Church of St. Theresa a Caring Community Reaching out to One Another in Christ
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Church of St. Theresa A Caring Community Reaching Out To One Another in Christ 2855 St. Theresa Avenue, Bronx, New York SUNDAY MASSES ST. THERESA’S FAMILY IS OUR FAMILY Saturday at 5:00pm, Sunday at 7:30am, 9:00am(Italian), “ST. THERESA STRONG” 10:30am(Family Mass) 12:15pm , 1:30PM(Spanish) & 5:00pm WEEKDAY MASSES Monday thru Saturday 8:00am & 9:00am DEVOTIONS Miraculous Medal & St. Theresa Novenas after Monday morning Masses St. Anthony Novena after Tuesday morning Masses. Thursday 12 Noon Mass & Eucharistic Adoration Exposition & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament First Friday 6:00PM CONFESSION Saturdays from 4:00pm to 5:00pm and by appointment BAPTISMS Baptisms take place most Sundays after the 1:30pm Mass. We ask parents to attend the Baptism preparation meeting. Register at the Rectory for the meeting. The date of the Baptism will be discussed at the Baptism meeting. MARRIAGES Call the Rectory at least six months in advance of the wedding date to make an appointment with parish clergy. Rev. Msgr. Thomas Derivan, Pastor Rev. Joseph Ligory, Parochial Vicar Mrs. Josephine Fanelli, Principal Rev. Edmundo Gomez, Retired, Mrs. Marie McCarrick, Dir. of Religious Education Rev. Robert Imbelli, Weekend Associate Nadia Papayani, Dir. of Music RECTORY: 7188921900/1901 WEBSITE: www.sttheresachurchbronx.org SCHOOL: 7187923688 FAX: 7188921146 EMAIL: [email protected] RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: 7187928434 CHURCH OF ST. THERESA, BRONX FROM THE DESK OF FATHER DERIVAN In our gospel today, the apostles ask the Lord, “Increase our faith.” I suppose that request has been made by every Christian ever since the days of the apostles. We love our faith. We hold on to our faith. But we know that we need help to increase our faith. We are never really there in matters of faith; we are always just beginning, just starting out on faith’s road, trying to be people of deeper faith on our way to eternal life. How blessed we are to have God’s grace to help our faith grow. We have the Holy Eucharist. We have the Bible, God’s Word. We have the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have prayer, which helps us talk with God our Father. But let me mention today one other great help that we have in increasing our faith, something that helps our faith to grow, something that we should think about especially today, which is the eve of a special Feast day. And that something, that special help to our faith, is the Rosary. Tomorrow is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and this month of October is the month of the Rosary. Let us think of the place of the Rosary in our lives. A number of years ago Pope St. John Paul II gave us a great gift. He issued his Apostolic Letter entitled The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is one of the most beautiful testimonies to the power of the Rosary ever written. Pope John Paul emphasized that the Rosary had sustained him throughout his life. He mentioned how he turned to the Rosary especially in the first year when he was elected Pope in 1978. And as he approached his golden years, he wanted to make the Rosary once again an integral part of every Catholic’s life. In fact, he proclaimed a special Year of the Rosary and he gave us the new set of mysteries, the Mysteries of Light, to be added to the other Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious mysteries. But most importantly the Pope emphasized how important the Rosary is: “The Rosary is destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness.” “The Rosary,” he says, “has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety.” The Rosary helps us to be better Christians: “To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother.” And the Pope says this beautiful sentence, “To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Jesus.” The Holy Father uses a beautiful term for the RosaryNhe calls the Rosary the “school of Mary” for us Christians. “Mary constantly sets before us the mysteries of her Son so that contemplating these mysteries will release all their saving power.” That was the Pope’s great pointNthe Rosary is powerful. To connect it with the words of today’s gospel, it is a powerful help to increase our faith, if Catholics only turn to it. The Pope mentioned four reasons why he wrote this letter about the Rosary: First, he wanted to counter a lessening of emphasis on the Rosary’s importanceNhe wanted to put the Rosary back into the hands and the heart of every Catholic. Second, he wanted people to realize the Rosary will help them grow in prayer and in contemplationNthat