St. Francis Xavier Parish 5 TH SUNDAY IN LENT 13 MARCH 2016
St. Francis Xavier, Acushnet Diocese of Fall River Mass Intentions (Mar 12 - Mar 20) Sat. Mar 12 5 th Sunday of Lent (Vigil) (Vi) 4:00pm Pro Populo Sun. Mar 13 5 th Sunday of Lent (Vi) 8:00am Francisco Oliveira 10:30am Paulino & Ana Vieira Mon. Mar 14 Lenten Weekday (Vi) 9:00am Duggan Family Tues. Mar 15 Lenten Weekday (Vi) 9:00am John-Joseph Laflamme Wed. Mar 16 Lenten Weekday (Vi) 9:00am Maria Dos Santos Thurs. Mar 17 St. Patrick; Bishop (Wh) 5:30pm LATIN MASS: Ed Roberge Fri. Mar 18 St. Cyril of Jerusalem; Bishop (Vi) 9:00am Alfred Lemieux Sat. Mar 19 St. Joseph; Husband of Mary (Wh) 9:00am Claire Poyant Sat. Mar 19 Palm Sunday (Vigil) (Rd) 4:00pm George & Eileen Kincaid Sun. Mar 20 Palm Sunday (Rd) 8:00am Theresa Niemtimp 10:30am Pro Populo Financial Report Income: 4 th Sunday in Lent........ $6,103.25 Catholic Relief Services.......$2,034.00 Some Recent Parish Expenses: Monthly Medical & Dental......$2,708.54 Monthly Copier Rental.........$194.18 Prayers Please Please remember to pray for all the sick of our parish especially for those who are homebound, in the hospital and in nursing facilities. Sanctuary Lamp If you are interested in this weekly memorial, please contact the parish office. During Eucharistic Adoration please pray for the following person/s for whose intention the Sanctuary Candle burns: Doris Avila CONFESSIONS Monday: 5:30 to 6:30pm Saturday: 9:30 to 10:30am Saturday: 3:00 to 3:45pm PASTOR S COLUMN HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE We will be mailing a postcard this week to each of our families with the schedule for the Holy Week liturgies. There are some extra postcards at the entrance of the church if you would like to give them to family or friends. Please make every effort to participate fully in the various liturgies and devotions that will take place during Holy Week and the Easter Octave. As always you can refer to our parish website for more details. CONGRATULATIONS to our parishioner Sarah Hamel who has been awarded the annual John Cardinal O Connor Pro-Life Award by the Diocesan Pro-Life Office. Sarah was given this award for her great help with the pro-life boot camp and her service in many other diocesan prolife activities such as the recent Youth Conference at Bishop Stang. Sarah also was awarded 2 nd place in this year s Diocesan Pro-Life Essay competition. Sarah has been involved in many of our Pro-Life activities over the years here at SFX and we are proud of her continued efforts for the unborn. LETTER We recently received this short letter from someone in Peoria Illinois: Dear friends, I have your recordings of the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and these are by far my favorite ways to pray. I often listen and pray while I am walking or jogging and the recordings allow me to follow along prayerfully. I definitely pray more often because you made these recordings available. Thank you for your ministry. Our recordings of the Rosary, Stations, and Chaplet are available from the itunes Store and obviously are finding there way all over the country. SAVE THE DATE On Friday, 1st of April at 7:00pm we will be showing the Film The Original Image of Divine Mercy. This film is a documentary commissioned by the Vatican for the Year of Mercy and follows the commissioning by St. Faustina of the original painting of Divine Mercy, sometimes known as the Vilnius Edition. We are pleased to be one of the few sites in New England that has been allowed to screen this film. We will show the film in the school gymnasium. All are welcome and there is no charge, however there will be a free-will offering to help defray the cost of bringing this film to our parish. RICE BOWLS We thank all those who took home Rice Bowls to fill as part of their Lenten almsgiving. Please remember to return these to Church as Lent concludes. msgr@sfxparish.com
