Our Lady Star of the Sea Church

106 East Dillingham Street, Marys, Georgia 31558 Reverend Fr. Mariusz Fuks, Pastor Church Office 912-882-4718 Fax: 912-882-5845 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.weareolss.org

SECOND SUNDAY OF

DIVINE SUNDAY Saint Mission 700 Kingsland Drive P.O.Box 487, Folkston Georgia 31537 Church Office 912-882-4718 Fax: 912-882-5845 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: www.stfrancisfolkston.com Our Lady Star of the Sea weekly schedule

Mondays No Daily Mass Tuesdays 5:00 pm & Adoration, 5:30 pm Daily Mass Wednesdays 7:30 am Rosary, 8:00 am Daily Mass Thursdays 7:30 am Rosary, 8:00 am Daily Mass Fridays 6:30 am Rosary, 7:00 am Daily Mass 1st Fridays of the month 8:30 am Mass @ Historic Chapel 3:00 pm - 3:40 pm Chaplet—Main Church Saturdays 4:15 pm Confession - Main Church 5:00 pm Mass Sundays 11:00 am Mass

Saint Francis of Assisi weekly schedule

Wednesdays 6:00 pm Daily Mass 1st Fridays 11:00 am Adoration of the 12:15 pm Mass Sundays 8:00 am Confessions 8:30 am Mass

Believe It or Not

In today's Gospel we hear say three times, " be with you." While this was a common greeting, Jesus was using it to remind them of his saying, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid" (John 14:27). The disciples were hiding in fear, so they needed reassurance. Jesus gives them that reassurance in three ways: his resurrection, forgiveness of sins, and a blessing for future disciples. Now that he is raised from the dead, they can take heart that no one can truly hurt them--even death has been overcome. The disciples had seen Jesus crucified and were afraid any of his followers would be treated the same way. So when Jesus appeared to them, he showed them his wounds and let them touch him. He wanted to show that he was not a ghost (a spirit or vision of someone who is still dead). He has risen from death and it has no more power over him. They can now take courage because they will share in the Resurrection themselves. Breathing on them, he bestows the Holy Spirit, source of our courage. That leads to the second reassurance, forgiveness of sins. Jesus died to take away our sins; now he shares that with his disciples when he tells them that they can forgive sins also (John 20:23). Anyone troubled by guilt can be forgiven. The disciples themselves probably felt that need, since they had deserted Jesus and one even denied knowing him. As Jesus was sent by his Father, he now sends his with the mission to free others from sin. We too can forgive others (and ourselves) knowing that God has forgiven them and us. Finally, the story of Thomas and his doubts about Jesus' resurrection gives us some hope. Jesus blesses those who "have not seen and have believed" (John 20:29). That includes everyone down to the present generation who has believed on the word of others--from the apostles in the scriptures to holy people in our own time who have experienced the Lord in their lives. We often think the apostles were "more" blessed for having seen and heard Jesus. But Jesus reverses that expectation; we are blessed, even two thousand years after the Resurrection. Tom Schmidt, Copyright (c) J. S. Paluch Co.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK

Deacon Joe Bezy Mark & Laverne Beck Gary Bastable Tiffani Diaz Steve & Jo Knight Jay Berman Lilly Vidal Sandy Feller Gabby Doverspike William Bezy Edward Seibert Sr. Therese Sartain Veronica Seibert Carol & James Mounce (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)

Seeing is believing! Since cellphone screens connect us instantly to social media, live TV, and loved ones' faces near and far, "Doubting Thomas" could be our patron saint: "Unless I see, I will not believe!" But how comforting for any of us who share Thomas's doubt, or love "doubters" who do, to see how kindly Jesus responds. By offering the very evidence that Thomas demanded, Jesus doesn't scold Thomas, but seems to understand such skepticism. Could Jesus have been thinking of us, who long to believe that "Jesus is risen!" but see so much suffering, and perhaps even cause some, that we wonder, how could something so wonderful be true? In today's reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the risen Jesus' healing love comforts through disciples who love others. In Revelation, "our brother John" doesn't just claim he saw Jesus alive, but passes on Jesus' life -giving words, "Do not be afraid." Seeing Jesus in others is believing!

