St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church Newsletter — Apr 2023

ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON

Sacrament of Confirmation: Sealed with Gifts of Holy Spirit

Each year, youth and adults across the universal Church receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, thus completing the Sacraments of Initiation and being “more perfectly bound to the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 11).

As a cradle Catholic, Katie Allio, Director of Religious Education and Christian Formation, sincerely enjoys accompanying others on this sacramental journey.

“I love working with people as they prepare because, with the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are deciding to make your faith an active part of your life,” Katie says. “The faith is not being chosen for you like perhaps it was at your Baptism. You are choosing this. You are choosing God and a relationship with Him.”

Different paths exist for youth and adults as they prepare for Confirmation at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton depending upon where individuals are in their faith journeys.

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Confirmandi 2023: Tyler Aumick, Ruben Barreto, Noah Bastos, Kaylin Brennan, Kaitlyn Caggiano, Nailah Coney, Leilah Cruz, Sthefany Cruz, Oliver Czekaj, Samantha D’Ascheberg, Arianna Duque, Andreia Fernandes, Skylar Garcia, Giuliana Giannini, Regan Goff, Andrew Gomes-Rebelo, Ethan Gordon, Giana Guerrera, Tyler Harshman, Ayden Henry, Liam Hoeni, Kara Knizley, Xander Lascano, Peyton Lynn, Matthew Marchand, James Minor Jr, Timothy Murphy, Dominic Pagan, Leela Robinson, Matthew Sholes, Mark Stevens, Adrian Szarwacki, Anthony Tavolacci, Megan Valko, William Wells, Brodie Whitmore, and Karolyn Whitney with Fr. Alex, Fr. Jim, Bishop Erik Pohlmeier, Fr. Jose and Fr. Rob.

A WELCOMING & INVITING PARISH ∙ ALWAYS CHRIST-CENTERED

AND WORD-BASED CATHOLIC CHURCH

APRIL 2023

Sacrament of Confirmation

“With the youth, Confirmation is really the affirmation of those Baptismal rites that were done when they were younger, as chosen by their parents, and a strengthening of those initial graces,” Katie says. “With adults, it’s frequently a different journey and a coming to that realization even more on your own and perhaps after time away from the faith.”

For the youth, Confirmation preparation consists of a two-year program and required weekly classes for the grade-level religious education. There are also separate sacramental classes on six Sundays throughout the year for those receiving sacraments.

Part of the preparation includes stewardship and volunteer service hours. For example, youth have done clean-up days around the church and helped elderly parishioners.

“Our program is neat because we bring children from all the different schools and school systems together,” Katie says. “We do an annual retreat where we take the kids overnight to a camp in Keystone Heights, Fla., and it’s partially a youth-run retreat at this point. Members of our group or graduates lead small groups during it.”

For the adults, Confirmation preparation is similar, but it depends upon where they are in relation to the faith. Many adults might have simply “missed” Confirmation because they moved parishes or moved to a different state. Many might be coming back to the faith after a period away.

“For whatever reason, they’re coming to complete that final Sacrament of Initiation,” Katie says. “Depending on their schedules, they might meet in small groups or large groups. Sometimes they attend RCIA.”

Katie has been in this role with St. Elizabeth for the past eight years, and she and her husband

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joined the parish with their two girls in 2015. Her parents had moved to the area, and she and her husband moved to be closer to them.

“We had gone to this church before when visiting them and were excited about putting our girls into Catholic school here,” Katie says. “Personally, I’ve been a catechist in some form since high school. I was a member of my home parish’s youth group, and when I went to a Catholic college, I was also involved in a nearby parish there on the weekends.”

Each year our diocese holds two adult Confirmations, with one in January in Gainesville and one in the spring at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine. About five adults from our parish received Confirmation this year.

Likewise, approximately 60 youths received Confirmation on March 12 when the bishop came to St. Elizabeth to confer the sacrament.

“There are many ways parishioners can support youth and adults as they prepare for Confirmation,” Katie says. “You can volunteer in our sacramental preparation program or help organize service events for our youth, as we’d appreciate more opportunities within our community. You can always pray for them as well.”

