Church of St. Theresa a Caring Community Reaching out to One Another in Christ
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Church of St. Theresa A Caring Community Reaching Out To One Another in Christ 2855 St. Theresa Avenue, Bronx, New York ST. THERESA’S FAMILY IS OUR FAMILY SUNDAY MASSES Saturday at 5:00pm, “ST. THERESA STRONG” Sunday at 7:30am, 9:00am(Italian), 10:30am(Family Mass) 12:15pm , 1:30PM(Spanish) & 5:00pm WEEKDAY MASSES Monday thru Saturday 8:00am & 9:00am DEVOTIONS Miraculous Medal & St. Theresa Novenas after Monday morning Masses St. Anthony Novena after Tuesday morning Masses. Thursday 12 Noon Mass & Eucharistic Adoration Exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament First Friday 6:00PM CONFESSION Saturdays from 4:00pm to 5:00pm and by appointment BAPTISMS Baptisms take place most Sundays after the 1:30pm Mass. We ask parents to attend the Baptism preparation meeting. Register at the Rectory for the meeting. The date of the Baptism will be discussed at the Baptism meeting. MARRIAGES Call the Rectory at least six months in advance of the wedding date to make an appointment with parish clergy. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Derivan, Pastor Rev. Joseph Ligory, Parochial Vicar Mrs. Josephine Fanelli, Principal Rev. Edmundo Gomez, Retired, Mrs. Marie McCarrick, Dir. of Religious Education Rev. Robert Imbelli, Weekend Associate Nadia Papayani, Dir. of Music RECTORY: 7188921900/1901 WEBSITE: www.sttheresachurchbronx.org SCHOOL: 7187923688 FAX: 7188921146 EMAIL: [email protected] RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 7187928434 CHURCH OF ST. THERESA, BRONX FROM THE DESK OF FATHER DERIVAN This coming Thursday we will celebrate the feast day of one of our latest American saints, St. Marianne Kope. St. Marianne ministered to the spiritual and physical needs of the lepers on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, carrying on the great work of the “leper priest,” St. Damian of Molokai. She was born in 1838 in Germany. Only one year old when taken to the United States, in 1862 she entered the Third Order Regular of Saint Francis of Syracuse, New York. Later, as Superior General of her congregation, Mother Marianne willingly embraced a call to care for the lepers of Hawaii after many others had refused. She personally went, with six of her fellow sisters, to manage a hospital on Oahu, later founding a hospital on Maui and opening a home for girls whose parents were lepers. Five years after that she accepted the invitation to open a home for women and girls on the island of Molokai itself, bravely going there to serve the leper people for the rest of her life. St. Marianne was canonized by our retired Pope Benedict XVI in October of 2012. On that occasion the Pope said this, “At a time when little could be done for those suffering from this terrible disease, Marianne Kope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm. She is a shining and energetic example of the best of the tradition of our Catholic Church.” The Pope went on to say that people like St. Marianne who gave so much to their fellow human beings for the sake of Christ remind us, as the Pope said, that we must “always be fully dedicated to serve mankind and the Gospel after the example of the Lord Jesus who gave himself up even to the sacrifice of his life.” St. Paul reminds us in the reading today that we are “called to be holy.” We must all be like St. Marianne serving others in Christ’s name and in so doing proclaiming our belief that every person is precious in the eyes of Almighty God. This is the way to holiness, the way to becoming a saint. Why do I speak of St. Marianne Kope and her tremendous efforts to serve others today? Simply for this reason: St. Marianne’s life of serving the poor, the sick, the suffering is a proclamation of the dignity of every human life. I mention this as we observe the feast day of St. Marianne on Thursday, January 23. But on the day before, on Wednesday, January 22, we observe another anniversary, a sad anniversary, the day fortyseven years ago when the Supreme Court allowed abortion on demand in throughout our country. Since then countless millions of unborn children have not been given the most basic of human rights, the right to be born. What a tragedy! If St. Marianne had not bothered to serve the leper people of Molokai, that would have been tragedy enough. But she did not. She accepted the task of serving them because, even though they were sick, even though they were rejected by the rest of society, they were the sons and daughters of God, redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ. And her feast day is the challenge to us not to turn our backs on unborn children who, in effect, have become the lepers of our day. Simply put, to use the beautiful terms of Pope St. John Paull II, in the midst of the “culture of death” all around us we must be “apostles