NOT IN PERSON, BUT IN PERSONS "Doubting Thomas" saw the risen Jesus in person. But generations have come to believe not by seeing Jesus in person but in persons, in Christian disciples, whose self-sacrificing love and practical proclaim not only in word but in deed, "Jesus is risen!" Thomas was invited to touch Jesus' wounds in person. But countless believers have touched Jesus' wounds in persons to gently heal, as Francis challenges us to touch Jesus' flesh in the wounded flesh of our suffering brothers and sisters. How encouraging for us simple disciples, sometimes doubting like Thomas or otherwise flawed, to see early disciples transformed by encountering the Risen Jesus not in person, but in persons. Once Peter cowardly denied Jesus. Repentant tears healed Peter; now Peter's shadow heals others. Once John "fell down as though dead" before the Risen Jesus' heavenly array. Jesus' personal touch and gentle words lifted John up to share Jesus' comfort with us.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY As we think of Peter's "shadow" bestowing Jesus' healing, we recall that Peter's current successor, , declared this year a Jubilee Year of Mercy, that the many varied "wounds" afflicting God's people may be healed by Jesus' mercy offered through his loving disciples. Francis announced the Jubilee last year on this Sunday, named by Pope Saint John Paul II , honoring Saint Faustina Kowalska's spiritually comforting devotion. How fitting! For in today's Gospel, guilty disciples, whose denial and desertion helped inflict Jesus' wounds, heard Jesus' merciful words: "Shalom --Peace!" Jesus' next words sent them--and now send us--as the Father sent Jesus: to heal and reconcile others, even at the risk of being wounded ourselves. Again, how fitting! For Jesus, who assured Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed," had earlier declared, "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy." Divine Mercy Sunday, in this Jubilee Year, sends us out to share the comfort, mercy, and forgiveness that we ourselves have so joyfully received.

HELPING YOUR NEIGHBOR If you truly want to help the soul of your neighbor, you should approach God first with all your heart. Ask God simply to fill you with charity . . . with it you can accomplish what you desire. --St. Vincent Ferrer Mass Intentions Requested by: Monday 04/04 Tuesday 04/05 Wednesday 04/06 +Pearl Lutz Chrissy Bundrick Thursday 04/07 Friday 04/08 Saturday 04/09 Sunday 04/10

If you wish to have your child baptized at OLSS or SFOA, please call the Those preparing for marriage need church office to schedule a preparation to contact the church office for a list class with Fr. Mariusz and to complete of instructions at least six months in the sacramental registration form. This advance of the anticipated wedding must be done at least two weeks in advance before your event is scheduled. date. DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY THE EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT WITH THE SUNG CHAPLET OF THE DIVINE MERCY TODAY! SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER APRIL 3, 2016 OUR LADY STAR OF THE SEA MAIN CHURCH 3:00 PM

ALL ARE WELCOME

Origin of Divine Mercy Sunday, the , the Chaplet, and the Novena

Saint Faustina: Mankind’s need for the message of Divine Mercy took on dire urgency in the 20th Century, when civilization began to experience an “eclipse of the sense of God” and, therefore to lose the understanding of the sanctity and inherent dignity of human life. In the 1930s, Jesus chose a humble Polish , St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, to receive private revelations concerning Divine Mercy that were recorded in her Diary. Bl. John Paul explains: This was precisely the time when those ideologies of evil, nazism and communism, were taking shape. Sister Faustina became the herald of the one message capable of off-setting the evil of those ideologies, that fact that God is mercy—the truth of the merciful Christ. And for this reason, when I was called to the See of Peter, I felt impelled to pass on those experiences of a fellow Pole that deserve a place in the treasury of the universal Church. ~ Pope Saint John Paul II, Memory and Identity (2005) Divine Mercy Sunday: St. Faustina’s Diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed, for example: My daughter, tell the whole world about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. … Let no soul fear to draw near to Me. … It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary, no. 699) On May 5, 2000, five days after the of St. Faustina, the Vatican decreed that the Second Sunday of Easter would henceforth be known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The Image: Jesus appeared to St. Faustina in a vision, with his right hand raised in a blessing and his left touching his garment above his heart. Red and white rays emanate from his heart, symbolizing the blood and water that was poured out for our salvation and our sanctification. The Lord requested that “Jesus, I trust in You” be inscribed under his image. Jesus asked that his image be painted and venerated throughout the world: “I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish” (Diary, no. 48) and “By means of this image I will grant many graces to souls” (Diary, no. 742). The Chaplet of Divine Mercy: The Chaplet was also given to St. Faustina with this promise: “Encourage souls to say the chaplet which I have given you” (Diary, no. 1541). “Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. … Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy. I desire that the whole world know My infinite mercy” (Diary, no. 687). (Instructions for its recitation are provided on a separate page.) The : Jesus gave St. Faustina nine intentions for which to pray the Chaplet beginning on and ending on Holy Saturday. TODAY IS APPEAL SUNDAY. WE WILL BE GIVING THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET MADE THEIR PLEDGE TO THE BISHOP’S ANNUAL APPEAL AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO TODAY. IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO MAKE A PLEDGE, PLEASE CONSIDER A ONE TIME GIFT. EACH ONE OF US IS CHRIST TO ALL WE MEET.

