Saint John Bosco Church 1983 ~ Celebrating Thirty-Five Years ~ 2018 Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 10, 2018 MASS & CONFESSION SCHEDULE: CONTACT: PARISH OFFICE: 2114 Oakmere Drive Harvey, LA 70058 PHONE: 504.340.0444 EMAIL: office@saintjohnboscochurch.org WEBSITE: saintjohnboscochurch.org SATURDAY: SUNDAY: WEEKDAY: Confession: 8AM, 5PM Vigil 7:30, 9:00, & 11AM; 5PM 7AM Monday - Friday Saturday 3:45-4:30PM (And by appointment) Father Larry Urban, SDB, Pastor Father George Hanna, SDB Deacon Kevin Steel
Fr. Larry s Corner of the Bulletin A rather cynical person might be asking What? You re on vacation again? Let it be clear for the record that I was not on vacation last week...sort of! Last week I was making my yearly week long retreat in Stony Point, New York. Every Salesian, by our Rule, is required to make a yearly retreat (and most diocesan priests do this too). A retreat is a religious experience when we put aside everything and return, in a special way, to things that are most important in our life especially our God! It is a week away from the office, away from tv s, radios, cell phones, computers, newspapers, talking all of the things that can distract us from really listening to God speaking to us. The Salesians have most of our retreats in Stony Point, New York where we have a retreat center and a magnificent national shrine of Mary Help of Christians. We had two talks a day from our retreat master on the topic of returning to the spirit of Don Bosco and lots of silent time for personal reflection and personal prayer and the food wasn t too shabby either! One of the best parts of the retreat for us Salesians, though, was coming together and renewing friendships with other Salesians from all over the country. Retreats aren t vacations, but in many ways that are better than vacations because it s a time of refreshment ant renewal. Retreats don t have to be for a week, and they take many different forms. We have a number of retreat centers in our area and it may be something that you d like to try. I sure enjoyed mine! God bless!
Reflecting on God s Word Few portions of the Bible have been in the news as much in recent years as the creation accounts from Genesis. But even for those who don t believe these accounts to be factually true in a scientific way, it s important to recall that these accounts do contain many truths. An important but sometimes overlooked one is in today s first reading: God alone can banish evil. We should note that Adam and Eve don t get mad at being hoodwinked by the serpent and drive it out of the garden; God does that. In the Gospel, a very agitated Jesus calls us back to that truth. Mark says that Jesus began to speak to them in parables (3:23), but Jesus seems to forget the story portion of parable telling and goes right to making his point. It is acknowledged that Jesus drove out demons, but irrationally that it was through the power of evil that he did so. Correctly, Jesus illustrates that his power to drive out demons must have a source other than an evil one. As in Eden, his driving out the forces of evil is an act of God alone. And so it is still today when we face the forces of evil in our own lives and in the world around us. When we work against these forces and strive to uphold what is right and good, we can only do so through the saving power of God. Alan J. Hommerding Copyright 2014, World Library Publications. All rights reserved. Living God s Word Today Jesus boldly seems to reject his biological family in place of those who do the will of God. In this passage Mark emphasizes how crucially important the will and reign of God is for Jesus. To identify those who do God s will as having the same status as blood relations is a powerful way to do this. Copyright 2014, World Library Publications. All rights reserved.
