Church of St. Patrick 400 Main Street Huntington, New York 11743 (631)-385-3311 www.stpathuntington.org FROM OUR PASTOR, MSGR. STEVEN R. CAMP Dear Parishioners, Traditionally, this 4th Sunday of Lent marks a joyful relief amidst the seriousness of the Lenten Season. Today is called Laetare Sunday or Rejoicing Sunday. The Mass takes this name from the first word of the entrance antiphon of today’s Liturgy: “Rejoice Jerusalem and you who love her”, it comes from Isaiah 66:10-11. Even in Lent, a time of fasting and repentance, we rejoice because we know that God is our loving God, who provides for our needs. As is the tradition rose vestments are worn this day. We will also be returning to another traditional practice here at St. Patrick’s with the veiling of the crucifix and statues. They will be covered from the 5th Sunday of Lent until the Easter Vigil. The 5th Sunday of Lent begins Passiontide which is a turning point in Lent. We are entering into the final days of the Season and the veiling of the statues and crucifix give us a visual sense and awareness that we are entering into the commemoration of the Lord’s Passion, His suffering and death for our salvation. This sets a more somber tone for the liturgies for these final two weeks of Lent. The need for forgiveness is set before us in today’s Gospel. The question might who needs to forgive who? St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that the Lord has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. The Hebrews in the first reading arrive in the promised land in the first reading they are celebrating their deliverance from slavery and affliction. Our deliverance is celebrated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The Gospel reminds us of the unconditional and abundant love that God has for us. This is something we all should avail ourselves too. There are several opportunities for confession during the remainder of Lent, Saturdays from 4:00pm - 5:00pm, and Mondays from 7:15pm - 7:45pm. Monday, April 8th after Our Lenten Parish Mission with Fr. Michael Sullivan, OSA and during Holy Week: Monday April 15th from 3:00pm - 9:00pm and Saturday, April 20th from 10:30am-12:30pm. Our Lenten Talk Series concludes on Monday, at 7:00pm, with Fr. Carlos Martins leading us in discussion, prayer and Exposition over the relics of the Saints. It is a wonderful moment to be present with the Saints and ask for their blessing and intercessions. Some of the relics are those of St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux (the “Little Flower”), St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Faustina Kowalska, and a piece of the veil of Our Lady and a piece of the True Cross, on which our Lord was crucified. Please see the bulletin for information on our upcoming Parish Mission, A Time of Love. Fr. Michael Sullivan, OSA will be preaching at all of our masses on April 6th and 7th. God Bless and have a great week. Msgr. Steven R. Camp 2 Church of Saint Patrick Huntington, New York FROM FR. BISSEX - pART ii Tenebrae Dear Parishioners, In last week’s bulletin, we began an examination of the service of Tenebrae, which will be held here at St. Patrick’s on Palm Sunday, April 13th. I began a brief explanation on how Tenebrae illustrates to us the various themes of Holy Thursday (the betrayal of Jesus), Good Friday (the death of Jesus), and Holy Saturday (the burial of Jesus). I specifically focused on the theme of Holy Thursday in the Tenebrae service, namely, how we meditate on the difficult reality of Jesus being betrayed by those closest to him. Today we can move on to the theme of Good Friday, the death of Our Lord on the cross. When we are children, our impulse is to immediately flinch and run away from any pain. This certainly extends into adulthood as well, of course. As adults we can often not only flinch from physical pain, but instinctually reject experiencing emotional pain or grief, even if it is very present and needs to be acknowledged. The loss of a loved one, for example, can bring a level of pain to our lives that was certainly never a part of God’s original plan for us. Trying to escape this grief rather than face it is almost instinctual, but not the way that true healing comes. While dwelling on death can sometimes feel morbid or “unhealthy”, in fact very often the opposite is true: it is the spiritually mature and self-aware person who acknowledges and owns his or her grief, who looks the pain of death in the face and goes through the grief rather than trying to