LOOK WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND THE DIOCESE March 29, 2020 Fifth Sunday of Lent (A) 12:10 DAILY MASS & SATURDAY ADORATION AT ST. THERESA’S The Bishop’s Ez 37:12–14 / Rom 8:8–11 as well as Lectio Divina are all suspended until further Notice. Corner Jn 11:1–45 or 11:3–7, 17, ST. THERESA’S GIFT SHOP: CLOSED until further Notice. 20–27, 33b–45 MSA: CLOSED until further Notice. Dear Fellow-Catholics, CARITAS HOUSE OF PRAYER (236-5877) As we continue to In hospital corridors and in seclusion, they face the live under the restrictions cause by the pandemic, we want you epidemic of the Coronavirus every day. It is an army of nuns who, far from to know that each day at our morning prayer together we pray media flashes, give the sick precise help and surround them with prayer. “We God Opens Our Graves for the people and the intentions listed in our intention book that know that we can get infected and even die, but we want to serve to the end,” but a second chance at life. Ezekiel compares the reestablishment of ancient Israel after the says Sr. Lancy Ezhupara of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Camille It is not ghosts that come out of these graves, people use when they come for Quiet Wednesday. If you would de Lellis. She runs a hospital in Treviso with one hundred and twenty infected exile with the dead rising alive from their graves. They are filled with God’s spirit, God’s power of life, and they have a second chance at living. like to add a name or inten-tion, please e-mail us the names/ Coronavirus patients. Only the graciousness of God could imagine such a marvel; only the power of God could accomplish it. Jesus performs an even greater marvel. intentions to [email protected] He actually brings Lazarus back from death, giving him a second chance at living. Once again, only the graciousness of God could imagine The St. Camille sister confesses that the additional, fourth vow, made in her such a marvel; only the power of God could accomplish it. Jesus is that graciousness and that power, as he declares: “I am the resurrection Here is a refl ection for this week: We have entered into the congregation (apart from the vow of poverty, chastity and obedience) is now fi nal two weeks of Lent, a period formerly called Passiontide. gaining special significance. “Each of us has vowed to serve the sick even and the life” (John 11:25). On Ash Wednesday none of us could have anticipated how our at the cost of our own lives and we live out our service in this spirit,” says Sr. After its reestablishment, Israel was not immune to failure, nor was Lazarus exempt from eventual death. That was not the point. The point Ezhupara. She points out that her congregation runs five hospitals in Italy Lent would unfold. On this fi rst Sunday of Passiontide our Gospel was a demonstration of divine generosity at that particular moment. As seen in the Gospel reading, the point is Jesus’ self-identification: “I am and that in three of them (Treviso, Brescia and Cremona) there are currently the resurrection and the life.” What follows is paradox: Those who live in him will not die; even if they die, they will live. tells us of Je-sus weeping over the death of his friend, Lazarus Coronavirus victims. The medical staff also needs spiritual support from the and then his call-ing him forth from the dead. These days we sisters, who, despite the lack of sufficient resources, bravely helps those in Joined to the one who is the resurrection and the life, we too will FOR Reflection are more aware of the sufferings and deaths of our brothers and need. be raised from our graves and be transformed into a new life. We will sisters throughout our COVID-19 infested world, even as we never again face failure, as did the Israelites, or death, as did Lazarus,  We were plunged into death and rose to new life at baptism. Sister Ezhupara says “Perhaps in the past couple of years our fourth vow Does your life give evidence of this? are denied being able to be physically present at Mass. Christ has been a bit forgotten, because we have not had to face such far-reaching for the Spirit of Jesus will live in us.  has promised to be with us always so, yes, He is with us during epidemic challenges. Now we discover and relive it as we are at the forefront In what ways does your life manifest the Spirit working —Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA through you? this time of fear and anxiety. He invites us to trust that God can of the fight against the infection. More victims of the virus are still coming to bring good out of evil and hopefully, when this pandemic is over, our hospitals. Not only our sisters, but all of our lay staff are very generous. We each of us will be stronger and will have real-ized in new and still have a shortage of medical supplies, but day after day the civil