CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS Immaculate Conception 353 Grove Street Worcester, MA 01605-3907 PHONE NUMBER 508-754-8419 CONTACT PERSON Sharon Rainville CHURCH NUMBER 005046 SOFTWARE Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 Adobe Acrobat X Windows 7 PRINTER Canon MX860 NUMBER OF PAGES 6 SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION August 3, 2014 TRANSMISSION TIME Tuesday, 10:00 AM SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Immaculate Conception Parish SUNDAY MASSES SATURDAY VIGIL: 4:00 PM SUNDAY: 7:30 AM, 10:00 AM SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Saturday 3:00-4:00 PM (or by appointment) RECTORY ADDRESS 353 Grove Street, Worcester, MA 01605 Phone: 508-754-8419 Fax: 508-754-8508 Religious Education Phone: 508-868-8119 REV. WALTER RILEY, PASTOR KEVIN DEIGNAN, PERMANENT DEACON FRANK MYSKA, PERMANENT DEACON MARY SYCKS, ADMINISTRATOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND YOUTH MINISTER C. HENRY MASON, MUSIC DIRECTOR SHARON RAINVILLE, PARISH SECRETARY MATTHEW FOSTER, PASTORAL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN LYNDA MONAHAN, SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR Please visit our website at www.icworc.com and Facebook WEEKDAY MASSES MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY 9:00 AM THURSDAY 8:00 AM SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Parents and godparents of infants to be baptized are expected to participate in a preparation session. Call the Rectory to register for this process and set a date for the actual Baptism. For Baptism of adults please contact the Rectory. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE Please contact the rectory one year prior to your desired wedding date SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK Father Walter can be called whenever someone can benefit from this sacrament of healing. NEW PARISHIONERS Anyone is welcome to join the Parish Community. Please contact the Rectory and introduce yourself.
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME August 3, 2014 MASS INTENTIONS Sat. Aug. 2 4:00 PM Francis X. Mahoney, Sr., 15th Anniversary by family Sun. Aug. 3 7:30 AM George A. & Kathleen E. Lavoie by family 10:00 AM Philip Leighton, 4th Anniversary by family Mon. Aug. 4 9:00 AM (St. John Vianney) Tues. Aug. 5 9:00 AM Wed. Aug. 6 9:00 AM Thurs. Aug. 7 8:00 AM (St. Sixtus II and Companions; St. Cajetan) Sat. Aug. 9 4:00 PM Francis J. Elliott, Jr. by family Sun. Aug. 10 7:30 AM Deceased Members of the Dowd Family 10:00 AM Patrick Gorman, 3rd Anniversary by family THIS WEEK the text for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time may be found at #999 in the Journeysongs hymnal. FRIDAY FASTING AND INTENTION Thank you to all in our parish who participate in our weekly Friday fast of abstaining from meat and fasting for one meal. This early Catholic tradition is a wonderful way of reminding ourselves of Jesus ultimate sacrifice for all of us on Good Friday. The intention for the upcoming Friday is for those who are close to death, as we fast for their peace and comfort. COLLECTION FOR CHURCH IN EASTERN EUROPE Next week our Parish and the Church throughout America takes up its annual collection for the Church in Eastern Europe, as we support our Catholic sisters and brothers in nations that continue to rebuild from war and insurrection. Thank you for your generosity. TRIP TO DIVINE MERCY SHRINE Immaculate Conception Church, Worcester, is sponsoring a bus trip to the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA on Thursday, October 9, 2014. The fall foliage will be breathtaking! Cost of $59 includes lunch at the Corke n Hearth in Lenox and visit to the Shrine with Mass at 2 p.m. A Fox Tour bus will leave Immaculate Conception parking lot at 8:30 a.m. and arrive back by approx. 6 p.m. Choice of baked scrod or baked chicken. Arrive at the Church by 8:15 a.m. SEND check payable to FOX TOURS to Michelle Deignan, 227 St. Nicholas Ave., Worcester, MA 01606, with your NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER, AND FOOD SELECTION. Let us know if you have special needs. DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THIS DAY TRIP IS SEPTEMBER 9. Questions? Contact Michelle Deignan at (508) 853-0820 leave a message with your phone number. Thank You. PEER MINISTRY TO SEPARATED AND DIVORCED, takes place on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from 7 8:30 p.m. at St. John Rectory, 44 Temple St., Worcester. The meeting includes prayer, sharing with readings presently from Catholics Experiencing Divorce by Vicki Wells Bedard and William E. Rabbior. We understand loss, separation and divorce through our own experiences. For more information, contact Diane, ddlaurie31@msn.com. Please include Peer Ministry in your subject line. HOLY HOUR TUESDAY, AUGUST 5TH Our monthly Holy Hour for the dignity of human life and religious liberty will be held this coming Tuesday, August 5, at 6:00 p.m. in the Church. Come and spend a quiet hour of prayer in the presence of he Lord for these two fundamental causes that affect our nation today. DIGNITY OF HUMAN LIFE How can we fail to mention all those daily gestures of openness, sacrifice, and unselfish care which countless people lovingly make in families, hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly and other centers or communities which defend life? Allowing herself to