The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Parishlife

The Seventh Sunday of Easter - MAY 12, 2024

St. Monica’s Concert Series (pg 5)

Senior Ministry Met Trip (pg 8)

Five Minute Jesus (pg 11)

Mass Intentions Mission Statement

The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Stephen of Hungary opens its doors to embrace all in our community.

We strive through worship, hospitality, and service to receive those seeking a spiritual home.

In the midst of diversity of thought, lifestyle, nationality, economic status, and age, we endeavor to live as a community of faith. We invite you to join our family: a family seeking to know and love Jesus Christ!

Parish Staff

Pastor: Rev. Donald C. Baker .................... frdcab@stelmo79.org

Parish Manager: Jennifer DeSpirito................jdespirito@stelmo79.org

Sacristan: Pedro Pizarro..........................ppizarro@stelmo79.org

Administrative Assistant: Gladys Tejada........gtejada@stelmo79.org

Pastoral Associate: Taryn Tonelli.............ttonelli@stelmo79.org

Pastoral Associate: Maryann Tyrer..........mtyrer@stelmo79.org

Plant Manager: Guillermo Vanegas...gvanegas@stelmo79.org

Music Director: John Zupan.....................jzupan@stelmo79.org

Weekend Associate: ...........................Rev. Anthony Ciorra, IVD

Weekend Associate: ..................................Rev. Edward Beck, CP

Wedding Coordinator: Debbi Burdett....dbweddingsnyc@gmail.com

Mass Schedule

Daily Mass: Mon - Sat, 12:00 PM

Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PM

Sunday: 8 AM, 10 AM, 12 PM, 5:00 PM

Confessions: Saturdays at 5:00 PM* (*or by appointment)

Contact

Church Address: 413 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075

Parish Center: 406 East 80th Street, New York NY 10075

Tel: 212-288-6250 Fax: 212-570-1562 Email: info@stelmo79.org

Parish Office Hours

Monday & Wednesday..............................9 AM - 4 PM

Tuesday & Thursday ................................. 9 AM - 7 PM

Friday ......................................................... Closed

Saturday ................................................10 AM - 2 PM

Sunday ....................................................... Closed

Closed for Lunch Weekdays from 1 - 2 PM stelmo79.org | @stelmo79

Saturday, May 10, Vigil 5:30 PM - Theresa Vasquez, Nancy and Benedetto Abatte

Sunday, May 11, Seventh Sunday of Easter 8:00 AM - Maria Soliven Reyes 10:00 AM - Albert Blain and Oge Bellevue 12:00 PM - All Parishioners 5:00 PM - Alicia and Jaime Valencia

Monday, May 13, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - Nine Souls of Lima

Tuesday, May 14, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - Mike Ward

Wednesday, May 15, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - Bobby Castro

Thursday, May 16, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - Thanksgiving to St. Agata

Friday, May 17, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - Helen D. Flack and Edward Pranckitas

Saturday, May 18, Easter Weekday 12:00 PM - George and Rosaria Guastella

Prayers for the Sick

Elizabeth Majestic

Bryan Saavedra

Nieves Lopez

Mary Hemphry

Sheila Dunn

Mary O’Dowd

Robert Estrada

Marjorie Stamburg

Pearl Silverman

Dr. Vittorio Palmieri

Maria Simanca

Patricia Marino

Besnik P.

Desiree Amato Parks

Maurine Lynch

Rosemary Keating

Neil O’Carroll

Harry Rabinowitz

Marylin Atkinson

Jerry Schwegman

Judith Farber

Mary O’Connor Lynch

Danielle Boros

Michael Reilly

Marcelle Ferrier and all those ill and victims of military activities

Prayers for the Deceased

Msgr. Thomas J. Bergin

Joseph Spina Gladys Kazembe

Elizabeth Slane and the victims of the Middle East

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

Every Friday after the 12:00 PM Mass until 3:00 PM in the church and live online

Devotions

Miraculous Medal on Mondays after Mass in the church and live online

Divine Mercy

Every Friday at 3:00 PM in the church and live online

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Every Friday at 5:10 PM in the chapel and live online

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturdays at 5:00 PM or by appointment

Anointing of the Sick

Every third Saturday of the month after the 12:00 PM Mass

Baptisms & Marriages

Please call the rectory office for more information.