defense is trying to provide all of our staff with the necessary disinfectants and protective profound ways what are the really important things in life. During clothing. However, because public health services are overloaded, the situation You shall know that I am these days let us be conscious of those we know who live alone. is really difficult, even critical in as much as how we can accept patients. “ Give them a call and ask if they need help. Martha’s act of faith the LORD, when I open your The Sisters of Seclusion are also involved in the fight against the Coronavirus. in telling Jesus that even with her brother dead she knows that In one of the monasteries in Bergamo, a loudspeaker was placed on the graves and make you come whatever He asks of God, He will accomplish. Let our own belief balcony, through which prayer flows into the city. “Our phone is still ringing. up out of them, my people! in the resurrection fi ll us with hope. Let us remind ourselves of People ask for prayer for their loved ones, sick friends, and moreover the Saint Paul’s words to the Romans: “We know that all things work overworked doctors and nurses are asking for us to support them with our EZEKIEL 37:13 for good for those who love God…” May these days be ones of prayer,” says Sr. Maria Teresa to the Vatican Radio. peace and trust for all. “Fifty Italian priests have already fallen in an unequal fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, and who have served the faithful to the end,” Sisters Dolores and Judith. emphasizes Bishop Antonino Raspanti, Vice President of the Italian Episcopal Conference. Most priests, as many as seventeen, have died in the Bergamo region, six in Parma and Piacenza, four in Cremona and the Archdiocese of Milan, three in Brescia, one in Lazio, Trento, Bolzano, Reggio Emilia, Casale Monferrato, Tortona and Ariano Irpino. The first death of a priest in southern Italy was TERSTOCK also noted. In the diocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno, a 45-year-old priest died, Alessandro Brignone, so far being the youngest victim of the coronavirus among Italian priests. It is estimated that several priests are infected and are

in hospitals or at home quarantined. T STOCKE R /SHU Let us remember all those who are at the fore front of the battle with COVID-19, AR risking their own lives by bringing assistance to the sick.

Stay sane and safe! MEUNIERD / Bishop Wes ST. MICHAEL’S PARISH P.O. BOX HM 727, HAMILTON, HMCX BERMUDA 51 South Road, Paget, PG 03 A WORD FROM Pope Francis T: 441 236-2166 E: [email protected] Pastor: Rev. Joseph F. H. Morley • Cell: 705 0236 • Email: [email protected] Vocations: Fr. Toby Collins www.vocationculture.ca I invite you to think for a moment, in Pastoral Council Chairperson: Glenn Clinton (c) 526 0000 Pastoral Council Finance Chair: Robert Mason email: [email protected] (h) 292 3178 silence, here: Where is my interior Pastoral Council CCD Coordinator: Patricia Carreiro email: [email protected] (c) 737 1047 Community Building Committee Chair: Grace Lovecchio email: [email protected] (h) 236-5006 necrosis? Where is the dead part of my soul? Where is my tomb? …And to Weekend Masses: Vigil: 5:45pm, Sunday: 8:30 & 11:00am Weekday Masses: Thursday at 7:00pm remove the stone, to take away the Eucharistic Adoration: Thursday 7:30 — 8:30 pm stone of shame and allow the Lord to Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession): Saturday at 5:00-5:30pm say to us, as he said to Lazarus: “Come Baptisms: by appointment 3 weeks in advance Weddings: by appointment 6 months in advance out!” —HOMILY, APRIL 6, 2014 www.facebook.com/stmichaelpaget & ‘‘LIKE’ us Diocesan Webpage: www.romancatholicbermuda.bm Fi h Sunday Even though we cannot come together at “UNBIND HIM; LET HIM GO FREE” of Lent Re ection St. Michael’s to worship, may we continue The famous Irish novelist Colm Toibin comes from Wexford and is a master wordsmith. He can describe the most minute details of to pray for one another growing up and his observation of people and situations around him. One of his novels called ‘Brooklyn’ was made into a fi lm a couple of years ago and proved very successful. He has written another novel called ‘The Testament of Mary’ which has been controversial in the way it portrays the mother of Jesus. Mary only speaks rarely in the gospels. At the fi nding of the child Jesus in the Temple. “My The overall fi nancial well-being of the parish son, why have you done this to us” (Lk 2:48). And at the fi rst sign in the gospel of John - at the Wedding Feast of Cana. “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). The novel tells the story of how confused Mary is when she sees the direction Jesus is taking in his life. She is so important at this time. thinks his followers are fanatics and misfi ts, leading him astray. Tradition has it that in her old