be guided by the example of Jesus the Good Samaritan and upheld by his strength, the Church has always been in the front line in providing charitable help; so many of her sons and daughters, especially men and women religious, in traditional and ever new forms, have consecrated and continue to consecrate their lives to God, freely giving of themselves out of love for their neighbor, especially for the weak and needy. Blessed John Paul II, from the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, The Gospel of Life RELIGIOUS LIBERTY May God, the Father of all, grant that the human family by carefully observing the principle of religious liberty in society may be brought by the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to that glorious freedom of the children of God which is sublime and everlasting. Vatican II Document, Declaration on Religious Liberty READINGS FOR NEXT SUNDAY, AUGUST 10TH 19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1st Reading: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Psalm 85 2nd Reading: Romans 9:1-5 Gospel: Matthew 14: 22-33 THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Sunday Ordinary Income $3346.00 Online Donations for July $ 985.00 Misc. Envelopes $ 10.00
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH WORCESTER, MA Children s Bulletins are available to all children at Immaculate Conception. They can be found at all three entrances in the church. They are a great tool for families to share their faith together. YOUNG ADULT WEEKEND AUG. 8-10 AT PRINDLE POND CONFERENCE CTR. IN CHARLTON, MA Grow closer to Christ and manage everyday life with Ignatian Spiritual Exercises with a retreat led by Fr. Justin Brophy (Providence College), Bob Pfunder (Notre Dame), Fr. Jonathan Slavinskas & Fr. Nick Desimone (Worcester Diocese). We will relax, refresh, and recharge! Cost is $75. Begins Friday 7 p.m. and ends at noon Sunday. Meals provided. There is also swimming, volleyball, bonfire, kayaking (if you bring your own). RSVP by Friday Aug. 1st to Liz@NEWorcester.org. CATHOLIC HOMESCHOOL CONFERENCE August 8th and 9th, 2014 The Immaculate Heart of Mary New England Homeschool and Parent Conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Inn and Conference Center, 50 Warren Street, in Lowell, on Friday, August 8th (2pm 8pm), and on Saturday, August 9th (9:30am 3:30pm). Confirmed speakers include: Dr. Ray Guarendi, Dr. Ryan Topping, Mrs. Any Kalscheur, and Mrs. Virginia Seuffert! Admission is free and pre-registration is not required. For more information, please visit www.ihmconference.org or call 540-636-1946. WORCESTER EMMANUEL RADIO 1230AM When at home or driving in your vehicle, be sure to check out and tune into the Catholic radio station Emmanuel Radio, 1230 on the AM dial. We are very blessed in this area to have Catholic radio, as Worcester joins over 200 other Catholic affiliates throughout the country in the sharing and learning of our faith. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION FACEBOOK PAGE Facebook can now be accessed from our Immaculate Conception parish website. Our hope is to have photos of the activities that take place in our parish throughout the year, as well as the Scouts who use our facilities. RELIGIOUS READING A reminder that there are a number of books in a small bookcase located in the candle and prayer room in the back of the Church. These books are from Fr. Riley s personal library. Anyone is invited to take one or two, or more, for spiritual reading, with the expectation of returning them when finished. There are many excellent topics on the shelves connected to our faith. Some new titles have been recently placed into the bookcase. RELIGIOUS QUOTE OF THE WEEK Hasten therefore to receive the Holy Spirit. He is with you when you call upon him; you can call upon him only because he is already present. But when he comes in answer to your prayer, he comes with an abundance of divine blessings; he is the river whose streams give joy to the city of God. William of Thierry, Abbot (c 1085 c 1148) HOPE FOR HOUSING FOOD CARDS Please consider purchasing food cards for the purpose of helping to stop homelessness here in Central Massachusetts. 5% of each card purchased will be donated by the participating grocery chain, while the purchase receives the full value of the card that is purchased. The money raised from this ministry has helped to prevent hundreds of families from being homeless, a situation that no one in our country should have to experience. Last week at Immaculate Conception our parishioners purchased $ 255.00 of cards. Thank you to those who continue to participate in this very worthy program. SACRAMENTALIZING MARRIAGES I extend an offer to any and all Catholic couples, or anyone who knows or is related to a couple, who were married by either a Justice of the Peace, or by a Minister without the presence of a Catholic priest, to consider having your marriage become a Sacramental relationship blessed in the Catholic Church. I m not sure where to begin on this topic; either the Church has done a poor job catechizing and teaching sacramental marriage as the fullness of the marital relationship, or a whole generation is simply missing the message on how a baptized Catholic is meant to be married in the church. This issue is much too important to ignore. I invite any couple to contact me at the church if either spouse, or both spouses, are baptized