PARISH INFORMATION HELPFUL CONTACTS PARISH OFFICE HOURS Mon-Fri: 9:30am 4:00pm Please make an appointment to meet with Msgr. O Connor to schedule a Baptism or Wedding. Religious Education: 508-998-7445 School: 508-995-4313 School Fax: 508-995-0456 ACCESSIBILITY Open for Prayer Every Day Wheelchair Lift Cry-room Evening Prayer & Benediction Mon, Tues & Wed at 6:30pm St. Francis Xavier Parish 125 Main Street Acushnet, MA 02743 tel: (508)-995-7600 fax: (508) -995-1794 email: info@sfxparish.com Rev. Msgr. Gerard O Connor, Pastor [msgr@sfxparish.com] Deacon David Pepin [dbp@sfxparish.com] Mr. Steven Guillotte, Director of Pastoral Services [sng@sfxparish.com] Mrs. Michelle Russo, Principal [mrusso@sfxacushnet.com] Mrs. Anabela Shaughnessy, Asst. Principal [ashaughnessy@sfxacushnet.com] Mrs. Janine Hammarquist, Rel. Ed. Coordinator [jlh@sfxparish.com] HOLY MASS Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat 9:00am Thursday (1962 Latin Mass) 5:30pm Saturday Vigil 4:00pm Sunday 8:00am & 10:30am CONFESSIONS Monday 5:30-6:30pm Saturday 9:30-10:30am Saturday 3:00-3:45pm Any Time by Appointment ADORATION Mon, Tues & Wed 9:30am-9:00pm Thurs 7:00am-5:30pm Friday 9:30am-9:00pm Saturday 8:00am-2:45pm ON THE COVER On the cover of our parish bulletin for the 4 th Sunday of Lent we created a pictorial contrast between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane using the works by Lucas Cranach the Elder (Paradise) and Giovanni Bellini (The Agony in the Garden), respectively. The work of Cranach has at its central image: God instructing Adam and Eve to eat only from the Tree of Life. There is no particular rhythm to the background upper scenes. Above the central figure of God is the creation of Adam; off to the far right we have the creation of Eve; just to the left of this we see Adam and Eve hiding themselves from the Lord after eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge; and finally we have on the far-left the depiction of Adam and Eve being driven out of the garden. The lower half of the painting shows the preternatural peace of paradise, as the lions and tigers and fox lie down or move serenely amongst the relaxed and playful herbivores. In the work of Bellini we see Jesus in prayer as the central character. He kneels in prayer while in the sky above an angel offers him the cup of suffering which he is about to drink. Just to his left but off in the distance are the men who are coming to arrest him while his disciples sleep unawares since they could not even keep watch with him for one hour (Mt 26:40). In the upper-left corner is Jerusalem where he will be condemned. In the lower-left is an open gate (left open to the Son as if by the Father) to show that Jesus could have escaped the scene. But he does not. In the middle far-right stands a dead tree indicating the life that was lost by Adam. In fact, the garden in which Our Lord prays is not at all a garden but a desert so as to express the barren spiritual wasteland of sin. This sin has completely spent human nature, and the three disciples represent the spiritual exhaustion and collapse of man under the weight of sin and corruption. However, Jesus is the Tree of Life, the font of the Temple, and the water painted into the scene by Bellini begins from the side of Jesus as a thin line growing ever wider until it waters the land, giving it new and abundant life (Ez 47:9-12). We are reminded here of Psalm 107. In Cranach s Paradise we see the past when [God] turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground (Ps 107:33). But in Bellini s Agony we see the future when He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water (Ps 107:35). Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the LORD (Ps 107:33). FLOOD LIGHT REPAIR: One of our parking lot flood light poles had been leaning due to the cement pedestal being cracked underground. We thank parishioners John Guillotte for noticing, John Texeira for pouring a new concrete footing, and Doug Corrigan for coordinating the lowering and raising of the pole. Once again, we thank all parishioners for their support of the Building Fund which pays for the materials etc. for such projects.
