Weekly Schedule: September 2, 2012 Sunday, September 2 Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Dt 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps 15; Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27; Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 7:45 am (Fr. Charlie Hughes) †Gene Kowalczyk Men’s Basketball 5:30 - 7:00 pm G 10:30 am (Fr. Scott Winchel) Mass for the People Deanery Spanish Mass 6:00 pm at St. Joseph Church 12:15 pm (Fr. John Osom) †Agripina Fay 6:00 pm (Fr. Jerry Ragan) †Norman Russell Most Rev. Bishop Raymond W. Lessard, DD & Rev. Jason Adams* Monday, September 3 Labor Day; Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church 1 Cor 2:1-5; Lk 4:16-30 or (Memorial: 2 Cor 4:1-2, 5-7; Lk 22:24-30) or Labor Day: 1:26--2:3; Mt 6:31-34 NO 7:00 AM MASS SMCS CLOSED MDO CLOSED PARISH OFFICE CLOSED NO ROSARY & MIRACULOUS MEDAL NOVENA 9:15 am Special Intentions SENIOR CENTER CLOSED Legion of Mary 6:30 pm SA NO WALKING AEROBICS Rev. Timothy Ryan, Lt Col, Ret. & Rev. Michael Cerrone / Rev. Mr. Avery Hanna, Fourth Theology* Tuesday, September 4 1 Cor 2:10b-16; Lk 4:31-37 Mass for Fathers MDO 9:00 am - 2:30 pm SA SMCS Advisory Council Meeting 7:00 am Contemporary Choir Rehearsal 6:30 pm PH 6:30 pm CAF †Walter & Adelaide Hastings 9:15 am Very Rev. Rinbarr Stanton, VF & Rev. Benjamin Dallas / Rev. Mr. Kevin O’Keefe, Fourth Theology * Wednesday, September 5 1 Cor 3:1-9; Lk 4:38-44 7:00 am ♥Connor & Anna Cumberland Senior Center Open 9:00 am - 2:30 pm Bridge 9:30 am SC ♥Marty & Noreen Reese Family MDO 9:00 am - 2:30 pm SA High School Youth Night 6:30 pm YC 5:15 pm Walking Aerobics 9:00 am PH Parish Choir Rehearsal 7:30 pm PH Rev. Anthony Wesolowski, OSB & Rev. J. Scott Winchel / Rev. Mr. Jacob Almeter, Fourth Theology* Thursday, September 6 1 Cor 3:18-23; Lk 5:1-11 7:00 am †Dennis McBride Senior Center Open 9:00 am - 2:30 pm Coed Volleyball 7:00 - 9:00 pm G MDO 9:00 am - 2:30 pm SA Prayer Group 7:30 pm SA 9:15 am †Gene Kowalczyk Bridge 10:00 am SC NO SPIRIT & TRUTH Bingo 10:30 am SC Youth Holy Hour 9:00 - 10:00 pm AC Secular Franciscan Order 6:30 - 9:30 pm SC Rev. Frank Ziemkiewicz, OSB & Rev. Mariusz Fuks / Vernon Knight, Pastoral Year* Friday, September 7 First Friday 1 Cor 4:1-5; Lk 5:33-39 7:00 am †Larkin Holmes NO WALKING AEROBICS 9:15 am †James Brouillard 7:00 pm (First Friday) †Lillian Dunstan Rev. Timothy McKeown & Rev. John Markham / Mark Lockard, Second Theology* Saturday, September 8 Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30; Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 9:15 am †Felix & Florencia Pantoja Reconciliation 3:45 - 4:45 pm C Retrouvaille Core Meeting 7:30 - 9:00 pm SC 5:00 pm (Fr. Jerry Ragan) †Kinsella & Kelly Families Rev. Michael Roverse & Rev. Stephen Angell / Brian O’Shaughnessy, Second Theology* Sunday, September 9 Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 35:4-7a; Ps 146; Jas 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37 7:45 am (Fr. Jerry Ragan) †Steven Boskovich K of C Pancake Breakfast Men’s Basketball 5:30 - 7:00 pm G 8:00 am - 12:00 noon PH Rite of Enrollment during 6:00 Mass 10:30 am (Fr. John Osom) †Cecilia Downen Shepeard Blood Drive 8:30 am - 2:00 pm Deanery Spanish Mass 6:00 pm 12:15 pm (Fr. Charlie Hughes) ♥Ruth & Ed Smith in front of the Church at St. Joseph Church CCD Begins 9:00 am - 10:15 am SMCS Confirmation Session 7:30 pm C 6:00 pm (Fr. Scott Winchel) Mass for the People Baptism Prep Class 1:30 pm C Most Rev. Bishop Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv / John Wright, Second Theology* A = SJC Atrium BR= Bride Room MC = SMS Media Center SA = St. Anne’s Hall *= Please pray daily for our AC= Adoration Chapel C = Church N = Nursery SC= Senior Center Priests & Seminarians. AH=Annunciation House CAF=SMS Cafeteria NX= Narthex SH = Scout Hut †=Deceased MR1=Meeting Room 1 CL= SMS Computer Lab O = Office SJC = St. Joseph Center ♥=Living MR2=Meeting Room 2 SJDC = St. Joseph Day Chapel PH= Parish Hall SMCS = St. Marys Catholic School YC=Youth Center (1st Floor) G = School Gym R = Rectory UR= SJC Upper Room St. Mary on the Hill September 2, 2012 This week the priests of the parish will be joining Bishop Hartmayer and the priests of the Diocese for our annual Retreat at Marywood Retreat Center in Florida. In the past I have been fortunate to have a