Catholic and your marriage is presently not a sacramental relationship. The process for making your marriage a sacrament is, and trust me when I say this, very easy. The purpose here is to bring marriages for Catholics to the point where they are meant to be in the eyes of God, that being the Sacrament of Matrimony. Fr. Riley APOSTOLATE OF DIVINE MERCY & HEALING Fr. Ralph DiOrio s Apostolate of Divine Mercy & Healing will host a Sunday service on August 17th (12-4:30 p.m.) at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, MA. For infor call (508) 832-7890. Printable 2014 quarterly schedule available @ www.rdohealingministry.org THE POPE APP...For those who wish to follow the new Holy Father, Pope Francis, look into downloading The Pope App. It allows us Catholics the opportunity to follow Francis on a daily basis, and read some of the reflections and homilies he presents each day. The download is free. Continued from page 5 Their rushing forth to Boston is not to protect anything genuinely good, but something that is tragically called a right. Their acting in haste is sadly a hasty act that opens the door to all forms of violence that surrounds all of us. Their hastening, in the end, stops no violence, but instead causes all of us to live in greater fear. I pray that one day we will be wise enough as a community to see this truth, and stop flipping reason on its head. Peace, Fr. Riley
FROM THE PASTOR There are times when logic and truth are flipped on their heads, where yes is called no, and up is called down. The recent passing by Massachusetts politicians of a bill protecting access to abortion clinics throughout the state is a case of flipping truth on its head. It s an unwarranted action that plays into a certain way of thinking about those who pray and offer counseling outside abortion clinics. In the end, such political actions attempt to label these people as aggressors with violent thoughts raging inside their hearts and minds. This couldn t be more false. People who pray and spend time outside abortion clinics are people who seek to defend human life, not destroy it. This is where up is called down, and yes is called no by our state politicians who support abortion, along with others in our culture. The violence that is perpetrated throughout the entire process of seeking and performing an abortion is not possessed by those outside the walls of a clinic. They are not the violent ones. The violence is perpetrated inside the walls of a clinic, while those outside the walls of the clinic are doing their best in the ways of peace and persuasion to prevent it. For every abortion that occurs, an act of violence is carried out. I mentioned in my homily two weeks ago that if we ever wish to stop war in our world then we must stop abortion first. Because if we allow the destruction of the human person in the womb, protect it with all the force of the law, call it someone s right to do so, and threaten those who try to stop the violence, then war will be continuous and nonstop in our world. And I m not just talking about the Middle East. I m talking about the war and violence of gangs; the war and violence of school killings; the war and violence in the workplace, and so on. To protect abortion is to protect all other forms of violence in our society. Because when the most innocent of all is so casually and easily destroyed right before our eyes, the door has been opened to destroying the lives of those who are less innocent. Just a curious thought; many of us remember growing up, even in the city, where doors were unlocked and trust was abundant in our neighborhoods. We lament the loss of such peace and security today. I wonder if our peace started to change to fear and lack of trusting the outside world somewhere around 1973, thus beginning to lock our doors with, ironically, deadbolts and chains. That would be the year abortion was legalized. I believe there s much more than coincidence here. Either way, we live in a state where the majority of our politicians feel the need to craft legislation against those who put in the time and effort to try to spare the life of a human being. Such people will be labeled as those to be feared and potentially violent. Most likely unknowingly, our people will be labeled as those to be feared and potentially violent. Most likely unknowingly, our political leaders are in essence protecting all other forms of violence in our society, acting surprised and shocked when such violence happens. It serves our communities not at all when they rush to their state offices to offset a unanimous (rare) vote of the U.S. Supreme Court that protects free speech, and come up with another law that looks not much different from the previous one. Continued on page 4
THIS WEEK AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Sat. Aug. 2 3:00 PM Confessions 4:00 PM Mass Sun. Aug. 3 7:30 AM Mass 10:00 AM Mass Mon. Aug. 4 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass Tues. Aug. 5 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass Wed. Aug. 6 8:30 AM Rosary 9:00 AM Mass Thurs. Aug. 7 7:30 AM Rosary 8:00 AM Mass Fri. Aug. 8 Sat. Aug. 9 3:00 PM Confessions 4:00 PM Mass Sun. Aug. 10 7:30 AM Mass 10:00 AM Mass YES, WE WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER AT IMMACULATE CONCEPTION!! Name Address: City &Zip Phone Envelopes Number of People in Household PLEASE, TEAR THIS OFF AND PLACE IN THE COLLECTION BASKET!