St. Mary's Church
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St. Mary’s Church 62 Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801 ! Telephone: 518 792 0989 ! Fax: 518 792 0251 ! Website: stmarysglensfalls.org ! ! April 7, 2019 ! Mass Schedule: Parish Staff Saturday Vigil: 4:00 PM Rev. Thomas Morrette (ext. 120) Sunday: 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:15 AM Pastor Tues., Wed. & Thurs. 12:10 PM Rev. Desmond J. Rossi (ext. 127) Friday: 8:05 AM Parochial Vicar Exposition and Adoration of the Deacon F. David Powers (ext. 135) Most Blessed Sacrament Deacon Associate First Friday of the month 9 AM—3 PM Rev. Robert Hohenstein (retired) Wednesdays 1—9 PM Rev. Liam Condon (retired) Sacrament of Baptism: Clergy Assistance First Sunday of the month at 12:30 PM Robin Mattes (ext. 110) Parish Secretary/Cemetery Representative Sacrament of Reconciliation: Catherine DeSantis (ext. 125) Saturdays 3:00 - 3:45 PM Baptism Coordinator/Webmaster or upon request Ann McCoy (ext. 130) Sacrament of Matrimony: Administrator for Finances For adequate preparation Jo Kaczmarek (ext. 115) arrangements should be made at least Pastoral Associate for Faith Formation six months prior to the desired date. Leona Stone, Assistant (Ext. 136) St. Mary's/St. Alphonsus Maria Polidore (ext. 121) Regional Catholic School: Pastoral Associate for Youth Ministry Patricia Balmer, Principal Susan DelSignore (ext. 113) Pre-School thru Grade 8— Pastoral Associate for Liturgy/Music 518-792-3178 Bill Englert (ext. 130) Maintenance Glens Falls Hospital Chaplain Jim Kane and Theresa LaPoint, Trustees Parish and Cemetery Office Hours: Sister Donna Irvine, S.S.N.D. 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM (Closed 12-1 PM) 518-926-3532 St. Mary’s Church April 7, 2019 From Father Tom ! ! “Passiontide” ! ! Before the revision of our yearly church calendar in 1969, the last two weeks of Lent were called “Passiontide”. Technically, we no longer use the word but it is a good one, expressing the mood of the church during these last days of Lent. This time is to be considered “deep Lent” M a time to live in deeper fervor and resolve to enter into the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fast- ing and almsgiving. We’re drawing ever closer to the celebration of the Paschal Mystery M the passion, death and resurrec- tion of our Savior which we observe on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. To make visual what we live in our hearts, the statues and the crucifix in St. Mary’s will be covered in purple. This old custom is an effec- tive one M when we see them, we are startled! Our assumption: “Things look different here in an otherwise festive church. There must is something stunning going on. What is all this drab scenery telling me?” Covered purple statues and crosses force us to wonder and to look inward. The comfort of devotions and prayers in front of statues are put aside. Now the Church wants us to think on Christ alone and his passion and death! It’s time to focus on the central and amazing mysteries of our faith the Lord’s humility, His sacrifice and His eventual triumph. In the past, great sacred music has been written for Passiontide, taking as their theme the hours or days before the crucifixion of Christ. The Latin poem (which we sing at the Stations of the Cross), Stabat Mater , is a poem which describes Mary standing in front of her Son as he carries the cross and suffers death. The Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary is observed during this time. The great hymns “O Sacred Head Surrounded ” and “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” are all extensions of the church’s deep meditation upon the astounding sacrifice of the Lord on the cross for us during this sacred time. So, use the next few weeks to focus more seriously than ever on the passion and death of the Lord. Take a crucifix in hand and ponder its lessons. Think of the love of Christ for humanity. Think of His love for you and me. Think of his humility, patience, obedience to the Father, the surrender of his will to God. Think of him forgiving enemies. If you and I can do this, how can we not help but be filled with love and gratitude when we celebrate His victory this Easter Sunday? ! “Unplanned” M a stunning movie ! I had the opportunity to view the film “Unplanned” this past week, shown at the Regal Theater in the Aviation Mall on Wednesday. This full length movie was sponsored by The Augustine Institute and several individual donors. It tells the story of a woman who was a clinical director of a Planned Parenthood facility and, after coming to her senses, left the organ- ization to become a pro life leader who now works for “Forty Days For Life”, a group she