Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church 4101 Old Bethlehem Pike, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18015 610-867-7424 - www.assumptionbethlehem.com Holy, Loving Families On the cross Jesus loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Each one of us can say: he loved me and gave himself for me. Each one can say this for me. - Pope Francis Loving God, how powerful to hear the words for me - To know that Jesus inhabited my human skin and experienced the full meaning of being incarnate and enfleshed and bound by the limits of my humanity. That in spite of my brokenness, because of my brokenness, you desired to show me a love beyond any boundaries. A love that brought my God, my savior. A love that is the ocean of grace in which I now live and move and have my being. Wow, talk about love! Amen MASS SCHEDULE Saturday Evening Vigil: 5:00 p.m. Sunday Morning: 7:30 a.m.,10:00 a.m.,11:30 a.m. Monday Friday 8:15 a.m. Holy Days: Vigil: 6:30 p.m. Holy Day: 9:00 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. CONFESSIONS Every Saturday: 4:00-4:45 p.m. and by appointment. DIOCESAN VICTIM ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR Wendy S. Krisak, M.A., NCC, LPC: Direct telephone: 1-800-791-9209 DIOCESAN SAFE ENVIRONMENT COORDINATOR Sr. Meg Cole, S.S.J.: Telephone: 610-332-0442 x 2019
Monsignor Nevin Klinger J.C.L., M.A., Pastor Monsignor Robert Coll, Pastor Emeritus Fr. Benoy Joseph, in residence YOUR STEWARDSHIP IS THE SOURCE OF OUR GROWTH February 24-25, 2018: $14,112.50 Thank you for your support and generosity. The statement printed above expresses the gratitude felt in response to the generosity of the people of Assumption parish. For it is your weekly contributions that make much of what is done here possible. Thanks are extended to those who use envelopes and those who contribute through our Online Giving. PARISH CALENDAR FOR THE WEEK Monday, March 5, 2018 10:00 a.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 12:00 p.m. Sewing Sisters Finnegan Room 6:30 p.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 7:00 p.m. Prayer Shawl Group Fritz Room 7:00 p.m. Contemporary Ens. Rehearsal Church Tuesday, March 6, 2018 1:00 p.m. Yarns of Love Finnegan Room Wednesday, March 7, 2018 10:00 a.m. Bible Study Finnegan Room 6:00 p.m. PREP 7:00 p.m. RCIA Finnegan Room Thursday, March 8, 2018 6:30 p.m. Rosary Church 7:30 p.m. CODA meeting Fritz Room 8:00 p.m. Co-ed Adult Volleybl Hanlon Center Friday, March 9, 2018 6:00 a.m. Top Gun Men s Group Finnegan Rm 7:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross Church Saturday, March 10, 2018 9:30 a.m. Retreat Team Mtg. Finnegan Room 4:00 p.m. Confessions Church Sunday, March 11, 2018 8:30 a.m. PREP 8:30 a.m. Adult Ed. Series Finnegan Room Are you looking for new ways to pray during Lent? The Spirituality in Adult Life Team (SALT) of Assumption parish will sponsor interactive offerings on the third Tuesday of the month in the Coll Room from 7:00-9:00 pm. Join us on March 20: Spiritual Director Carol Herman will lead Welcome Prayer and Melanie Sanchez-Jones will lead Praying with Icons. All are welcome! Please come and say the Rosary after the 8:15 a.m. morning Mass each weekday in lent (except Friday). The morning group will meet in front pews before the tabernacle. There will be an evening recitation of the Rosary this Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 p.m. OPERATION RICE BOWL: Please place your sacrificial offerings during Lent in the bowl located at the Holy Family statue. This nationwide effort helps provide food to the needy. 75% of your contributions support Catholic Relief Services development projects overseas and Lenten education activities in the United States. 25% of your contributions to Operation Rice Bowl remain in our diocese to fund local hunger and poverty alleviation programs. Join our parish community each Friday evening in Lent for Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m. in the church. On Friday, March 9, members of RCIA will lead the Stations. There will be Benediction and a brief reflection. On Friday, March 23, Mary's Way of the Cross will be used for the Stations of the Cross at 7:00 p.m. Any woman who would like to read "Mary's part," please call Mary Elliott at 610-838-8296. It would be great to have 14 different woman participate. Mission Statement The Church of the Assumption B.V.M. is dedicated to becoming a community of disciples of Jesus Christ. As disciples we make Jesus Christ a living reality in the lives of the members of our parish family. By guiding and encouraging our people to discipleship through a heightened awareness of our Lord s presence in their lives, the parish community becomes a visible and active expression of the living Christ in our world today.