All First Communion Students will be attending the 10:30am Mass together in reserved pews from March 13 th March 20 th and April 3 rd & 10 th. Please keep them in your prayers as they prepare to receive Holy Communion for the first time in May. Day of Reflection for First Communicants is Saturday 19 st March from 12:15-3:30pm. Students must be accompanied by at least one parent/guardian. Confirmation Service Project All Level 8 & 9 students will be changing the missals and cleaning the church on Thursday 17 th of March immediately following Latin Mass at 6pm in the church, to prepare for Holy Week & Easter EUCHARISTIC ADORATION: All Monday evenings 7:30-8:30pm. Every grade level has a reserved hour of Adoration from October-May. March is Level 3. Trusting in the mercy and love of our God who walked among the poor, vulnerable and outcast. Let us not forget the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world. CRS RICE BOWL! We have been so very blessed with a mild winter and look forward to a beautiful spring. This past week's weather certainly cooperated as our students enjoyed a walk to Mass, as well as much outdoor play time. The school is buzzing with excitement after school each day, as rehearsals have begun for our 2 nd annual Musical Spectacular! Ninety five of our students have decided to participate in the "Broadway Favorites" show set to take place in May. Please consider assisting our school with its largest fundraiser of the school year! Details can be found in last week's bulletin, which is also accessible through the SFX parish website. Thank you and God bless! Michelle Russo/Principal READINGS FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 13, 2016 4 th Sunday of Lent March 13, 2016 20 - Week Club20-Week Club Week: 13 - Club 45 $25.00 #61 Gabriel De Melo $20.00 #10 Jose Castello $15.00 #29 Lorraine Dabrowski $10.00 #52 Lucien Chretien Sunday: Is 43:16-21/Ps 126:1-6/Phil 3:8-14/Jn 8:1-11 Monday: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 Tuesday: Nm 21:4-9/Ps 102:2-3, 16-21/Jn 8:21-30 Wednesday: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95/Dn 3:52-56/Jn 8:31-42 Thursday: Gn 17:3-9/Ps 105:4-9/Jn 8:51-59 Friday: Jer 20:10-13/Ps 18:2-7/Jn 10:31-42 Saturday: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16/Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29/Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22/Mt 1:16, 18-21, 24a or Lk 2:41-51a Christ & the Adulteress Lucas Cranach the Elder(1572) Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. (Jn 8:6-9) SFX PARISH CALENDAR Sunday March 13 Rel. Ed Levels 1-6 9:15-10:15am Parish Ctr. Adult Education 9:15-10:15am Parish Ctr. Rel. Ed Levels 7-9 11:30am-12:30pm Parish Ctr. Monday March 14 EP & Benediction 6:30-7:00pm Church Eucharistic Adoration Rel. Ed Level 3 7:30-8:30pm Church Tuesday March 15 EP & Benediction 6:30-7:00pm Church Adult Education 7:00-8:15pm Parish Ctr. Wednesday March 16 EP & Benediction 6:30-7:00pm Church Men of St. Joseph 7:00-9:00pm Parish Ctr. Thursday March 17 Level 8&9 change missals 6:00pm Church Friday March 18 Stations of the Cross 7:00pm Church Saturday March 19 Day of Reflection: 1st Communion Students 12:15pm-3:30pm Parish Ctr. UPCOMING SECOND/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Mar 13 th - Parish Building Fund Mar 25 th - Good Friday for the Holy Land
Adult Religious Education at SFX The next session of our adult program is on Sunday, Mar. 13th at 9:15am and Tuesday, Mar 15th at 7:00pm. Our Asst. School Principal, Anabela Shaughnessy will present: The Domestic Church: How Our Families Can Inspire Holiness. This session will focus on the life of St. Therese of Lisieux and her parents both recently canonized saints demonstrating the family as incubator of a life of grace and holiness. SFX PRAYER LINE St. Francis Xavier runs a prayer line run in which fellow parishioners pray for your intentions. If you would like to add your intentions, please call 774-202-0163, between the hours of 8am-8pm. Or send an email to prayerapostolate@gmail.com. 9:00AM Mass *Women of Grace 2016* Next meeting Thursday 31st March 6:30-8:30pm in the parish center Please pray to Our Lady of Guadalupe for the protection of all life. Consider lighting a candle in the Pro-Life room (near elevator) in front of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe for your intentions, the prayer room is open during the week until 4pm. Women of Grace Holy Hour every first Tuesday of the month 7:30-8:30pm in front of Blessed Sacrament. All women of the parish are welcome to join in this hour of prayer and reflection. SAVE THE DATE: for our next parish blood drive scheduled for April 17 th, 2016. This will be the second of our