St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church February 23, 2020
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St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church February 23, 2020 Mission Statement We the faith filled community of St. Anthony the Abbot, nourished by Word and Eucharist strive to live the faith with the Holy Spirit, through the example of Mary. We strive to embrace the mission of Christ, Rev. Paul Pecchie, Pastor celebrate his presence through the sacraments and become Rev. Mikhail Kouts (Assisting) the light of the Lord; especially for those in need. Deacon Manny Carreiro Parish Office (352) 796-2096 Receptionist: Ext. 103 Parish Secretary: Karen Zoretic - Ext. 102, [email protected] Assistant Parish Secretary : Michele Niemier - Ext. 108 [email protected] Front Office: Barbara Stinedurf - Ext. 104, [email protected] Business Manager: Beth Shields - Ext. 105, [email protected] Music Ministry: Kevin MacFarland, Ext. 109 or Cell 813-777-1345 [email protected] Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults— RCIA: Michele Niemier- Ext. 108, [email protected] Faith Formation: Miriam Melfy—Ext. 106, [email protected] PreK4—12 Maintenance : Susanne Thompson Al Pearson [email protected] St. Vincent de Paul Ministry: (352 )797-4898, [email protected] Daystar Life Center: (352) 799-5930 www.daystarlifecenter.org Telephone: (352)796-2096 Fax: (352)796-7144 Mass Schedule Email: Saturday Vigil: 4:00 pm [email protected] Sunday: 8:00 am and 10:00 am Website: First Sunday Monthly: Traditional Latin Mass 11:30 am www.stanthonytheabbot.org Daily Masses: Monday-Saturday at 8:00 am Reconciliation: Offered every Saturday 10:00 am-11:00 am, New Parish Office Hours: or by appointment. Monday-Thursday 8:30am to 1:00pm Sacrament of the Sick: Anointing after Masses or upon request. Friday Office Closed Please contact the Parish Office in advance. Ministry to the Sick Marriage Preparation: Please contact Parish Office at least six months prior & Homebound to wedding date. Baptism: Please contact Parish Office three months in advance. Louise Allen, contact Parish Office The Best Catholic Content all in One Place. Register at: www.FORMED.org Access Code: 4KR96N (case sensitive) February 23, 2020 Ash Wednesday Schedule Wednesday, February 26th Mass, Liturgy of the Word and Ash Distribution: 8am (Mass) 10am (Liturgy of the Word) 12pm (Liturgy of the Word) Mass Intentions 6:30pm (Mass) nd Saturday, February 22 The dual disciplines of fasting and abstinence have a long 4:00 p.m. Rose Miller (L) history in the Catholic Church. Going back to the early Sunday, February 23rd Church, the purpose behind the custom of self denial is 8:00 a.m. Living and Deceased not punishment; it is to simplify our lifestyles so that we create a certain Members of the emptiness. In this way, freed from all distractions, we are able to hear St. Anthony the and respond to God’s continued call to conversion and holiness. Abbot Parish 10:00 a.m. Mary Louise Salem ♦ Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all (D) Catholics between the ages of 18 to 59 years (inclusive). On days of th fasting, one full meal is allowed. Two smaller meals, sufficient to main- Monday, February 24 tain strength, may be taken according to one’s needs, but together they 8:00 a.m. Agnes & Henry should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permit- Lavery (D) ted, but liquids are allowed. Tuesday, February 25th 8:00 a.m. Joann Sadwich (D) ♦ Abstinence from meat is to be observed by all Catholics who are 14 years of age and older. Ash Wednesday, all the Fridays of Lent, and Wednesday, February 26th Good Friday are days of abstinence. Ash Wednesday Note: If a person is unable to observe the above regulations due to ill 8:00am Nora Casson (D) health or other serious reasons, they are urged to practice other forms of 6:30pm Todd Zoretic (D) self denial that are suitable to their condition. th Thursday, February 27 Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the three traditional disciplines of 8:00 a.m. Tom Zoretic (D) Lent. The faithful and catechumens should undertake these practices th seriously in a spirit of penance and of preparation for baptism or the re- Friday, February 28 8:00 a.m. Ron Mlinarchick (D) newal of baptism at Easter. Saturday, February 29th 8:00 a.m. Rite Rev. Msgr. Stations of the Cross Louis W. Doychak Every Tuesday at 8:30am and every Friday at 5:30pm (D) (through April 3) 4:00 p.m. Tom Rushforth (D) st Part of the rich Lent tradition of our Sunday, March 1 Catholic faith is praying the Stations 8:00 a.m. Living and Deceased of the Cross, as we remember the Members of the journey of Jesus to the cross. It’s a St. Anthony the Abbot Parish wonderful way for families to focus 10:00 a.m. Jack Jensen (D) during the season of Lent in prayer together. See Lenten Schedule on page 6 Join us every Tuesday and Friday during Lent! 2 