Communion for the Homebound:

If you know of anyone who cannot attend church because of illness/age and would like to have communion brought to them, please contact the parish office for arrangements.

Weekly Readings & Observances

Readings for the week of May 12, 2024

Sunday: Acts 1:15-17, 20a, 20c-26/1 Jn 4:11-16/Jn 17:11b-19

Monday: Acts 19:1-8/Jn 16:29-33

Tuesday: Acts 1:15-17, 20-26/Jn 15:9-17

Wednesday: Acts 20:28-38/Jn 17:11b-19

Thursday: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11/Jn 17:20-26

Friday: Acts 25:13b-21/Jn 21:15-19

Saturday: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31/Jn 21:20-25

Next Sunday: Acts 2:1-11/1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Gal 5:16-25/Jn 20:19-23 or Jn 15:26-27; 16:1215

Observances for the week of May 12, 2024

Sunday: Seventh Sunday of Easter

Monday: Easter Weekday

Tuesday: Feast of Saint Matthias, Apostle

Wednesday: Easter Weekday

Thursday: Easter Weekday

Friday: Easter Weekday

Saturday: Easter Weekday

Next Sunday: Pentecost Sunday

BROADWAY REVIEW CONCERT

Featuring our professional cantors and choir members:

Michelle Cabinian

Lauren Cupples

Christina Farruggia

Robert Farruggia

Isaac Hall

Gregg Kapuscinski

Taryn Tonelli

John Zupan

Music Direction/Piano: John Zupan Bass Guitar: Mike Forzano

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2024 AT 3PM

K-8 Religious Education and Preparation:

Seventh Sunday of Easter

• Children’s Liturgy of the Word during the 10am Mass on Sundays (skipping May 26) through June 9.

• K-8 Religious Education sessions take place at 11:10 AM in the Parish Center. Please note, there is no session on May 26.

• Registration for next year is now open online on our website! Please remember that two years of religious education are required prior to First Communion as well as Confirmation!

• Save the date for our Family Faith Formation Picnic on Sunday, June 9, from 1:30-3:30 PM in the St. Stephen School Play Yard. Bring the whole family and a picnic basket, and we’ll provide lemonade, snacks, games, and family activities. Come and celebrate the conclusion of our Religious Education year!

Adult Sacraments of Initiation (RCIA):

Have you ever considered becoming Catholic? Or are you a baptized Catholic who has not yet celebrated First Communion or Confirmation? You and your questions are warmly welcomed! Come and share the journey with others. Please contact Maryann Tyrer for more information! Begin the process at any time in the year.

Adult Faith Formation Opportunities:

• Our final Adult Faith Formation takes place on Sunday, May 12 following the 12:00 PM mass. Come to the parish center (406 East 80th Street) for refreshments and a facilitated discussion of the Sunday scriptures. This will be the last session before we resume in the fall, and all adults are welcome!

• Our “Group of Guys” Men’s Faith Sharing Group meets every Tuesday at 12:00 PM and all men are welcome to join.

Pentecost Sunday COME AND CELEBRATE WITH US!

On May 19, Pentecost Sunday, at the 5PM Mass, six adults will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation (with five also celebrating their First Holy Communion)! A wine and cheese social (including non-alcoholic options) will follow mass. Join us to welcome our new fully-initiated Catholics and toast the conclusion of the Easter Season.

The Gift of the Holy Spirit

The professor in a medieval art history course asked her students, “How does one depict theological concepts in the medium of visual images, particularly paintings?”

She made the point that it is often easier to write or speak about theological concepts than to portray them through art. Yet, throughout Church history, creative individuals rose to the challenge of depicting theological concepts. We see, for example, theology and art meeting in portrayals of the Annunciation.