priest friend who was willing to come to Augusta and cover our Masses, but I had no luck in finding an out of town priest this year. Fortunately, Fr. Joe Lea, Army Chaplain at Fort Gordon agreed to cover all the weekday Masses while we are away. I am so very grateful for the generosity of this good priest who is on loan to the Army from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Thank you, Fr. Joe. The Sanctity of Married Love and Family Life have been our pastoral focus for the past year. It began with a parish summit in March of 2011. And it has been a timely focus since these core values of our faith life seem to be under constant attack from the secular influences of our society. Before we move on to the Year of Faith, I’d like to hold another summit and possibly form an ongoing Family Life Ministry that will be charged with fostering strong marriage and family life values within our faith Community. As Stewards of Love we want to understand that it is God’s intention that Marriage and Family Life should be a Communion of Love. As Stewards of Love we want to build on each family’s strength and help each one meet its distinct challenges. As Stewards of Love we want to be sensitive to the complex reality of family life. If these values are important to you, I’d ask you to join me for a “Stewards of Love” Summit in our Parish Hall on Saturday morning, September 15 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. I hope this summit will provide a good transition for us to the Year of Faith. My Dad worked on behalf of construction workers helping them and their families get decent health care and a pension that provided a little dignity for their old age. In my home, Labor Day was more than a day at the beach to mark the end of summer. The following essay by Stephen Kent speaks to the importance of this civic holiday: Labor Day: A time to reflect, not celebrate It is oxymoronic — if not tasteless — to “celebrate” a day marking something that for millions of Americans is but a memory. We’re approaching the first Monday of September, which marks Labor Day in the U.S., and almost 13 million Americans — 8.3 percent of the workforce — remains unemployed. Another 8.2 million will remain in involuntary part- time jobs. The traditional Labor Day is a bitter reminder to millions of our fellow citizens that they are more on the road to poverty than prosperity, leaving little to celebrate. Once every four years, the nation has the opportunity to makes changes in its management. The privilege of voting this year is a moral responsibility for the well-being of all. This Labor Day should be the beginning of a period of study and reflection leading to the ultimate decision day: November 6. There is more to do than to feel sorry for those without work or to contribute to food banks. This period before the elections should be one of understanding our responsibility as Christians, to analyze the position of candidates and apply these standards to our choice. Billions of dollars are expected to be spent on political campaigns, especially advertising, this year. We need not be passive recipients of political pablum, photo-ops of tie-less, shirt-sleeve candidates’ appearances at state fairs. “The relative silence of candidates and their campaigns on the moral imperative to resist and overcome poverty is both ominous and disheartening,” the U.S. bishops say in their annual Labor Day statement. “Despite unacceptable levels of poverty, few candidates and elected officials speak about pervasive poverty or offer a path to overcome it. “We need to hear from those who seek to lead the country about what specific steps they would take to lift people out of poverty,” the statement says. Think of these next few weeks as an extended job interview and analyze candidates accordingly. If a job applicant said, “I will increase profits,” the interviewer should be quick to ask for specifics. What is your plan? Will you increase revenues, reduce costs, develop new products? Tell me what you can do for this company? Voters should do no less when choosing a chief executive. When just 10 percent of Americans approve of the board of directors — the U.S. Congress — it is time for some serious introspection. The Gallup poll shows 83 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job — an all- time low.