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For more information, contact Katie Allio at 386-445-2246, ext. 112, or kallio@seaspcfl.org.

“With the Sacrament of Confirmation, you are deciding to make your faith an active part of your life. The faith is not being chosen for you like perhaps it was at your Baptism. You are choosing this. You are choosing God and a relationship with Him.”

— KATIE ALLIO, DIRECTOR OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND CHRISTIAN FORMATION

Celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation, March 27, 2022

A Letter From The Pastor

The Easter Message Is the Foundation of Our Stewardship

Dear Parishioners,

How do you feel at the end of the Palm Sunday Mass each year? Have you ever noticed the abrupt shift of tone during that liturgy? It begins with great joy, as we celebrate Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem to the acclamation of the crowds. But then the mood swings to sorrow, despair even, when the passion Gospel is read, for we hear those same crowds shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” a few days later.

Palm Sunday, of course, begins Holy Week, the most important week in the Christian year. The confusion of conflicting moods is spread through the week, especially during the Easter Triduum from sundown Holy Thursday to sundown Easter Sunday.

Holy Thursday offers us the glorious Mass of the Lord’s Supper celebrating the institution of the Eucharist before we pass to the sadness of the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The next day brings us the Good Friday Liturgy of the passion with our recognition of what our sins did to the Incarnate Son of God. Then, after a day of waiting as we mourn Jesus’ burial and repose in the tomb, we celebrate His victory over sin, Satan, and death at the Easter Vigil on Saturday night or at the Masses the next day. If we have participated in all the main services of the Triduum, we arrive at Sunday evening exhausted but joyful.

Our joy comes not only because Christ rose from the dead, but also because we benefit from

it. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, “The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life” (654).

In other words, Christ’s Resurrection is the source of our own future resurrection. St. Paul wrote about it to the Romans — “For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection” (Romans 6:5).

Eternal life in union with Christ — a hope for a new life beginning now and extending on into heaven — is the result of Jesus’ Resurrection. What greater grounds for thanksgiving can there be than this Easter hope? We should sing with joy about this promise from God!

And how do we show our joy and our gratitude to God for this amazing gift He has given us? We join in worship and praise God by word and song. We share the Good News of Jesus’ victory over death with our family, friends, and neighbors. And we offer back to the Lord a portion of the time, talent, and treasure He has entrusted to us. Yes, the Easter message that we share in the benefits of Christ’s Resurrection is the ultimate foundation for all Christian stewardship.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Jose Panthaplamthottiyil, CMI Pastor

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DIVINE MERCY PRAYER

Illuminated in Faith, Lifting

In the early 1900s, a young Polish woman, Maria Faustyna Kowalska, received a vision of Jesus. He spoke to her and asked her why she was delaying her desire to join a convent. So she left her family behind and took a train to Warsaw. Eventually, after being rejected from several convents, Maria joined the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, becoming Sister Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament in April 1926.

Throughout her life, Maria continued to receive visions from Jesus and kept a diary, which she started in 1925 and maintained until her death in 1938, to record these visions.

On Feb. 22, 1931, St. Faustina received a vision of the Lord that would lead to what Catholics know today as the devotion to Divine Mercy. Jesus, adorned in a white garment, with white and pale rays coming from His heart, appeared to St. Faustina, and gave her the following message: “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, then throughout the world. I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish.” Not being an artist herself, St. Faustina would later have the image painted.

The Divine Mercy image was displayed at Mass for the first time on the second Sunday of Easter in 1935, and the Feast of

Divine Mercy is now annually held on the second Sunday of Easter. Many people have found grace in venerating the Divine Mercy image, and in following other devotions that St. Faustina described in her diary.

Here at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, our Divine Mercy Prayer Group meets weekly at 7 p.m. on Thursdays in the coffee room. At each gathering, participants share prayer intentions before beginning their time of group prayer. This commences with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking for illumination and wisdom for the meeting.

Then the group prays a chaplet of Divine Mercy and a Divine Mercy Novena — two forms of prayer recorded in St. Faustina’s diary. The Novena includes prayers for “the souls of priests and religious,” “the souls

of those who have separated themselves from the Church,” and “the meek and humble souls and the souls of little children.”

