February 10, 2019– Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time MASS SCHEDULE Weekend - Saturday: 5:00 pm (Vigil) Church Sunday: 8:00am, 9:45 & 11:30 Spanish Mass 1:00pm Weekday Monday—Saturday 8:00am & Thursday 6pm Mass in Chapel COMMUNION CALLS Any homebound or shut-in may receive Holy Communion in their home. A Eucharistic Minister, will visit. Please call 631-475-4739 SACRAMENT PREPARATION Please call Religious Education at 631-289-7327 OFFICES Note Rectory Business Office is combined with the Religious Education Office and located in the Parish Center . Hours 9:00 AM –4:00 PM Monday –Friday 631-475-4739 RECONCILIATION Saturday 4:00pm to 4:45pm in the Church or by appointment PASTOR Monday Night Prayer Group Rev. Henry Reid 7:30 in the Chapel -Jerry Curreri 698-3533 Legion of Mary Prayer Group Monday In Residence Rev. Eric Kasongo 7:pm In Parish Center Chaplain of Stony Brook Hospital Rob Costanzo 631-834-3385 Deacon Bob Lyon Wednesday Night Prayer Group Deacon Anthony Graviano , Retired 7:30 pm in a Private Home Mary Peterson– 475-4739 Parish Offices– in Parish Center Telephone 475-4739 Fax 447-1030 Secular Franciscans (OFS) Parish Secretary Susan Schmutz ext.101 Meet in the Parish Center Business Office Hours in Parish Center 1st Sunday of the Month 1pm to 4 pm Monday - Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm Saturday-Sunday Closed EUCHARISTIC ADORATION Following 8 am Mass Thursday till 10 pm Mass cards sold in the parish center d 6pm Divine Mercy Mass [email protected] Rosary for Life 7pm Prayer Groups as printed above. Religious Education Telephone: 289-7327 Reconciliation/Confession Religious Education Office Hours Monday - Thursday Monday-Friday, Following Daily Mass in Chapel 9:00am - 4:00pm Saturday 4:00 – 4:45 PM in Church Coordinator of Religious Education Sacrament of Marriage Madlyn D’Ambrose ext 104 Arrangement must be made 6 months in advance. No date for a wedding can be given over the phone or Choir reserved until the couple completes the formal paperwork with a member of the pastoral staff. Music Director: Germaine Fontaine R.C.I.A. is for those who are interested in coming Parish Outreach Food Pantry into the Catholic Church or a Catholic interested in Telephone 475-9580 ext.113 completing the Sacraments of Initiation. Call Faith Outreach Office Hours 10am-2pm Formation office for more information. Wednesday Evenings. 631-475-4739 ext 102 Thursday & Friday [email protected] Sacrament of Baptism Baptisms are celebrated on the 4th Sunday’s in Church at 2 PM. Baptismal preparation is required prior to the Regional School baptism of any child. Please call 631-475-4739 for Holy Angels Regional School 475-0422 further info. Principal-Mr. Michael Connell Church Totals for Mass Intentions Mass cards announced are $20.00 Attendance not available at time of printing Presentation Folders are $25.00 Mass cards sold in the parish center during business hours New Parishioners are invited to come to the Center and pick up a registration form. Envelopes are available upon request. February 10, 2019 FiŌh Sunday in Ordinary Time From the Pastor’s Deskw cond Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Sitting here looking at the screen of my laptop for the past hour, trying to figure out what it is I am writ- ing about, and how I can open up this letter, I received a message from a friend, asking a question, which provides me with a perfect topic, and now that I have the opening line out of the way…. His question was about an article he read online, which questioned a statement Pope Francis made while in the UAE (United Arab Emirates). Without getting into the details of the article, or what it criticized Pope Francis for saying or not saying, there were two things that came immediately to my attention as I read: the first was the author stating that there was too much in a document to go into detail about; and the second was his referring to His Holiness as the “pseudo-pope”. While the first is typical of most journalism, online journalism, or opinionated, indoctrinational hogwash that one finds today, and can be excused as propaganda of one group or another, it is the second issue that cries out to be addressed. After the last Presidential election, there were many people in America who adopted the cry not my president, which was ridiculous, as Donald Trump won the election, and was sworn into office. There would be legitimacy for those who said not the president that I voted for, but that was not what they were stating. Because of the swing in politics, not only in this country, but around the world, and the tendency towards mob mentality, passing itself off as democratization, people are