St. John Bosco Women s Society RUMMAGE SALE 2114 Oakmere Drive, Harvey, La June 16 8:00am to 1:00pm Time is getting closer! Have you cleaned your house and garage lately? The time to do so is now. The Women s Society Rummage Sale is Saturday, June 16th between 8:00am and 1:00pm. We cannot accept mattresses, tires, broken or torn merchandise, building materials, pianos, organs, console TV s, stereo systems, computers or monitors. Donations can only be dropped off: June 9th and June 10th between 9:00am and noon June 11th through June 13th between 5:00pm and 8:00pm For more information please call Marlene at 341 5485 Come Lord Jesus! A Bible Study... and so much more! We are pleased to announce the formation of a Come Lord Jesus Bible Study Group. Neal Jordan will be the group leader and Tommy Solis the co leader. The group will meet on Tuesday night at 6:30 in the conference room of the Family Life Center. If you are still interested in participating in this wonderful program and you were unable to attend the introduction meeting, please call one of the leaders or Ginny Dufrene, Area Coordinator for The Come Lord Jesus Bible Study Program. Ginny Dufrene... 504 348 0368 Neal Jordan... 732 406 1070 Tommy Solis... 504 756 8061
WORDS WE NEED TO HEAR Summertime and the Livin Is Easy... Deep... Blessed Cultivating Sabbath leisure in a restless world By TOM SKORUPA The season of summer carries rich and varied connotations. Like schoolchildren reveling in their newfound liberation, the days in the U.S. before the Fourth of July through Labor Day offer us irresistible invitations to leisurely rest after our many labors. We hear siren calls to vacation, travel or a variety of outdoor activities. George Gershwin s haunting aria Summertime speaks powerfully to this phenomenon. Borrowing from strains of bluegrass and African-American spirituals, the lyrics and mellow, slow-moving melody intoxicate us into keenly felt repose and depth. I often experienced this soul movement during 15 years on staff at Shantivanam (Forest of Peace), the Kansas City Archdiocesan House of Prayer shaped by Fr. Edward Hays. Summer was prime time for our retreat hermitages in the beautiful woods and rolling hills of northeast Kansas. Even during hot Kansas Julys, a wide range of people came to the forest to rest from the demands of a busy life or ministry and deepen their spiritual life and practice. Next to the Holy Spirit, the forest was the primary spiritual guide; we on staff considered ourselves co-learners and caretakers of a sacred environment. The natural beauty made it easier to open to the gift of Sabbath leisure, which facilitated deep listening, being still with God, and finding a renewed sense of one s life work being grounded in God and capable of greater fruitfulness. One summertime activity that facilitates a Sabbath spirituality is the fruitful, incarnational exercise of gardening. Immersing one s hands in the soil of creation organically leads to a deeply rooted commitment to care for the Earth, as well as cultivating a more intimate connection with the Creator. Similarly, camping immerses us in nature s beauty and encourages what Pope Francis in Laudato Si, on Care for Our Common Home calls an awe-filled contemplation of creation (#125). An especially evocative image is the simple camper called a foamie. Extremely lightweight and easy on the environment, it is paradoxically strong. Constructed in layers of foam board, glue and fine canvas, its tensile, sustainable strength suggests treading firmly but lightly upon the Earth, with reverence and care. This easy carbon footprint encourages a pilgrim s trust in God s care, ushering one into the realm of the beatitudes. As such it becomes a mobile contemplative hermitage enabling us, in Francis s words, to hear in creation the silent voice of God (#85), for the wonders of creation afford abundant The lyrics and mellow, slow-moving melody intoxicate us into keenly felt repose and depth. recreation... and in their solitude and silence, they refresh us and give rest (#234). This spirituality of rest echoes back to Genesis, where humans were first entrusted with cultivating and caring for the Earth (2:15) and where God modeled Sabbath rest after six days of working to bring forth creation by speaking the word (1:3-26). From the authority of this word, now made flesh, Jesus cants a lilting, dulcet melody that underlies Gershwin s tune: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.... For my yoke is easy, and my burden light (Matthew 11:28-30). From this perspective, immersing ourselves in the word of God and the word made flesh is analogous to contemplating God s first word: Creation. This immersion is