Vol. 43, No. 1 May 2018 The St. Philip Be-News-Zi Join us for St. Philip Benizi’s Parish Festival Saturday, May 5, 2018 11AM – 4PM We have something for everyone! All of your old favorites will be here, in addition to new and exciting activities! Dunk Tank HUGE Swing Ride 5 Award-winning Food Trucks Laudato Si-inspired demonstrations Stilt Walker ▪ Flame Eaters Face Painting, and MORE! COST: Please bring cash for the Food Trucks and the Dunk Tank. Admission is Free. To volunteer to help, please sign up in the Gathering Area of the church. SEE YOU THERE!! Calendar of Events 2018 EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS May 2018 June 1-2 5/4-5: EUCHARISTIC ADORATION begins the First Friday of every month in the Chapel, after the 8:30AM Mass and concludes with Benediction at 7:45AM Saturday morning. 5/4: PRAISE & WORSHIP ADORATION-7PM This Service takes place during the monthly First Friday, 24-hour Adoration and includes Contemporary Music, Gospel Reading, a Homily, Period of Silence, Benediction, Sending Song, and Reposition. ALL are welcome! The “Let us welcome the Lord into our hearts. Blessed Sacrament will be brought from the Chapel into the church during this period of adoration. Let us allow Him to transform us so we can become His hands and feet, to go out into the world 5/5: SPB PARISH FESTIVAL (11AM-4PM) to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ.” (See details on Front Page.) http://congress.archatl.com/ 5/5-6: 6TH SUNDAY OF EASTER/ All are invited to attend the 2018 Atlanta Archdiocesan PROCESSION & CROWNING OF MARY Eucharistic Congress, held at the Georgia International The Crowning of Mary will take place during the 4PM Convention Center (GICC) in College Park, GA. The event begins on Friday, June 1st and continues through Saturday Mass. nd Saturday, June 2 . Many activities, sessions and speak- 5/9: SENIOR BREAKFAST (9:15AM) ers are scheduled for adults and children alike during the 2 -day Congress. Listed below is a brief summary of events. SPB Seniors (55+) are invited to enjoy a delicious break- For more detailed information, a list of this year’s dynamic fast in Founders’ Hall (prepared by the Knights of Colum- speakers and their backgrounds, and “Tracks” in various bus). Cost is $4.00. Join us for food, fun and fellowship! languages, please visit: http://congress.archatl.com/. 5/13: THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD/ MOTHER’S DAY Friday (June 1) Schedule of Events Doors Open at 4:30PM 5/13: CONFIRMATION Opening Mass: (6:30PM—7:45PM) Sacrament of Reconciliation: (8:00PM—9:30PM) Confirmation will take place during the 5PM Sunday Mass Healing Service: (7:30PM—10:30PM) with Auxiliary Bishop Joel Konzen presiding and adminis- Revive Track: (7:30PM—10:30PM) tering the Sacrament. “B HAPPY” (Eucharistic Reflection & Prayer) 5/18: 23rd ANNUAL SPB GOLF TOURNAMENT (7:00PM—8:30PM) Francophone Track: (8:00PM—10:30PM) (See details in this issue.) Exhibitors Hall Open: (4:30PM—9:30PM) 5/19: ARMED FORCES DAY Saturday (June 2) Schedule of Events 5/19-20: PENTECOST SUNDAY Doors Open at 7:30AM Morning Eucharistic Procession: 5/26-27: THE MOST HOLY TRINITY (8:30AM—9:30AM) Exposition, Adoration & Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: (9:30AM—10:30AM) 5/28: MEMORIAL DAY – Mass at 10AM Exhibitors Hall Open: (8:00AM—4:30PM) (Parish Offices Closed) Children’s Track: (11:00AM—3:00PM) Middle School Track: (11:00AM—2:00PM) English Track: (11:00AM—4:00PM) Spanish Track: (11:00AM—4:00PM) Vietnamese Track: (11:00AM—4:00PM) American Sign Language Track: (11:15AM—4:30PM) Sacrament of Reconciliation: (12:00PM—3:30PM) Rosary: (4:30PM—5:00PM) Closing Mass: (5:00PM—6:30PM) (Celebrant: Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory) May 2018 Dear Parishioners, On the weekend of May 5-6, 2018, I will speak at all seven Masses in order to introduce our new Pastoral Plan. At that time, I will ask each family to receive a copy of the Plan. It is my ardent desire that each family has and reads the Pastoral Plan, and discerns what role they will have in its implementation. I want to encourage each of you to be an integral part in fulfilling the goals of the Plan and, by doing so, help us become an even more Amazing Parish – “Walking United, Serving God’s People.” Recently, I received the following letter from Archbishop Wilton Gregory regarding our Pastoral Plan. PENTECOST SUNDAY May 20, 2018 Sincerely, Fr. John On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Thursday, April 