December 20, 2020

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Dec. 20, 2020

FIVE MINUTE JESUS (Page 4)

PARISH LIFE

(Page 5)

BUSINESS CORNER (Pages 8 & 9)

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Mission Statement The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Monica-St. Elizabeth of Hungary-St. Stephen of Hungary opens its doors to welcome and 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, life style, nationality, economic status & age, we endeavor to live as a community of faith and 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 Rev. Msgr. Leslie J. Ivers ........................... msgrlivers@stelmo79.org Weekend Associates: ...............................................Rev. Tony Ciorra Pastoral Associate: Ms. Maryann Tyrer ........ mtyrer@stelmo79.org Pastoral Associate: Ms. Jasmine Gomez ..... jgomez@stelmo79.org Parish Manager: Mr. Michael Ward ............. mward@stelmo79.org Music Director: Mr. John Zupan .................... jzupan@stelmo79.org Wedding Coordinator: Ms. Debbi Burdett . dbweddingsnyc@gmail.com Plant Manager: Guillermo Vanegas ......... gvanegas@stelmo79.org Sacristan: Pedro Pizarro ................................ ppizarro@stelmo79.org Administrative Assistant: Gladys Tejada ..... gtejada@stelmo79.org Church Address: 413 East 79th Street, NY, NY 10075 Parish Center Address: 406 East 80th Street, NY, NY 10075 Tel: 212-288-6250 Fax: 212- 570-1562 Email: info@stelmo79.org Our Offices are open: Monday ............................................................. 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday ....................................... 9:00 am - 7:00 pm Friday ....................................................... Closed Saturday ................................................. 10:00 am - 2:00 pm Sunday ..................................................... Closed Closed for Lunch Weekdays......................1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Visit us at: www.stelmo79.org Follow us on social media by searching STELMO79

Mass Schedule

Daily Mass: Mon-Sat, 12 noon Saturday Vigil: 5:30pm Sunday: 8am, 10am, 12pm & 5pm Confessions: Saturdays at 5pm or by appointment

Mass Intentions

Saturday, December 19th Vigil

5:30 pm

Brian Thompson

Sunday, November 20th Fourth Sunday of Advent 8:00 am

Mary, Matthew Tscherne Family

10:00 am

Walter & Mary Ferber

12:00 pm

All Parishioners

5:00 pm

The Kavanaugh Family (Living & Dec.)

Monday, December 21st Late Advent Weekday 12:00 pm

Thomas Costello

Tuesday, December 22nd Late Advent Weekday 12:00 pm

Maria Mota

Wednesday, December 23rd

Late Advent Weekday

12 pm

Marie Green

Thursday, December 24th Late Advent Weekday 12:00 pm The Anderson Family (Living & Dec.) 5:30 pm

Helen, John Flack & Family

Midnight

Alex Quanbeck

Friday, December 25th The Nativity of the Lord 8 am

William & Mary Mitchell

10 am

Jozsef Tomahatsch

12:00 pm All Parishioners

Saturday, December 26th St. Stephen 12pm The Anderson Family (Living & Dec)

For Mass Intentions, please visit the Parish Center.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Every Friday after the Noon Mass to 3:00 pm.

Devotions Miraculous Medal on Mondays after each Mass

Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy Chaplet is Prayed each Friday Afternoon at 3:00 pm.

Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturdays at 5pm or by appointment

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 or age, and world like to have communion brought to them, please contact the Parish office, so that we can arrange for a Eucharistic Minister to bring communion to them.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Those sick with COVID-19 All Victims of Military Activities

Today’s Readings

First Reading — I will fix a place for my people.

(2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16).

Psalm — For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord (Psalm 89).

Second Reading — To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever and ever (Romans 16:25-27).

Gospel — Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:26-38).

The English translation of the Psalm Responses from the Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Readings for the week Monday: Sg 2:8-14 or Zep 3:14-18a; Ps 33:2-3, 11-12,

20-21; Lk 1:39-45 Tuesday: 1 Sm 1:24-28; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd; Lk 1:46-56 Wednesday: Mal 3:1-4, 23-34; Ps 25:4-5ab, 8-10, 14; Lk 1:57-66 Thursday: 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Ps 89:2-5, 27, 29; Lk 1:67-79 Friday: Vigil: Is 62:1-5; Ps 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29;

Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Mt 1:1-25 [18-25]

Night: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96:1-3, 11-13; Ti 2:11-

14;Lk 2:1-14Dawn: Is 62:11-12; Ps 97:1, 6,

11-12;Ti 3:4-7; Lk 2:15-20 Day: Is 52:7-10;

