Parish Lay Leadership s7

MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY PARISH LAY LEADERSHIP with Confession is celebrated each Saturday after the 8:00 am Finance Council Chair………………….…..Kimberly Schoolcraft Mass, and from 3:15- 3:45 pm, as well as by appointment. Parish Pastoral Council Chair..………………Kathleen Harrington HOSPITAL VISITS Rel Ed Advisory Committee ...Melissa Moriarty, Suzanne Harlow If anyone has a hospital stay, please have a family member call RCIA ……………………………Ray Breton, Rosemary Thresher the parish and indicate whether the parishioner would like to have Bible Study………………………………………...... Sue Fratini a visit, or if they would like their name mentioned at Mass during Adult Education………………………..Mary Federici, Bob Stack the Prayers of the Faithful. PARISH ORGANIZATIONS JUBILEE “YEAR OF MERCY” Rosary Sodality……………..………Nancy Garen/Ursula Tuohey Pope Francis has declared the period from December 8, 2015 till Social Justice………………….…………….Andrea Cook-Hewitt November 20, 2016 as an “Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy”. St. Joseph’s Workers………………………………………Fr. Dan God’s Mercy can be experienced by all who come before Him. Men’s Ministry Group………………………...Deacon Paul Briere All people are invited to experience the “Gift of Mercy” in many Women’s Ministry ……..…………………………..Mary Federici ways throughout this year – through Prayer, Scripture Study, Acts Youth Group (JPII Crew)………………….………Lisa Laferriere of Kindness and Mercy, and through Devotions to Mary the AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS Mother of God, and the Divine Mercy of Jesus. Cursillo Movement ……………………….………...Karen Scahill Schoenstatt Community……………..……….…Diane Czerwiecki Boy Scout Troop 821 …………………..………………..Joe Muto MASS SCHEDULE & DEVOTIONS Girl Scout Troops…………………….……..……....Pat O’Connor Knights of Columbus………………………………Greg Perreault Sat 5/14 3:15-3:45PM CONFESSIONS (Chapel) 3:45PM DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET PARISH MINISTRIES (Chapel) Altar Servers………………………………..………….Sue Fratini Baptismal Prep……………………………..…… Lou Mastroianni 4:00PM +Michelle Mongeau Children’s Liturgy of the Word……………….……….Sue Fratini Birthday Remembrance Eucharistic Ministers, Readers……….………..……Beth Modlish r/b Bonnie & Family Homebound/Pastoral Care Ministry…………...... Mary Federici Sun 5/15 7:00AM Special Intention Music Ministry – Adult & Youth Choir……………Melanie Peetz r/b Fr. Dan Contemporary Music Group (Psalm 33).………………Tom Fucci 8:30AM +Jean Dionne Sacristy.…………………..……….Irene King, Phyllis Chlastawa, 1st Anniversary Remembrance Jim O’Connor, Irene Breton, Karen Scahill Soup Kitchen……………… …... Nancy Garen,, Sandy O’Connor r/b her Family Take & Eat Ministry……..…………………………Cheryl Wood 11:00AM Members of the Rosary Sodality, Wedding Coordinator………………………….…..Donna Whelan both living and deceased Wedding Team……...…Kathy Harrington, Gina Broderick, r/b Rosary Sodality Christina Straney, Tina Broderick Mon 5/16 7:00AM +Joan Cole Prayer Line………………..Pauline, 862-3885 or Diane, 568-9754 r/b Paul & Claudette LaFontaine OFFICE HOURS Tue 5/17 7:00AM +Jonathon Meacham The Parish Office is located at the Parish Center. Entrance is 15th Anniversary Remembrance across from the Mary Garden. Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00AM- r/b his Family 2:00PM. Sue is available to greet and assist you. Wed 5/18 7:00AM +Bernice Kwosz NEW PARISHIONERS We warmly welcome new members to join our parish. Please fill r/b her Family out a registration card on the tables in the church and place in the 3:00PM DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET collection basket. Registration is necessary for Religious (Chapel) Education and letters of eligibility for godparents and sponsors. Thurs 5/19 7:00AM Communion Service SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Fri 5/20 7:00AM Communion Service The Sacrament is celebrated by appointment. Please call the Sat 5/21 8:00AM +Nancy Tobias Office to arrange. At least one Godparent must be a Confirmed, Birthday Remembrance active parishioner in their parish, attending Mass weekly. r/b her daughter Kirsten Tobias SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE MIRACULOUS MEDAL NOVENA (At 8:00AM The Sacrament of Marriage is planned by an initial meeting with a Mass) priest or deacon, at least one year in advance. 3:15-3:45PM CONFESSIONS (Chapel) 3:45PM DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET SACRAMENT OF THE SICK (Chapel) The Sacrament of the Sick is administered by a priest, when 4:00PM +Walter DePretto requested. Pastoral care to the hospitalized sick and homebound is provided by the pastoral staff, and trained parishioners. r/b the Canavan Family SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION Sun 5/22 7:00AM +Thomas Lesieur God’s Mercy can be experienced in many ways including the r/b Phyllis & Peter Chlastawa Reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Sacrament 8:30AM +Debbie Leavitt

