Sept 23, 2012 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Holy Father s Prayer Intention for September: Help for the Poorest Churches. That Christian communities may have a growing willingness to send missionaries, priest, and lay people, along with concrete resources, to the poorest Churches. WEEKLY SERVICES & INTENTIONS St. Joseph Church 09/22 Sat 4:00 pm + Max Rotherham 09/23 Sun 8:00 am Int. Fr. Eric Freed 09/24 Mon 7:30 am Eucharistic Service 09/25 Tue 7:30 am Eucharistic Service 09/26 Wed 7:30 am +Morrison Gardner 09/27 Thu 7:30 am Eucharistic Service 09/28 Fri 7:30 am +Olin Prentiss & family 09/29 Sat 4:00 pm +Bettie Syvertson St. Joseph Hospital 09/25 Tue 11:30 +All Souls 09/27 Thu 11:30 +Armand Hebert St. Bernard Church 09/23 Sun 10:00 am Mass for the People 09/24 Mon 12:15 am Eucharistic Service 09/25 Tue 12:15 pm +Guadalupa Rosales 09/26 Wed 12:15 pm +Dan Adams 09/27 Thu 12:15 pm Eucharistic Service 09/28 Fri 12:15 pm Int. Erin & Reyes Delgado This Week s Meeting & Events 09/25 Tue 7:00 pm Sons of Italy 09/26 Wed 7:00 pm Women s Club 09/27 Thu 7:00 pm RCIA 09/29 Sat 10:00 am Choir Practice Our Annual Ministries Appeal for 2012 is $26,900.. To date we have $24,88 884 in pledges and payments. It is important to meet our goal in order to fund those important services provided by the Diocese. e. Thank you for your support. Movie Night will start up again Friday, September 28 th, 7:00 pm in the Parish Hall. Finance Corner Last weekend the plate collection was $3,887 and Maintenance & Repair Fund was $1,187. Second Collection Next weekend the Second collection is for St. Vincent de Paul. Please make your checks out to St. Vincent de Paul. Stewardship Corner Today s second reading warns that a heart consumed with avarice and envy leads to jealousy, strife, conflicts, and disputes. A giving heart, in contract, can sing instead with the psalmist, Freely will I offer you sacrifice; I will praise your name, O Lord, for its goodness. Leave a Legacy The gifts God has given you can go on doing good after your lifetime. Ask your lawyer or financial advisor how to make a gift to your parish. Gifts are not only cash, but can be shares of stock, bonds, life insurance, real estate, or personal property such as jewelry, collections, and vehicles. Fr. Eric s Wednesday Night Study Sessions Fr. Eric Freed's popular seminars are every Wednesday except the last Wednesday of the month. They will be held at the Newman Center just up the hill from Health Sport in Arcata at 700 Union Street at 7:30 pm. This session will be on the Historical Survey of Christianity. Fr. Eric Freed is the pastor of St. Bernard s parish. Call 442-6466 for questions. Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus would like to invite new members, men interested in becoming a Knight and their spouses to an informational meeting about the Knights of Columbus. Thursday September 27 th at 7:00 pm in St. Bernard s Parish Hall. Check out our Website at: www.saintbernards.org
Sept 23,, 2012 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Book of Revelation Presented by: Fr. David Anderson Monday evenings: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm September 10- October 29 St. Bernard Parish Hall: Pinochi Room Fr. David Anderson, pastor at St. Peter Eastern Catholic Church in Ukiah, is both Retreat Master and Liturgist. Over the past years he has presented lecture series at St. Bernard such as The Early Church Fathers" and "The Eight Great Doctors of the Early Church. He has translated various works from Church Fathers and is an outstanding teacher. We welcome him back. Cost is $20 for the series. PRAYERS FOR THE SICK: Evelyn Avila, James Avila, Patricia Ayers, Teresa Blake, Dennis Cahill, Donna Clemons, Mary Davey, Tia Dimmick, Clarence Enos, Kathy Ferris, Tara Gadsby, Elsie Godinho, Erick Gonzalez, Therese & Paul Grella, Marian Griffin, Jackie Hill, Jim Hill, Joseph, Alisa Luzzi-Jerland, Kathy McCormack, Riley Moran, Margaret Murdock, Deb Nordstrom, Donna Nunes, John G. Perrone, Dolores Ralls, Joanne Hebert Ray, Robert Resor, Yvonne Rocha, Donna Selsor, John Silva, George Smith, Nancy Smith, Francesco Stagnoli, Jan Sundquist, William Taylor, Greg Weigel, Jeff Wickizer, Seth Woolf, and all our brothers and sisters in need of prayer and healing. PRAYER LINE "Pray, pray to the Lord with me, because the whole world needs prayer. And every day, when your heart especially feels the loneliness of life, pray. Pray to the Lord." St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) If you have a special need of any type, we have a prayer team who will pray on your behalf. Please call Toni at 445-3616. Were you thinking about becoming a member of Our Women