age she went to live with the apostle John in Ephesus. Mary’s chapel is still in that Turkish town. The literary device Colm Toibin uses in ‘The Testament of Mary’ is that If you have not been fi nancially affected by the Corona MASSES WILL NOT BE CELEBRATED, HOWEVER PLEASE of questioning by the apostles and disciples coming to speak to her, asking her questions, trying to draw out from her the hidden Virus, and see yourself able to continue to offer your KEEP THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS IN YOUR PRAYERS memories of the past. It’s a little bit like the oral history project we are presently conducting here at The Cornerstone when we ask ALONG WITH ALL PARISHIONERS OF ST. MICHAEL’S. people to record their memories of what the building and what Cardiff was once like! stewardship gifts, either through electronic giving, or through the mail, THANK YOU. Sat. Mar 28 5:45pm Gabrielle Brackstone + One of the strangest parts of the novel is her re-telling the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. The miracle is presented as disquieting as much as glorious. Yes, it did happen. No, it isn’t clear that it was a good idea. When the dead come back, often things Sun. Mar 29 8:30am For the Parishioners of St. Michael “Please note, that we are charged $20 for US$ checks drawn on a US Bank.” go wrong. The risen Lazarus is an object of fear and confusion. Sitting in a corner, half in and half out of this world. Listen to one or 11:00am Robinson Family two things Mary says: “Slowly, the fi gure dirtied with clay and covered in grave clothes wound around him began with great uncertainty Thurs Apr 2 7:30am ST. MICHAEL’S uses your regular collection contributions to move ... like some strange new creature jerking and wriggling towards life”. And another sentence “Lazarus, it was clear to me, to support Parish Operations. Followed by The Holy Hour with the Rosary and Adoration was dying. If he had come back to life it was merely to say a last farewell to it. He recognised none of us, barely appeared able to lift a glass to his lips as he was handed a small piece of soaked bread by his sisters”. ELECTRONIC CONTRIBUTIONS FOR YOUR WEEKLY COLLECTION are welcomed. Veronica & Herman Tucker ++ Sat. Apr 4 5:45pm Consider making it a quarterly, monthly or even weekly transactions. Sun. Apr 5 8:30am Deolinda & Antonio Carvalho ++ Let’s go to Sunday’s gospel text. John uses this as a ‘sign’ of the new world, which will be brought about by the death and resurrection Maria Ruggeiro & Vito Lovecchio ++ of Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection is not just a resuscitation. It brings in a new order of reality not least in the way that the baptised are Be sure to include your name and collection as your memo 11:00am Mary Crainey + (B’day) given the new life of union with God in this life and in the next. “On arriving at the house, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the on your banking transaction. tomb four days already”. Jesus was in the tomb for three days. The power of his resurrection breaking through the barriers of sin and Direct Deposit to Butterfield Bank (BNTB) to: death, extends not just to four days but beyond into eternity. Fr. Joe will be offering Mass privately on Sundays at Stella Maris for “The Ordinary of the Roman Catholic Church, St. Michael’s” Acct # 2000-6060-081824 -100 St. Michael’s Parishioners and their families as he is living there and I love the words on Martha’s lips. They are the unspoken words in all of our hearts, especially when things apparently go wrong and praying daily for your health and safety. we do not understand. “If only you had been here my brother would not have died”. The “if only” questions lie at the heart and at the crossroads of every person’s life. I tried to say something about that a few weeks ago when I spoke of the place of the cross in the life BECOME A GREEN TEAM MEMBER STILL LOOKING FOR A of the believer and the signifi cance of our kissing the wood of the cross on Good Friday. FEW MORE MEMBERS Jesus said to her “Your brother will rise again”. Martha said to him “I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day”. In the In October 2019, Bishop Wes signed off on the fi rst last two hundred years before the time of Jesus, a number of Jewish people started to believe in life after death. You will see this in Environmental Policy for the Roman Catholic Diocese of the last book of the Old Testament - the second Book of Maccabees (12:42-46).”It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the Hamilton in Bermuda. With the start of the New Year, each dead”. “I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day” Martha says - almost impatiently. “But I want him alive now. I don’t LENTEN RESOURCES: Parish church will be expected to implement the Environmental want to lose him. My faith