5, 2018 The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The Reverend John Koziol, OFM Conv. St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church And when he had said this, he breathed on them 591 Flint River Road and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Jonesboro, Georgia 30238 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Dear John, (Jn 20:19-23) Please permit me to share my sincere gratitude for your leadership in discerning and publishing the Pastoral Plan A Prayer to the Holy Spirit 2018-2022 for St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church! The thought, hard work, and consultation that went in to Come, Holy Spirit, the preparation of your Parish Plan are evident throughout, replace the tension within me from the carefully chosen excerpts of the Holy Father’s Joy with a holy relaxation. of the Gospel to the focus areas that parallel our archdioc- Replace the turbulence within me esan plan. The action steps are timely and accessible, and I am confident your parish community will grow in faith with a sacred calm. and number as a result. Replace the anxiety within me with a quiet confidence. John, the people of God of St. Philip Benizi are blessed to Replace the fear within me have you and your confreres in pastoral service to them. I think you already know how blessed you are to have a with a strong faith. faith community so willing to take Christ into the world! Replace the bitterness within me with the sweetness of grace. Be assured of my prayers for you and your wonderful par- Replace the darkness within me ish family as you recommit to Walking United, Serving God’s People! with a gentle light. Replace the coldness within me Fraternally yours in Christ, with a loving warmth. ╬Wilton D. Gregory Replace the night within me with your light. Archbishop of Atlanta Let me see myself as You see me. Amen. Nick’s Notes The call to holiness impels us, not to shut ourselves up, shielded from the cares and needs of the world, but to go By Nick Dragone, Director of Music & Liturgy out, to stand among those most in need. Pope Francis emphasizes the point that we MUST recognize the funda- Pope Francis very recently published a new Apostolic Ex- mental sacredness of every and all life, without exception. hortation (a pastoral message addressed to the Catholic faithful) entitled, “Gaudete et Exultate” or “Rejoice and Be “We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore Glad”. Pope Francis describes the aim of this document injustice in a world where some revel, spend with aban- thus: don, and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject “My modest goal is to re-propose the call to holiness in a poverty.” [101] practical way for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities.” GE,1. The journey to holiness demands community, Pope Fran- cis says. Our “sharing the Word and celebrating the The universal call to holiness is not at all a “new” idea. We Eucharist together fosters fraternity and makes us a holy are called to holiness by virtue of our baptism where we and missionary community.” [142] die to sin, and rise to new life in Christ, and where we are anointed priest, prophet, and king. This universal call to Pope Francis exhorts that “we never regard prayerful si- holiness was the overarching theme of the Dogmatic Con- lence as a form of escape and rejection of the world stitution on the Church: Lumen Gentium, the second of around us…Such prayer [does] not separate [us] from four dogmatic constitutions approved by the Second Vati- what [is] happening all around [us].” [152] can Council. Pope Francis spends much time on prayer and contempla- Pope Francis’ exhortation is indeed an accessible, fresh, tion. My article next month will focus specifically on how pastoral, and practical teaching on holiness. Pope Francis Pope Francis speaks about prayer and the interior life. speaks of an interior life that is indelibly connected to an exterior life; that is to say that, how we pray and worship To be continued… MUST match how we live. Of course, this is the entire point of the church’s liturgy; not that we gather to make ourselves feel good, but that we are transformed, and go out to proclaim the Gospel and live out our baptismal call. Ministries Helping One Another Pope Francis says that “the best way to discern if our prayer is authentic is to judge to what extent our life is be- Many thanks go to the St.