Page 2 Parish Information Joining the Parish New Parishioners are always welcome. Census forms can be found in the vestibule of the churches. Simply fill one out and drop it in the collection basket. Planning a Baptism The birth of a child brings joy to the family. Through Baptism, that child is joined to the family of God, which brings great joy to the church. Parents seeking Baptism are asked to contact the parish office. Scheduling Weddings Couples contemplating marriage are asked to contact the parish office and set up an appointment with Fr. Ken before making any other plans for their wedding. This appointment should take place at least one year before the contemplated date. Our Parish Intercessory Prayer Group provides prayers for anyone in need throughout the parish. Mary Ann Magda is the Coordinator and can be reached at 570-655-1218 Outreach to the Homebound Sr. Madonna SSCM, assisted by our dedicated EMOCs, provides Sacramental care to the elderly, homebound and hospitalized. If you, or someone you know, are homebound or in need of a pastoral visit, please contact Sr. Madonna. Anointing of the Sick The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick may take place at any time, especially if one is seriously ill. Please contact the parish office to set up a time for Fr. Ken to visit. Funeral Preparations The loss of a loved one is a particularly difficult time for those who are bereaved. Our parish community collaborates with local funeral directors in assisting families during their time of grief. Bequests to the Parish Please Remember St. Andre Bessette Parish with Memorial gifts at the time of death or with a bequest in your will. Make a return to the Lord for all the good He has given you. Thank You to all who have already made raffle returns. Another $1,180.00 was deposited toward our raffle goal this week. That brings our grand total so far to $7,162.00 which is almost halfway to our grand total of $15,000.00. There are only 3 more weeks left for us to reach our grand total. We ask all parishioners to do their best to sell raffle tickets so that we can meet the financial obligations of our parish. Keep up the good work! Your Parish is depending on You! Thank You to all who donated so generously to our recent SCHOOL SUPPLIES COLLECTION. Your gifts allow many needy children to have the supplies they need as they begin another school year. Once again, our parish has shown its commitment to the community and its generous spirit! WWI Memorial Planned for NE Slovak Club A bronze plaque listing parishioners of Sacred Heart Parish who served in WWI long hung on the side of the church near the Rectory. With the closure of the parish and the impending sale of the church building, that plaque was given to the North End Slovak Citizens Club, who, in a joint venture with Slovak Catholic Sokol Assembly 59, are going to refurbish it and erect it as a lasting memory to those who served. Anyone wishing to make a donation toward the refurbishment and erection of this plaque may send a check payable to SCS Assembly 59 c/o Nancy Fedor, 12 Bergh St., Hudson, PA 18705. A separate plaque with the names of donors will be engraved and kept in the club. The Parish Women s Spirituality Group will celebrate the Feast of the Queenship of Mary on August 22nd with the crowning of the statue of our Lady at the Fatima shrine in front of the church. All parishioners are invited to take part in this celebration at 3:00p.m. on August 22nd. Watch for the Parish Labor Day Family Picnic which will be held on September 7th following the Labor Day 10 a.m. Morning Mass. The Parish will supply the hamburgers and hot dogs. Those attending are asked to bring a covered dish or a desert to share. RSVP to the parish office by no later than September 4th. Our Parish will celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Sr. Madonna on Sunday, October 4th following the 11 a.m. Mass. SAVE THE DATE!!! Holy Redeemer High School NIGHT AT THE RACES Saturday, November 7, 2015 For more info, call 570-829-2424. www.standrebessettewb.com we now have links to neighboring parishes! Come, check us out!
