Church of St. Theresa A Caring Community Reaching Out To One Another in Christ 2855 St. Theresa Avenue, Bronx, New York SUNDAY MASSES Saturday at 5:00pm, Sunday at 7:30am, 9:00am ST. THERESA’S FAMILY IS OUR FAMILY (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 The month of October stands out in the Church’s calendar as a dual celebration. October is the month of the Rosary and October is the month of Respect for Life. We pay special honor to the Rosary of Our Lady during October, remembering that in saying the Rosary, in the words of the late Pope John Paul II, we are on a “spiritual journey in which Mary acts as Mother, Teacher and Guide,” bringing us to Jesus her Son. And also during October we celebrate our commitment to the cause of life, our commitment to be, again as our late Holy Father put it, “apostles of life.” To put it simply, October is the month of Mary and of Life. Is there any surprise in that? Above all human beings, Our Blessed Mother Mary was an “apostle of life.” When we think of it, the mysteries of the Rosary in which Mary appears are all celebrations of life. In the Joyful Mysteries, Mary is the apostle of life welcoming the message of the Angel Gabriel, welcoming the Child conceived in her womb. Mary is the apostle of life as she visits her cousin Elizabeth and the unborn John the Baptist greets the unborn Jesus, both from their mothers’ wombs. Mary was above all the apostle of life when she brought Jesus into the world at Christmas, bringing the Lord of life to all who will receive Him. She presented Him in the temple as a baby, bringing the Lord of life to Jerusalem, the very place where He would give His life for the salvation of the world. In the Mystery of Light, the Wedding Feast of Cana, Mary is the apostle of life celebrating the joy of marriage and asking her Son to perform His first miracle at that wedding feast. In the Sorrowful Mysteries, we realize that she was never more the apostle of life than when she accompanied her Son as He carried the Cross and as He died on that Cross so that we might live. In the Glorious Mysteries, Our Blessed Mother Mary saw Life triumph in the Resurrection and Ascension of her Son. She saw the Holy Spirit, “the Lord and Giver of life” come upon the Church on the first Pentecost. And in her Assumption and Coronation, Mary shows life exalted, life completed in the glory of heaven. Yes, we can say that the Rosary is filled with life. Our Blessed Mother Mary shows us how to be apostles of life as we contemplate the mysteries of her Holy Rosary. During this month, say the Rosary for life. Make these you special intentions as you pray the Rosary: for a greater commitment to life on our part, a commitment to be apostles of life; for God’s grace to touch women who are contemplating an abortion and for Mary to help them accept their unborn child as God’s precious gift, even as she welcomed God’s Son; for our young people to understand the beauty of life, the beauty of sexuality in marriage, the beauty of family itself; for our country, that we will reject the “culture of death” and embrace the “culture of life.” May Our Blessed Mother Mary help us to renew our commitment to the cause of life. Mary Mother of life, Mother of the unborn, pray for us. Father Thomas B. Derivan SOME RESOURCES FOR HEALING ABORTIONS: Support and Recovery Groups HEAVENLY HALLOWEEN KIDS HUMOR Heartbeat International/Care Net Pregnancy Centers 1800712HELP (18007124357) www.OptionLine.org Q: What do ghosts eat for supper? www.HeartbeatInternational.org A: Spooketi www.CareNet.org The International Helpline for Abortion Recovery Q: Why didn’t the skeleton go to the ball? 866482LIFE A: Because he had no BODY to go with. http://internationalhelpline.org Rachel’s Vineyard Retreats Q: Who did Frankenstein take to the dance? 1877HOPE4ME (18774673463) A: His “ghoul” friend! www.RachelsVineyard.org Men’s Pagewww.RachelsVineyard.org/men Q: Where do ghosts buy their food? National Office of PostAbortion Reconciliation and Healing A: At the ghostery store! 18005WECARE ( 18005932273) www.NOPARH.org HANDICAP ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS The side entrance to the Church on Pilgrim Avenue will be Please support our advertisers; it is their support that makes open every Sunday for anyone who is handicapped or in a this bulletin possible, and when you visit them, please let them wheelchair. Also this same entrance will be opened every know that you read their advertisement in St. Theresa ‘s weekday until 9:30AM. bulletin. TWENTYNINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME OCTOBER, MONTH OF THE ROSARY October has also been traditionally known as the month of the Rosary. The recitation of the Rosary is a devotion based on Sacred Scripture. The following reflections on the mysteries of the Rosary are from the University of Dayton’s Marian Institute, based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church: SORROWFUL MYSTERIES The Agony in the Garden The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father’s hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemane, making himself “obedient unto death.” Jesus prays: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me….” Thus he expresses the horror that death represented for his human nature. Like ours, his human nature is destined for eternal life, but unlike ours, it is perfectly exempt from sin, the cause of death. Above all, his human nature has been assumed by the divine person of the “Author of life, the living One.” By accepting in his human will that the Father’s will be done, he accepts his death as redemptive, for “he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” The Scourging Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony, and his Passion and gave himself up for each one of us: “The Son of God...loved me and gave himself for me.” He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings” without exception. Jesus Is Crowned with Thorns It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas’ betrayal so bitter to Jesus, Peter’s denial, and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world, the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly. The Carrying of the Cross The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the “one mediator between God and men.” But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, “the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery” is offered to all people. He calls his disciples to “take up their cross and follow him,” for “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example so that we should follow in his steps.” In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. The Crucifixion The Church is born primarily of Christ’s total selfgiving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist, and fulfilled on the cross. “The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed form the open side of the crucified Jesus.” For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the ‘wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.’ As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam’s side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.