 PM George Eilers, Sr. Elizabeth A. & Juan Fernandez 05-14 7:30 AM For All Mothers 9:00 AM For All Mothers 10:30 AM For All Mothers STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE April 29th & 30th, 2017 CFA Goal 2017: $200,000.00 CFA Pledge: $181,529.17 CFA Payments: $144,833.17 Offertory: $10,070.13 Parish Pay is available at our website: www.olmcosprey.org or call the office at 941-966-0807. Readings for the Week of May 7, 2017 Sunday: Acts 2:14a, 36-41/Ps 23:1-6/1 Pt 2:20b-25/Jn 10:1-10 Monday: Acts 11:1-18/Ps 42:2-3; 43:3-4/Jn 10:11-18 Tuesday: Acts 11:19-26/Ps 87:1b-7/Jn 10:22-30 Wednesday: Acts 12:24--13:5a/Ps 67:2-3, 5-6, 8/Jn 12:44-50 Thursday: Acts 13:13-25/Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25, 27/Jn 13:16-20 Friday: Acts 13:26-33/Ps 2:6-11ab/Jn 14:1-6 Saturday: Acts 13:44-52/Ps 98:1-4/Jn 14:7-14 PARISH CALENDAR 05-08 Mon 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Fred 05-09 Tues 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Fred 10:30 AM The Bible with a New Lens (1) 05-10 Wed 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Richard 9:00 AM Praise and Prayer 12:00 PM OLMC Book Club 05-11 Thurs 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Fred 12:30 PM Bridge Club 05-12 Fri 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Richard 05-13 Sat 8:00 AM Mass-Fr. Fred 3:30 PM Confessions 4:30 PM Mass-Fr. Richard 05-14 Sun 7:30 AM Mass-Fr. Fred 9:00 AM Mass-Fr. Richard 10:30 AM Mass-Fr. Fred Knights of Columbus Pancake Breakfast after all Masses this Sunday. Into your hands O Lord, we commend the souls of our recently departed. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy PARISH ENVELOPE SCHEDULE of God, rest in peace. Are you one of our seasonal parishioners heading up north for the summer? If so, please contact the parish office at 941-966-0807 and let us know the date of your departure so that we can temporarily stop your envelope delivery. Travel safely; you will be missed.
ADULT FAITH FORMATION Books of Interest Hidden Women of the Gospels READING THE BIBLE WITH A NEW LENS Presenter: Doris R. Brodeur, Ph.D. Based on a video lecture series of Barbara E. Reid, O.P., Ph.D. Tuesdays, May 9, 16, 23 10:30 AM 12:00 PM In this series, we explore the Scriptures through the lens of feminist theology. We cover new outlooks that enable spiritual flourishing for women and men. Please bring a Bible. May 9 Parables of Female Godliness May 16 Women Healed and Healing May 23 Deacon Phoebe and Other Ministering Women Please sign up in advance to ensure sufficient enrollment. OLMC Book Club Meeting Kathy Coffey (Orbis Books, 2003, 179 pp.) Ever wonder about the stories, which we can only imagine, of women who lived in Jesus day? For instance: the shepherdess who came to Bethlehem, the mother who packed a child s lunch and watched it multiplied to feed 5,000, the mother of the bride at Cana? You ll find those and many more in this book that appeals to many Christian denominations. Kathy Coffey, with a poet s use of words, has given us a delightful look at some behind-the-scenes characters from the Gospels. In so doing she raises some key issues in spirituality, for women especially, and helps all of us to confront the challenge that the gospel message presents. This is truly a gem of a book. Kathy Finley, author, Dear God: Prayers for Families with Children Kathy Coffey is the author of thirteen award-winning books and many articles in Catholic periodicals. She taught for fifteen years at the University of Colorado, Denver, and Regis Jesuit University. She continues to give retreats and workshops nationally and internationally. For more information, see her website: kathyjcoffey.wordpress.com. The OLMC Book Club will meet on Wednesday, May 10, 12:00 PM 1:30 PM in the Club Room of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish Hall. Bring a lunch. Beverages and fruit will be provided. At our final meeting of this spring, we will be discussing the classic Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. The OLMC Book Club will resume in September. A SPECIAL ANOUNCEMENT The Knights of Columbus will be changing the date of their May monthly pancake breakfast from May 14th, Mother s Day, to the following Sunday, May 21st. In honor of Mother s Day, the Knights will again be passing out flowers after all the Masses on Saturday and Sunday, May 13th and 14th.
