PARISH STAFF MASS SCHEDULE Mary Mother of God Church Pastor Reverend Jeffrey J. Kegley Saturday Vigil: 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 8:00 a.m., [email protected] 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Parochial Vicar Please note that the 10:00 a.m. Mass will be livestreamed on our Reverend Richard Osborn YouTube Channel (Saint Mary, Mother of God Church) and the [email protected] 12:00 p.m. “in car” parking lot Mass will continue until further Parochial Vicar notice. Reverend Jordan McConway O.P. The Daily Mass schedule remains: 8:15 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in Deacons Mary, Mother of God Church. The Church will remain open daily Carlo Squicciarini from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. for private prayer and Adoration of Martin K. McMahon the Blessed Sacrament. Business Manager In the Bishop’s directives, the Sacraments of Confession, Baptism, Marriage along with Funeral/Memorial Masses resumed on Hank Pekarsky ext. 232 th June 8 . Confessions must be held outside and with proper social Sacristan/Altar Server Coordinator distancing. Confessions will be heard in the courtyard in front of Mrs. Laney Wilkens the church. The Confession times will continue to be Thursday at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. or by appointment. Parish Trustees Baptisms will be celebrated one baby at a time. Only Wedding Mr. Kenneth Ginsky ceremonies will be celebrated. John (Jack) Kurkemelis RECONCILIATION/CONFESSIONS Faith Formation: Saturday 1:00 to 2:00 pm & Thursday 3:30 to 4:30 pm Mrs. Peggy Dunne SACRAMENT of BAPTISM ext. 240 [email protected] The First & Third Sundays 1:30 pm (MMGC) Suzanne Pfirrman BAPTISM PREP CLASS 2nd Thur.7:00 pm in the Bulman Center - to register call est. 221 ext. 241 [email protected] SACRAMENT of MARRIAGE ext. 222 St. Vincent DePaul Society Assistance 732-671-4062 Week ending November 19, 2020 Director of Music Malena Towers ext. 239 Weekly drop offs and envelopes $14,861.00 [email protected] Parish Giving $7,343.15 All Souls Day $35.00 Youth & Young Adult Ministry Children $47.63 Cassandra Abbud [email protected] Youth $75.79 Ave Maria 1521.88 Pastoral Associate Diocese Assessment $346.69 Chris Carlo Forever $9.75 HR/Finance Administrator All Saints $15.00 Mrs. Sharon Crossnohere ext. 228 Mortgage $512.00 [email protected] Assumption $5.00 Bulletin Editor Jessica Parks [email protected] ST. MARY SCHOOL PARISH OFFICE RCIA - [email protected] PRINCIPAL 19 Cherry Tree Farm Road Mr. Craig Palmer Middletown, NJ 07748 Usher Coordinators [email protected] 732-671-0071 Fax 732-671-6125 George Rahey - [email protected] ST. MARY SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS Brian Dolan - [email protected] 538 Church Street, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Middletown, NJ 07748 Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration ext. 241 732-671-0129 Jesus is Lord! Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King, which marks the end of our Liturgy year. Next week we begin the Season of Advent. Of course, this Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. I want to invite you to join us in “giving thanks” at Holy Mass that will be celebrated at 9:00am in Mary, Mother of God Church. Like so many families, Saint Mary, Mother of God Church is facing a serious financial setback because of the Coronavirus pandemic. With no public Masses for such a long time, there were no collections, which meant no significant income for months. We depend on the sacrificial offerings of weekly collections for: the operation of Saint Mary School, parish programs and ministries, employee salaries and benefits, Church mortgage, utilities, and insurance. In spite of all the financial challenges we face, there is so much to give thanks to the Lord, especially in this season of Thanksgiving. Masses are being celebrated again, even with a parking lot Mass, our school has successfully opened, and a lot of ministry is happening to advance the Kingdom of God here at Saint Mary’s. As I keep saying: “We are Blessed!” To respond to the financial setback from the pandemic, I need your financial support. I want to invite you to be part of the “Forever, St. Mary’s Club,” where members assist Saint Mary’s with a special thanksgiving donation of $1,000.00. Your membership in this club will enable us to continue our mission and ministries. I pray you can be part