escape it. This also applies to the reality of Jesus’ death on Good Friday. We can be tempted to run away or try to escape from this reality. We can shy away from looking at the crucifix; we can spiritually or mentally “skip ahead” to Easter, pushing away the challenge that Good Friday brings. Lent, however, is not a time to skip ahead to the Resurrection story, but to go deeper into the challenging fact that on Good Friday Jesus will sacrifice his own life for you and for me. This is what we are called to do spiritually in Lent as the death of Jesus quickly approaches. The service of Tenebrae, through music and solemn ceremony, helps us dwell more profoundly on the death of Jesus Christ. The increasing darkness in the church as the candles and lights are extinguished (Christ being betrayed by His followers) also symbolizes the darkness that comes when the true light of the world, the light first seen in Bethlehem, is extinguished on the cross. Towards the end of Tenebrae, after the Christ candle (the candle symbolizing Jesus Himself) is temporarily removed from the altar and the church remains in darkness, we will hear a loud noise, which brings to mind the earthquake immediately following Jesus’ death. This solemn moment isn’t done for cheap theatrics, but to help us look more closely at the reality that the only one who loves us perfectly has willingly given His life for our sake. We know that the story does not end on Good Friday. We know that Easter is going to happen. But we can’t skip ahead and escape into the glorious Sunday until that tough Friday has its say. The Tenebrae service helps us start Holy Week by meditating on what Good Friday is all about. Next week we will explore more deeply the theme of the burial of Christ, which connects the Tenebrae service to Holy Saturday. Love and prayers, Fr. Bissex Fourth Sunday in Lent March 31, 2019 3 LENTEN TALK SERIES HOLY WEEK AND EASTER SCHEDULE CONFESSIONS Saturdays of Lent: 4:00-5:00pm Mondays of Lent: 7:15-7:45pm Monday, April 15: 3:00-9:00pm Lenten Saturday, April 20: 10:30am -12:30 pm ONLY at TalkSaint Patrick’s Series Church, Huntington Palm Sunday — April 14 Please join us as Our Saturday 5:00 pm Lenten Talk Series Sunday 7:30am; 8:45am; 10:00am;11:30am; concludes on 1:00PM & 5:30 pm 7:30PM Tenebrae Service April 1st ~ 7:00pm [Palm is blessed and distributed at all Masses] TREASURES OF THE Holy Thursday — April 18 CHURCH: 9:00 am Morning Prayer 11:00 am Chrism Mass [at St. Agnes Cathedral, RVC] Praying with the Relics of the Saints 7:30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper With Fr. Carlos Martins, Adoration at the Altar of Repose until 12:00 Midnight Companions of the Cross Good Friday — April 19 9:00 am Morning Prayer at St. Patrick’s 3:00 pm Good Friday Liturgy Lent 8:00 pm “The Journey, Cross, & Crucifixion” Creative Ministries’ dramatic presentation of the Stations of the Cross Holy Saturday — April 20 Daily Mass 9:00 am Morning Prayer /Blessing of Easter Food Weekdays at 7:15 a.m., 9:00 a.m. & 12:00 noon 7:30 pm Easter Vigil Liturgy Saturday– 8:30 a.m. [There is no 5:00 pm Mass on Holy Saturday] Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays 4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m. Easter Sunday — April 21 Mondays of Lent 7:15pm-7:45pm Masses: Stations of The Cross 7:30am; 8:45am; 10:00am (Upper & Lower); Every Friday in Lent at 7:30 p.m. 11:30am; 1:00 pm Fasting and Abstinence [There is no 5:30 pm Mass on Easter Sunday] Ash Wednesday & Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence. The Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. 4 Church of Saint Patrick Huntington, New York PARISH MINISTERS STEWARDSHIP HOSPITALITY HAPPENINGS SATURDAY, MARCH 23RD & SUNDAY, MARCH 24TH WEEKLY Collection $28,394.74 EFT $ 3,070.00 Total $31,464.74 Budget (Incl Holydays) $31,372.55 Bake Someone Happy? Variance - $ 92.19 Coffee & Donuts? A friendly smile. CATHOLIC MINISTRIES APPEAL 2019 A welcoming spirit. A helping hand. GOAL: $208,100 PLEDGES: 85,621.00 Please join us after Mass on the $41.1% of Goal 179 Donors first, second and third Sunday THANK YOU! of the Month after the Electronic Giving is a much appreciated and increasingly important way of ensuring your parish support. It’s easy, safe, and so convenient, especially when 8:45am and 10:00am Mass. you are away from the parish, or unable to be at Mass. Information is available in All are welcome to have a cup of coffee the bulletin, on our Parish Website, http://stpathuntington.org or at the Rectory.