0914 2 MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY 4th Anniversary Remembrance r/b the Leavitt Family 11:00AM FIRST COMMUNION PRAYER-LINE Members of the Rosary Sodality, To request prayers for yourself or a loved one, living and deceased please call Pauline at 862-3885 or Diane at 568-9754. r/b Rosary Sodality FROM FR. DAN’S DESK… Youth Activities Sunday Night at the Movies Kathy Sitler Memorial Day Mass and ceremony next week at the 4:00 – Flag in honor of…. Our High School Youth continue to be involved in so many things that enrich their lives. Just last, week several of our Youth appeared in the Westfield High School’s Production of “9-5 The Musical” – Alex Natario, Kristen Stawasz, Paige Stawasz, Heather O’Connor, Erin Harlow, and Mollyrose McCarthy. Congratulations to all our High School Youth – at Westfield High, Westfield Technical Academy, Pioneer Valley School for the Performing Arts, St. Mary’s High School, Holyoke Catholic High School, Cathedral High School, and Suffield Academy - who are so involved in so many good and healthy activities. We certainly can be proud of the Young People in our Parish! More about our Youth next week… We are also trying something new this year – “On-Line” Registration for our Religious Education Program for the Fall. Each we struggle to get parents to Register their children for the Program before the end of the Spring, so that we can better plan for teachers and books in the Fall. This year our Religious Ed Board recommended that we consider using a company that provides on-line registration for many activities including sports programs, camps, etc. This form of registration makes it easier for parents to take some time to complete registration, and the fee for such a program is very small. We’ll see how it works! I want to thank Laura Robitaille from our Religious Ed Board for researching several companies who offer this service! I’m very happy to say that this Saturday morning (May 14) at the 8:00AM Mass many people in our parish participated in a “Consecration” to Mary the Mother of God, as a result of making the “33 Days to Morning Glory Parish Retreat”. I will have numbers for you next week, but I believe it will be a significant number of people who participated in the Retreat and will have made their Consecration. I am happy to say that I am among those who will have made my Consecration as well! As I celebrate in a just couple of weeks, 20 years of Ordination to the Priesthood, I am happy to say that I continue to try to be open to growing and developing my own spiritual life, and the Retreat and my awareness of the role of Mary in our lives as followers of Jesus, continues to develop! I think many of us who made the Retreat and the Consecration, have been surprised by how much we have learned and affirmed, of what our Catholic Faith teaches us about the important role of Mary in bringing us closer to Jesus. On Friday (May 13) the Church celebrated the “Feast of Our Lady of Fatima” and our Patronal Feast of “Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament”. This “Jubilee Year of Mercy” continues to bring so many blessings to our parish and its members! Next Saturday is the big day for our Parish Team – “WHOLELY SPIRIT – TEAM OLBS” in the RunWestfield Flat Fast 5K Road Race/Walk. The race begins at Westfield State University on Western Ave. and ends in the downtown area. This weekend at all the Masses, you have the opportunity to sign up on the clipboards in the Gathering Space to “Sponsor our Team” and help us raise funds for our designated charity – The Westfield Soup Kitchen. Last year we were able to donate quite a good amount to the Westfield Soup Kitchen from this additional Sponsorship of our Team. The Soup Kitchen often struggles in the Summer months with donations, and so the money we raise from the race and your sponsorship, helps to tide the Soup Kitchen over till Fall. I want to thank Pete Fratini and his daughter Anne Fratini who are serving as Co- Captains of our Parish Team! Let’s hope for a great day weather-wise, and it certainly would be great if many of you who are not running or walking, came and cheered on our Parish Team along the route! I wish I could be here for the Race, but I will be attending a college graduation that day. Our thanks again go to our Parishioner – Mike Tierney – the Race Director – for developing such a great event for Westfield – creating community and the opportunity to raise money for some great charities! Current number of team members – 38. Go Team OLBS!!! Finally, I am pleased to be able to welcome this Sunday (May 15) Bishop Mitchell Rozanski to our Parish as Celebrant of the 11:00AM Mass. Bishop will be celebrating a “Unity Mass” for the Combined Rosary Sodalities of the four Westfield