s Club? Come help assist our church and pastor through this special ministry. Our next meeting will be Sept. 26 th, 7:00 pm in St. Bernard Parish Hall. All women ages 18 and over are welcome to join. No church parking except on weekends for St. Bernard's Church. Starting this month work will begin on the hall elevator. Please do not park in parking lot for the next several weeks; only rental parking is allowed. Thank you for your consideration. Elevator Update Pictures of the elevator construction installation in the parish hall can be found on the parish website at: www.saintbernards.org. Check back frequently to see the progress, as photos will be added over the coming weeks. If you would like to make a contribution to the elevator fund please mark your checks or envelopes Elevator Fund. Religious Education for Youth Sunday School/CCD for grades K-8 and Confirmation Class for 9 grade and/or age 14+ will begin September 16 th at 8:15 am in the Library at St. Bernard s Elementary School. Visit the Parish website or call (707) 601-8585 for more information. All Are Welcome-Join the choir this fall. Rehearsals are at 10 am on Saturdays at St. Bernard's Church. Please contact Issa @ 707-840-9514 with any questions. RCIA Adults interested in the Catholic Church and her sacraments are invited to meet at the rectory on Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. beginning September 27th. There is no financial cost. For information, call Dianne at 442-8812. ICF Branch 145 The Eureka Italian Catholic Federation sponsors an annual fund-raising spaghetti dinner in October to benefit the Colivas Scholarship Fund. For the past few years, this fund has provided two first-year scholarships for high-school graduates. Unfortunately, the dinner is cancelled this year, but if you've enjoyed our dinners in the past, have family members who have benefited from the scholarships or are interested in furthering education for our youth, please consider donating to this worthy cause. Coast Central Credit Union, 2650 Harrison Eureka, CA 95501 Italian Catholic Federation, Colivas Scholarship Fund, S70.1 "By seeing Christ in each and every person, I live each day with greater gratitude and greater joy."
Discovering hope and joy in the Catholic faith. September 2012 Humboldt County Catholic Churches A way to make better decisions Prayer to Mary Non-Catholics often ask why we worship and pray to Mary. In fact, prayer is raising our hearts and minds to God. We don t worship or pray to anyone else. We ask for Mary s intercession with her divine Son. We honor her for the unique role she played in our salvation. But our prayer and worship is reserved only for God. St. Ignatius way St. Ignatius came to holiness reluctantly. When a canon ball shattered his leg, he began a long and boring convalescence and requested romance novels to pass the time. Instead he was given books on the life of Christ and the saints. His heart was touched and thus began a lifelong love resulting in founding the Society of Jesus. Daily prayer a must "Daily prayer is the foundation of sanctity. Some prefer it in the morning. Some late at night. However, whenever, wherever, it s a must!" Timothy Cardinal Dolan Adopting a formal decision-making process can be helpful in choosing a new job, buying a house, or even deciding for whom to vote in November s election. Try a process like this: Begin with a prayer for guidance. Then identify the specific decision to be made as well as the objectives or outcome you want to achieve. Entrust your works to the Lord and your plans will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). Do your homework. Gather as many facts as you can from all sides of the question. Write down every possible choice. Reject the choices that are incompatible Lit candles have many purposes. At Baptism, the lit candle symbolizes the Light of Christ in the soul of the baptized. In church, lit votive candles symbolize prayer intentions others have offered to God. The with your Catholic values or principles. Focus on the choices that remain. Consider the consequences of each choice on your list. Weigh the possible outcomes. For example, what will happen if I do A, B, or C and can I live with the consequences? List the pros and cons for each choice. Prioritize the pros in order of importance to you. Do the same for the cons. Look at the list to see if either side is lopsided. If so, choose the side that has more and better arguments in its favor. If you get stuck, turn to someone you trust for an opinion. Share your decision process and ask for feedback and advice. Make your decision and monitor your results for the next time. Why do Catholics light candles? sanctuary lamp remains lit as a reminder that Jesus is present in the tabernacle. During Advent, we light candles to count down the weeks until Jesus birth. At Easter, the candle reminds us that Jesus, the Light of the World, conquered the darkness of sin and death. Copyright 2012 Success Publishing & Media, LLC