A Message From Our Pastor JMJ My Dear Friends in Christ, We are called to the holiness of God. That is the extraordinary claim made in both the First Reading and Gospel this Sunday. Yet how is it possible that we can be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect? Jesus explains that we must be imitators of God as His beloved children (Ephesians 5:1–2). As God does, we must love without limit—with a love that does not distin- guish between friend and foe, overcoming evil with good (see Romans 12:21). Jesus Himself, in His Passion and death, gave us the perfect example of the love that we are called to. He offered no resistance to the evil—even though He could have commanded twelve legions of angels to fight alongside Him. He offered His face to be struck and spit upon. He allowed His gar- ments to be stripped from Him. He marched as His enemies compelled Him to the Place of the Skull. On the cross He prayed for those who persecuted Him (see Matthew 26:53–54, 67; 27:28, 32; Luke 23:34). In all this He showed Himself to be the perfect Son of God. By His grace, and through our imi- tation of Him, He promises that we too can become children of our heavenly Father. God does not deal with us as we deserve, as we sing in this week’s Psalm. He loves us with a Father’s love. He saves us from ruin. He forgives our transgressions. He loved us even when we had made ourselves His ene- mies through our sinfulness. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (see Romans 5:8). We have been bought with the price of the blood of God’s only Son (see 1 Corinthians 6:20). We belong to Christ now, as St. Paul says in this week’s Epistle. By our baptism, we have been made temples of His Holy Spirit. And we have been saved to share in His holiness and perfection. So let us glorify Him by our lives lived in His service, loving as He loves. St. Pachomius lived in the 300s, in Egypt. He was a truly amazing saint, a real volcano of ac- tivity and holiness. In gratitude for the grace of baptism, he retreated into the deserts of Egypt and ap- prenticed himself to a hermit in order to learn how best to serve God. Together they lived alarmingly austere lives – sleeping sitting up, never eating a full meal, frequently praying and working all night long. This was their strategy for mastering their sinful tendencies and putting their whole heart, mind, and strength into loving God. One day Pachomius had a vision of an angel instructing him to build a monastery on the banks of the Nile. He obeyed, and soon a trickle of followers filled the few cells, followed by more and more men who felt called to give their lives to penance and prayer. Soon he founded other monasteries, wrote a series of guidelines for monastic life, and inspired countless other Christians with his humility, patience, and miracles. By the time he died while serving the sick in an epidemic, his nine monasteries housed over 3,000 monks, and the monastic movement, which has ever since been filling the world with holiness and wisdom, was under way. But the most interesting thing about the spiritual life of St. Pachomius is its beginning. His re- markable career of holiness began with a simple act of Christian charity. Before his baptism, Pacho- mius had been drafted into the imperial army. As he and the other recruits were being transported down the Nile under horrific conditions, a group of Egyptian Christians gave them food, fresh cloth- ing, and other necessities. Pachomius never forgot this, and as soon as his military service was over, he went to the nearest Christian church in order to be baptized. A few Christians going out of their way to share the light of Christ with some pagan soldiers lit a fire of love in the heart of St. Pachomius that is still warming this cold world today. Christ-like love is about giving, not getting – that’s what will change this world. Oremus pro Invicem! Fr Pecchie Mark your calendars: March 14 St Patrick Day Dinner 3 St. Anthony the Abbot (352)796-2096 Scripture Readings for the Week of February 23, 2020 Sunday Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Lv 19:1-2, 17-18; Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48 Offertory for the Weekend of January 26, 2020 Attendance 701 Monday Envelopes Used 143 Jas 3:13-18; Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15; Mk 9:14-29 Offertory Envelopes $ 3,424.25 Offertory—Loose Offering $ 3,384.91 Tuesday Total $ 6,809.16 Jas 4:1-10; Ps 55:7-8, 9-10a, 10b-11a, 23; Mk 9:30-37 Wednesday Thank you for your parish support! Ash Wednesday Jl 2:12-18; Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17; 2 Cor 5:20—6:2; Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 We Are Salt & Light 2020 Annual Pastoral Appeal Thursday Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6; Lk 9:22-25 Thank you to everyone who has responded to the request to participate in the 2020 Annual Pastoral Friday Appeal.