of life.” And how do we do that? Let me mention three simple ways. First, go out of your way to help some young woman who may come to you for help. Remind her that the Church has marvelous agencies like Rosalie Hall right here in The Bronx to help young women avoid the tragedy of abortion. Second, in your conversation with others, young children at home, your coworkers and friends, do not be afraid to speak of the value of all life, especially the life of unborn children. Third and perhaps most importantly, pray for unborn children. Perhaps your prayers will help some mother to avoid abortion and to bring her child into the world. Do not underestimate the power of you prayers, particularly for the most defenseless among us, the unborn. May St. Marianne Kope, our own American saint help us to see the preciousness of every human life. May we realize that, like her, we are all called to be holy. And may we realize that the first step to holiness is serving the least and most defenseless of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, being people of life. Father Thomas B. Derivan ARE YOU IN A CRISIS PREGNANCY? ARE YOU SUFFERING THE EFFECTS OF AN ABORTION? HELP IS AVAILABLE!! YOU HAVE A FRIEND! Counseling for Abortion Alternatives Rosalie Hall: 7182281515 Option Line: 800395HELP Birthright: 8005004900 Pregnancy Hotline: 800848LOVE Bethany Christians Services: 8002384269 PostAbortion Counseling Option Line: 800395HELP Rachel’s Vineyard: 877 HOPE 4 ME (8774673463) or www.rachelsvineyard.org National Office of PostAbortion Reconciliation and Healing: 8005WECARE Priests for LifeNPO Box 141172NStaten Island, NY 10314 Tel. 888PPL3448, 7189804400 or Email [email protected] “UNPLANNED”… This is a very moving, professionally produced film about a worker in a Planned Parenthood Clinic who is moved to a conversion experience when she sees what is happening to the unborn. It will be shown at St. Frances de Chantal Hall (190 Hollywood Ave.) on Sunday, January 25, 2020 at 1:00PM and again at 3:00PM. SAVE THE DATE! Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Dedication of the “New” St. Theresa Church Sunday, May 17, 2020 Mass at 12:15PM Tour of our school to follow—Dinner in school auditorium—Tickets will soon be available JANUARY 19, 2020 JANUARY 23 ST. MARIANNE COPE (January 23, 1838 August 9, 1918) Though leprosy scared off most people in 19thcentury Hawaii, that disease sparked great generosity in the woman who came to be known as Mother of Molokai. Her courage helped tremendously to improve the lives of its victims in Hawaii, a territory annexed to the United States during her lifetime (1898). Mother Marianne’s generosity and courage were celebrated at her May 14, 2005, beatification in Rome. She was a woman who spoke “the language of truth and love” to the world, said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Cardinal Martins, who presided at the beatification Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, called her life “ a wonderful work of divine grace.” Speaking of her special love for persons suffering from leprosy, he said, “She saw in them the suffering face of Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan, she became their mother.” On January 23, 1838, a daughter was born to Peter and Barbara Cope of HessenDarmstadt, Germany. The girl was named after her mother. A year later the Cope family emigrated to the United States and settled in Utica, New York. Young Barbara worked in a factory until August 1862, when she went to the sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse, New York. After profession in November of the next year, she began teaching at Assumption parish school. Marianne held the post of superior in several places and was twice the novice mistress of her congregation. A natural leader, three different times she was superior of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, where she learned much that would be useful during her years in Hawaii. Elected provincial in 1877, Mother Marianne was unanimously reelected in 1881. Two years later the Hawaiian government was searching for someone to run the Kakaako Receiving Station for people suspected of having leprosy. More than 50 religious communities in the United States and Canada were asked. When the request was put to the Syracuse sisters, 35 of them volunteered immediately. On October 22, 1883, Mother Marianne and six sisters left for Hawaii where they took charge of the Kakaako Receiving Station outside Honolulu; on the island of Maui they also opened a hospital and a school for girls. In 1888, Mother Marianne and two sisters went to Molokai to open a home for “unprotected women and girls” there. The Hawaiian government was quite hesitant to send women for this difficult assignment; they need not have worried about Mother Marianne! On Molokai she took charge of the home that Saint Damien de Veuster had established for men and boys.