four annual parish blood drives which are a part of our parish Pro-Life efforts which instill a desire to protect and support human life. The drive takes place on our parish grounds in a very new and clean mobile clinic. Please keep an eye out for our coming sign-up sheet. Saturday, March 19th is the Feast Day of St. Joseph (A message from our parish Men of St. Joseph) Remember not the events of the past see, I am doing something new! (Is 43: 19-20) Daily Mass Watch Friday, March 18 th is the memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem who once said: Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow, and on everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out. Let us never be ashamed to make the sign of the cross in public. (Come to 9am Mass on Friday). OUR ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY: continually collects non-perishable food items for the local poor. Please place your donated items in the box at the rear of the church. Please contact Bob Vigeant at 508 717-2622 if you have any special needs, and thank you! Note: As we are now in Lent we are glad to have your donations at this time as we are collecting items for our special Easter deliveries. Stations of the Cross Please sign up in the Church entrance to join us in Prayer on March 19, 2016 in Attleboro Lenten Fridays 7:00pm
IDEAS FOR PRAYER BY DOM HUBERT VAN ZELLER The whole principle of prayer rests upon readiness to follow God s will. On no other terms can prayer properly develop. In its every aspect this has to be recognized. Even the prayer of petition, which at first sight looks like an attempt to change God s will, must show a willingness to accept the outcome or it is not so much an act of prayer as of superstition. In making our request we do not impose our will upon God s will, doing our best to shape his plan to suit our own, but, by implication anyway, dispose ourselves to receive whatever he sends. The so-called answered prayer is not an example of God giving in when his will was to do something else. It does not represent a triumph of human pleading. If a prayer is answered in the way we hoped it would be, according to specifications submitted, this is because God suggested it and arranged the form it was to take. Prayer is never a means by which God s will is brought down to the level of our own; rather it is a means by which our will is raised so that it coincides with his. As a result we shall frequently find our requests denied. But if grace is working in us as it should be we shall at the same time find ourselves increasingly ready to meet our frustration. In the case of the saint the disposition is one of constant surrender to God s will in whatever way it happens to turn out. Instinctive resistance is no obstacle. The only obstacle is deliberate refusal. Our Lord himself was subject to a natural shrinking from the Father s will at the Passion, but in no way did this lessen the surrender. Indeed, it added to the perfection of the surrender. SACRAMENT CANDIDATES: We are just a few weeks away from our Easter Vigil Mass when two parishioners, Meghann Bodeau and Manny Gobern, will complete their sacraments of initiation. Manny will receive First Communion and Confirmation and Meghann will enter full communion with the Catholic Church also being baptized at the vigil Mass. We ask that all parishioners keep Manny and Meghann in their prayers as they have been formed in conscience and now proceed further in the life of grace. THE PIOUS SOUL Piety is gratefulness for being alive. The pious man reveres those that give him life and repays those that secure it. 4 th Sunday of Lent March 6, 2016 (Anonymous) STEVE S COLUMN THE DUTY OF LOVE: Your piety is like a morning cloud, like the dew that early passes away. (Hos 6:4) Some translations of this bible verse, from the Book of the Prophet Hosea, substitute the word piety with loyalty. Others use the term steadfast love. Each one of these translations attempts to grasp that special kind of love called piety which often eludes the children of God. In ancient Rome the surname, Pius, was gifted to those especially dutiful to their parents. Thus the Roman general, Quintus Metellus became Quintus Metellus Pius for his successful efforts to recall his father from political exile. In practice, the pious Roman was the one who fulfilled all his obligations: to the gods, his clan (gens) and his country. Piety is hardly ever spoken of today. Our individualist society avoids speaking of it since it avoids most obligations. The Church avoids mentioning it because it seems to have forgotten what to say about it. So what is piety? Piety is simply the virtue of offering due reverence to those persons who