Assumption Parish Staff Parish Office: 610-867-7424 - ext. 10 Rev. Msgr. Nevin Klinger J.C.L., M.A., Pastor Deacon Don Elliott - ext 18, Deacon Stu Herman - ext. 19 Saint Michael the Archangel School: 610-867-8422 Mrs. Colleen Weiss, Principal; Mrs. Erin Faust, Vice Principal Assumption Preschool, Mrs. Andrea Powell, Director: powellandrea725@gmail.com Christina Durback, DRE: Parish & St. Michael Middle School: 610-814-0712 Dr. Dennis Varley: Director of Music: dennis.varley@desales.edu Mary Williams/Parish Office x10, Email: abvmrect@ptd.net Kate Varley Room Scheduling/Bulletin x11, Email: abvmkate@ptd.net St. Patrick s Day Adult Party Join fellow parishioners on Saturday, March 10, 6-9:30 p.m. in the Hanlon Center for our annual party. The ticket price is $20.00 per person and has to be purchased before Thursday, March 8. Tickets cannot be purchased at the door because the caterer needs a count for the dinner. The ticket price includes dinner catered by The Meadows, entertainment and complimentary beer (GUINESS AND HARP) and soda. Dinner Menu: Potato Leek Soup, Corned Beef, Ham, Cabbage, Irish Potatoes, Shepherd s Pie and dessert. Entertainment: Live music provided by Piper s Request. Step Dancers from the O Grady Quinlan Academy, and ceili dancing (group dancing) instruction. BYOB: If you are not interested in the complimentary beer or soda, you can bring your own libations! BOOK DISCUSSION Easter Fellowship Event Invitation (CHANGE): As announced in previous bulletins, the Liturgy Board will be hosting a Fellowship Event. One of our parishioners donated the book, RESISTING HAPPINESS by Matthew Kelly. This is a true story about why we sabotage ourselves, feel overwhelmed, set aside our dreams, and lack the courage to simply be ourselves and how to start choosing happiness again! As a result, of this generous donation, we have decided to shift the book for our discussion. We will do SHAKEN by Tim Tebow at a future Fellowship Event. This Event will be an evening of Fellowship, Food and Fun and we would like to invite you to participate on 5 April at 7 PM in the Coll Room. If you are interested please contact Barb Paluszek at: (H) 610 366 9818 or email: paluszbj@airproducts.com. Hope you can attend!
www.st-mikes.com Mrs. Colleen Weiss, Principal Mrs. Erin Faust, Assistant Principal Nurturing Students. Challenging Minds. Inspiring Faith-Filled Leaders. If you are donating to the UNITED WAY, you can designate your donation to St. Michael the Archangel School as a write in designation. Our Tax Exemption # is 23-2042774/000. Are you an alumni from St. Michael the Archangel School? If so, visit our website and offer us your most updated contact information and Like St. Michael the Archangel Alumni FACEBOOK page and post pictures and reconnect with classmates. SAVE THE DATE! We will be holding our annual Night of Knights event on Saturday, April 7, 2018 at DeSales University. This year s celebration will include a Casino Night, as well as live and silent auctions. If you are interested in attending, contact Marianne Gano at mgano@st-mikes.com or 610-867-8422. There will be a Raffle as part of Night of Knights Event sponsored by the Board of St. Michael the Archangel School for one full TUITION for one student of St. Michael the Archangel School OR Half the value in CASH. Tickets are $20. Contact the Advancement office if interested in purchasing tickets. You do not have to be present to win! THE TIME IS NOW TO PLAN FOR FALL 2018 Open enrollment has begun for the Fall 2018 school year. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at 610-867-8422 x17. We congratulate our 41 children who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time on February 24. As they celebrated God s forgiving love, their hearts were filled with the joy and peace of God. We encourage everyone to celebrate this Sacrament frequently! We thank their catechists: Amy Morrissey, Ann Marie Murphy, Krista Verdi, Lauren Tillstrom, and teen PREP aides, Grace, Zach. and Audrey for their devoted help in preparing the children for this Sacrament. Thank you to the children, teens and adults who were wonderful servants of God in assisting with set up and clean up for First Reconciliation, and for the youth who presented the Gospel during the service. Please pray for our parish s 64 Confirmation candidates who will receive this Sacrament on March 20. May their Confirmation be a renewal in the Holy Spirit. Outreach for March: ABVM PREP is collecting canned tuna for area food banks Please bring your donations to the Religious Education Office by March 31. Did you know that our parish youth periodically meet after school to make bracelets for children in Africa? Eddie Hudak, a student at LaSalle University, our Diocesan Missionary Childhood Coordinator, will take these bracelets to Africa on his mission trip in the spring. CONFIRMATION SPECIAL PREPARATION SESSION REMINDER: Monday, 19 March, 6:30-8 p.m. Candidates meet in the church basement; sponsors meet in church. This session is mandatory for candidates. Sponsors are urged to attend if they live in the area. If a sponsor is unable to attend this practice, please send someone else (older sibling/parent) in the sponsor s place to fill him/her in on the details. PREP Families: If you did not attend Stations on February 23, we encourage you to attend another Lenten Friday Stations of the Cross at 7 p.m. in the church. Please remember to submit your Stations of the Cross attendance sheet, as family attendance at Stations at least once during Lent is considered part of the PREP curriculum.