Painless ways to proclaim the Gospel September 2012 Page 2 Jesus told his followers to Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). He knew that by spreading the Gospel, not only would we share his love with others, we each would deepen our own faith and renew our belief in the Gospel. Try these ideas for becoming an enthusiastic evangelist: Be unapologetically Catholic. It is said that St. Francis of Assisi told his followers, Preach the Gospel always. If necessary, use words. Starting with Mass on Sundays, live your Catholic faith seven days a week, wherever you go. Correct misperceptions. Very often, non-catholics or even non-practicing Catholics misunderstand what we believe. Become an expert and offer gentle corrections. You may want to carry pamphlets that summarize our basic beliefs in your purse or wallet to hand out. (Tip: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has an excellent selection: www.usccb.org, 800-235-8722.) Volunteer to teach a religious education class. Can you imagine a more effective way to spread the good news than to our future generation? To avoid detection, Jesus secretly entered Galilee and warned his disciples about the bad things that were going to happen. Although confused by this serious turn of events, the disciples didn t ask for an explanation. Instead they argued over who would get the best position in Jesus kingdom. Jesus told them that such a reward comes when we put others before ourselves. In particular, our reward for caring for people who can t repay us will come straight from God. (A note for anyone in power.) Sept. 9 St. Peter Claver (1654). A young Jesuit in Colombia in 1610, St. Peter Claver was horrified by the slave trade. He hurried down to each arriving slave ship and brought water, medicine, food, and clothing to its inmates. He taught them about God and baptized nearly 300,000 slaves. Sept. 19 St. Januarius (304). Bishop of Benevento, Italy, during a time of great persecution, Januarius visited Christians in prison and was arrested himself. He and his companions were thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheater but were not harmed by From Scripture: Mark 9:30-37, don t be afraid to ask. Why didn t the disciples ask Jesus to explain what was going on? Surely he would have told them what they needed to know. Perhaps they were afraid that what he would say would make them uncomfortable or put them in danger. Don t we sometimes have the same fears? Yet Jesus assures us that he will always tell us what we need to know so we can be with him in Heaven. All we have to do is ask. the animals. They were later beheaded. Sept. 20 St. Andrew Kim Taegon, St. Paul Chong Hasang and companions (1839 to 1867). That Catholicism exists in Korea is due to the courage of these saints. Spreading the Gospel was difficult because almost all contact with the outside world was forbidden. Andrew and Paul, 98 Koreans and three French missionaries refused to renounce their faith or cease evangelizing and were martyred between 1839 and 1867. How can I stop worrying about what other people think? The problem with placing too much importance on other people s opinions of you is that you give them inappropriate power over you. In effect, you are substituting other people s values and judgment for your own and there is no guarantee that they have your best interests or your eternal future at heart. Not everyone is interested in helping you get to Heaven. Try instead to live by the rules detailed in the Ten Commandments and in the Beatitudes. They tell us to be devoted to God, to care for other people, to be honest and dedicated to truth, and to value the blessings God has given us. Remember that there is value in being criticized or insulted even though you do the right thing. Not only can you offer it as penance for your sins, such suffering teaches humility and patience two virtues that will help you get to Heaven. And when it comes down to it, the opinion of other people will pass, but God s judgment is forever. To provide practical ideas that promote faithful Catholic living. Success Publishing & Media, LLC Publishers of Growing in Faith and Partners in Faith (540)662-7844 (540)662-7847 fax http://www.growinginfaith.com (Unless noted Bible quotes and references are from the Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible) Copyright 2012 Success Publishing & Media, LLC