IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH 21-47 29th Street ~ Astoria, New York 11105 THE T HIRD S UNDAY OF L ENT March 7 th , 2021

He made a whip out of cords and drove them out of the temple area...and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables...  John 2:15 PARISH CONTACT INFORMATION www.immacastoria.org ~ 718-728-1613 ~ [email protected] ~ 718-956-9229 (Parish Website) (Main Telephone Number) (Main Email) (Fax Number) PARISH DIRECTORY

WEEKLY SCHEDULE SUNDAY MONDAY TO F RIDAY 7:00AM  Low Mass (Mass Without Music) 7:00AM & 9:00AM 8:00AM  Italian Mass/Italiano * SATURDAY 9:00AM  Family Mass 7:00AM  Weekday Mass 10:30AM  High Mass (Mass with Music) 9:00AM  Weekday Mass 12:00PM  Spanish Mass/Español * 5:00PM  Sunday Vigil Mass * 1:30PM  Contemporary Music Mass * Also Streamed on Facebook CONFESSIONS RECTORY OFFICE HOURS Saturdays from 4:00PM to 5:00PM generally MONDAY  F RIDAY available in English , Spanish and Italian 9:00AM  12:30PM / 1:30PM  8:00PM languages . Appointments outside this time can be S ATURDAY S UNDAY made by contacting the Rectory Office. 9:00AM  4:00PM Office is Closed PARISH DEVOTIONS OTHER SACRAMENTS MIRACULOUS M EDAL N OVENA BAPTISMS Mondays after the 9:00AM Mass with the For Baptisms of infants and children, please recitation of the Holy Rosary, and at 5:00PM contact the Rectory Office to make an with the Rosary and Evening Prayer. appointment to meet with a Priest, and for more information. WEEKDAY E UCHARISTIC A DORATION Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from the end CCD & RCIA of the 7:00AM Mass to before the start of the If you or someone you know is interested in 9:00AM Mass every weekday and Saturdays. The completing, or receiving all, the Sacraments of Holy Rosary is recited beginning at 8:20AM, and Initiation, please contact the Religious Education Morning Prayer is celebrated at 8:45AM. Office for more information. FIRST F RIDAY D EVOTION SICK C ALLS Every first Friday of the month, the Blessed Please contact the Rectory Office at any time. Sacrament is exposed from after the 9:00AM Only use the Emergency Number for cases of Mass through the Parish Holy Hour from Extreme Unction (Last Rites). 7:00PM to 8:00PM. HOLY M ATRIMONY (M ARRIAGES ) FIRST S ATURDAY D EVOTION Please make an appointment to meet with a Priest This devotion includes the recitation of the Holy at least six (6) months before the desired wedding Rosary at 8:15AM, the celebration of Morning date. Please check with the Church before Prayer at 8:45AM, and the celebration of Mass in contacting the Catering Hall. honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 9:00AM with the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. CLERGY CONTACT INFORMATION Rev. Msgr. Fernando Ferrarese......Pastor Rev. Liju Augustine, CMI...... Parochial Vicar Immaculate Conception Catholic Academy Rev. William A. McLaughlin...Parochial Vicar Br. Joseph Rocco, sc, Ed.D., Principal Dcn. Francisco Hernandez 718-728-1969 - www.iccaastoria.org Dcn. Elkin Tamayo Religious Education (CCD) Office In Residence: Mrs. Marylyn Crum, Director Rev. Msgr. Charles Patrick Boccio, Pastor Emeritus 718-956-4494 - [email protected] Rev. Msgr. Vincent Fullam Youth Ministry of Immac. (YMI) Rev. Liju Augustine, CMI, Director Angelica Flores, Coordinator 718-728-1613 ext. 218 - [email protected] The Banishment of Faith