Ps 98:1-6; Heb 1:1-6; Jn 1:1-18 [1-5, 9-14] Saturday: Acts 6:8-10; 7:54-59; Ps 31:3cd-4, 6, 8ab,

16bc, 17; Mt 10:17-22 Sunday: Sir 3:2-6, 12-14 or Gn 15:1-6; 21:1-3; Ps

128:1-5or Ps 105:1-6, 8-9; Col 3:12-21

[12-17] or Hb 11:8, 11-12, 17-19;

Lk 2:22-40 [22, 39-40]

Sanctuary Lamp

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Vito Palumbo, Sr. Eileen Clifford,

This Week Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of William & Mary Mitchell

Deacon Cristobal Rodriguez, Sarah Beamish, Milton Cintron, Amalia Malchiodi, John Lynch

Offered by Margaret Mitchell

& Victoria Tiongson

Sanctuary Lamp

This Week Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. Varnes Bellevue Offered by Rita Bellevue

Bread & Wine

This Week’s Bread & Wine In Memory of William & Mary Mitchell Offered by Margaret Mitchell

Five Minute Jesus Using the Gospel for Prayer – Feast of the Holy Family – December 27, 2020 It’s simple. 1. Read the Gospel for the following Sunday slowly, reflecting on the story it tells. 2. Reflect on the questions assigned for each day. 3. Make some resolution about how what you read can be lived that day. 4. Then thank God for speaking to you through this reflection.

The Gospel according to Luke 2:22-40 When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, They took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Monday Was there something in this reading that spoke to me? Comforted me? Challenged me? What was it? Why did it have this effect on me?

Tuesday Luke is concerned with showing how righteous Mary and Joseph are. They go to the temple, they fulfill the law. Luke wants to say that Christians, right from the start are really faithful Jews. In fact, Luke understands the Church as the continuation of the Jewish people, and the New Covenant as the fulfilment of the one God made with Israel. What does it mean to you that your faith has Jewish roots? Does it change how you view members of the Jewish people? If so, how, if not, why not?

Wednesday We meet Simeon, another righteous devout man, awaiting “the consolation” of Israel which Luke goes on to explain means that he would not die until he had seen “the Christ of the Lord”. Note the definite article “the”. Christ is not a name. It is a title. It means the anointed or chosen one, and it is a loaded term. For the Jewish people the Christ (Hebrew: Messiah) will be God’s chosen leader who will bring about a kingdom of righteousness and peace. In this Israel will be “consoled”. What does it mean for them to identify JESUS as “the Christ”? What does it mean for you to call him that?

Thursday Simeon tells Mary that her little baby will be a “sign of contradiction” and what will happen to him will break her heart (what the sword piercing her heart actually meant). Clearly Jesus will not be the kind of Messiah the people of Israel had been hoping for. But one thing he would do is cause people to have to choose. This choice will be for him or against him; for the kingdom he comes to establish . . . or not. What is your choice?

Friday We also meet Anna – a prophetess who has spent her life in the temple as a widow. In the early Church women whose husbands had died often dedicated themselves to the ministry of the church. To this day we know of people who give of their time and their talent in service of God in the Church. We have talents which God gives us to use. What are yours? How would you use your talents today in Service of God and Neighbor?

Saturday The feast we celebrate this Sunday lifts us Mary Jesus and Joseph as the “Holy Family”, as a model for family life. As such many experience it negatively, because it holds up a model that our normal families could never measure up to. People feel judged by the example of the Holy Family. And yet, when looked at more clearly, we see from the exterior a family made up of a young girl, pregnant before her wedding, who gives birth in a barn, whose husband is not the child’s father yet is raising him . . . in many ways a very modern take on the family! Perhaps what makes the Holy Family holy lay not in the nature of their relationships but in the way they remained faithful to them. How are your relationships? Especially with the ones you would call “family”? what would you need to make your “holy family” holy?

Parish Life Stay up to date

PARISH OUTREACH: LET’S CONNECT!

with all things

THE TELEPHONE IS THE MEDIUM

STELMO by following us on social media!

Watch videos and View images of parish gatherings, find out about parish events and other information by following us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter! Search for STELMO79 on your preferred platform to find us!

The Young Adult Ministry is a curated space for those ages 18 to 39.

In effort to combat the inattentiveness and anxiety that often accompanies the overuse of tech, in 2021, we will be hosting virtual events which will center on mindfulness and contemplative practices. These gatherings will seek to relieve stress, increase focus and help provide a sense of calm. In addition, we will continue to build our community and strengthening our faith. If you are interested in connecting with this group or attending our events, please visit https://www.stelmo79.org/ya-ministry

In this era of COVID, everything is strange.

Our daily routines have been disrupted.

Many of us live alone.

IF YOU LIVE ALONE OR ARE ILL, you may appreciate some communication from one of our parishioners.

