Vol. 4 No. 4 PARISH NEWSLETTER April, 2016

A Reflection on Mercy for the Easter Season

he Easter Season reminds us of the joy we have in the merciful love of God. The most T obvious example of God’s merciful love was shown to us in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. The culmination of this Paschal Mystery, following the suffering and Death of Christ, is his Resurrection, which is our assurance that Christ triumphs over death. Not only do we rejoice in this eternal victory, we also rejoice that, through our faith and participation in the sacraments, we can share in Christ’s triumph as God extends His salvific mercy towards us. The Jubilee of Mercy reminds us that God “delights in mercy” (Mi 7:18) and so should we!

How can we live out the mercy that God offers us all? Let us slow down for just a few moments each day and think about the gifts God has blessed us with and how we can share them.

At the end of the day, spend some time in reflection, on your own or with others, rejoicing in the love and mercy that was shown to you by God and others today. Even if you had a rough day, where did you see God’s love present in your life?

Read through Francis’ apostolic letter about the Jubilee Year, Misericordiae Vultus. You can find this letter online at the website for the Holy See under Apostolic Letters in English and many other languages. Notice the different ways in which he relates mercy to the joy of living our Christian faith.

Many who say they are Catholic desire to live their lives as if Jesus was still in the tomb. But He is not. Christ has risen and is present among us, calling us each day to follow after Him and radiate His example onto the world. Living our baptismal promises inspires us to be good stewards of God’s plan as individuals and as a Eucharistic community in the twenty first century.

~ USCCB, International Catholic Stewardship Council bulletin 2016

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ST. GIANNA BERETTA MOLLA April 28

. Gianna Beretta was a devoutly Catholic pediatrician in who devoted herself to caring for poor St children, sometimes traveling long distances by bicycle or motorcycle to make house calls.

At age thirty-three, St. Gianna married Pietro Molla, and the happy couple was blessed with three children in four years. Then, after a series of miscarriages, St. Gianna was expecting another child, and this time she was having a successful pregnancy.

Then came a sad diagnosis. In her second month of pregnancy, doctors discovered a tumor, a fibroma, in St. Gianna’s uterus. She examined her options, and as a physician she knew the risks very well. She refused to consider or any technique that would endanger her unborn child. St. Gianna made her decision: she chose a surgical option that would save her baby but that held greater risks for her own life.

The surgery did save her baby, but her own health faltered in the later stages of pregnancy. A few days before the full-term child was to be delivered by , St. Gianna told her husband, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate, choose the child, I insist on it, save the baby.

On April 21, 1692, St. Gianna gave birth to a healthy daughter. She herself, however, was left weakened and in agonizing pain. A week later, she was brought to her home for hospice care, and she died that same day at the age of 39. She was beatified in 1994 and canonized in 2004 by Bl. John Paul II.

St. Gianna Beretta Molla demonstrated a self-sacrificing love for human life reminiscent of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross. Throughout her ordeal, St. Gianna maintained an intense prayer life, obediently trusting God. In an age when unborn children are routinely aborted in their mothers’ womb, she stands as a pro-life witness for the sanctity of every human being from conception to natural death.

Every human life, from the moment of conception until death, is sacred because the human person has been willed for its own sake in the image and likeness of the living and holy God. (CCC 2319)

~Introduction to Catholicism for Adults - Rev. James Socias

Love and sacrifice are closely linked, like the sun and the light. We cannot love without suffering and we cannot suffer without love”. ~ Gianna

Correction: March 28th Newsletter CHAPEL GUARDIAN NEEDED FOR Saint Katharine Drexel - the correct age at the 1 AM and 8 AM ON FRIDAY time of her death was ninety-six. Call 7320752-4479

Publisher Staff Editor email [email protected] Rev. Arlindo Paul Da Silva Jeanette Horai Pastor Sue Ellen Bibby The Newsletter will be published Editor Roberta Maurer MONTHLY Pat Lorenc 3

LAY PEOPLE INVOLVEMENT

 The American Bishops have said that “The solution to the vocation shortage is their responsibility”  One of the things they intend to do, is “Build a Culture of Vocations in American Families”  And they are asking lay people and lay organizations for help.  As Saint John Paul II said in Pastores Dabo Vobis, “Vocations is Everybody’s Business”

St. Charles Borromeo Vocations Committee of Our Lady of Fatima Parish

MISSION STATEMENT: We, the members of the Vocations Committee dedicate ourselves in support, prayer and action to promote vocations within our parish and the Diocese of Metuchen. We pray especially for those being called to the priesthood, diaconate, religious life and consecrated virginity. We sponsor events for seminarians and for young adults to encourage them to consider becoming a priest, deacon, religious or consecrated . We pray that they open their minds and hearts to His call and be encouraged by the people they love.