I think it very sad that, in the New York City lockdown last March, Churches were shuttered and consid ered non- essential. While they were de nitely meeting places and potentially dangerous seedbeds of infection, government o cials essentially took the position that prayer was not considered an important part of the solution. This was so di erent than at the time of the plagues of the past. In Palermo during the 16 th Century, there was a terrible outbreak of the Bubonic plague. In response, the people held processions in honor of St. Rocco (who was the patron saint of plague victims in the Middle Ages) and the remains of the martyr St. Rosalia were unearthed and placed in an honored place in a Church for prayer and comfort. Even today she is credited as having rescued Palermo from extinction! Of course, Palermo in the 16 th Century was very di erent than New York in the 21 st Century; but I am struck by the fact that prayer was not considered to be part of the solution. To the credit of our Catholic Churches, they were never fully cut down. With the literal ip-of-a-switch, Masses were streamed; Priests o ered Confessions outdoors; and the Anointing of the Sick continued with cotton balls and masks. Every continued to reach out and was still a center of prayer and comfort for the people, albeit in the new digital form so prevalent in todays secular society! But the o cial attitude toward Religion was one of benign neglect. Religion was suddenly more on the peripheries than usual. Healthcare workers (very rightly) were applauded, but one heard nothing about the heroic hospital and prison Chaplains who continued to minister in very dangerous situations. I think also of our own Sr. Peggy McCabe who continues to serve those in Rikers Island! Why has Faith been banished from our culture, even when it could be doing so much good? One might respond that we have freedom of religion and you can be of any faith or no faith. This is a great and precious freedom. But what I am speaking about is not the law and the Constitution, but the values espoused in a million di erent ways by our media, our politicians and, more than anything, on what is not said by the utter vacuum on news programs or TV shows or cable series of any mention of religion in a positive sense. Sure, if the killer in a crime show might characterized as religiously perverted then we see holy pictures on his or the walls of his apartment! For most of the talkers (those in the arts and politics and the news who dominate the public square) in our society, religion is, at best, a private concern that is not to be mentioned in polite conversation. At worst, it is an irrelevant part of our past that is better to be left on the ash heap of history. Sure, we can believe in God, but not a God Who matters. Go to Church! Just dont bring it up. God has no place here. Your religion does not matter. Even other faiths are not taken seriously as religions. They are seen as part of the beautiful mosaic of diversity, only dont take the God-talk seriously. You see the results of this even in our homes. If you were to enter a typical Catholic home 50 years ago, you would see a picture of the on the wall, a statue of Mary, maybe a picture of the Pope. Today, on the other hand, even our homes are scrubbed clean of the Faith. Childrens rooms are papered over by sports heroes and recording stars, but hardly ever a picture of Jesus or Mary. How did this happen to a nation that used to pride itself in Faith in God? One hopes that we are not on the trajectory that burned through Europe. Europe is one of the richest cultural areas of the world. So much of the culture was shaped and sustained by Christianity; but that is all gone. Sure, the beautiful buildings are there; you can enter them for a fee and learn all about the artists whose works are found there; you can listen to the automated guides that tell you what to look for and how to appreciate it. But they have ceased being places o f prayer, of Faith . On a recent parish pilgrimage, I was wandering on my own in the Cathedral of Florence. It was jam-packed with tourists! So, after I asked a few workers if there was a place that I could pray, they pointed to a corner chapel. I went in and was overjoyed to nd the Blessed Sacrament! Moreover, and to my point, I was alone. That is, until a group of tourists found this out-of-the-way chapel. They began to take pictures until one of the workers chased them away. This is only for people to pray. No one stayed but me. On another extreme, many of the churches in Prague are no longer active churches, but have become concert halls! Such a beautiful city lled with testaments in stone to Faith; now, only the shell remains. It is beyond me what we are to do. Other than a rebirth of Faith, all else will fail. But the Faith of the original Apostles changed the world. So, I prefer to hope and to say my Rosary. We must rebuild a new a vibrant Faith in a God Who matters: not just to us, but to the whole world.

