St. John Neumann Church 157 Middleboro Road / P.O. Box 718 East Freetown, MA 02717 www.sjnfreetown.org 508-763-2240 (phone) 508-763-3040 (Fax) Rev. Gregory A. Mathias, Pastor WEEKEND MASS SCHEDULE Sunday: 8:00, 9:30, 11:00A.M. Saturday Vigil: 5:00 P.M. DAILY MASS SCHEDULE Monday Thursday: 7:30 A.M. SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday: 4:00 4:30 P.M. or by appointment EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Mary, Mother of All Nations Chapel Weekdays: 8:00 A.M. 9:00 P.M. Mondays (except civil holidays) Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament PARISH OFFFICE / RECTORY 508-763-2240 YOUTH MINISTRY OFFICE contact@sjnfreetown.org NEUMANN HALL sjnyouthministry@sjnfreetown.org Monday Friday: 8:30 A.M. 4:30 P.M. (Closed holidays) Lisa Johnson Youth Ministry Mrs. Diane Whelan Parish Secretary JoAnn Violette Jr. Youth Ministry OFFICE OF FAITH FORMATION 508-763-8122 MUSIC MINISTRY NEUMANN HALL sjnreled@sjnfreetown.org Ms. Linda Johnston Director Mrs. Suzanne Medeiros Director Mrs. Anna Manny Coordinator for Confirmation MAINTENANCE AND FACILITIES Raymond Bedard SACRAMENTS AND CHURCH PROGRAMS PARISH ORGANIZATIONS AND MINISTRIES Please go the parish website www.sjnfreetown.org or contact the office for more complete information. BAPTISM: Celebrated Sundays after 11:00 Mass on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays of the month. Baptism Catechesis is required of all parents MARRIAGE: Please contact the pastor at least 8 months prior to the intended date and prior to other plans. MINISTRY TO THE SICK: Please notify us if a homebound or hospitalized family member would like a visit. PRAYER LINE: Call the rectory to include your intention. RCIA: We welcome adults who wish to complete their initiation into the Catholic Church. Please contact the office. WOMEN S GUILD: 1 st Mondays ST. VINCENT de PAUL: 1 st Wednesdays YOUTH MINISTRY: see website for events and times. Junior (Gr. 6 8): Every Tuesday Senior (Gr. 9 12) Every Monday COUPLES CLUB: Once a Month ADULT CHOIR: Rehearsal on Thursdays 7:00 P.M. PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: 1st Saturday of the month TROOP 333: Every Saturday Welcome to St. John Neumann Parish. Thank You for joining us in worship today. We hope you will join us on the spiritual journey, in ministry to all God s people. Please contact the parish office to register. Click on the QRC to connect to the parish website.
7th Sunday in Ordinary Time February 23, 2014 February 22: Vigil: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 5:00PM Eugene & Clara Bonville by Jean, Lynn & Amy February 23: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00AM Antonio, Henriette & Christopher Champagne by family 9:30AM James McMullen by Melissa Trudy Medeiros 11:00AM James Kenney 20th Ann. By family February 24: Weekday 7:30AM John S. Laronda Sr. by Mr. & Mrs. Machado February 25: Weekday 7:30AM Eva Oliveira by family February 26: Weekday 7:30AM Philomena Arruda by family February 27: Weekday 7:30AM People of the Parish March 1: Vigil: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 5:00PM Alexander & Mary Warr by Donald & Bette Messier March 2: Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00AM Carol Rego by family 9:30AM Roland Vigeant by Domagala Family 11:00AM Jacqueline Mathieu 5:00PM - Edward Giguere by Bob & Inez Roy Lent is right around the corner. SJN Adult Faith Formation Team Invites you to a seven week Lenten course on Learning How to Defend Your Faith. As the Catholic Youth Ministry and Scout Awards Celebration held at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence on Sunday, March 2 at 1:00pm, our parishioner, Sr. Elizabeth Hathaway, RSM will be honored and presented the Companions on the Journey Award. This is the highest National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry adult award given be the Diocese of Providence for excellence in youth ministry, commitment to young people, outstanding leadership, commitment to on-going education and formation, and longevity in ministry. We are proud that Sr. Elizabeth Hathaway is part of our parish community. Adult Faith Formation meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 25th at 7 pm in Neumann Hall. New members are welcome. My Brother's Keeper, a Christian ministry with locations in Dartmouth and Easton, MA, picks up gently-used furniture couches; kitchen tables and chairs; dressers; and twin, full, and queen-size mattresses and box springs. Donations are never sold. All items are delivered free of charge to families in need in Christ s name. To schedule a pickup or to become a volunteer, please call My Brother's Keeper in Dartmouth at 774-305-4577. When? Tuesdays evenings, beginning March 4th 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Where? St. John Neumann Hall Stop in Neumann Hall after the 8:00AM and 9:30AM Mass and enjoy Coffee & Donuts!! Need Assistance?? COME ONE, COME ALL!!! If so please contact the Saint Vincent DePaul Society by calling the rectory at 508-763-2240.