At the weekly meeting, the Divine Mercy Prayer Group also prays selected other prayers from St. Faustina’s diary, including: “Little Prayers for Use at the Hour of Great Mercy,” “At the feet of Christ in the Eucharist,” and “Praises of The Divine Mercy.”

“I pray to God for more people to come to be spiritual and grow in faith, the blessings and grace we have in God,” says Margarita Serrano, who leads the parish Divine Mercy Prayer Group. “We have a Father and we don’t have to worry because we’re in His hands. With me, I have not worried about anything. I pray and see His hand in my life so many times.”

Margarita has also seen His

ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON CATHOLIC CHURCH 04

(From left) Hilda Rausini, Matilde Ossa, Obdulia Hoynush, Fr. Robert Trujillo, Néstor Acosta, María Almeira, Nicolas Quijano, Marta Quijano, Felicia Ferreira, Celia Rodríguez, Margarita Serrano, Yolanda Herrera, Norma Maisonet, Lucy González

PRAYER GROUP Lifting Hearts in Prayer

hand in the work of the lives of those for whom the group has prayed.

“Last month, the granddaughter of one member was born with heart problems and needed surgery,” she says. “We were praying for her, and now, to see a picture of this girl today is a miracle. Only God can do that. I can tell you so many testimonies — I turn to God for this, I pray, and God is listening and helping. We feel His presence in this group and in everybody.”

The group also prays for global intentions.

“Since the war in Ukraine has started, we consecrate our lives to the Holy Mother and pray the consecration to the Holy Mother for the peace of the world,” Margarita says. “We pray the Rosary every day for the peace of the world.

“You have to have the faith to put everything in God’s hands,”

she adds. “Jesus is taking care of it. The devotion says, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ We live our lives expecting and waiting. We pray because that’s the only thing that makes our peace and our lives different from people who don’t believe.”

In addition to saying prayers together, the Divine Mercy Prayer Group also serves parishioners by bringing a Divine Mercy image to those in need of healing. The group uses a van in order to transport the five-foot image to people’s homes.

“The picture goes from home to home once a month,” Margarita says. “We give an opportunity for people to have it in their homes, especially the sick.

“The first day the picture arrives in a home, I make a consecration of the family to the Divine Mercy and give them the material for them to pray,” she adds. “Lots of people want to pray as a family. If they invite us, we

come and pray with them.”

Praying with the Divine Mercy image in the home has proven to be powerful. Margarita has many stories to share of people who have seen the Lord work in response to their prayers.

“One person had terrible cancer, and called and asked for the picture,” Margarita says. “She couldn’t sleep, and spent early morning and all night praying and praying. She got over her cancer. Another lady could hardly get pregnant but afterward got pregnant.

“We have the faith and belief that God is working,” she adds. “He is in the community, and is bringing blessings and grace to the families.”

The group looks forward to celebrating the feast of Divine Mercy every year and wears red shirts and white pants for the occasion. We hope to see you there this year!

If you would like to join the group or learn more, contact Margarita Serrano at 786-210-8792. All are welcome.

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“You have to have the faith to put everything in God’s hands. Jesus is taking care of it. The devotion says, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.’ We live our lives expecting and waiting. We pray, because that’s the only thing that makes our peace and our lives different from people who don’t believe.”

— MARGARITA SERRANO

Teaching By Example and Understanding Importance of Prayer in Children’s Lives

“Iwantto be just like Mom and Dad!” Perhaps nothing lifts a parent’s heart like hearing these words. While certainly affirming, such words also remind us of the great responsibility that comes with parenthood.

Children often examine the lives of their parents when making decisions that will affect their own lives. For example, a young boy may dream of becoming a physician one day, just like his father. Or a young girl may hope to become a veterinarian, just like her mother. Could the same be said about their parents’ faith lives?

Just as children learn traits and values from their parents, they should also learn the importance and great joy of developing a personal relationship with Christ. And the foundation of such a relationship is prayer — conversation with God.