Page 3 Pilgrimage to Montreal Reservations for the Pilgrimage, which is to take place October 10-12th are now closed. We are, however, taking names to be placed on a waiting list, in the event there is a cancellation. Pilgrims are reminded that all paperwork (passport information, etc.) and final payment is due by August 31st. Dancing Under the Stars over 1/3 of the tickets available sold on the first weekend! So if you are planning on going, get your tickets TODAY! The Dance will be held on September 19th at St. Mary s Byzantine Parish Hall. DJ Rocking Father Kloton will be on hand to play the best of the oldies. We will feature a homemade dinner and dessert buffet. Tickets for this BYOB event are $20 per person and will NOT be available at the door. So pick yours up today! Check out the beautiful baskets in our Basket Raffle, which will be raffled at the dance as well! Tickets are available for these in the vestibule of the church before and after Masses. The more you buy, the more chances you have of winning! The evening of August 21, 1879, saw rain pouring onto Knock. Ireland in the 1870s had been rocked by fighting between landlords and tenants. County Mayo was no exception. Even everyday people were affected by legal battles ensuing in England s Parliament. Most, however, simply wanted to live their lives in peace. Mary Byrne, twenty-nine years old, lived with her small family in Knock. Around 8 pm on August 21, she was walking the parish priest s housekeeper home from the Byrne family house. The housekeeper had seen, on her way to the Byrne house, what looked like statues standing against the south side of the church, lit from behind by a faint glow. The housekeeper had thought that they were new statues for the Pilgrimage to celebrate Birth of St. Faustina A bus pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Divine Mercy, Stockbridge, MA will take place on Monday, October 5th the birthday of St. Faustina. The bus will leave from the Oblates of St. Joseph in Laflin at 7:00 a.m. Arrival in Stockbridge is estimated to be at 11:00 a.m. The cost is $63.00 per person and will include: bus trip, entrance fee, a full course dinner at Michael s Restaurant, and the bus driver s tip. Coordinator of this trip is Cathy Mack, Eucharistic Apostle of Divine Mercy Cenacle Leader. Please call Cathy for reservations (570-654-6063). parish, and had walked onward without giving the images another thought. On the way back, however, both women saw the figures clearly, and went closer to investigate. Mary Byrne later described the figures as lifesize, with St. John and St. Joseph smaller than Mary, who wore a crown and cloak. St. Joseph stood, grayed, old, but not weak. St. John stood, dressed as a priest prepared for Mass, one hand held in blessing, the other holding a book. A Lamb on an altar stood behind the figures. All three figures floated above the ground and away from the church s wall. The rain fell on the visionaries but not on the figures themselves nor on the wall. None of the figures spoke or moved. The visionaries did not want to keep this vision a secret. Mary Byrne ran and retrieved her family. The apparition was still there. Her siblings ran to tell other townsfolk. In all, eighteen people knelt at the church wall, all seeing the vision. An hour went by. The figures in the vision did not speak. When some of the visionaries tried to touch the figures, the figures moved away from the people, just out of reach. After the hour passed, some of the witnesses went home, their hearts moved. After another hour, the remaining witnesses left to pray with a sick neighbor. The vision was over when they returned. ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCILS The Parish Pastoral Council The next Pastoral Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 20 at 6 p.m. in the POLMR. All members of the Pastoral Council are asked to be present. The next meeting of the Parish Liturgy Council will be on Tuesday, August 25th at 7 p.m. in the parish office meeting room. All interested parishioners are welcome. The Parish Social Justice Council will meet in the POMR on September 10 at 6:00 p.m. All members are asked to be present. The next meeting of the Parish Finance Council will be on Thursday, September 17 at 6 p.m. in the POMR. CHECK OUT OUR PARISH WEBSITE www.standrebessettewb.com PARISH COMMITTEES The Young at Heart Committee will meet on Wednesday, August 19 for a barbeque at Immaculate Conception Parish in W. Pittston. Resurrection Choir will meet each Tuesday at 1 p.m. for rehearsal. All parishioners are invited to be part of this choir whose ministry is to provide Liturgical music during parish funerals. Food for AUGUST is Cold Tea Bags