Save the Date! The Sacrament of Confirmation 2014 Rev. Gregory A. Mathias will celebrate the Sacrament Of Confirmation for our Grade 9 students on Sunday, April 6th th at 2PM at St John Neumann Church. Please mark your calendars!! Thank You!! 2014 High School Youth Convention And Middle School Rally Sunday, March 30th High School Convention Monday, March 31st Middle School Rally Events will take place at Bishop Stang High School (No. Dartmouth) Attic Treasures Sale St John Neumann Women s Guild will be sponsoring their Attic Treasures Sale to be held in Neumann Hall on Saturday, March 8th from 9am to 3PM. Admission is free and a Continental Breakfast and Hot Homemade Lunch will be served. Come one, come all and have fun bargain hunting!! The Anchor Subscription envelopes have been mailed for the current year for our Diocesan Newspaper The Anchor. You may return them by mail or drop them in the collection basket on the weekend. If you do not receive The Anchor and would like to New subscription envelopes are located in the Narthex. E-GIVING E-Giving is short for electronic giving. It is an automatic transfer program that allows you to make contributions without the hassle of writing checks. For more information on E-Giving, please visit our website at www.sjnfreetown.org. We will continue offering the "cup" at all Masses. We do ask that if you are experiencing flu or cold like symptoms that you refrain from receiving from the cup. Adult Confirmation Classes for 2014 The Diocese of Fall River will be offering Adult Confirmation Classes for 2014. March 4 - April 1, 2014; Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm at Bishop Connolly HS Library, Fall River. March 8 - April 5, 2014; Saturdays from 10am - 12pm at Holy Family Parish, East Taunton. Parish Prayer Line We have a Prayer line in our parish. If you are interested in sharing your faith through prayer for the sick of our parish and for other intentions please call Rachel Constant 508-995-4269. Thank You!! Please call the Rectory 508-763-2240 if you would like to register for this class.
Your Offertory Trust Thank you for your Parish Support through your Offertory Trust. BUDGET: $ 2034.00 Please note that when we have weekends with inclement weather, our budget offering decreases significantly. This season s heating, plowing and sanding has depleted our annual operations budget. This is why our Annual Collection is so important to the parish not only to take care of the overall maintenance of our buildings but also to take care of whatever mother nature sends our way. We ask all parishioners to make an extra effort by placing last week s budget envelope in this week s collection. We thank you for your continued support!! What is the Adult Faith Formation Team? The Adult Faith Formation Team is a group of parishioners who explore different ways for us to grow in our faith as adults. They sponsor lecture series, video series, invited guest speakers, the parish book club, Christmas bonfire and caroling, the prayer shawl ministry, trips to Icon museums, etc. The next meeting is on February 25th at 7pm in Neumann Hall. New members and new ideas are always welcome. St. John Neumann Women s Guild St. John Neumann Women s Guild will meet on Monday, March 3rd at 6:30 pm with a Pot Luck Supper following a short meeting and after our Fun Auction will be held. Please bring a guest. The New Bedford Half Marathon is sponsored by the FRIENDLY SONS OF SAINT PATRICK. The event is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 th at 11:00 am. All of the proceeds from the Marathon will go toward scholarships and donations to local charities. We also distribute turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas and at Christmas there is also a toy distribution program. Because of the bombing at the Boston Marathon last year, we are in need of additional 100 volunteers. They will be utilized in the area of Crowd Control and Security. There will be an Orientation and Training Meeting on Tuesday, March 4 th at 7:00pm at Dublin s Sports Bar, 1686 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford. Food and beverages will be provided at the meeting. Any questions, please call Ray Kelley at 774-628- 9900 or email at irishman1941@yahoo.com. Holy Land Pilgrimage: November 9-19, 2014 The Parish of Saint Mary s in Dartmouth and the Parish of Christ the King in Mashpee will be coming together to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Why, you ask yourself, should you consider this opportunity? Well, for several reasons. First, you will never hear scripture proclaimed in the same way ever again. Second, the tour guide is Mr. Anton Ferrah is a Scripture Scholar and former Seminary Professor in Lebanon and knows the