How should we go about teaching our children to pray? There are several methods, but none works as well as teaching by example. Begin teaching the importance of prayer by praying openly with your spouse. This teaches children that prayer is meaningful and important, and not just a ritual. Also, pray with your children — in the morning and in the evening. Show your sons and daughters the importance of beginning and ending each day in prayer.

While a fortunate dilemma, it’s a dilemma nonetheless — Catholics face the challenge of discerning which prayers to use, considering the thousands available. A good rule of thumb is to start simple — maybe an Our Father or Hail Mary, and then move into something more complex — Hail, Holy Queen or Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, among others. Begin with prayers your children can pick up fairly quickly. Not only will this show them that praying can be fun and easy, but shorter prayers are also usually easier to understand.

Teach your children the importance of spontaneous prayer, rather than just prescribed prayers. Spontaneous prayer is any prayer that is created at the same time it is offered. Another way to

think of spontaneous prayer is “praying in your own words.” Structure spontaneous prayers according to the ACTS acronym — Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. In layman’s terms, this means beginning each prayer with words of adoration, such as “You are the Lord God Almighty. I love you.” Move into a period of contrition, asking God’s forgiveness for the sins you have committed. Then, give words of thanksgiving, thanking God for the gifts He has given. Finally, spend time sharing with God your heart’s desires. These intentions can be personal or on another’s behalf. Following this format ensures that spontaneous prayer “covers all the bases,” and doesn’t become just a mental wish list. While God wants to hear and grant our wishes, He also expects words of adoration, contrition, and thankfulness.

The best time to begin praying with your children is right now. The sooner they learn about prayer, the sooner they can begin cultivating their own relationship with Jesus. Many parents even pray with their children before birth, hoping their unborn son or daughter can hear their words in utero. Remember, there is no better way to teach one’s children about the value of prayer than by example.

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Just as children learn traits and values from their parents, they should also learn the importance and great joy of developing a personal relationship with Christ. And the foundation of such a relationship is prayer — conversation with God.

Our

Lady of Fatima Portuguese Committee Building Community and Enriching Spiritual Life

Adiverse faith community brings an abundance of traditions, languages, and Catholic experiences into the mix. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton is blessed with a vibrant and diverse community and we work hard to meet the needs of all. The Our Lady of Fatima Portuguese Committee serves the Portuguese community. Founded in 2008, the Portuguese Committee became part of our parish in 2016. They offer unique programs and liturgies in Portuguese. Deacon José Homem is actively involved with the Portuguese Committee and understands the unique needs of the parishioners.

“Having the Portuguese Committee is very important because that’s what the people are asking for,” Deacon José says. “They’re asking to have all of this and they want the celebrations in Portuguese. A lot of parishioners I know don’t speak English well and when they go to the English Mass, they don’t understand everything.”

The Portuguese Committee is important for both the spiritual life and to build community among our Portuguese parishioners. It shows them that they are welcomed and valued by our wider faith community. Mass in Portuguese is offered on the first and third Saturdays of the month at 6 p.m. Our Portuguese choir

sings for this Mass.

“There are about 20 people in the choir and they do a beautiful job,” Deacon José says.

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is a special feast, celebrated on both May 13 and Oct. 13. The Portuguese Committee plans a beautiful celebration of Mass, benediction and adoration, and a candlelight procession with the Rosary to honor our Blessed Mother and her message at Fatima.

In the past, Deacon José led a Bible study for the Portuguese community. While the Bible study had to be put on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions, he looks forward to leading it again and is planning to do so this fall. There is also a group called Ladies of the Rosary that meets every Tuesday to pray the Rosary together.

The Catholic Church is universal and all Catholics are united in their common faith as the Body of Christ. But our universal Church is also a beautiful mosaic of many traditions and cultures. Our small communities within the Body of Christ are where we grow and live out our faith.

“I’d like to see the Portuguese community be more involved and come to the Portuguese Masses,” Deacon José says. “The more people we have, the more we can do.”

For more information, check the parish bulletin, or contact Deacon José Homem at homem4@aol.com or 386-445-2246.

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“Having the Portuguese Committee is very important because that’s what the people are asking for. They’re asking to have all of this and they want the celebrations in Portuguese.” — DEACON JOSÉ HOMEM