now convinced that opinion and ideology are equivalent to facts, reason and truth. While the winds of politics may shift, and those who hold elected positions are subject to the will of the people and the rule of law, the Church has survived for over 2000 years because by its very nature it is eternal; it is eternal because it is the Body of Christ. We identify the Church, according to the Nicene Creed, which is professed by Christians as undeniable, as being One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Briefly stated, it is One, because it is in Communion, that is joined together as the Body of Christ, and by its nature singular, there is no other Church, although there are those who are separated from it; which I will get back to. It is Holy, in that it is not profane, it is set apart from this world, even though it operates in this world. This is part of the insanity also, when we have people using their understanding of the world to attempt to define or direct the Church, especially when their position is based on ideologies which change over time. Case in point, those politicians who identify as Catholic, yet champion abortion as compatible with our Faith, when the killing of innocents is always antithetical to the Church’s teachings. We are Catholic, that is Universal, in that the Church is everywhere, even in those cultures and countries which are hostile towards Christ and His Church. Finally, the Church is Apostolic, that is it is founded by Jesus Himself, on the Apostles and their successors, who are the bishops, and particularly the Bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter. Can we disagree with Pope Francis? Certainly, unless he is speaking Ex Cathedra, meaning from the Chair of Peter in St. John Lateran Basilica, on matters of Faith or Morals, then he is infallible, but we need to be aware of a couple of things: 1) Even when the Pope is not speaking Ex Cathedra, his words carry with them the teaching authority of the Church, that is the Magisterium, and therefore have to be considered carefully before being rejected, with reason. 2) To reduce the words of any pope risks allowing all Church teaching to be degraded. There were those who objected to many things that St. John Paul II said or did while he was Pontiff, and there were those who denounced anything said by Pope Emeritus Benedict, because he was viewed as a threat to “progress” in the Church. 3) To call into question the legitimacy of Pope Francis, risks degrading not only the Apostolic foundations of the Church, since anyone can then question any bishop’s ordination, but it also risks schism. What is meant by Schism, is the breaking apart of the Body of Christ the Church; the greatest example of which is the rift between the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Church in Communion with our Holy Father, Pope Francis, his predecessors and successors. Of course, the Protestant schism, which saw various groups break away from Rome, resulted in multiple other breaks, and groups, until finally various groups present themselves as churches, while the understanding of Christ is lost to interpretation and ideology. Possibly the best example would be the Jehovah Witnesses, who emerged out of Brooklyn, denied the divinity of Christ, rewrote the Bible to fit their agenda, and seem to gather followers based on a hatred of the Catholic Church. The long and short of it is, if you see something attributed to the Pope, and it riles your feathers, stop, think, pray, go to the Vatican website (www.vatican.va) and see what was actually said. Then pray on it some more, and if that’s not enough, ask someone about it. Pax, Fr. Henry February 10, 2019—FiŌh Sunday in Ordinary Time 10 de febrero de 2019 Quin- GOD’S SUMMONS to Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario Confronted with God’s power and majesty, the first response of the prophet Isaiah was to acknowledge his sinfulness. “Woe is me, I EL LLAMADO DE DIOS am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips,” he said aloud. Like- Al ser confrontado con el poder y la majestad de Dios, la primera res- wise, with his empty fishing nets dramatically filled at Jesus’ instruc- puesta del profeta Isaías es reconocer su pecado. “Ay de mí, estoy perdido tion, Peter fell to his knees and cried out, “Depart from me, Lord, for porque soy un hombre de labios impuros”, dice en voz alta. De la misma I am a sinful man.” manera, con las redes de pesca repentinamente llenas con la orden de Jesús, Next, Peter got up. He docked his boats then left to follow Jesus. Pedro cae de rodillas y clama: “Señor, apártate de mí porque soy un peca- Isaiah also had a dramatic change of heart.