A volunteer from our parish church would be delighted to speak with you by telephone to say “HELLO” PLEASE CONSIDER PARTICIPATING! If you are interested in participating, contact the parish office at 212-288-6250.

Once we receive your contact information, we will have a volunteer parishioner telephone you.

TOGETHER, based on need, you can make arrangements as to time and frequency of call.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU. The Parish Council Do you have an interest in living the message of "Care for our Common Home," from Pope Francis' Laudato si' Encyclical? The pope states, "Concern for the natural world is no longer 'optional' but is an integral part of the Church teaching on social justice." Join our Parish Green Team to learn more and take action. Email GreenTeam@STELMO79.ORG for more information.

K-8 Parish Religious Education: •

We continue to meet online each Sunday morning – but will be taking December 27 off for the Christmas holiday.

Adult Faith Formation: •

Our Sunday morning Adult Faith Formation, an informal discussion of the Sunday Scriptures, led by a facilitator, is open to all. We will meet on Sunday, Dec. 20, 10:15 to 11:30am, in the Parish Center. Social distancing and face masks are required. Please join us! We will not meet on December 27, but will resume on January 3. Learning more about your faith as an adult is an awesome New Year’s resolution!

Adult Sacraments of Initiation (RCIA):

If you have ever thought about becoming Catholic, or if you are a baptized Catholic who has not yet celebrated First Communion or Confirmation, please contact Maryann Tyrer at mtyrer@stelmo79.org to discuss our adult initiation process (commonly known as the RCIA). You can begin this process at any time throughout the year, and options are available for face-to-face or Zoom meetings.

Bereavement Ministry

Seasons of Hope is our parish grief support group. The format is a 6-week series on Thursday evenings, led by trained facilitators, and including prayer, reflection, confidential discussion, and journaling, utilizing a program published by Ave Maria Press. We plan to meet live (socially distanced with facemasks), but we will utilize Zoom if necessary. The first series will be offered January 7, 14, 21, 28, and February 4 and 11. Please contact Maryann at mtyrer@stelmo79.org to register.

Christmas Carols on the Church Steps – Sunday, Dec. 20, 4pm

Come and get some Christmas spirit, and join members of our parish choirs, for this free, informal concert in front of the church, prior to the Sunday 5pm Mass!

Reconciliation Monday – December 21

Confessions will be heard in the church on Monday, December 21, 4-6pm, and 7-8pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to prepare spiritually for Christmas by celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation!

Christmas Masses • • •

Christmas Eve at 5:30pm and Midnight Christmas Day at 8am, 10am, and 12noon TICKETS ARE REQUIRED for admittance! Only 150 per mass are available, so pick up your free tickets at the Parish Center this week, as they are going fast!

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God – Mass on December 31 at 5:30pm, and on January 1 at 12 noon

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Roman Martyrology Introduction

The announcement of the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord from the Roman Martyrology draws upon Sacred Scripture to declare in a formal way the birth of Christ. It begins with creation and relates the birth of the Lord to the major events and personages of sacred and secular history. The particular events contained in the announcement help pastorally to situate the birth of Jesus in the context of salvation history.

This text, The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ, may be chanted or recited, most appropriately on December 24, during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours. It may also be chanted or recited before the beginning of Christmas Mass during the Night.

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ The Twenty-fifth Day of December, when ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, and formed man in his own likeness; when century upon century had passed since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood, as a sign of covenant and peace; in the twenty-first century since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; in the thirteenth century since the People of Israel were led by Moses in the Exodus from Egypt; around the thousandth year since David was anointed King; in the sixty-fifth week of the prophecy of Daniel; in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad; in the year seven hundred and fifty-two since the foundation of the City of Rome; in the forty-second year of the reign of Caesar Octavian Augustus, the whole world being at peace, JESUS CHRIST, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father, desiring to consecrate the world by his most loving presence, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and when nine months had passed since his conception, was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judah, and was made man: The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.

Business Corner As we approach the end of calendar year 2020, we are all still dealing with the pandemic, both as individuals and as a parish community. I thought it prudent to write a column to talk about both how the pandemic continues to impact parish operations, and about the actions we are taking to continue to move forward and have the pandemic NOT affect the long-term mission of our parish.

When Father Baker and I arrived in 2015, three vibrant parishes had just been merged. We saw an opportunity to grow what was in place, and expand worship, ministries and other spiritual opportunities. The merged parish was blessed with a vast campus of (8) buildings. We also saw an opportunity to utilize these facilities for both the parish and school in our expanding ministry. Thirdly, we saw an opportunity to set in place strong financial practices to make certain the parish would be financially solvent. Ultimately, we saw an opportunity to build a large, vibrant parish for now and the future; a church with high-quality worship but also a vast array of opportunity to grow as individuals, and as a community, in our faith. This message is not new to most, as so many of you have been involved, volunteering your time, donating your money and buying into this vision. The sharing of our faith through ministry and worship is our mission and this is reflected in our practices.

