Saint Thomas More Catholic Church 4 Convent Road, Morristown, New Jersey 07960 973- 267-5330 www.stmnj.org [email protected] We exist for one reason: to come to know and be formed by the Word of God and the Message of Jesus. When we gather in prayer and worship, in service and community, we assemble as disciples and friends with the Lord in our midst. Rooted in our Roman Catholic tradition, we are proud of our parish heritage and hopeful for our future. Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 16, 2020 Parish Facility Closures: Except for limited, public Masses as announced on our website, and limited office hours, the church, the parish office and all parish grounds will remain closed until further notice. We look forward Parish Staff to updating you when we can resume with scheduled ministries and Fr. Thomas Fallone, J.D. events. Pastor Celebration of the Eucharist [email protected] See our website each week for the most up-to-date information on limited public Masses to be celebrated on weekends and applicable Fr. Joe Davis Weekend Assistant sign-up information. Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance) Fr. Daniel Chajkowski In Residence All parish activities and events, including Penance Services and [email protected] scheduled Confessions, are suspended until further notice. Additional Sacraments and Celebrations Baptism: Baptisms are permitted with certain restrictions, including Frank Miles limited attendance. All are to keep the recommended social Trustee distance. Please contact the Parish Office for more information and to make arrangements. Mary Murphy Trustee Funeral Rites: Funeral Masses are permitted with certain restrictions, including limited attendance. All are to keep the recommended social distance. Please contact Father Tom for more information and to make arrangements. Marriage: Until further notice, all weddings are deferred. Blast from the Past(or) Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 16, 2020 Monday, August 17: Saint Joan of the Cross Lord, help me.... People of the Parish It might be one of the most unnerving or disturbing of Tuesday, August 18: Saint Louis Of Toulouse Christ’s exchanges in all the Gospels. You know it well: the Diane Keeney Canaanite Woman says ‘Lord, help me,’ to which Jesus Wednesday, August 19: Saint John Eudes replies, ‘It is not right to take the food of the children and Albert Stock throw it to the dogs.’ It kind of makes you wince, right? Thursday, August 20: Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux Were people angered by this? Did they reflect this in their Sandy Clyde Yelp reviews? Did Jesus’s Google rating go down? Did Friday, August 21: Saint Pius X The Star Ledger pen a scathing editorial about the Church? Gloria M Santiago Mojica But if we stick with it, this Gospel Truth can transform us, Saturday, August 22: Queenship Of Mary difficult as that Truth may be. The answer does not come Florence and Louis Rich as quickly as from Amazon Alexa, but it’s there. The Jean Bistriz faithful Canaanite Woman is a patron saint of self- Sunday, August 23: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary awareness. She knows her condition and her need. She Time knows who she is and she knows who she is not. The Veronica Fedroff Woman accepts her state and desires to have it altered in Frederick Pierce Christ. In other words, she knows she’s not entitled. None Todd Wharton of us are. And if we get that, we’re getting there. Would that our world, including many of our young people, realize such. God’s irrevocable love and desire for you is not an entitlement. It is a gift. Thus we echo the Canaanite Woman every week when from our knees we admit what Prayers for the Sick she does: “Lord I am not worthy that You should enter Please join us in praying for all who are ill in our under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be community, and in a particular way for Chris Auger, Phil healed.” There it is: the recognition of our state and Barrett, Bob Bass, Rose DeMarco, Fred Donikowski, Jim condition. And what’s more, it is the saints who know they Johnson, Florence Kearney, Barbara Kline, Anne are sinners in need of a savior. It’s the entitled who dismiss Morrison, Patty Meyers, John O’Neil, Bobby Polidore, Jesus’ Sacrifice as superfluous. But the Canaanite Woman Christopher Popp, Edmond Sherry and Flynn Sullivan. knows that God cannot and will not escape her because May God bring them and their families His healing, God is what God does. When I reflect on some realities in comfort and peace. If you would like to have your name my life, that I will never be the second baseman for my or that of a loved one included in (or removed from) the beloved Mets, that I will never be in either iteration of the request for healing prayers in our weekly bulletin, please Backstreet Boys (never even got an audition) and that I will send an email to Sue Marshall at [email protected]. never win one of golf’s majors, they pale to my fundamental need for a Savior. The Canaanite Woman is a hero(ine) because she knows what her dependence on God means for her and her family. So in a way, we can say, rejoice in your unworthiness! It’s the saints who hearken the cry, ‘Lord, help me!’ This Week’s Daily Mass Schedule God bless you!!!!!!!!!!!!! This week we will have four daily Masses, on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8:15 am. Attendance will be limited to 60 people per Mass and advanced registration is required. For contact tracing purposes and everyone’s safety, please make sure to sign up prior to coming. Sign-up information for Mass attendance and Mass Intentions necessary volunteers will be sent via Flocknote email and Father Tom or Father Daniel continue to say Mass daily for posted to our website, www.stmnj.org. We continue to be all Mass intentions. If you would like to request that a Mass in great need of volunteers to serve these Masses and ask be said for a loved one or another intention, please email all who are able to please consider signing up to assist. Sue Marshall at [email protected]. Thank you! In the Now: What Caring for My Father With Alzheimer’s Taught Me About Being Present By Jesse Neve https://bustedhalo.com/life-culture/in-the-now-what-caring-for-my-father-with-alzheimers-taught-me-about-being-present “Hi, Papa. It’s me, Jesse.” Nothing. No response. I dipped my head down trying to catch his gaze. “Hi, Papa!” He looked up. He saw my eyes. “It’s me! Your daughter, Jesse!” He finally understood, “Jesse! Why, yes it is!” My smile grew into a huge grin. I could tell it was going to be a good visit. Recently, we had been vacillating between good and bad visits. Well, “bad” isn’t the right word. Maybe, “more aware” and “less aware” is better. My family and I had been going to visit my father every other day since he moved to the memory care facility, and some days we just couldn’t “catch” him. It was like his attention was elsewhere. He was awake, but trapped inside his own thoughts, and sometimes he was stuck there. Just a few months before, Papa had been living with us. Before that, caregiving for my 64-year-old father with Alzheimer’s disease at the same time as caring for our four children never crossed my mind as something I would accomplish…but we achieved it for almost 10 years. We survived (and even thrived) as a sandwich family, with three generations living under the same roof. When Papa first moved in, his memory loss was very mild. So we could have normal conversations with him using words like “yesterday” or “last week.” But as time went on, we learned that the only real time Papa knew was now. He could make reference to the past or future, but he didn’t really understand time anymore. When telling him a story, he was all-in, listening intently, laughing at the punch line… but then it was gone, almost instantly afterward. It was a great reminder to try to stay “here” and not be tempted to multitask when Papa was around. When we were talking to Papa, we were ONLY talking to Papa. So on days like this one, when I knew I had “found” Papa inside of himself, I wasn’t going to let him go. I was fully dedicated to our conversation. I asked him about his dad and his mom, and their days working together on the family farm, since I know those are happy memories for him. I mentioned all of the wonderful baked goods his mom used to make — cookies, cakes, pies — we had all inherited her sweet tooth. He always had a special grin and nod when I talked about his little brother and best friend, my Uncle Daniel. I could imagine that he was telling me of times working in the woodshop with Dan. His English wasn’t the best anymore, but I’d heard all of the family stories before anyway, so I knew when to respond and laugh. He mumbled and garbled, but I paid close attention and was 100% focused on him. I told him about our latest adventures with the kids and what everyone was up to. He nodded and smiled and laughed, too. I am pretty sure that he no longer could identify his four grandkids, the joys of his life for the last 10 years, but he loved hearing my stories, and I could talk for hours about their adventures and shenanigans.