Kristopher W. Seaman

In certain medieval paintings of the Annunciation—the day when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would carry Jesus Christ—there is, at the top of the painting, an opening in the sky, with God the Father peering out, and a line leading from God the Father to Mary (on earth). Halfway down this line between Mary and the Father, is a kneeling Jesus, and in between Mary and Jesus is a dove representing the Holy Spirit. In this way, artists depicted theologically the scriptural account of Mary’s acceptance to carry Jesus Christ. Mary bears the Father’s gift of Christ through the power of the Spirit and becomes the first New Testament figure to receive the gift of the Spirit. This feast foreshadows a wider giving of the Spirit at Pentecost.

During the Fifty Days of Easter, we celebrate not only Jesus’ rising from the dead, but after forty days, his Ascension and promise to send the gift of the Spirit to the Apostles. Easter Time ends with Pentecost, a word that means fiftieth day. We can glean the importance of this day as we consider the significance of the numbers that comprise the Fifty Days. In the Old Testament, the number seven represents the universal number, and quite literally, from the creation story in the Book of Genesis, the day of completion—the day when all was “good,” and creation was complete. This day of completion, moreover, also has a symbolic quality of goodness, or more precisely, holiness—when God’s gift of salvation will be complete, when creation will be restored, and death/sin will no longer have sway. The Easter season contains not only seven days, but seven weeks, with each week, of course, containing seven days, and

those weeks coming to forty-nine days. On the fiftieth day, Pentecost is celebrated. The multiplication of the number seven symbolizes a deep and prolonged time of celebrating Christ’s saving victory over sin and death.

If the Annunciation was the Father’s specific gift of Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit to Mary, then Pentecost is the celebration that recognizes that, in Baptism, we were given Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit. We can see also that, in Sunday Eucharist, through the power of the Spirit, we receive Christ Jesus to strengthen, heal, and to continue to save us until the final completion at the end of time.

In some ways, Baptism and Eucharist are mini Pentecosts, days/ events when we are gifted with the presence of Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit. This is why paintings and icons of Pentecost show Mary in the center (the perfect model of discipleship), with the Apostles, and a dove descending from above to the Church—a Church now formed, sustained and strengthened through its participation first in Baptism and subsequently every week as she hears Christ’s Word and shares his Body and Blood.

The Spirit, first given to Mary at the Annunciation, and later given to the Apostles, and subsequently given to Christian disciples, is a gift of God’s very self to transform us according to God’s will and divine love. Because of Pentecost, we too can share in God’s divine gift of victory through Jesus Christ.

Kristopher W. seaman, dmin, is a doctoral student at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. He is the former director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Gary. He earned a master of arts degree in liturgical studies from St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and a master of arts degree in systematic theology and a doctor of ministry from Catholic Theological Union.

Art by James B. Janknegt. © 2015 Archdiocese of Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 3949 South Racine Avenue, Chicago, IL 60609; 1-800-933-1800; www.LTP.org. Pastoral Liturgy ® magazine, May/June 2015, www.PastoralLiturgy.org.

This page may be reproduced for personal or parish use. The copyright notice must appear with the text. It also may be downloaded at www.pastoralliturgy.org/resources/TheGiftoftheHolySpirit.pdf.

The Holy Spirit is a gift of God’s self to transform us according to God’s will and divine love.

On Friday, May 17th, the Senior Ministry will take a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

There will be a guided tour of the Harlem Renaissance Exhibit from 1:30 - 2:30 PM. The fee for each senior participant is $20.

Please sign up ASAP on our website, or call the office to RSVP at 212-288-6250.

1. Connect to the WiFi network by scanning the WiFi Connect QR Code. You must be within range of WiFi to connect.

2. If you do not have the Listen Everywhere app installed on your phone, download it from the App Store. If you already have the app, skip to step #3.

3. Once the Listen Everywhere app is installed and you have verified you are connected to the WiFi network, scan the Dynamic QR code again. You will now be connected to the audio server.

4. Press the “Play” button by pressing on the available audio channel!

A Mother’s Day Prayer

Dear Lord, Today we pray for mothers everywhere.

Bless mothers who have babies and toddlers and are in a busy season of bottles, sippy cups, and endless laundry. Give strength to moms of little ones.

Bless mothers who have busy school-aged children. Gift them with an extra measure of wisdom to answer questions, model maturity, and mold young hearts.

Bless mothers who parent teens. Allow them the grace to let go when needed and the courage to provide firm boundaries when required.