once vehemently opposed. The movie was one of the most powerful and compelling presentations about the value of human life which I’ve ever seen. The scenes were based on her experience, sometimes almost too painful to watch. The movie showed the callous and malicious mission of many in Planned Parenthood who attempt to cover up their aggressive work to promote abortion to make it easier and easier for women to terminate pregnancies. It showed examples of blind workers who, in their work, think themselves compassionate and “the helpers” of women. A few graphic scenes made it impossible for any viewer to doubt that abortion kills living unborn children in a violent, inhumane and horrifying way. I wish I could show the film to all who doubt such a fact. Though I know the devil can harden hearts to the point where grace can only hope to get in, I think the film would make the impact it sets out to make on anyone. Let us, then, keep working and praying to end abortion. In our state, we are now on the point of legalizing infanticide, if we already have not done so. To think that so called Catholic legislators and politicians have supported unregulated abortion and, now, infanticide, is repugnant beyond words. I pray God’s truth and mercy touch them. (For information on “Unplanned”, go to unplanned.com.) ! ! From Birthright ! ! Birthright is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping women in problem pregnancies. Its location is 1490 Saratoga Rd. in Ballston Spa. Currently, the organization is looking for volunteers to assist. They write this appeal: “There are several different types of personalities we need in the office. We need the quiet because they tend to listen to those who are hurting. We need the outgoing because they will be dependent upon the strength of their own strength. Most of all, we need those who will love. We need those who care enough to love those who may seem unlovable, who may not respond to that first gesture or to a kind word.” If you are one of these people, why not help out the pro life mission of the Church. Contact Susan Barry, (518) 885 4117. Like Birthright on Facebook: facebook.com/ballstonspabirthright. ! ! ! RPI Lenten Event this week ! ! This Wednesday, at the Cultural Center at RPI, a presentation on the Lenten topic of “The Church as Herald” will be given by Cr. Mickey McGrath, OSF, author and artist. The event takes place at 7:00 PM at 2125 Burdett Ave, Troy, is free and open to the public. Learn more about the event by going to https://chapelandculturalcenter.net/Lent2019 . Real people ! ! Last week, TIME Magazine published the names of the victims, all Muslims, who were killed on March 15 in New Zealand. Let us keep them, and all victims of mad terrorism, in our prayers. Ali Mahmoud Abdullah Al Madani, Atta Elayan (age 33), Haji Daoud Nabi, Sayyad Milne (age 14), Mucad Ibrahim (age 3), Naeem Rashid (50), Talha Naeem (21), Ghulam Husain, Karam Bibi, Zeeshan Raza (38), Syed Jahandad Ali (34), Sayed Areeb Ahmed (27), Farhaj Ahsan (30), Zakaria Bhulya (33), Kamel Darwish (38), Mozammel Haque (30), Mohammed Omar Faruk (36), Abdus Samad (67), Hafiz Musa Vali Patel (52), Khaled and Hamza Mustafa, Linda Armstrong (New Zealand born Muslim convert), Amjad Hamid, Matiullah Safi (55), Hussain al Umari (35), Tariq Omar (24, soccer coach), Osama Adnan Abu Kweik (37), Lilik Abdul Hamid (58), Maheboob Khokhar (65, retired manager and father), Asif and Ramiz Vora (father and son who had himself just become a father), Junaid Ismail (father of 3 children), Mohammed Imran Khan (38), Ashraf Ali Razat (58, visiting New Zealand), Mounir Sulieman (68, engineer), Ashraf Morsi (father of two children), Ahmad Gamaluddin Abdel Ghani, Ashraf al Masri, Mohsen Mohammed Al Harbi (63), Ansi Alibava (24, engineering student), Abdukadir Elmi (father of 9 children), Musa Nur Awale, Haroon Mehmood (40), Kamel Mohamad Kamel Darweesh, Sohail Shadid, Hosne Ahmed (44), Abdul Fattah Qasem Ibrahim Qasem, Farhaj Ahsan (30) and Maheboob Knokhar. ! Glens Falls Champions ! ! I was so happy to attend the first half of the final (and winning) game of our own high school heroes, the Indians, last Sunday in Cool Arena. What a terrific game and what a terrific team! Congratulations to you all! I must confess I had a hard time not rooting for the competition (Cardinal O’Hara’s from Buffalo M a Catholic school and all) but this is one time (and probably the only one) when I had to let my love for “our kids” and city trump my love for the Church! ! Annual St. Mary’s Raffle ! ! Raffle tickets for this year’s annual St. Mary’s Parish Raffle have been mailed out to all parishioners. If you haven’t received yours, please contact Janet Myette at 518 793 8518 to make arrangements to obtain them.