Holy Land very well. There will be a maximum of 28 pilgrims in total so it is first come, first serve. Initial pricing looks to be around $3900 based on double occupancy but is subject to change based on land transport. All flights, transfers and taxes included. This includes most meals. If you are serious and would like more information, please contact Father Rodney Thibault at 508-992-7163 directly. Lakeside Family Festival meeting The Season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2014. There will be three masses on Ash Wednesday. The Schedule is as follows: 7:30am, 4:45pm and 7:00pm There will be a general meeting on Sunday, March 9th at 6:30pm in Neumann Hall for all booth chairs. The meeting is also open to any parishioner who may have new ideas or who would like more information about the festival. There will be a steering committee meeting following the general meeting.
From the Pastor s Desk.. Confess Lately? The Sacrament of Reconciliation alternately called Confession or Penance--is firmly grounded in the Sacred Scriptures and Tradition of the Church. Jesus bestowed upon the Church via the Apostles, the power to forgive sins as is clearly seen in the Gospel of Matthew, wherein St. Peter is given the power of binding and loosing (Mt. 16:19), and in the Gospel of John, wherein the whole company of Apostles seem to be recipients of this special grace, (John 20:21-23). Exactly how this power this Sacrament--- would be exercised and experienced in the Church is something that would unfold with the development of the Church. In the beginning, the major focus of Church life was on Baptism as the entrance of a person into the saving mystery of Christ s Death and Resurrection: All of a person s sins were forgiven through Baptism in Christ s Church. However, as we all know from experience, Baptism does not remove temptation or our ability to choose good or evil. Post-Baptismal sin became a real problem for Church leaders, particularly in the experience of the persecutions when many people committed apostasy to save their necks, (they publically renounced their faith, or accepted the Roman gods.) These experiences forced the development of an expression of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which Christ had given the Church: Postpersecution, people were seeking forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church for their apostasy and other sins. Hence, the earliest expression of the Sacrament came in the form of The Rite of Penitents; which was a relatively public form of penance. Penitents petitioned the local bishop for forgiveness and were required to wear sackcloth and ashes or similar penitential garments. Moreover, they were required to pray daily outside the front door of the Cathedral for a time until the bishop deemed it adequate, and then they were re-admitted to full communion with the Church. This early form of the Sacrament of Reconciliation was so onerous that it had the unfortunate side effect of people delaying their Baptism until they were virtually on their death-bed. Meanwhile, in Ireland, there emerged another form which eventually would become the solution to the problem: Christians were finding their way to the various monasteries seeking the forgiveness from priests. A priest would be stationed near the entrance gate of the monastery, and open slot through which the confession would be made and the penance and absolution (blessing of forgiveness) given. Eventually, this form made its way to the mainland of Europe and into the churches in the form of confessionals. Today, very few people avail themselves of this Sacrament which is like a second Baptism. Unfortunately, the confession took on the reputation as a place where one went to be humiliated or scolded. These widespread experiences did much damage and I would assert that they do not represent the purpose of the Sacrament or the role of the priest therein. Today, you will find priests desiring to be welcoming and encouraging while, at the same time, seeking to help a person come to terms with the nature of their sin in the context of God s forgiveness. My purpose in writing is to make the following points: 1. The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is not a man-made reality, but it is divinely bestowed on the Church by Jesus himself. 2. As is the purpose of the Sacraments, the priest provides a listening ear and a forgiving voice for the Risen Lord to forgive the person who comes. The priest does not do the forgiving; but it is Christ himself who forgives through his ministry. 3. Please reconsider the role of this Sacrament in your own life if you have been away from it. It is the power of Christ for you and for me, to help us on our pilgrim way.