0914 3 MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY Parishes! In addition to the ladies who make up our own Parish Rosary Sodality, we welcome the Ladies from Holy Trinity, St. Peter and St. Casimir, and St. Mary’s Parishes. Following the Mass, Bishop will stay for a Brunch in our Parish Hall that was organized by OLBS Rosary Sodality Ladies under the direction of Nancy Garen and Ursula Tuohey. As always it’s great to welcome Bishop to our Parish. I thank our Rosary Sodality Ladies for inviting Bishop and organizing this event! God Bless, Fr. Dan This Week’s Movie: SANCTUARY CANDLE “Pope John Paul II” Is burning this week in loving memory of Starring Jon Voight +GEORGES & LEA BRETON Sunday Night – 6:00PM – Parish Center BIRTHDAY REMEMBRANCE requested by Ray Breton & Family APRIL/MAY POOR BOX: FOODWORKS@KATE’S KITCHEN $485 will sponsor a student for this program! SPECIAL INTENTION CANDLE Is burning this week in loving memory of +YVONNE & EUGENE BEAUDOIN, OUR STEWARDSHIP +THERESA FORCIER May 1, 2016 requested by Roger Beaudoin Regular and Development (gold) $ 9,043 Budget Requirement per Week 9,600 MARY GARDEN CANDLE (deficit) (557) Is burning this week in loving memory of THANK YOU! +DEBBIE LEAVITT requested by the Leavitt Family JOIN TEAM OLBS FOR RUN WESTFIELD! VETERAN’S MEMORIAL GARDEN CANDLE Consider joining the Parish Team, “Wholely Spirit – Is burning this week in loving memory of Team OLBS” in the Run Westfield 5K Race/Walk next Saturday May 21. $5.00 from each registration on our +ROGER L. CONLON, WWI team will benefit the Westfield Soup Kitchen. Cards requested by the Hall Family with registration information are located near the bulletins – register online at runwestfield.com. Any INDOOR MARY VOTIVE CANDLES questions about the Parish Team please e-mail Pete or During the month of May, dedicated to Our Lady, you Anne Fratini at [email protected]. are encouraged to consider offering a prayer and lighting a votive candle at the indoor Mary Statue near OUTDOOR MARY GARDEN CANDLE the Sacristy. For the month of May, there is an OUTDOOR VETERANS MEMORIAL CANDLE additional special candle stand in the form of an “M” As we approach summer, both of these candles have before the Statue. May Our Lady, the Patroness of our available weeks to request in memory of, or in honor of Parish, intercede for all of our needs! Amen. a loved one. Call the Parish Office at 562-3450.

REGISTER FOR VACATION BIBLE CAMP! ROSARY SODALITY – JUNE 1, 2016 Please join us this summer, AUGUST 1–5, at Vacation PICNIC AND CHALICE OF SALVATION Bible Camp for Cave Quest. Gear up for an over-the- On Wednesday, June 1st the Sodality members – and top underground adventure! Kids ages 4 through anyone else who would like to join them – will meet at entering 5th grade will be grounded in the rock solid the Parish Center at 3:00PM to go to Springfield for foundation of God's love through music, games, crafts, the Chalice of Salvation Mass taping at 4:00PM. Fr. and Bible stories. Registration forms are available on John Tuohey will be celebrating the Mass. Following the tables near the bulletins and on our Facebook page. the Mass, we will return to the Parish Center for our annual picnic. Anyone attending the Mass is invited to SUNDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES join us for the meal. There is a sign-up sheet in the gathering space of the church. You must sign up if you 0914 4 MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY plan on attending the picnic. The menu is roasted A Teen Encounter/YAWEH reunion is scheduled chicken thighs, ziti & meatballs, garden salad, rolls & for Saturday May 21 at Our Lady of the Lake Church butter and dessert. The price is $12. For questions, call in Southwick. The event will begin with the 5pm Vigil Nancy at 568-0798 or Marie at 568-1803. Mass celebrated by Fr. Henry Dorsch, host, Pastor and first Diocesan Director of these ministries. Mass will be followed by a social gathering, sharing and pizza MAY 21/22 supper. Attendees are asked to bring a dessert to share. READERS RVSP at 569-0161 or [email protected]. 4:00PM 7:00AM George Plante CATHOLIC GIFT AND BOOK STORES 8:30AM Kathy Sitler 11:00AM Mary Regan The Spirit Among Us, 200 Center Street, Ludlow. 583- 4014 EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS 4:00PM Maureen Harju, Pat Pouliot, Rochelle Benoit Vine and Branches Gift Shop, 1061 Springfield Street, 7:00AM Pat Mack, Steve Murphy, Beth Modlish Feeding Hills. 786-8200 8:30AM Irene Breton, Donna Whelan, Marilyn Orszak The Divine Mercy Gift Shop, 2 Prospect Hill Road, 11:00AM First Communion Eden Hill, Stockbridge. 1-888-484-1112

