Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord 4/2/2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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, NYC 10075

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

Tel: 212-288-6250 Fax: 212- 570-1562

Email: info@stelmo79.org

Our Offices are open:

Monday & Wednesday................................. . 9am - 4pm

Tuesday - Thursday 9am - 7pm

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

Saturday ................................................. 10am - 2pm

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

Closed for Lunch Weekdays..................1pm - 2pm

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, April 1st Vigil 1st

5:30pm Thanksgiving to St. Joseph to St.

Sunday, April 2nd 2nd

Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Palm of the Passion of the Lord

8:00am Anthony Lauro 8:00am Lauro

10:00am Rober ta Chapey (Living)

10:00am Roberta

12:00pm All Parishioners All Parishioners

5pm Alicia & Jaime Valencia Alicia & Valencia

Monday, April 3rd Monday of Holy Week 3rd of Week

12pm Giovanni Marsala 12pm Giovanni Marsala

Tuesday, April 4th Tuesday of Holy Week 4th of Week

12pm Mar tin Conroy Martin Conroy

Wednesday, April 5th 5th

Wednesday of Holy Week of Week

12pm Mar y McCauvic (Living) Mary McCauvic

Thur sday, April 6th Holy Thur sday Thursday, 6th Thursday 9am Tenebrae

7:30pm Mass of the Lords Supper Mass of the Lords

Friday, April 7th Good Friday 7th Good 9am Tenebrae 9am

12pm Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross

3pm Liturg y of the Lord’s Passion Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion

Saturday, April 8th Holy Saturday 8th 9am Tenebrae

Bread & Wine

Offered

Sanctuary Lamp

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

Every Friday after the Noon Mass until 3pm in the church and live on-line

Devotions

Miraculous Medal on Mondays after Mass in the church and live on-line

Divine Mercy

Prayed every Friday at 3pm in the church and live on-line

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

Every Friday at 5:10pm in the Chapel and live on-line

Sacrament of Reconciliation

Saturdays at 5pm or by appointment

Anointing of the sick

Every third Saturday of the Month after the noon 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 or age, and would 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

Uriel Cuartas, Teody Zanarias, Susan Bacerra, Michael Reilly, Dorothy Condon, Marcelle Ferrier, Joanna Jack, Cindy Garnica Castro, Angelica Zarate, Hasmi Hiftari, Constance Lyons, Shane Black, Hawke Lindberg, Jennie Marmo, Thomas Butler and all those ill with or recovering from the COVID-19 virus and all Victims of Military Activities

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED

Susan Lasmier, Chrissy MacDonalds, Luz Soto, Fr. Thomas Fenlon, Godfrey Fantastico, Michael Paradise, Mary Reginio, Aniello Oriello, Catherine Ferro, Joan Ryan, John Crowley, Robert Casper Lewis, Kevin John Shields, Bishop David O’Connell & Eric Hemphill

Weekly Readings & Observances

Readings for the week of April 2, 2023

Sunday: Mt 21:1-11/Is 50:4-7/Ps 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 (2a)/Phil 2:6-11/ Mt 26:14—27:66 or 27:11-54

Monday: Is 42:1-7/Ps 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14

/Jn 12:1-11

Tuesday: Is 49:1-6/Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17/Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Wednesday: Is 50:4-9a/Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34/Mt 26:14-25

Thursday: Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9/Ps 89:21-22, 25 and 27/Rv 1:5-8/

Lk 4:16-21

Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14/

Ps 116:12-13, 16-16bc, 17-18 (see 1 Cor 10:16)/1 Cor 11:23-26/Jn 13:1-15

Friday: Is 52:13—53:12/Ps 31:2, 6, 12-13, 1516, 17, 25 (Luke 23:46)/

Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9/Jn 18:1—19:42

Saturday: Easter Vigil: Gn 1:1—2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a/

Ps 104:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 13-14, 24, 35 (30) or Ps 33:4-5, 6-7, 12-13, 20-22 (5b)/Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18/Ps 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11 (1)/ Ex 14:15—15:1/ Ex 15:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 17-18 (1b)/Is 54:5-14/

Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13 (2a)/Is 55:111/Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 (3)/ Bar 3:9-15, 32—4:4/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 (Jn 6:68c)/Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28/

Ps 42:3, 5; 43:3, 4 (42:2)/Rom 6:3-11/

Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23/Mt 28:1-10

Next Sunday: Acts 10:34a, 37-43/Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 (24)/Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8/ Jn 20:1-9 or Mt 28:1-10

Observances for the week of April 2, 2023

Sunday: Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Holy Week begins.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday: Holy Thursday

Friday: Good Friday

Saturday: Holy Saturday

Next Sunday: Easter Sunday

©LPi

Living Stations of the Cross

Presented by the Class of 2023 for the parish and school community

The Cup We Drink

When you grow up in an Italian family as I did, special meals always included wine. Wine meant celebration and gathering in friendship and intimacy. Since drinking wine was often associated with holydays such as Christmas and Easter, wine also symbolized a connection to God.

Numerous stories about vines and the wine made from them are in the Scriptures. The vineyard is a symbol of Israel, God’s Chosen People. In the New Testament, Jesus reveals himself as the true vine and his people as the branches, urging followers to remain in him and bear fruit.

One of the ways to remain in Jesus is to drink from the cup at Mass. At the Last Supper, Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and offering it to the disciples, said, “Drink from it, all of you.” The offering of the Blood of Christ to communicants was continued for more than a millennium. But the Middle Ages witnessed a decline in the use of the cup. Controversies arose over whether the laity or only the priest should drink from the cup. In the sixteenth century, the Council of Trent affirmed that the cup was to be reserved for the clergy. However, the Second Vatican Council document the Constitution

on the Sacred Liturgy, 55, states that Communion under both kinds may be granted to the laity at the discretion of the bishop. Not long after the Council, the instruction Eucharisticum mysterium explained: Holy Communion, considered as a sign, has a more complete form when it is received under both kinds. For under this form the sign of the Eucharistic banquet appears more perfectly. Moreover, it shows more clearly how the new and eternal Covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord, as it also expresses the relation of the Eucharistic banquet to the eschatological banquet in the Kingdom of the Father. (cf. Matt. 26:27–29). (32)

Some people choose only to receive the Body of Christ, and in the reception of one species, Christ is received “whole and entire” (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 281). Drinking from the cup, though, offers “a more complete form” when received under both kinds. May our reception of the Eucharist propel us to bring Christ to others.

Photo © John Zich. Permission to publish granted by the Archdiocese of Chicago on October 25, 2018.

Drinking from the cup offers a “more complete form” when receiving the Eucharist under both kinds.

Five Minute Jesus

Using the Gospel for Prayer – Easter Sunday April 9, 2023

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.

Gospel John 20:1-9

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So, she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So, Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Monday April 3rd

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 April 4th

In John the resurrection appearance focuses not on “the women” as in other Gospels, but on Mary of Magdala – i.e. Mary Magdalene. There has been much speculation as to Jesus and Mary Magdalene over the years: we all know Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code. However, sticking to John’s account. What is Mary’s role here? Why is it important? What does it say about her relationship with Jesus? What does it say about ours?

Wednesday April 5th

Mary has been called “the Apostle to the Apostles”. That statement is rooted in part in this Gospel passage. She was the one who first proclaimed the empty tomb – then of course the men take over! Later she will be the first to see the risen Jesus. In this we see two sides of the earliest Easter message: one the one hand, the empty tomb and on the other a vision of the Risen Jesus. This distinction is important. The empty tomb is a proclamation of faith in the resurrection though we did not see it. The other is a demonstration of proof: I believe because I see. Which is more important for me? What do I need to really believe in the resurrection?

Thursday April 6th

Today’s gospel is portrayed like a race; which disciple gets to the tomb first? In that we see reflected the contest between the first Christian communities; those who saw Peter as their leader, and those who gathered around “the beloved disciple”, believed to be the author of the Gospel of John. And yet, the Gospel puts this race in the context of Mary’s who went to the tomb while the male disciples did not even bother. What does this suggest to you about the author’s understanding of the roles of women and men in earliest Christian community? Does it suggest anything to us about the roles of women in ours?