Monday, March 5: Lenten Weekday 8:15 a.m. Jack Grosskettler Tuesday, March 6: Lenten Weekday 8:15 a.m. Laura Kelly Wednesday, March 7: SS. Perpetua & Felicity 8:15 a.m. Jane Rogers Thursday, March 8: St. John of God 8:15 a.m. Brigido Chick Garza Friday, March 9: St. Frances of Rome 8:15 a.m. Mary Ellen Harvey Saturday, March 10: Lenten Weekday No Morning Mass Vigil 5:00pm Agnes Kern Sunday, March 11: 4th Sunday of Lent 7:30 a.m. Patricia Voight 10:00 a.m. Living & Deceased Parishioners 11:30 a.m. Leonard and Anna Mae Koskovich READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: 2 Kgs 5:1-15b; Ps 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4; Lk 4:24-30 Tuesday: Dn 3:25, 34-43; Ps 25:4-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9; Mt 18:21-35 Wednesday: Dt 4:1, 5-9; Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20; Mt 5:17-19 Thursday: Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; Lk 11:14-23 Friday: Hos 14:2-10; Ps 81:6c-11ab, 14, 17; Saturday: Mk 12:28-34 Hos 6:1-6; Ps 51:3-4, 18-21ab; Lk 18:9-14 Sunday: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23; Ps 137:1-6; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21 Weekly Sales: Feb. 19-25: $1,400. We sell Gifts Cards in the parish office during weekly office hours and after the 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Masses on weekends. Remember, this program does not cost you anything. We receive 5% of every dollar sold. Try it, it s easy! SAVE THE DATE for the parish annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, March 24 at 10:00 a.m. (rain or shine). Children up to 10 years of age are welcome. We ll gather in the Hanlon Center. Can you help with the Egg Hunt? If so, please call Deacon Don and Mary Elliott at 610-838- 8296 or email marye49@hotmail.com. Bishop Robert Barron s newest 3 week DVD Adult Education Series entitled David the King will be offered in the Finnegan Room at the following times: Sunday mornings, 8:30-9:50 a.m. beginning March 4. Monday evenings, 6:30-8:00 p.m. beginning March 5. The meeting dates are: March 4 & 5, March 11-12 and March 18-19. Join anytime. If you are interested or have any questions, contact Larry Durback at 610-867-7424 x12 or email ldurback@gmail.com. WEEKEND RETREAT Keys to Life: Easter Here and Now March 23-25 at St. Francis Retreat House in Easton. This weekend retreat will feature talks by Fr. Kevin Bobbin and guest speaker, Fr. Bernard Ezaki, along with a time for prayer, relaxation and fellowship. The cost is $215 for the weekend. To register, send registration fee to St. Anne Church, 450 E. Washington Ave., Bethlehem, AP 18017 by March 12. Checks can be made out to St. Anne Church. For information, contact Fidelia at 610-867-5039. CHURCH CLEANING HELP: Are you available to help with light cleaning in our church one time per month on a Friday morning 8:45-9:15 with a team of 3 others? We could use some help! Please email Jo Anne Goglia at rjg2063@msn.com or call 610-866-6156 if you can help once a month!