of the “Forever, St. Mary’s Club.” This has been a very difficult time for everyone. Please be assured that I am praying for you every day in the intentions of daily Mass and Holy Hour. If you need to talk to me or pray with me over the phone, please call me on my cell phone at 609-954-3356. Until then, let us continue to pray for the end of the Coronavirus and the healing of the sick. As Saint Paul reminds us: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6 Happy Thanksgiving. In Jesus and Mary, Father Jeff Kegley Pastor Ps. On the Thursdays of Advent, I will present a virtual Advent Retreat on Zoom. The retreat entitles “Rejoice!” and will present Advent through the experience of the three people most closely associated with it: the Prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Mary, the Mother of God. “Rejoice!” will raise our hearts and minds to experience the joy of a supernatural encounter with our Savior. To register, please visit our parish webpage at www.stmarychurchnj.org. Pope Francis: Solemnity of Christ the King Vatican City- On the Feast of Christ the King, during the canonization Mass of six new saints, Pope Francis said that Jesus Christ’s kingdom comes through his works of mercy--works that Christians must imitate with tenderness. “In the twilight of life we will be judged on our love for, closeness to and tenderness towards our brothers and sisters,” the Pope said Sunday to myriad people in St. Peter’s Square. “If we truly love them, we will be willing to share with them what is most precious to us, Jesus himself and his Gospel.” “Jesus is not a King according to earthly ways,” the Holy Father said. Rather, “his reign is not to command, but to obey the Father, to give himself over to the Father, so that his plan of love and salvation may be brought to fulfillment.” Salvation does not begin with confessing Christ’s sovereignty, the Pope said, but with “the imitation of Jesus’ works of mercy through which he brought about his kingdom.” In so doing one opens “his heart to God’s charity.” Tens of thousands of people attended the Nov. 23 Mass in Saint Peter’s Square, which featured the canonizations of six men and women. Four of the new saints were from Italy: Giovanni Antonio Farina, Ludovico da Casoria, Nicola da Longobardi and Amato Ronconi. The other two were from India: Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Eufrasia Eluvathingal Pope Francis’ homily discussed the Mass readings. The first reading from Ezekiel presents God as Shepherd and his people as his sheep. The Pope said the reading reveals the shepherd’s “care and love” for his flock: “to search, to look over, to gather the dispersed, to lead into pasture, to bring to rest, to seek the lost sheep, to lead back the confused, to bandage the wounded, to heal the sick, to take care of, to pasture.” The Pope said Jesus “brought about his kingdom... through his closeness and tenderness towards us.” Pope Francis then turned his reflection to the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew 25, where Jesus Christ commends those who have inherited the Kingdom: “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”This reading “reminds us that closeness and tenderness are the rule of life for us also, and that on this basis we will be judged,” the Pope explained. Pope Francis spoke of the new saints canonized at the beginning of the Mass. He said each of them “served the kingdom of God, of which they became heirs, precisely through works of generous devotion to God and their brothers and sisters.” These men and women, he said, “sought and discovered love in a strong and personal relationship with God,” which in turn led to their love of neighbor, especially the poor. “May our new saints, through their witness and intercession, increase within us the joy of walking in the way of the Gospel and our resolve to embrace the Gospel as the compass of our lives.” Pope Francis then called on the faithful to imitate these new saints in “faith and love, so that our hope too may be clothed in immortality.” “May we not allow ourselves to be distracted by other earthly and fleeting interests,” he said, concluding his homily: “And may Mary, our Mother and Queen of all Saints, guide us on the way to the kingdom of heaven.” Before bestowing the final blessing at the conclusion of Mass, Pope Francis briefly welcomed the delegations from India and Italy who had come to Rome for the canonizations.