“ CORPUS CHRISTI” EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION FIRST COMMUNION FOR VOCATIONS Will be celebrated next Sunday – May 22 Please join Bishop Rozanski for this procession at the 11:00AM Mass through the streets of Ludlow on Sunday May 29 from 12:30-3:00Pm. The Procession will begin at “ PILGRIM IMAGE” OF DIVINE MERCY Christ the King Church at 12:30, and proceed to St. In honor of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, we have Elizabeth Church, then to Sts. Peter and Paul Ukranian commissioned an 8x10 “Pilgrim Image of Divine Church, and conclude at Our Lady of Fatima Church. Mercy” to travel from home to home in our parish till Refreshments will follow at Our Lady of Fatima Parish November. It comes with materials to better explain Center. Come and pray for vocations! Divine Mercy as well as materials for children. If you are interested in hosting the Image for a week in your ANNUAL DIOCESAN-WIDE home, please call the Parish Office at 562-3450. “ EUCHARISTIC ROSARY PROCESSION” Join us in a pilgrimage as we enter into the merciful ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL Heart of Jesus “Lord Have Mercy”, this year’s theme for the Annual The Fourteenth Annual Diocesan-Wide Eucharistic Catholic Appeal (ACA), calls on each of us to Rosary Procession will be on Sunday, June 12th, (rain participate in the Corporal Works of Mercy. With our or shine), at the *Pilgrim Church* of St. Elizabeth Ann deepest gratitude we thank the nearly 11,000 donors Seton Parish on 99 King Street, Northampton from 1- who have already responded to the call to support our 4pm, beginning with Confessions and guest speaker, neighbors in need. If you have not yet made your Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, Director of the Marian Helper pledge of support, please prayerfully consider a gift to Center, in Stockbridge, MA, who will speak on the the ACA. Visit www.diospringfield.org/aca to make significance of the Holy Doors and the message of an online donation, or mail your check to Diocese of Divine Mercy, followed by a Rosary Procession Springfield, PO Box 1730 Springfield, MA 01102- through downtown Northampton, returning to the 1730. To date, our parish has had 292 donors for a church, through the Holy Door, for the Chaplet of total of $39,680 raised. God Bless you! Divine Mercy, Adoration and Benediction of The Blessed Sacrament, with a reception to follow. CHS PRESENTS SNOW WHITE VOLUNTEERS WANTED - Cathedral High School's Drama Club will hold a Come, volunteer at this event! Become a church liaison production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at or volunteer to help on Saturday or Sunday only. Jobs Central High School in Springfield on Friday May 20 for everyone, with community service vouchers given and Saturday May 21 at 7 pm, and Sunday May 22 at 2 upon request. For more information on the event or pm. Tickets sold at the door. For info call 782-5285. volunteering, call George or Brenda at (413) 221-4372. To view pictures of past processions visit: TEEN ENCOUNTER/YAWEH REUNION www.eucharisticprocessionnorthampton.com. 0914 5 MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY Lady of the Valley parish website home ANNUAL YOUTH RETREAT IS BACK! page: www.olveasthampton.org (see I I ACT X 2016 ACT Retreat under Organizations) or Attention teens in grades 9-12 and young adults: I ACT call Justin Brown at 413-626-1114. X (I’m A Catholic Teen) weekend retreat at Camp Registrations can also be picked up at the Holy Cross in Goshen will be June 10 - June 12. Our Lady of the Valley rectory. Retreat activities will include: skits, food, free time, fun, prayer, and discussing daily life situations. For registration forms, and more information, visit the Our MERCY AMONG US … IN OUR WORLD, OUR COUNTRY, OUR COMMUNITIES Mercy at the Bus Depot Chip Wilson / aletia.org / March 16, 2016 For years the image I kept in my head from the Parable of the Prodigal Son was of this benevolent, rich father, wearing a beard and fancy robe, embracing a son who looked something like a fraternity boy after a weekend of hard partying. That image got upended some five years ago by a tattooed teenaged girl I encountered at the Gastonia city transit terminal. It was a hot October afternoon, and I had arrived early to meet our son’s caregiver, hoping to pray and watch the sunset. I had just opened the Divine Office app on my iPhone when I spotted her at the end of a bench. The tattoos or eyeliner or “goth” haircut didn’t seem as unusual as the trench coat. She had it buttoned-up despite the 80-degree heat. Seriously tough girl, I thought, as I counted the piercings on her face. Seriously scared girl, I realized, after I saw her eyes. “Can I use your cell phone?” she asked. She