For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.  Chaplet of Divine Mercy exäA `ÉÇá|zÇÉÜ YxÜÇtÇwÉ YxÜÜtÜxáx THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT SATURDAY March 6  Sunday Vigil SATURDAY March 13  Sunday Vigil 5:00PM Albert Anderson (40th. Anniv.) 5:00PM Thomas Carney

SUNDAY March 7 SUNDAY March 14 7:00AM For the People of the Parish (Pro Populo) St. Joseph Novena  Day #5 8:00AM Italian: Louis Saraceni, Salvatore 7:00AM For the People of the Parish (Pro Populo) Lopiccolo 8:00AM Italian: Elide & Antonio Giannattasio; 9:00AM Gerarda & Onofrio Pezzuto George Sabini 10:30AM Donato & Roxanne Baccari 9:00AM Joseph Cseri 12:00PM Spanish: Almas del purgatorio y por 10:30AM Joseph Mulè todo los Jovenes; Dima Alberto; Jesus 12:00PM Spanish: Carmen Tonusco, Ana Maria E Corpeno & Maria del Carmen Mora Tonusco, Gaitano Fayonny, Carlos 1:30PM The Deceased Members of the Grosso Jesus Pesante Family 1:30PM Robert R. Dangelo

MONDAY March 8 MEMORIALS St. John of God 7:00AM Bert Weinhofer 9:00AM Antonio Romano THE GIFTS OF BREAD & WINE are donated this week in loving memory of Rosalia Prainito, requested by Giuseppe Petruso and the DiMonte Family. TUESDAY March 9 St. Frances of Rome THE ALTAR CANDLES is donated this week in 7:00AM Msgr. Mark Giordani loving memory of Rosalia Prainito, requested by 9:00AM Emilia Troccoli Giuseppe Petruso and the DiMonte Family. THE FIRST SANCTUARY LAMP was not WEDNESDAY March 10 memorialized this week . St. Joseph Novena  Day #1 7:00AM Joseph Weinhofer THE SECOND SANCTUARY LAMP was not 9:00AM Ana Shelly memorialized this week .

THURSDAY March 11 St. Joseph Novena  Day #2 7:00AM Maria Tapia & Family (Liv.) 9:00AM Phyllis Colamartino

FRIDAY March 12 St. Joseph Novena  Day #3 7:00AM Valerie & Peter Attard and Joseph & Carmela Sultana 9:00AM Harold & Elsie Smith

SATURDAY March 13 Please pray for all the faithful departed, especially St. Joseph Novena  Day #4 7:00AM The Souls in the Purgatorial Society Those Who Have Died From COVID-19 9:00AM The Casey Family Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in Peace. Amen. NOVENA TO ST. JOSEPH

Join us in preparing for the Solemnity of S aint J oseph, Spouse of the B lessed V irgin M ary with a special St. Joseph Novena from March 10 th to March 18 th after each days 9:00AM Mass .

Booklets are available in the Sacristy in English, Spanish & Italian. Los libros de oración están disponibles en la Sacristía en inglés, español e italiano. Libri di preghiera sono disponibili nella Sagrestia in inglese, spagnolo e italiano.

PARISH MEMORIAL MASS FOR THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF COVID-19

Our Parish will celebrate a special Memorial Mass on Saturday, March 13th at 12:00PM as a way of commemorating the rst anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Mayor Bill DeBlasio has declared Sunday, March 14th an o cial Day of Remembrance as that was the day the rst person in New York City died from con rmed COVID-19. We want to make sure that we never forget the su ering endured by so many of us and the ones we lost to this plague.

As a special way of remembering those who died from COVID-19 in our own community, we would like to publish their names in a special booklet for this Memorial Mass, similar to our Parish All Souls Mass. However, because the Church and Rectory were essentially shut down for many months, our Death Records are incomplete for that timeframe. If a loved one of yours passed away due to COVID-19, we would greatly appreciate it if you would ll out the form below so that we may update our records and have their names published for this Mass.

Please drop your completed form o to the Rectory O ce during regular business hours (as seen in the Bulletin front cover). A digital version of this form can also be found on our website at www.immacastoria.org, which can be emailed to us directly at [email protected]. As always, please feel free to contact the Rectory O ce for more information or assistance. Please submit your form no later than Monday, March 8 th , 2021 so that we have time to print them in the booklet.

You and your loved ones are always in our prayers. God bless you all, and may He end this terrible plague quickly through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother!

COVID-19 DEATH RECORD UPDATE FORM

Please print legibly so that we can enter the information correctly and respectfully!

Name of Deceased: ______

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