St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church 20428 Cortez Boulevard Brooksville, Florida 34601 352-796-2096 Fax: 352-796-7144 Website: www.stantchurch.org Email: [email protected] Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 3:30pm (Closed from 12:00 – 1:00 daily for lunch) Mass Schedule SUNDAY : 8:00AM AND 10:00AM SATURDAY VIGIL : 4:00PM DAILY (MONDAY-SATURDAY): 8:00AM HOLY DAYS : 7:00PM (VIGIL), 9:00AM RECONCILIATION Saturday: 10:00-11:00am (or by appointment) SACRAMENT OF THE SICK Anointing after Masses or upon request. Please contact the Parish Office in advance. MARRIAGE PREPARATION Please call the office at least six months prior to wedding date. BAPTISM Please call the office three months in advance. PASTOR ADULT ENRICHMENT CHRISTIAN FAMILY Rev. Paul Pecchie Rite of Christian Initiation of SERVICES Adults—RCIA 352-797-4898 PERMANENT DEACON Michele Niemier, Jim Lehmann, Deacon Manny Carreiro Ext. 20 DAYSTAR LIFE [email protected] CENTER MINISTRY OF CARE 352-799-5930 Ministry to the FAITH FORMATION, www.daystarlifecenter.org Sick & Homebound RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Louise Allen NOTRE DAME Michele Niemier, Secretary, CATHOLIC SCHOOL BAPTISM SESSIONS Ext. 20 Early Childhood 3/VPK [email protected] th Deacon Manny Carreiro through 8 Grade (Call the parish office three months PREK – GRADE 5 Principal: in advance) Miriam Melfy, Director, Ext. 23 Deacon Scott Conway, M.Ed. K5 @stantchurch.org 352-683-0755 BUSINESS MANAGER www.ndcsfl.org GRADES 6 – 12 Christine Stafford, Ext. 22 Susanne Thompson, Director, [email protected] Ext. 21 [email protected] MUSIC MINISTRY David Zimmerman, Ext. 11 “HOLYHUT” [email protected] A Week at a Glance Sunday, February 15 8:00am Mass 9:00am Columbiette Meeting 10:00am Mass Knights of Columbus Breakfast Daystar Food Collection 11:00am Our Lady of Fatima Service READINGS FOR THE WEEK Sunday: Lv 13:1-2, 44-46/1 Cor 10:31-11:1/Mk 1:40-45 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Monday, February 16 Monday: Gn 4:1-15, 25/Mk 8:11-13 8:00am Mass Tuesday: Gn 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10/Mk 8:14-21 7:00pm Pastor’s Class Presidents Day Wednesday: Jl 2:12-18/2 Cor 5:20 - 6:2/Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Parish Office Closed Thursday: Dt 30:15-20/Lk 9:22-25 Tuesday, February 17 Friday: Is 58:1-9a/Mt 9:14-15 8:00am Mass 10:30am Bingo Saturday: Is 58:9b-14/Lk 5:27-32 3:30pm Bingo Committee Mtg 6:30pm RCIA The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order Wed. February 18 8:00am Mass 9:00am Parish Nurse 9:30am Mommy & Me 5:30pm Simple Lenten Meal 7:00pm Mass Regulations on Fasting and Abstinence Ash Wednesday Thursday, February 19 The dual disciplines of fasting and abstinence have 8:00am Mass a long history in the Catholic Church. Going back 8:30am Reconciliation to the early Church, the purpose behind the custom 8:30am St. Jude Novena of self denial is not punishment; it is to simplify our 9:00am Card Making Grp 5:30pm Choir Rehearsal lifestyles so that we create a certain emptiness. In (church) this way, freed from all distractions, we are able to 7:00pm ROC Band Rehearsal ass ntentions 7:00pm Pastoral Council Mtg M I hear and respond to God’s continued call to Friday, February 20 Saturday February 14, 2015 conversion and holiness. 8:00am For faith filled marriages 8:00am Mass ♦ Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and 8:30am Divine Mercy 4:00pm Amanda Strmensky † Chaplet Sunday February 15, 2015 Good Friday by all Catholics between the ages of 9:30am Mommy & Me 8:00am Living and deceased members 18 to 59 years (inclusive). On days of fasting, one 5:30pm Stations of the Cross of St. Anthony the Abbot Parish full meal is allowed. Two smaller meals, sufficient 6:00pm KC Fish Fry 10:00am John Currens † Saturday, February 21 to maintain strength, may be taken according to Monday February 16, 2015 one’s needs, but together they should not equal 8:00am Mass 8:00am Claudia & Jim Hendry † 8:30am Minister of Care another full meal. Eating between meals is not Retreat Tuesday February 17, 2015 permitted, but liquids are allowed. 10:00am Reconciliation 8:00am John Currens † 2:00pm Legion of Mary (portable) ♦ Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Wednesday February 18, 2015 3:00pm Reconciliation 8:00am Patrick Redmond † Catholics who are 14 years of age and older. Ash 4:00pm Mass 7:00pm For peace in the world Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent, and Good • Lenten Parish Mission Thursday February 19, 2015 Friday are days of abstinence. St. Peter Damian 8:00am Vocations to the priesthood Note: If a person is unable to observe the above Sunday, February 22 and religious life 8:00am Mass regulations due to ill health or other serious reasons, Friday February 20, 2015 • Lenten Parish Mission 8:00am George Gubitose † they are urged to practice other forms of self denial 9:15am Reconciliation Saturday February 21, 2015 that are suitable to their condition. 