are in some way responsible for our existence or well-being, such as God, one s parents, one s family, one s countrymen (and one s Church). In Christian parlance, it is that duty to love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mt 22:37-39). What s that you say? Jesus actually meant love to be our duty? Well, yes. He did. This is why he gave us two commandments of love rather than two suggestions. The Catholic is deemed pious therefore when moved by grace he offers a sincere and dutiful love to God and to his fellow man. He cannot divide one love from the other. He cannot offer reverent worship to God yet refuse a loaf of bread to his brother. He cannot feed his brother yet refuse a life of holiness to his God. To be pious he must give back to God and man. He must be dutiful in his worship of God, dutiful to a life of virtue, and dutiful in charity to others. But how can duty have anything to do with love? Mustn t love be entirely free and isn t duty always something that is expected or required; something that must be done under compulsion? And by the way, since when has any obligation ever brought about joy? Do not be too harsh with us if we cannot answer so easily with one formal and exact reply. All we know is that in revering the Lord, in venerating the saints, in being obedient to our parents, in being dutiful to our husbands and wives, and in being under obligation to our friends, we receive great joy. We may not be able to explain exactly how piety works, but we know that it works, and that it works well. And that it never gets bogged down in the dutiful, but urges us on steadily toward the beautiful. Your piety is like a morning cloud that passes away. Let rather your piety be like the star that shines eternal. sngsfx@gmail.com
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Open: Mon-Thurs 6am Fri 6amthru Dinner Sat 6am-12pm Sun 7am-1pm DeRossi Music School Music Lessons for Children & Adults Voice, Piano, Guitar, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Trumpet & Accordion (508) 993-2494 (508) 998-3881 BARRY & JUDY DEROSSI St. Francis Music Ministers ROCK FUNERAL HOME Celebrating Lives With Dignity 508-995-5772 falamos portugues A Service Family Affiliate of AFFS/Service Corp. Int l 206 Winter Street, Fall River, MA 02720 (508) 676-2454 Auto, Home, Commercial Ins. 811 ASHLEY BOULEVARD NEW BEDFORD, MA 02745 PHONE: 508-995-6492 FAX: 508-995-1479 Visiting Nurse Hospice Care Private Care An award-winning not-for-profit home care agency serving southeastern Massachusetts since 1918 508-992-6278 62 Center St. Fairhaven, MA 02719 www.communitynurse.com info@communitynurse.com The Department of Children and Families is Reimbursements include a stipend for daily expenses($20+), a quarterly clothing allowance, & coverage of the child s medical and dental expenses. Call Lynn Mourao @ 508-910-1083 Blue Point Restaurant Family Dining Specializing in: Seafood, Steaks & Italilan Dishes Beer Wine Cocktails Take-Out Service on Complete Menu Full Service Bar 6 Dayton St., Acushnet, MA 02743 Tel: (508) 995-9600 David & Lysa Riccardi, Owners CAFÉ EUROPA SERVING LUNCH AND DINNER 1256 ACUSHNET AVE. NEW BEDFORD GREAT FOOD 508-997-1087 Tile Craft & Carpet Do It Right The First Time Porcelain Tile Vinyl Carpeting Hardwood Marble Glass Stone TRACEY BUZNIAK CHRIS BUZNIAK, OWNER 21 Arsene Way Fairhaven (508) 999-0988 www.tilecraftpro.com www.jeffreysfhop.com 508-994-0000 Contact Dan Stone to place an ad today! DStone@4LPi.com or (800) 876-4574 x2607 For Weddings, Banquets, Post-Funeral Gatherings Private Functions 107 S Main St. Acushnet (508) 995-3221 www.centuryhouse.biz Jenn s on the Go Services! Cleaning Shopping Errands Dependable & Affordable 508-995-4524 (HOME) 401-862-1705 (CELL) Email: JENNP@GB13.NET Servicing Southeastern, MA Since 1987 All types of Electric Wiring Andre L. Lemieux Master Lic. A11876 Tel. (508) 995-6390 (508) 998-7091 GARY S BEST 958 ASHLEY BLVD. NEW BEDFORD, MA HOT DOGS CRAB MEAT LINGUICA PORK BUTT TUNA OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 8:30AM - 9:00PM MIKE S LIVERY Airport Runs Private Car Service Professional. Dependable. Affordable 508-245-1473 mikcab72@gmail.com Cell: (508) 415-7132 Email: mduperre12@gmail.com www.facebook.com/maryduperrerealtor Corporate Office: Washington St., Braintree MA Office: (781) 848-9064 Breakfast Family Friendly Breakfast Daily Specials 586 Main St. Acushnet, MA 02743 508-985-3055 & Lunch (Dinner-Fridays Only) Mary L. Duperre REALTOR 112 Main Street Acushnet, MA 02743 Like Us on Facebook! (508) 995-9100 info@acushnetfcu.com www.acushnetfcu.com FOR AD INFO CALL 1-800-888-4574 LITURGICAL PUBLICATIONS INC. FEBRUARY 19, 2016 4:16 PM ST. FRANCIS, ACUSHNET, MA 04-0959