Bless mothers of adult children, that they would savor the joy of friendship with their child.

Bless single mothers with the strength to fulfill many roles. Provide them with supportive people in their lives.

Bless mothers who are married, that they may model and teach the meaning of a loving partnership.

Bless our mothers-to-be; protect them in their pregnancy journey.

We pray peace for mothers who have lost a child, and for women who are grieving because of infertility.

Give us eyes to see women around us who struggle to mother as well. Help us be the hands ad feel of Jesus to them.

Thank you for our mothers. They gave us life, and for that gift we are forever grateful.

We pray for mothers everywhere.

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Looking ahead to May 19, 2024: Pentecost Sunday

It’s simple. Read the Gospel for next Sunday slowly, reflecting on the story it tells. Consider the questions asked each day. What conversion of heart, mind, and life might the Lord be asking of you at this moment? Reflect on how you might live out God’s Word each day.

JOHN 20:19-23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Monday, May 13

When do I lock myself “in an upper room” like the disciples? What do I fear? How do I experience Jesus coming to me despite my fear?

Tuesday, May 14

Jesus tells us that as the Father loves him, so Jesus loves us. When have I experienced God’s love most strongly? What, at this point in my life, might separate me from God’s love?

Wednesday, May 15

Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” I imagine Jesus standing before me, speaking those words directly to me. How do I experience those words spoken to me? How do I respond?

Thursday, May 16

Jesus’ resurrected body still bears the wounds of his crucifixion. What does this say about my own wounds?

Friday, May 17

“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” How am I sent by Jesus? How do I respond?

Saturday, May 18

With the gift of the Holy Spirit comes the power (and burden) of forgiving or retaining the sins of others. Who do I need to forgive? For what do I need to be forgiven?

MAY 12, 2024

Easter – when is it again?

Ask any child when Halloween is. They will tell you: October 31. Christmas – a no brainer: December 25. But Easter? They will just stare at you. Maybe someone will say: “In the spring!” and they would be correct, but they would not be able to give you a date, simply because it changes.

Why? The reasons are complex, but they grow out of a fight. In the first centuries of the Church’s history, many Christians who wanted to celebrate Easter on the day it happened according to the Jewish calendar. That is calculated according to a lunar calendar which shifts relation to our calendars, thus Easter would fall on the 14 day of the month of Nisan, no matter what day of the week it fell on in the Roman Calendar.

Others wanted to keep the celebration of Easter on the “first day of the week” as it states in the Gospels, which would mean Easter would always have to fall on a Sunday. It was the churches in and around Rome that opted to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring (the vernal equinox – that is when the sun was directly over the equator.).

The Roman custom prevailed and by the fourth century all Christians calculated the date of Easter that way. However, nothing is that simple. The calendar used back then was called the Julian Calendar, as it was devised in the time of Julius Caesar. By the 16th century however, a small error in the Julian calendar caused it to have drifted ten days out of alignment (that is the calendar said the start of spring was ten days later than when the actual vernal equinox took place). Pope Gregory developed a new calendar which corrected this. Over the coming centuries everyone accepted the new calendar with one exception: the Orthodox Churches of the east. Because of this, their date for Orthodox Easter shifts as ours does, but not in union with ours. Thus, Orthodox Easter can happen as early as ours does, or as in this year, as late as Early May! So to all our Orthodox Christian friends and family, who celebrated Easter last weekend, Happy Easter!

Sacrament Roundup

This past Sunday we celebrated the sacrament of confirmation for 32 of our parish and parish school kids. The celebrant was the Vicar for Clergy, Bishop Edmund Whelan. When we have him here, we always ask him to commit to celebrating our Confirmation the following year! So, we have scheduled the Sacrament of Confirmation for our children on May 3, 2025. With that date set, we can now set the date for First Communions, but there is a problem: that slippery date of Easter! In 2025, Easter falls on April 20. We could have set First Communions for April 26, but we predict many people will be away on Easter break, that that did not seem feasible.

So next year, First Communions will be celebrated on May 10.

Thank you . . . . . . for the cards and gifts I received from both the parish and the school, on the occasion of my 64th Birthday on May 1. It is an honor to serve you as your pastor.

– Father Baker