Page 4 IV. DECLINE IN THE QUALITY OF HUMAN LIFE AND THE BREAKDOWN OF SOCIETY 43. Human beings too are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity. So we cannot fail to consider the effects on people s lives of environmental deterioration, current models of development and the throwaway culture. 44. Nowadays, for example, we are conscious of the disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities, which have become unhealthy to live in, not only because of pollution caused by toxic emissions but also as a result of urban chaos, poor transportation, and visual pollution and noise. Many cities are huge, inefficient structures, excessively wasteful of energy and water. Neighborhoods, even those recently built, are congested, chaotic and lacking in sufficient green space. We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature. 45. In some places, rural and urban alike, the privatization of certain spaces has restricted people s access to places of particular beauty. In others, ecological neighborhoods have been created ENCYCLICAL LETTER: LAUDATO SI of Pope Francis which are closed to outsiders in order to ensure an artificial tranquility. Frequently, we find beautiful and carefully manicured green spaces in so-called safer areas of cities, but not in the more hidden areas where the disposable of society live. 46. The social dimensions of global change include the effects of technological innovations on employment, social exclusion, an inequitable distribution and consumption of energy and other services, social breakdown, increased violence and a rise in new forms of social aggression, drug trafficking, growing drug use by young people, and the loss of identity. These are signs that the growth of the past two centuries has not always led to an integral development and an improvement in the quality of life. Some of these signs are also symptomatic of real social decline, the silent rupture of the bonds of integration and social cohesion. 47. Furthermore, when media and the digital world become omnipresent, their influence can stop people from learning how to live wisely, to think deeply and to love generously. In this context, the great sages of the past run the risk of going unheard amid the noise and distractions of an information overload. Efforts need to be made to help these media become sources of new cultural progress for humanity and not a threat to our deepest riches. True wisdom, as the fruit of self-examination, dialogue and generous encounter between persons, is not acquired by a mere accumulation of data which eventually leads to overload and confusion, a sort of mental pollution. Real relationships with others, with all the challenges they entail, now tend to be replaced by a type of internet communication which enables us to choose or eliminate relationships at whim, thus giving rise to a new type of contrived emotion which has more to do with devices and displays than with other people and with nature. Today s media do enable us to communicate and to share our knowledge and affections. Yet at times they also shield us from direct contact with the pain, the fears and the joys of others and the complexity of their personal experiences. For this reason, we should be concerned that, alongside the exciting possibilities offered by these media, a deep and melancholic dissatisfaction with interpersonal relations, or a harmful sense of isolation, can also arise. Read the whole encyclical on our website www.standrebessettewb.com!