exemplified in the four-part contemplative practice, lectio divina. After the work of carefully reading and listening to a biblical text, one ruminates and struggles with it, then prays with what arises from that struggle. In the final stage, contemplatio, one simply rests in God, holding in silence the mystery of the word. A few concluding insights: First, struggle is inherent in easy livin. Laudato Si is largely about the struggle with all that gravitates against care and respect for creation. Like the struggle of lectio, the process of contemplative prayer often requires a lifetime of tensile-like layers of practice before the seemingly endless stream of thoughts inundating our prayer regularly gives way to awe-filled contemplative rest. Second, as Francis asserts, there is an inseparable bond between concern for nature and justice for the poor (#10). Third, the challenges on all these fronts serve to make our practice real and paradoxically provide the energy and grace needed to deepen our connection to our Creator and find resolutions to our crises. Fourth, silent solitude leads to deepening solidarity. In summertime s contemplative livin we recognize we are on holy ground, and Sabbath beatitude organically grows alongside our capacity for deepening compassion and respect for the poor, oppressed, abused and vulnerable as made in the image of God. Even though the singer of Summertime is oppressed and enslaved, she has an easy trust that a nothing can harm her baby because your daddy s rich and your mamma s good lookin. In summertime Sabbath livin, we too can easily trust because of the Father s abundant care, mercy and grace and God s maternal gift of a beautiful, redeemed, nurturing Mother Earth. Tom Skorupa writes, facilitates adult faith formation, and provides spiritual direction/friendship and mentoring in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he lives with his wife, Jan. Email: thomasskorupa@gmail.com 4 JULY 2018 Celebration Publications CelebrationPublications.org
Camp Sessions 6 Weeks June 4 July 13 3 Weeks June 4 June 22 3 Weeks June 25 July 13 For boys and girls ages 4 12 Mini Camps Week 2 June 11 Soccer and Cheerleading Week 3 June 18 Wrestling Week 4 June 25 Baseball Week 5 July 2 Basketball Week 6 July 9 Football Camp Hours Free Before Care If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gabriel directly at gabriel6@archbishopshaw.us or (985) 327-8945 7:30am 8:45am 8:45am 3:00pm Available After Care: 3:30pm 4:30pm & 4:30pm 6:00pm Mini Camps: 11:00am 2:30pm * Camp will be closed July 4th
St. John Bosco Women s Society RUMMAGE SALE 2114 Oakmere Drive, Harvey June 16 8:00am to 1:00pm Coffee and Donuts Please come and join us after the morning masses on June 17th for coffee, donuts and fellowship. Hope to see you there! Knights of Columbus Installation of New Officers June 18th Social: 6:00pm 6:40pm Rosary: 6:40pm Meeting: 7:00pm (Door prize to one lucky Bro. Knight in attendance) Women s Society There will be a Women s Society meeting on June 25th at 6:30pm. All women in the parish are invited to attend. Bread and Wine Celebration of the Eucharist is in memory of John & Betty Abshire Sanctuary Candle The Sanctuary Candle is in memory of Maria Anna Danna Submissions to the Parish Bulletin are most welcome. Please submit all pertinent material to bulletin@saintjohnboscochurch.org at least ten (10) days prior to the desired Sunday bulletin s publication date. Thank you. Mass Intentions June 9 7am Marguerite Hart & Family 5pm +Maria Thu Chu +Peter John Paul Nguyen (MOB day) +Wayne Delaune +Mathew Foret & Oren Breaux, Sr. +Mike & Catherine Chauvin +John & Betty Abshire +Kermit Mickey Chivleatto +Corrine Winter June 10 7:30am Thanksgiving to St. Jude 9am Parishioners of St. John Bosco 11am +Phaolo Nguyen Huu Nghia 5pm +Levelle C. Perilloux +Penelope Solis +Maria Anna Danna (MOB day 6/16 +Souls in Purgatory +Joseph Nguyen Van Chung June 11 7am +Maria Toan Le June 12 7am Special Intentions June 13 7am +Beverly Damico June 14 7am +Corrine Winter June 15 7am +Kermit Mickey Chivleatto June 16 8am Marguerite Hart & Family 5pm +Dudley Dugas & Wilton Nunez +John Hop Tran +Wayne Delaune +Dale Hymel +Joseph Busch +Peter John Paul Nguyen +Mable Simms (MOA) +Aubrey Champagne +Mary, Clifton & Carl Chaisson +Neil J. Folse, Jr. June 17 7:30am +Douglas Ferrer; Guillermo +Candida Calimlim 9am Parishioners of St. John Bosco 11am Happy Birthday Pham Dinh Vuong +Phaolo Nguyen Huu Nghia +Rufus Desoto +Deceased Pham Family +Joseph & Crucifissa Giaise +Penelope Solis +Richard & Juanita Louis 5pm +Philip DiPascal Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time June 10, 2018 Out of the depths I cry to you, O L ; L, hear my voice!