While the pandemic has impacted the parish in the short-term, by no means should we allow the pandemic to impact the goals set in place years back for the long term. Those that are comfortable are coming to Sunday mass (we are currently averaging 411 people at mass each weekend, up significantly since our return to mass in June). While most of our ministries are meeting remote, they are still meeting, including religious education and RCIA, so that our mission of evangelization can continue. In time, all of our groups and educational opportunities will be meeting live again. Despite CoVID-19 we are still a living, active faith community.

There is of course also a secular component to the parish, in its financial operations and facility care that support our spiritual mission. The generosity of the parish base has provided a foundation to build on.

The Renew & Rebuild Campaign provided the opportunity to tackle several of the desired major maintenance projects and the sale of air rights was the icing on the cake so to speak, to provide the funding for additional capital repairs and to establish investments for long-term financial solvency.

Due to the proceeds from the sale of air rights we were able to set up investment accounts for both parish and St. Stephen of Hungary School. For the parish particularly, these accounts were established with two purposes. One account is to support capital repairs and desired construction projects to complete the facility upgrades that a modern parish should have. The others are investment accounts that are for the long-term financial health of the parish so that this parish can operate independently and at a high-quality level for years to come. The pandemic has provided many challenges, including financial challenges. Nevertheless, Father Baker and I continue to work to honor the commitments we made to you all and it is for this reason that construction has continued. The new sound system is installed. The relighting of our church is nearly finished. The new confessional room and a chapel dedicated to our three patron saints will be completed shortly and we are in talks to begin the remaining projects in the parish center of handicap access to the main door, new windows and air conditioning in 2021.

While we stay focused on the overall goal, there is the reality that, like many other institutions, we are dealing with challenges in the operational income of the parish. In October, the parish issued a financial report for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year (FY) (Sept. 1, 2019-Aug. 31, 2020) which not only provided a yearend financial summary, but also discussed the impact the pandemic has had on parish operations. Those interested in reading this report can get one at the parish office. Amongst items in the year-end report was an explanation of operational finances, and how normally the parish operates with a modest surplus but due to mainly income related items, the parish operated at a deficit during FY20 and was anticipating a deficit for FY21.

The budgeted deficit for FY21 is ($131,239). The 1st quarter (Sept 1- Nov. 30) called for an interim deficit of ($106,722). The actual deficit for 1st quarter was ($160,374), which is a negative variance from budget of $53,652. The variance from year-to-date budget arises from construction costs for the various projects being undertaken.

This fiscal year will serve to be a challenge to navigate. The arrangements made with the Caedmon School (highlighted in the year-end report) continue to significantly impact our operational finances.

Regular Collections also remains below pre-pandemic levels. Father Baker and I both appreciate the generosity the parishioners continuously show the parish and we know that many have been impacted financially by the pandemic. We sincerely thank everyone that has continued to provide offertory to the parish. The reality is that those two components are our main sources of operational income, so while those income items remain affected by the pandemic, we have to find other ways to meet our operational finances in the interim. One of the accounts set up via the sale of air rights was an investment account with Morgan Stanley (which currently has about $1.6mm). We have elected to sell $100,000 of the investment with Morgan Stanley in order to supplement the cash position of the Operating Account. We are hopeful that this maneuver will provide support to the operational income of the parish for the remainder of the fiscal year and that this will be the only time we have to access the parish reserves.

I wrote in the year-end report that I felt the parish could navigate the operational deficits of FY20 & FY21 and that we could do this while maintaining the long-term goals of the parish. We have acted thus far to balance the current climate and the parish’s future.

Our primary responsibility is our faith-based mission and to serve the parishioners and Yorkville Community at large; it is something the entire staff takes pride in and the dedication of the parishioners is something we are all grateful for. It is all of you that make St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Stephen of Hungary the wonderful place that it is now and will remain in the years to come.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you all for your continued support.

As always, any questions on the items above, or any aspects of our financial & secular business, please feel free to contact me to discuss, mward@stelmo79.org Mike Ward Parish Manager

CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS 511510: Church of St. Monica/ St Elizabeth of Hungary / St Stephen of Hungary 406 East 80th Street, NYC., NY 10075 PHONE: 212 288-6250 CONTACT PERSON: Gladys Tejada/Office

SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION: December 20th, 2020 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE PRINT 450 BULLETINS FOR THIS WEEK’S ISSUE