Page 5 Income August 9, 2015 In Church Mailed In Loose 233.75 Sunday Offering 3,946.00 1,446.00 Holy day 116.00 75.00 Initial Offering Dues 448.00 343.00 Debt Reduction 16.00 30.00 Holiday Flowers TOTAL PARISH COLLECTION 4,759.75 1,894.00 Our Weekly goal for our Total Parish Collection is $7,500.00. This will ensure the financial stability of our parish. Diocesan and Other Collections These are charitable collections that go directly to the Diocese and do not impact our operating budget. Catholic Relief Services Clergy Collection 68.00 27.00 Church in Eastern Europe TOTAL DIOCESAN COLLECTIONS TOTAL SUNDAY COLLECTION 65.00 27.00 133.00 54.00 $4,892.75 $1,948.00 Other Income This income is in addition to our regular income and contributes toward the operating budget. Candles 52.00 Rental of Properties Miscellaneous 110.00 Perquisites 350.00 TOTAL OTHER INCOME TOTAL INCOME GENERAL FUND THIS WEEK $512.00 $7,352.75 Expenses August 6-12, 2015 Administration 5,434.64 Parish Assessment School Assessment Clergy Residence Liturgy 1,041.38 Religious Education Social Justice Operation & Maintenance 2,791.66 Insurance Taxes Diocesan Collections TOTAL EXPENSES THIS WEEK + 868.50 $10,136.18 General Fund Recapitulation General Fund Previous Balance + Income this week - Expenses this week Balance Forward $4,397.78 7,352.75-10,136.18 $1,614.35 Mass Attendance August 8-9, 2015 Attendance Your Gift to God August 9, 2015 Above $100.00 1 $100.00 6 $76-99 1 $75 1 $51-74 1 $50 9 $26-49 12 $25 16 $21-24 3 $20 55 $16-19 2 $15 15 $11-14 2 In-Church Collection 4:00 p.m. 145 1,856.75 5:30 p.m. 72 722.00 8:00 a.m. 102 1,241.00 11:00 a.m. 87 1,073.00 Total 406 $4,892.75 $10 103 $6-9 11 $5 82 Below $5 24 Total Used 344 Monthly Diocesan Bills (July 1, 2015 June 30, 2016) Title Amount Billed Amount Paid Balance Remaining Parish Assessment 34,730.42 34,730.42 Assessment for Schools 59,434.83 4,952.91 54,481.92 Insurance 22,720.00 22,720.00 Clergy Pension 6,600.00 6,600.00 Clergy Medical (BC/BS) 14,663.18 14,663.18 Post Retirement Fund 5,200.00 5,200.00 Clergy Care and Wellness Fund (In addition to the Monthly Collection) BALANCE 9,732.00 9,732.00 152,200.13 4,952.91 147,247.22 Both the Parish Assessment and the School Assessment beginning balances have been adjusted to reflect the decrease in income that our Parish experienced over the past year, as per The Diocesan Finance Office. In Memory of Offered by In Memory of Offered by Votive Offerings Bread & Wine Sanctuary Lamp Joseph Krawetz Wife, Dorothy
Page 6 Meditations on the Rosary: The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven by Mark Shea Finally, we come to the Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven. This honorific, like many others, is an expression of common piety that emerges from the heart of the common man. It's also, I was surprised to discover, rooted in Scripture. For just as there was the office of King in the Old Testament, so there was the office of Queen Mother. As noted biblical scholar Dr. Scott Hahn points out: David's first successor, Solomon, reigned with his mother, Bathsheba, at his right hand. Israel's queen mother, or gebirah ("great lady"), appears, then, through the history of the monarchy, to the very end. When Jerusalem falls to Babylon, we find the invaders taking away the king, Jehoiachin, and also his mother Nehushta, who is given precedence, in the account, over the king's wives (2 Kgs 24:15; see also Jer 13:18). Between Bathsheba and Nehushta there were many queen mothers. Some worked for good, some didn't; but none was a mere figurehead. Gebirah was more than a title; it was an office with real authority. Consider the following scene from early in Solomon's reign: "So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a seat brought for the king's mother; and she sat on his right" (1 Kgs 2:19). This short passage packs implicit volumes about Israel's court protocol and power structure. First, we see that the queen mother was approaching her son in order to speak on behalf of another person. This confirms what we know about queen mothers in other Near Eastern cultures. We see in the epic of Gilgamesh, for example, that the queen mother in Mesopotamia was considered an intercessor, or advocate, for the people. Next, we notice that Solomon rose from his throne when his mother entered the room. This makes the queen mother unique among the royal subjects. Anyone else would, following protocol, rise in Solomon's presence; even the king's wives were required to bow before him (1 Kgs 1:16). Yet Solomon rose to honor Bathsheba. Moreover, he showed further respect by bowing before her and by seating her in the place of greatest honor, at his right hand. Undoubtedly, this describes a court ritual of Solomon's time; but all ritual expresses real relationships. What do Solomon's actions tell us about his status in relation to his mother? First, his power and authority are in no way threatened by her. He bows to her, but he remains the monarch. She sits at his right hand, not vice versa. Yet clearly he will honor her requests not out of any