explained she’d spent 17 hours on buses from Ohio. She was making a short-notice visit to grandparents who’d moved back to town to start a business. It hadn’t gone well, and they were broke. “And you’re coming here why?” I wanted to ask. A plastic trash bag at her side — filled with all her belongings — told me she had nowhere else to go. I was three months from ordination. I wanted to do something. Get her a meal. Tell her how much God loves her, proclaim the Gospel. I bowed to the stronger impulse to shut up. The girl and her trash bag made their way to the parking lot. I started Google- searching for homeless shelters. Five minutes later a gray Delta 88 sputtered up Main Avenue, going just five mph. Good thing because Grandma didn’t wait for the car to stop before exiting and running to embrace the girl. “I’m sorry” — “No, I’m sorry” filled the air. I glanced over to see the girl whispering in Grandma’s ear and Grandma, stepping back, bug-eyed, as the girl slowly unbuttoned the trench coat. Out came a baby bump. The look on Grandma’s face made me think she was going to turn and run. I thought I’d have to give the girl a ride to a shelter or obstetrician. Maybe I’d proclaim the Gospel. Grandma didn’t run. Grandma knelt, wrapped her arms around that belly and kissed it. The Gospel got proclaimed. When we say God loves us, it’s not the spit-shined, have-it-all-together version of ourselves that God loves. God see those places in our lives, those circumstances, those consequences that we’d rather hide but embraces us anyway. Just as surely as the father in the parable embraced the party-boy son. Just as surely as Grandma embraced her granddaughter — who made the gutsy and moral choice of carrying her child but kept her condition tucked away under that trench coat. God chases after us and welcomes us, no matter whether we come to God toting the designer luggage filled with the things we think God expects from us. God chases after us and welcomes us, even when we’re toting the trash bags filled with the things we’re really about. The stuff we had to pack in a hurry, the stuff we didn’t have time to fold or wash. The forgiveness that God gives us in Jesus does come with a real forgetfulness. The slate does get wiped clean, our Scriptures tell us. Our sins are remembered no more. But so often — despite God’s free forgiveness — we’re still left many of the same tendencies, the same personal defects, the same circumstances that cultivate and cause us to sin. God sees those but doesn’t kick us out of the house. That’s why we need ongoing conversion. That’s why we show up here at Mass, week in and week out to hear the words of forgiveness, to eat the food that is Christ himself. It’s why we take seasons like Lent to reflect upon the places where we’re falling short, to gather together in small groups and communal worship to lift each other up. To let things in our lives be unhidden no matter whether we’re covering them up with trench coats or happy faces or even fancy robes. We might be as lost as that wayward son in the parable or just someone like that teenager who found herself in a tough circumstance she wasn’t immediately able to share. But if we let ourselves, we can be found by God who never stops pursuing us. Some of you might not be able to identify with the image of a forgiven son or an embraced granddaughter because you haven’t had that experience from people in your life, at least not recently. There may be people in your life who didn’t give because they didn’t have it to give. The goodness and mercy in women and men can run out. What God gives doesn’t run out. God overflows with mercy. God is rich in mercy, and he’ll always find a way to spend on us. I was reminded that the word prodigal didn’t originally mean repenting sinner but refers to reckless spending of money, the actual sin of the lost son. He recklessly spent money on partying. We probably should call the parable the “Parable of the Prodigal Father,” because it points to a God who recklessly spends on us, spends his mercy….look for this God. Perhaps in your experience of prayer. Perhaps in the embrace of a parent or sibling or classmate or best friend. Perhaps, even, in an encounter with a stranger like the grandma whom I still think of nearly every day. 0914 6 MAY 15, 2016 PENTECOST SUNDAY Know this: This God sees you, knows you and will never reject you. All you have to do is let yourself be found. The journey could be as long as a 17-hour bus ride from Ohio. It can be a short as the 3 to 50 feet you’ll walk up the communion line a few moments from now. You can even bring your trash bags.

“ MERCY AMONG US” Other stories or examples of “Mercy Among Us” can be sent to Mary Federici at [email protected].

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