10:00am Mass • Lenten Parish Mission 8:00am Gerald Putlack † Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the three • RCIA Rite of Sending 4:00pm Marie Zamorski † traditional disciplines of Lent. The faithful and Knights of Columbus Breakfast Sunday February 22, 2015 catechumens should undertake these practices Scrip Deadline Order 8:00am Living and deceased members seriously in a spirit of penance and of preparation • RCIA Rite of Election of St. Anthony the Abbot Parish (Cathedral of St. Jude) for baptism or of renewal of baptism at Easter. 10:00am John Currens † First Sunday of Lent A Message From The Pastor J M J My Dear Friends in Christ, Leprosy was one of the most feared (and most frequently encountered) diseases in ancient times. The bacterial skin infection started small, almost imperceptibly, but it soon spread. It rotted the victim's extremities (fingers, nose, lips...) and gave off a thoroughly disgusting smell. As explained in today's First Reading, lepers were excluded from society and left to die a slow, painful, humiliating death. They were prohibited by law from coming within 100 yards of healthy people; this is why they had to shout, "Unclean, unclean!" To come into contact with a leper was to make oneself unclean, since their disease, so it was believed, was a sign of God's punishment. Theologians and spiritual writers have always seen in this Old Testament conception of leprosy a symbol of sin. Sin is a kind of spiritual leprosy. It disfigures our souls and spreads into every corner of our lives. It destroys us and destroys our ability to relate to other people. It cuts us off from the purpose of our life and our role in human society and human history. Just as leprosy starts small but spreads and grows, so one sin, one betrayal of our conscience or one compromise with Church teaching can easily become a spark that starts a spiritual forest fire. And so, when Jesus reaches out and touches this leper, and heals him, it is much more than just another miracle. It is a revelation of Christ's entire mission. He is the Redeemer, the Savior; he is the one who comes into this fallen, sin-infected world and, with the power of his mercy and grace, cleanses it and gives it a new start. And he does the same thing with each one of our lives, as often as we need it. Jesus came, and he still comes, not to condemn, but to save. And this is exactly what every human heart needs to know: that we are loved even though we are sinners and don't deserve it. That makes the difference between a meaningful life and an empty life. In the Fall of 2008, a high school football game in Texas made that kind of difference. The game was played between Gainesville State School and Grapevine Faith Christian School. Grapevine Faith is a private Christian school. Gainesville State is a high school prison, a maximum-security state correctional facility for 285 teenage criminals. Gainesville State lost to Grapevine Faith 33-14 to finish their season 0-9. But ever since that game, the Gainesville State campus hasn't been the same. Teacher Chris Styles put it concisely: after that game, he said, "The culture just switched." Why? Because of how Grapevine Faith hosted the players from the prison: they treated them like real people, not hopeless outcasts. First, student fans at Grapevine Faith formed a 40-yard spirit line for the Gainesville players to run through before the start of the game. Then, half the Grapevine fans sat behind the Gainesville sideline and cheered them on—by numbers and even names—throughout the game. Grapevine Faith even loaned the Gainesville State Tornadoes their junior high cheerleaders. Gainesville lost, but they ended up scoring as many touchdowns in that one game as they had in their eight previous games combined. Gainesville State is a different place now, as well. "It's like people's hearts have really changed," the superintendent explained. It is not just the hearts of the inmates, but area residents too. They think of the correctional facility differently now; they encourage the young men there; they even come out to their games. All because a group of Christians decided to follow Christ's example and touch the leper instead of condemning him. There is [another] detail about this encounter that we should not overlook. St Mark tells us that the leper "came to Jesus," close enough to kneel in front of him.