legally binding obligation of obedience, but rather out of filial love. By the time of this particular scene, Solomon clearly had a track record of granting his mother's wishes. When Adonijah first approaches Bathsheba to get her intercession, he says, "Pray ask King Solomon he will not refuse you." Though technically Solomon was Bathsheba's superior, in the orders of both nature and protocol he remained her son. Hahn's point in all this is that just as David and Solomon are types of Jesus, the "Son of David," so Mary's role in the Kingdom of the Son of David is prefigured by the role of Queen Mother as well. This doesn't mean that every detail about the lives of Old Testament figures is to be reproduced in the lives of Jesus and Mary. Just because Jesus is not noted for hamstringing horses, leading troops into battle or committing adultery doesn't mean he is not a Davidic King. Similarly, just because Bathsheba's plea for Adonijah was rejected doesn't prevent her office from foreshadowing Mary's far greater office as a Queen Mother of a far greater King than David. Some (including me, once upon a time) take the notion of Mary as a Queen as "baptized paganism." They read Jeremiah 7:18 and tremble that the title "Queen of Heaven" makes Mary into Ashtoreth: The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. But, in fact, applying this verse to Mary is a grossly ahistorical reading of Scripture. For Mary is no more Ashtoreth than an Easter egg hunt is a fertility cult. Rather, Mary is a Queen because, in Christ Jesus we are all kings and queens. That's why Paul tells the Corinthians: Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! (1 Corinthians 4:8) It's why Paul himself looks forward to a "crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8) and why the blessed in Heaven all have crowns as well (Revelation 4:10). And supremely it's why the heavenly Woman of Revelation 12:1 -- the one who gave birth to a male child who rules the nations with an iron sceptre -- has on her head "a crown of twelve stars." In short, the Rosary is a Success Story. Mary's crown is the promise of our crown. What we shall be, Mary already is supremely: a creature exalted and glorified by Jesus Christ to show forth the glory of God in the splendor of His saints. This too is profoundly Davidic, for David (unlike Saul) was never stingy about sharing his kingly glory with others. Through her, we see how incredibly lavish her Son is in sharing the glory of an even greater kingdom with His friends, children and servants. Copyright 2015 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mark-shea/ meditations-on-the-rosary-the-coronation-of-mary-as-queen-ofheaven/#ixzz3ixiu2tq7
Twentieth Week of Ordinary Time August 17 23, 2015 Day and Date Time Intention Offered by Events of the Week Monday, August 17 Weekday Tuesday, August 18 Weekday Wednesday, August 19 Weekday NO Morning Mass Scheduled 8:00 a.m. Johanna Zapatoczny Mike & Irene Zluchowski 8:00 a.m. Anne Dalton Mr. & Mrs. Mark Munkitrick Thursday, August 20 St. John Eudes 8:00 a.m. Anthony Magda Mr. & Mrs. Adam Sawicki Friday, August 21 St. Pope Pius X Saturday, August 22 Queenship of Mary 8:00 a.m. Mildred Mioskie NO Morning Mass Scheduled Mr. & Mrs. Michael Yankowski Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 p.m. Resurrection Choir Rehearsal Adoration Noon 5 p.m. 2 p.m. Mass at North Penn Vespers and Benediction at 5 p.m. 6 p.m. Parish Pastoral Council JR Kloton s Birthday 3 pm CORONATION OF OUR LADY Confessions 3 p.m. Vigil 1 4:00 p.m. Mary Zajkowski Family Vigil 2 5:30 p.m. Parishioners Pastor Sunday Sunday 8:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. Deceased members of the Swartz & Ulichney Families Mary & James O Donnell and Neil and Patrick Geri Ulichney Mary Therese McCabe Raffle Tickets available in the Vestibule Collection for the Churches of Eastern Europe AGNUS DAY by Pastor James Weitzstein August 22-23 Liturgical Ministries Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Servers Lectors EMOC 4:00 P.M. Ted Harowicz John Bednarz Ted Harowicz 5:30 P.M. John & Richard Morris Andy Katsock Michael Boris 8:00 A.M Nicholas Kreidler Anna Hudock A.J. Kondracki 11:00 A.M Sr. Tina David Alusick Jim Zoccola JOIN US FOR EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Every Thursday beginning at Noon. The time of Adoration ends with Evening Prayer and Benediction at 5 p.m. The Shrine at Knock, Ireland