isn’t strong enough to believe that union with God in heaven is the meaning and the destiny of us all”. Whilst https://dynamiccatholic.com/best-lent-ever/lent-refl ections-2020 Action Plan by fi rst putting together a “Green Team”. This team fear of dying is common to us all, the reality of death itself and its implications is a different question. https://www.lentrefl ections.com/ with Bishop Robert Barron will be responsible for leading the Environmental initiative “I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies, he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will within the church and ensuring that the church remains in compliance with STATIONS OF THE CROSS: the whole Catholic Church initiative. The Diocesan Environment Plan will never die. Do you believe this?” That question is directed to each one of us. Going to the tomb, Jesus said “Take the stone away”. The https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1t7M8HKT8 have a multi-pronged approach to making our church fully environmentally early Christians would have recognised immediately the friendly, to reduce our carbon footprint, and to minimize waste and pollution. contrast between the people of Bethany “taking the stone away” and the stone in the Garden of the Resurrection LIVE STREAMING SUNDAY & DAILY MASS OPPORTUNITIES If preserving the environment and protecting our natural resources is a which had already “been rolled away”. ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL NYC, 10:15AM MASS EST passion of yours, speak to Fr. Joe for more information. Now is the time for https://saintpatrickscathedral.org/live us all to step up in support of this Diocesan Environmental Action Plan. It “Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. would be great to get a cross section of our parish community. I knew indeed you always hear me, ST. GREGORY THE GREAT BLUFFTON, SC 11:00AM EST MASS but I speak http://www.sgg.cc/mass-live-stream.html for the sake of those who stand around me so that they may believe it was you who sent me”. ST. MICHAEL CATHEDRAL BASCILICA, TO., CDN 7:30 AM EST DAILY MASS A WORD FROM Fr. Joe This is not a prayer of intercession “Please help me raise https://www.stmichaelscathedral.com/live/ “Feed your Faith and Not your fears and watch your fears Lazarus from the dead”. This is a prayer of intimacy with THERE WILL BE UPDATES POSTED AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE ON THE starve and your faith grow.” God, demonstrating the closeness between himself and his DIOCESAN WEBSITE AND THE ST. MICHAEL’S FACEBOOK PAGE. Father. This prayer, as much as the actions he performed https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/ in during the paralytic bind, giving the blind man sight and now raising Lazarus from the dead are all related to the https://www.facebook.com/CatholicDioceseBermuda/ unity between Jesus words and actions, the unity that https://www.facebook.com/stmichaelpaget/ existed between himself and God. BISHOP WES WILL BE CELEBRATING MASS “Lazarus come out”. The dead man came out, his feet and AT ST. PATRICK’S CHURCH AT 10AM EACH SUNDAY. hands bound with bands of stuff and cloth round his face”. This Mass will be live streamed on Facebook. You DO NOT need to have a Do you remember the scene on Easter morning? “These Facebook account to view the Mass. You can go to the Diocesan website at were not with the cloths”. Unbind him. Let him go free. The https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/ click on the link and watch participate. death and resurrection of Jesus is to unbind us. To let us You may be prompted to join, however that is NOT required. go free, not wrapped in the swaddling clothes of our birth Daily Gospel Readings and refl ection can be viewed this way as well. or in the grave clothes of our death. Thank you Bishop Wes. The reaction amongst the Jews is twofold. Some believed through the sign he performed. Others conspired to have him executed either because of his blasphemy or the fact that he was a threat to the law and order imposed by the Romans. There was always the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel fear amongst the Jewish leaders, and Herod himself, that any disturbance, or prophetic teacher, or miracle worker, would cause the Romans to take away what bit of freedom the people of Jerusalem and Israel had. That is why the High Priest Caiaphas said to the ‘Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness other Jewish leaders “It is better that one man should die for the people”. (John 18:14). Which of course leads us to the events of Holy and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of Week, which we’ll talk about next Friday. the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who ARCHBISHOP GEORGE STACK, CARDIFF wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.