May 23, 2021| Pentecost Sunday Queen of the Apostles Rev. Phillip J. Sladicka, Pastor Deacon James A. Rose Parish Office 715 Hawthorne Street Avoca, PA 18641 Hours: Mon CLOSED Tues-Fri 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM Phone: 570-457-3412 [email protected] Website queenoftheapostles.weconnect.com Like Us On Facebook: Queen of the Apostles Parish Avoca, PA On-line Bulletin Seekandfind.com Director of Faith Formation Deborah Yuschovitz 570-457-1284 Anointing of the Sick If anyone is seriously ill, been admitted to the hospital, or wants a 1st Friday visit please call the Parish Office. Baptism Sunday after 10:30AM Mass. Call the parish office to make arrangements. Marriage Please call the Parish Office six months, before setting your wedding date, to make an appt. with the Pastor. Pre-Cana program is required. Rite of Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays: 3:15 - 3:45 PM Anytime upon request Celebration of the Eucharist Saturday - 4:00 PM Sunday - 8:00 - 10:00 AM Daily Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.: 8 AM Wednesday: 7:00 PM* *Followed by the Miraculous Medal Novena First Friday 8:00 AM & 7:00 PM Christian Initiation of Adults Parish Office 570-457-3412 Committee Contacts Parish Hall Manager Paul Franceschelli - 570-430-9015 MISSION STATEMENT Social Concerns/Respect Life Ministry Ann Jake - 570-457-3521 To Make Disciples of Jesus Christ & Women’s Guild Jane Maxwell 570-457-1107 To Grow As Disciples of Jesus Christ New Members are always Welcome! 715 HAWTHORNE STREET, AVOCA, PA 18641 Page Two Queen of the Apostles Parish Avoca, PA 18641 From the Pastor’s Desk Liturgy of the Word Dear Parish Family, Liturgy of the Word: In Acts, the Holy Spirit enables the DID YOU PRAY TODAY? disciples to speak in tongues, allowing strangers from all over the This Sunday we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. This feast of the known world to understand them. Paul teaches the Corinthians that Holy Spirit is traditionally considered the “Birthday of the the Spirit is manifested in a variety of ways, all beneficial, and all Church.” Pentecost mirrors nature as the Church’s spring, united in harmony,. In John’s Gospel, after bestowing the Holy focusing our faith on birth, not death; on the womb (image of the Spirit on the disciples, Jesus tells them that they can forgive sins and baptismal font) not the tomb. In the Easter Vigil Gospel, a young they will be forgiven. In each passage, the Holy Spirit transforms man in white greeted the women at the tomb and the world. Come, Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with your transforming commissioned them: “Go and tell.” Instead they fled from the power, enabling us to share your transformative fire with those tomb, seized with trembling and bewilderment. They said around us. nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” Today, “the last and greatest day of the feast” Jesus assures us that he will satisfy our thirst, lead us beyond fear, and strengthen us to live our baptismal mission of evangelization, i.e. proclaiming the Good News. Pope Francis has said that Pentecost brought three things to the community waiting for it: newness, harmony and mission. Of course, something new first happened with the coming of Christ: God became human. Then, something new The Rosary will be recited after the 8:00 AM Mass happened on Easter: Jesus who had been crucified and buried, during the month of May. You are invited to join in did not remain dead. God raised him. Then again for the third honoring Our Blessed Mother in this beautiful devotion. time, something new happened. The Holy Spirit came, bringing a breath of fresh air that blew them out of the house, transforming them harmoniously into the body of Christ, and Eucharistic Adoration inflaming them to preach Jesus as Lord, the Son of God. The important role of the Spirit is summed up in Paul’s words, “No We have been advised by the Diocese that Eucharistic one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit…For in Adoration can be resumed in all parishes. Unfortunately we one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… and we were all cannot resume Adoration until we have 2 Adorers scheduled given to drink of the one Spirit” This spirit brings us peace and for each hour from 9:00 am 8:00 pm. Please contact the joy, along with the mission of bringing God’s forgiveness to all Parish Office or Ann Jake @ 5704573521 if you are able to who would receive it. Pray today’s Pentecost Sequence in quiet, commit to the previous hour you have had or you would like perhaps at home. to become a new adorer. Please share this information with Monday, May 24, is a special feast day honoring the your friends and family so that we may be able to Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. And, Ordinary