Gate Keepers Mary Stommes, Give Us This Day, May 2017 What is a gate? my youngest was asked during his preschool physical. He d passed his vision and hearing screening and was making his way through the cognitive assessment. He d already answered the What is a ceiling? question: First you hang the sheetrock, then you tape it, and mud it, and spray it... Three-year-olds who live with a carpenter tend to know these things. And three-year-olds who visit their cousins on a dairy farm know all about gates too: Well, if you have cows, you need a pasture, and you need a fence to keep the cows in the pasture, but you need a gate in the fence so the farmer can get the cows out and milk them... The farmer, by the way, is the gatekeeper (though that question Saints and Other Holy People LIVING OUR FAITH was not on the test). Open and shut, and in and out, and all goes according to plan. Vision and hearing and gates and gatekeepers are at the heart of today s Gospel. But all is not going according to plan for the religious leaders. Not at all. They d just thrown the formerly blind man out of their community, annoyed to no end that this sinner claimed to know more about God than they did (John 9:34). Blind = sinful = not welcome in this pasture. Hard news but all for the good of the community. Gatekeepers tend to know these things. But open the gate and throw them out or close the gate and don t let them in doesn t work so well when Jesus is both the Gate and the Shepherd. When the pasture is the Kingdom of God. When the fence stretches from heaven to earth and back. When the Good Shepherd calls his sheep by name in baptism, and they hear his voice and hear it more and more clearly. When they are drawn ever more deeply into Christ s abundant life and love. Who is the gate? First we hear the question. Then we see the Answer. And then we gradually come to know what this makes us: Gate keepers all. According to God s plan. Mary Stommes is editor of Give Us This Day. Blessed Julian of Norwich Anchoress and Mystic (1342-1416) She is remembered on May 13. As truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother. (Showings) We know little of Julian s biography; her name itself is uncertain, possibly being taken from the church of St. Julian in Norwich, to which she attached herself in her later life as an enclosed anchoress. As an anchoress a woman who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-centered, ascetic, and Eucharist-focused life Julian would have been sealed in a dwelling attached to the wall of a church. Her cell would have allowed a view of the church interior as well as an outside window for the delivery of food and the reception of visitors seeking spiritual counsel. She may also have enjoyed a garden and the companionship of a cat. Otherwise, her life was devoted to prayer and reflection. As for other details of her life, we are dependent on the testimony of her writing, Showings, a mystical classic addressed to other lay people seeking a more intimate relationship with God. Showings reveals a woman who experienced God directly and not self-consciously as "our mother." Her revelations of the feminine side of God represent a significant contribution to the tradition. Her graphic visions of the humanity of Christ are marked by vivid imagery and detail. But the special appeal of Julian lies in her theology of the all- embracing fullness of divine love. Throughout her writings, the affirmation of the goodness of creation and her stress on the beauty, friendliness, and love of God contrast sharply with a theology that stresses the anger and omnipotent judgment of God over a sinful world, a perspective that was prevalent at the time. With respect to suffering, Julian wrote that insofar as we share Christ s passion, we may look forward as well to sharing his joy in heaven. All shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. (Showings) -- Robert Ellsberg, All Saints
YOUTH CORNER On Sunday, April 23rd, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church welcomed Vivienne Milambiling into the parish family. This tiny toddler, our smallest parishioner, will have plenty of time to grow into her name. Right now, her name is bigger than she is! She was baptized during the 10:30 a.m. Mass by Fr. Richard while family, neighbors and friends celebrated the event. Besides the two infant baptisms we just celebrated in April, we have some other important sacramental events coming up quickly! On Mother's Day, May 14th, five children from our parish will receive their First Holy Communion at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Logan, Dillon, Brianna, Peyton and Andrew have been preparing for this important spiritual milestone for two years. This week and next they're having their first encounter with Jesus in the sacrament of Reconciliation. These are awesome moments and it's a privilege for Lorraine Del Vecchio, my chief catechist, and I to accompany them on their spiritual journey.