OLSS OFFERTORY Regular Collection: $7798.63 Did you consider Online Giving Collection: $689.50 Mortgage Fund: $1817.00 Online Giving Mortgage Fund: $5.00 Priest Retirement: $1230.00 Good Samaritan: $918.50 Good Samarita Online $35.00 Children’s Collection: $4.00 Pontifical Holy Land Collection $920.25

Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat

Do you or someone you know have emotional, spiritual or psychological pain due to a past abortion? If so, there is a ministry just for you. At Rachel’s Vineyard Ministry you can find help, hope and healing through their post abortion healing retreats. The retreat is April 15-17 near Augusta, Ga. For information, contact Stephanie May, 912-306- 0406 or email [email protected]. Complete confidentiality will be honored at all times. Take the risk and find the peace and healing you have been searching for.

The Ave Maria Assembly of the There are no specific requirements on Knights of Columbus is offering a ATTENTION length, spacing, and font. Essays will scholarship opportunity for CATHOLIC SENIORS be judged solely on content. All all Catholic Seniors graduating essays should be submitted to Our high school in our area. This will Lady Star of the Sea , be an essay based scholarship with Care of Ave Maria Assembly Scholarship, 106 Dillingham St E, St an award of $300 for 1st place, Marys, GA 31558 and are due by Fri- $200 for 2nd place, and $100 for day, April 29. The winners will be 3rd place. The topic of the essay announced at the Scholarship night on is: Patriotism and ; What do May 17 at 6:00 PM at the Camden they mean, and how do I live them County High School Auditorium. out on a daily basis. Good luck, and we look forward to reading some great essays! Christian Community Golf Tournament – SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI OFFERTORY 4 man scramble, teams will be chosen the day of the event. Offertory: $590.00 Who: All men and women Building Fund: $5.00 golfers Votive Candles: $42.00 When: April 16, 2016 Lunch at 11:30am “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to Tee off at 1pm give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a Where: Trident Lakes Golf cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 Course Cost: $26 with the option to purchase mulligans Why: Recreation and Fellowship POC: Greg Lockhart [email protected]

National Day of Prayer May 5, 2016 Camden County Recreation Center, Kingsland, GA 7:00 -7:45 am (coffee and rolls served 6:30 – 7:00) Prayer Leaders for our: Government: William Ligon, State Senator Military: Austin Fletcher, Major, USMC Youth: Camden County High School students Churches: Robby Horton, St. Marys Fire Chief Music Leaders: Fred and Starlette Myers POC: Tom Conkright, [email protected], 678-677-4206

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI MINISTRY SCHEDULE

April 3 April 10 April 17 April 24

Lector Waltzie Arenas Butch Crews Art Fouraker Dawn Malin

Extraordinary Minister Cindy Barrington Art Fouraker Charlotte Hurst Bonn Arenas of Holy Communion Butch Crews Bill Hayes Dawn Malin Cindy Barrington Mary Baxter Ruby Villanueva Esmeralda Villanueva Samantha Baxter Mitch Baxter Samantha Baxter Mary Baxter Lori Byrd Altar Servers Esmeralda Villanueva Mary Baxter Mitch Baxter Ruby Villanueva

Gift Bearers Johnson Family Barrington Family Hayes Family Wilson Family Ushers Will Gannon/Don Jones Greeters Mary Glasgow