PRAYER ACTIVITIES: We do a personal weekly Holy Hour for Vocations, (on the same day and hour of each week). We sponsor a public monthly Holy Hour for Vocations, (on the First Friday of each month, from 7-8 p.m.) We distribute Vocation Prayer Apostolate pamphlets to the Homebound and prayer cards throughout the parish We promote Vocation Awareness Week (in the Parish) We promote and participate in the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life (Prayer Service at Cathedral) We promote World Day of Prayer For Vocations on Good Shepherd Sunday We promote Priesthood Sunday

AWARENESS ACTIVITIES: We display Seminarian & Vocation Posters throughout the parish facilities We distribute Vision Magazine to the young people of our parish We distribute Vocation Awareness Literature

SUPPORT ACTIVITIES: We participate and promote letter writing to those preparing for the priesthood and religious life We adopt a seminarian (and remain in touch with the seminarian through ordination) We adopt a priest What are the qualifications to join our Parish Vocations Committee? A desire to serve God and the parish family and a willingness to devote time, talent, and energy to help promote vocations. Time Commitment: Meetings & special events.

st th Meeting Nights: The 1 or 4 Tuesday of every month (as needed) @ 7 P.M. in the Parish Center (check bulletin)

(time subject to change) Contact Person: Pat Lorenc: 732-752-4479 Email: [email protected] 4

The Eucharistic Miracle of WALLDÜRN

One of the most complete documents regarding the Eucharistic miracle of Walldürn, Germany, in the year 1330, is the one written by the monk Hoffius in 1589. During the Mass, a priest accidently knocked over the chalice of consecrated wine, which turned into Blood and formed an image of the Crucified Christ on the corporal. The relic of the corporal stained with Blood is preserved today on the side altar in the minor basilica of St. George in Walldürn. Every year, several thousand pilgrims visit Waldürn to venerate the sacred relic.

r. Heinrich Otto was celebrating Mass one day when he accidently knocked over the chalice containing the F Blood of Christ. Immediately upon spilling, the Precious Blood formed on the corporal a red image of the Crucified Christ, surrounded by eleven identical images of the Head of Christ crowned with thorns. The priest did not have the courage to reveal the miracle, and for many years he kept the corporal hidden under the altar. It was only at the point of death that in confession he told the story to the priest and gave him the corporal.

From the beginning, the reliquary of the corporal has been much venerated, and many conversions and miraculous recoveries are attributed to it. Pope Eugene IV confirmed the miracle in 1445 and granted some indulgences. The miracle became famous all over Europe and for centuries was depicted by many artists.

The present basilica was constructed between 1698 and 1728 by Franz Lothar von Schonborn, Archbishop of Mainz. In 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the church to the status of minor basilica. Augustinian monks have been in charge of the basilica since 1938.

Secondary Victims of Abortion

In addition to killing the child, abortion frequently causes significant emotional and psychological pain to women who have chosen to have one. Many come to realize that what they had carried in their wombs was not a “something” but a “someone.”

In addition to deep psychological wounds, abortion can have severely adverse physical effects on the mothers, includ- ing increased risks of sterility and cancer, not to mention the immediate damage done by the abortive procedure. There are counseling ministries that reach out to mothers who have come to regret their decision and are in need of healing and compassion. The same is true of the fathers of these aborted children, whether or not they supported the mothers’ decisions at the time. All Christians are called to extend great compassion to these people and to affirm and reflect for them the love and forgiveness of Christ.

A Stewardship Prayer for April Dear Lord, Risen Lord, Merciful Lord! The Easter Season is filled with your presence, and we come to you in gratitude for the deep and abiding joy you offer us through the promise of Your Resurrection. Help us to hear your call as did . Teach us as you did the disciples at Emmaus. Dispel our doubts as you did for Thomas. And reveal yourself to us as you did to your friends from the shore of Tiberius. Make us good stewards of this Easter Season. Open our hearts and minds in a special way to the great mystery of your active presence in our lives, and give us the courage to help others discover your presence in their lives.

For you are the light of the world. To you, Christ Jesus, be praise and glory! Amen.