Third Sunday of Lent Today s Readings: Ex 20:1 17 [1 3, 7 8, 12 17]; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11; 1 Cor 1:22 25; Jn 2:13 25 Today is the third Sunday of our Lenten preparation. Today s readings begin with a listing of the simple, straightforward rules in Exodus. However, in First Corinthians, we see that our faith is anything but simple rules. Our faith is in the spirit of a crucified Christ, a God whose foolishness is wiser than our wisdom, whose weakness is stronger than our strength. John s Gospel does nothing to help reconcile these seemingly irreconcilable expressions of faith. Jesus sees people conducting business outside the temple and reacts violently. Jesus anger at the disrespect shown by following the letter but not the spirit of the Law is palpable. Jesus is the Spirit of the Law. It is Jesus, the Crucified, to whom we look for our faith. LIVE BY THE RULES Life might be easier if there were just a list of rules that we could follow. There is such a list in Exodus. Rules offer the false sense of security that if we follow them then we will have done enough. Our Christian faith, however, is rooted not in rules, but in Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection defy all the rules. Jesus knew that strength is born of weakness and wisdom born of foolishness. Jesus life embodies that paradox. What Jesus knew when he went up to Jerusalem and entered the temple area was that his Father s house had been made a marketplace, a place of commerce, transactions, and exchange of goods for money. What the temple represents, who Jesus is, is a relationship, an ongoing relationship of one soul to another, of our souls to God. RISE IN RELATIONSHIP Rules are the most basic and primitive way to shape our behavior in accordance with larger principles and truths that go beyond rules. The rule says You shall not kill, but the truth is that all life is sacred and must be protected and safeguarded. The rule is the least you can do. Jesus lived as if he were required to do not the least but the most. He lived as if he must not just protect and safeguard the lives before him. He lived as if he must sacrifice his own life for the lives of others. Jesus understood that the rules were not just about avoiding certain acts but were also about embracing certain truths. Not only must one not kill, one must have the strength to give one s own life for others if that is required. One must not lie but must speak the truth even when to do so seems foolish. These rules outline for us the beginning of our understanding of strength born of weakness, wisdom born of foolishness. Jesus shows us how much is really required.
NEW PARISHIONERS Welcome! Our parish family invites all of its members to participate fully in our spiritual and social life. Please contact the parish office to register. Special thanks to those volunteers who helped with a college mailing last week: Elaine Donnelly Jo Ann Grap Bernadette Kreder Sandy Maas Barb Marciano Jackie Schneider Joe Testa Kathleen Wagner Our college students received Matthew Kelly s book, Resisting Happiness through the generous donation of a parishioner. Betty Lou's Pantry is in need of donations for Easter meals for the patrons. Please consider a donation of $25 which would cover the cost of a ham and a pie. Another idea is to buy a gift card to Giant or Weis and donate it to Betty Lou s Pantry! Donations can be made on-line on their website: bettylouspantry.com or can be mailed to: Betty Lou's Pantry P.O. Box 460, Coopersburg, PA, 18036. Please write "Easter Meal" on your check. There are preprinted envelopes at the entrances of the church for your convenience. Designer Handbag Bingo Sunday, March 4 Notre Dame High School The Notre Dame Theatre Company will sponsor the BINGO and tickets are $20. per person (in advance by calling 610-438-2105 or emailing NDTCbingo@gmail.com). Tickets are $25. at the door and are limited. There will be refreshments, 50/50 raffle and tricky tray. Designer handbags from Coach, Kate Spade, Vera Bradley and Lucky will be the prizes. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the first game will start at 12:15 p.m. BAPTISMS Baptisms are scheduled on the first, second AND third Sunday of each month immediately following the 11:30 a.m. Mass. Contact the parish office at 610-867-7424 x10 at least six weeks in advance. Parents must attend a Baptismal Preparation Class. WEDDINGS Couples must contact the pastor at least 6 months prior to the wedding. BULLETIN All copy must be received in writing two Fridays prior to the intended Sunday publication. We reserve the right to edit all copy. All inserts must be received at least two weeks in advance. PRAYER CHAIN Call Carol Herman at 610-838-1048 or email her at prayer@ealvinc.com and give her your name and intention. She will contact other parishioners participating in our Prayer Chain on your behalf. PARISH PASTORAL COUNCIL The Council welcomes any comments or suggestions by parishioners. Please contact Jeanine Faust at faust2@epix.net this month. PARISH MEMORIALS Following the death of a relative or friend, offerings may be made to the Church in loving memory of the deceased. The offerings may specify a particular request or placed in the Parish Memorial Endowment, The Parish Education Endowment, or the Health Ministry Endowment. Our website: www.assumptionbethlehem.com