Mary herself will help us pray better and increase our faith. Third, the late Pope wanted to carry out the message of Our Lady of Fatima and in her other appearances where she asked all Catholics to pray for the Rosary for peace. We certainly need that prayer for peace today. Finally make the Rosary our special family prayer. What a wonderful suggestion to all parents, to say the Rosary as a family. What a blessing for parents and children alike! “Lord, increase our faith.” The apostles asked. The Rosary is indeed a powerful help in increasing our faith. It is, as the late Pope said so beautifully, “ the true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ.” During this Month of the Rosary, may we all rediscover the Rosary’s power. May we let the Rosary be our powerful help. May the Rosary be our bond of connection to Jesus and Mary, a golden cord of faith that we can hold on to, one that will lead us step by step to the glory of eternal life. Father Thomas B. Derivan SOCIAL SERVICES & SENIOR ASSISTANCE DAYS OPEN HOUSE Preston High School Open House Sunday, November 3, 2019 11:00AM 12:00PM For more information call 7188639134/Ext 131 St. Barnabas High School At Councilman Gjonaj’s District Office Open House Every Wednesday * 1478 Williamsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10461 425 East 240 Street Bronx, NY 10470 October 24, 2019 6:00PM to 8:00PM or October 26, 2019 12:00PM to 2:30PM Offering services in the following areas: For more information call 718 325 8800 or Medicaid Renewal www.stbarnabashigh.com Medicaid with Pooled Income Trust Medicare Savings Program SCRIE/DRIE Applications Eviction Prevention Senior Benefits NYCHA Annual Renewals SAVE THE DATENNOVEMBER 1, 2019 To schedule an appointment, contact LADIES NIGHT FALL BINGO Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s ST. THERESA SCHOOL GYM District Office at 7819311721. STARTS AT 7:00PM TWENTYSEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME DEVOTION TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER: October is one of the special months of devotions to Our Blessed Mother Mary. During this month in our bulletin we are presenting for your prayerful consideration accounts of several apparitions of Our Lady as approved by the Church. Today we present: The Apparitions at LaSaletteNSeptember 1846 Melanie and Maximin, the two children privileged to see Mary in 1846, came from the town of Corps near Grenoble, in a poor part of southeastern France. Maximin Giraud was eleven years old at the time and Melanie Calvat fourteen. On Saturday 19th September, they were looking after their employer’s cattle, high up on the pasture above La Salette, a village near Corps, when they saw a wonderful apparition of Mary. A globe of light opened to reveal a resplendent woman seated on a stone with her head in her hands. The children later described her as very tall and beautiful, wearing a long, white, pearl studded, sleeved dress, and a white shawl, with some sort of tiara or crown on her head. Hanging from her neck was a large crucifix adorned with a small hammer and pincers, with a brilliantly shining figure of Christ on it. The whole effect was as if she was made of light. Speaking tearfully she told them that unless people repented she would be forced to let go the arm of her Son because it had become so heavy. Mary went on to complain that she had to pray ceaselessly to her Son for them, but the people still worked on Sundays and blasphemed. She also spoke of coming punishments for these sins, including crop blights and famine. She confided a secret to each of the children, which they were not to divulge, although eventually these secrets were made known to Pope Pius IX. Finally she asked the children to spread her message before disappearing. When the children returned home they told their story, an account of which was taken down in writing the next day. They faced much opposition in making known Mary’s message, but they maintained their story with resolution. The local Bishop too faced quite a degree of opposition in investigating the apparition, and it was only after four years, and having set up two commissions of enquiry, that Mgr Bruillard, as bishop of Grenoble, approved of devotion to Our Lady of Salette, in the following terms: “We declare that the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to two shepherds, on September 19, 1846, on a mountain in the Alps in the parish of La Salette, bears in itself all the marks of truth and that the faithful are justified in believing without question in its truth. And so, to mark our lively gratitude to God and the glorious Virgin Mary, we authorize the cult of Our Lady of La Salette.” OCTOBER IS RESPECT LIFE MONTH OCTOBER 6 ST.