Friday April 7th

According to the story it was the “other” disciple who entered the tomb first saw that the body was not there and believed. For this disciple the empty tomb was proof enough that something had happened. Something they clearly did not expect; even though the Gospels report that Jesus repeatedly predicted his resurrection. What does this say about the disciples and their faith? What does it say about ours?

Saturday April 8th

“They did not understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead”. Despite Jesus’ resurrection, something else was necessary: that they understand how the Hebrew Scriptures had predicted this all along. This makes yesterday’s question, and the race the day before between Peter and John even more pointed. The male disciples did not even bother to go to the tomb until Mary proclaimed the body was gone. Then they saw that the body was missing and “believed” – though they did not expect this, despite Jesus’ preaching. Now it says they did not understand. What does this say about coming to faith in the resurrection of Jesus? It says that we need testimony, personal witness and an understanding of Scripture which makes sense of the empty tomb. On this Holy Saturday, hours before we proclaim Jesus IS risen, What would I need to make that proclamation a personal expression of faith for me?

Just a Word

From the Pastor 04.02.23

A Shout-Out for Tenebrae

As you read this you are probably sitting in church, or have on ly just left, on that day we begin the celebrations of Holy Week: Palm Sunday. Even people with the fuzziest knowledge of our faith know this week and how it progresses: Palm Sunday, the day Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and people proclaim him as their king. Holy Thursday, the evening when Jesus celebrates the Last Supper with his disciples before being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Good Friday, the day he is tried and crucified. And Easter Sunday, the day of his resurrection. This week is the Christian Passover when we celebrate how God delivers God’s people from the slavery of sin and death to the fulness of faith and life.

For those who are not familiar with what we believe, Holy Week can seem like play acting. But for those who are anchored in the Catholic faith they are ritual enactments which invite us to enter the events remembered and celebrated, much like our Jewish brothers and sisters at the Passover Seder when they ask, “Why is this night different from every other night” – not “why was that night different”. In their remembrance they are there on that night the Angel of Death “Passed Over” their houses, marked by the blood of the Lamb. In our remembrance we are there, in that week when God saved us from death through the blood of Jesus - the lamb of God.

The way these stories are told in our worship is rooted in the scriptures – in fact, Holy Week is a lens through which Christians have read the Bible for almost 2000 years. We have heard echoes of Jesus’ teaching in the Law, seen its preparation in the words of the Prophets. We understand him against the background of promises made to Israel that they would have a new King, and in the belief that one day the Son of Man would come and bring with him a new heaven and earth. The Church has seen predictions of Jesus in the Psalms and has reflected on him in the writings of the Early Church Fathers for hundreds of years.

It was the monks of the early Church who pulled these different threads together and began to weave a series of services that also take place during Holy Week. These services formed the early morning prayers of the monks on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, that day between Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In these services, the monks would sing special hymns and chant special psalms. They would read passages from the Bible, as well as writings from the Church Fathers which reflect on the day being celebrated. A singer sings the Lamentations of Jeremiah to a melody used especially on that day. In these songs of sadness, the prophet Jeremiah mourns over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian empire in the 6 th century BC. In our use of these ancient hymns, we express our sadness over the death of Jesus.

At the center of this service stands a large candelabra: called the Hearse, its roots are in the candelabra, by whose light the monks prayed. As the service progress the candles are gradually extinguished until at the end only one light remains: symbolic of the light of Christ which we will remember again on Saturday night at the Easter Vigil.

Here at St. Monica-St. Elizabeth of Hungary-St. Stephen of Hungary, we celebrate Tenebrae on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Holy Week at 9am. The service takes about 45 minutes. There is an opportunity for confession immediately afterwards.

I hope you will come and take advantage of this prayerful contemplative service, as We reflect on the roots of the faith we profess in this Holiest of Weeks.

As St. Paul says: “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Let us keep the feast”.

Have a blessed Holy Week

Fr. Baker