th once again share in this beautiful devotion. The Time resumes following Pentecost with the 8 week in Ordinary Knights of Columbus will pray the Rosary for Life time. Ordinary time refers to all the Sundays of the year that are every second Tuesday of the month from 7:008:00 not linked to the major seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent and pm. Also the Praise & Worship Service which was Easter. It consists of either thirtythree or thirty four weeks and is held the 1st Sunday of each month will resume in divided into two periods, one following the feast of the the Fall. Baptism of the Lord and the other following the solemnity of Pentecost. Ordinary time following the Baptism of the Lord is of brief duration, lasting anywhere from four to nine weeks Reflections depending on the date of Ash Wednesday. Before there were any feasts or seasons in the church, there Catholic Vs. Protestant Bibles was Sunday, the original holy day. Sunday was the day the Question: community came together to celebrate the wholeness of the Why are Catholic and Protestant Bibles different? paschal mystery. Eventually, more focused feasts and seasons Answer: developed out of Sunday, Easter being the first. On these Since the earliest days of the Church, Christians used a Greek counted Sundays of Ordinary time the community still comes translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. This together to celebrate the original holy day and the wholeness of collection of the texts of the Hebrew Scriptures included 46 books. the paschal mystery. At the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, the Confirmation will be this Sunday, May 23@ a special 2:00 Protestant reformers began to create their own translations of the mass! Our (20) Confirmation youth are looking forward to Bible (into local languages) and some began to question why the it. Their retreat was last Saturday with Marty Rotella. God bless Jewish Scriptures would have included texts that were written in them and please keep them in prayer that they may be strong and Greek, because, they assumed, the only valid Jewish Scriptures more perfect Christians and witnesses for Jesus Christ. would have been written in Hebrew. And so, they decided to And, finally, please continue to remember to drop off or send remove seven books from the Old Testament: Baruch, Sirach, 1 in your weekly contributions to the parish office during this time of special need or drop them at Church. and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith and Wisdom (as well as portions of Hope you all wore red for Pentecost today. Thank you for all the Books of Daniel and Esther). This means that the Protestant you are and all you do. God bless you and see you in Church, Fr. Old Testament only includes 39 books, while Catholic Bibles Phil continue to include those original 46 books. Both Catholic and Protestant Bibles include 27 books and letters in the New Testament. Page Three Pentecost Sunday May 23, 2021 Confirmation Class of 2021 Stewardship 05/16/21 Sunday Collection: $3,757.00 Michael Francis Casey Ryan Daniel Ondich Ascension Thursday: 344.00 Gia Rosalina Dupre Steven Kilian Penatzer Thank you for your generosity!! Damien Francis Fox Aubrey Elizabeth Perks Emily Mary Hannon Sophia Catherine Reza th Julia Ann Homschek Gabriella Adelaide Schmitt The deadline for Father’s Day Intentions is June 15 . Richard Sebastian Kostoff Lila Bridget Sobeski Matthew Michael Kwiatkowski Tina Isadora Sudol Gerard Kenneth Lombardi Brandon Leonard Wardecki Susanna Marie O’Brien Michael Joseph Wesolowski John Francis Ondich Alexis Elizabeth Wruble This Pentecost Sunday, May 26, at 2:00 PM the above students will have the Sacrament of Confirmation conferred Life, Family & Culture upon them. These students have been studying diligently for two years in order to be prepared for this special day. “The Lord says to us, ‘Do not fear: I am with you’ (Isaiah 41:10). The gifts Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, He speaks these words not as one who merely observes our pain, Understanding, Piety, and Fear of the Lord are infused into but as one who experienced immense suffering. And the very every Christian as a permanent endowment at his baptism, wounds that bear witness to his suffering indicate the essence of our identity and worth: we are loved by God. Reflecting on the nurtured by the practice of the seven virtues, and sealed in healed wounds of the Risen Christ, we see that even our most the sacrament of Confirmation. difficult trials can be the place where God manifests his victory. We extend our prayers and congratulations to each and He makes all things beautiful. He makes all things new.” ~ every one of these students, their sponsors and family USCCB Secretariat of ProLife Activities “Be Not Afraid” members.