April 4th Bulletin

Parish life Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

April 4, 2021

From the Pastor (Page 9)

Faith Formation

( Page 6)

Five Minute Jesus ( Page 8)

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Mission Statement

Mass Intentions

Saturday, April 3rd Vigil

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.

7:30pm

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

Monday, April 5th

Parish Staff

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 ............................................................. 9am - 5pm 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

All Parishioners

Sunday, April 4th Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord 8:00am

10:00am

Richard Pardo

12:00pm

Keith Lexa All Parishioners

Monday within the Octave of Easter

9am

Lilia Valero Tuesday, April 6th

Tuesday within the Octave of Easter

12:00pm

Walter & Mary Ferber

Wednesday, April 7th

Wednesday within the Octave of Easter 12:00pm

Maria Litrenta (Living)

Thursday, April 8th

Thursday within the Octave of Easter

12:00pm

Jozsef Tomahatsch

Friday, April 9th Friday within the Octave of Easter

12:00pm

Gisella Peña

Mass Schedule

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

Saturday, April 10th

Saturday within the Octave of Easter

12:00pm

Souls in Purgatory

For Mass Intentions, please visit the Parish Center.

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

Bread & Wine This Week’s Bread & Wine In Memory of Jozsef Tomahatsch Offered by Bridgette Tomahatsch

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 Newton Ruiz, Patricia Mallie, Victoria Collazo, Joan McKeagney, George & Magie Samra, Desiree Amato Park, Michael Berry, Andres Rodriguez, Eileen Sullivan,Anna Sandel, Jasmine Gomez, James Mooney, Marcia Power, Denise Perez & all those ill with or recovering from the COVID-19 virus and all Victims of Military Activities PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Irene Huszar, Msgr. Francis Boyle, Rafael Romero, Louis Schmidt,Emil De Spirito, Nora Hickey & Pascuale Ionta

Sanctuary Lamp This Week’s Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of Jozsef Tomahatsch Offered by Bridgette Tomahatsch

Today’s Readings First Reading — Peter is an eyewitness: The Lord is risen (Acts 10:34a, 37-43).

Psalm — This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad (Psalm 118).

(1) Second Reading — All who are baptized, set your hearts in heaven (Colossians 3:1-4) or (2) Second Reading — Christ our Passover is sacri-ficed; therefore let us celebrate (1 Corinthians 5:6b-8).

Gospel — Three witnesses, Mary, Peter, and John; each responds to the empty tomb (John 20:1-9) or Mark 16:1-7 (or, at an afternoon or evening Mass, Luke 24:13-35).

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: Acts 2:14, 22-33; Ps 16:1-2a, 5, 7-11;Mt 28:8-15 Tuesday: Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; Jn 20:11-18 Wednesday: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-4, 6-9; Lk 24:13-35 Thursday: Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:2ab, 5-9; Lk 24:35-48 Friday: Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-2, 4, 22-27a; Jn 21:1-14 Saturday: Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1, 14-15ab, 16-21; Mk 16:9-15 Sunday: Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24;

1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31

Pre-K through 8th Grade Catholic Parochial School 408 East 82nd St., New York, NY 10028 (212) 288-1989 Fax: (212) 517 – 5788 Principal: Ms. Kelly Burke www.saintstephenschool.org Mission The Saint Stephen Advantage of educating the “whole child”…

Founded in 1928, Saint Stephen of Hungary School is a Pre-K through 8th grade award-winning Catholic school with a rich heritage of academic excellence. By nurturing each student’s mind, body and spirit in the Franciscan tradition, Saint Stephen School prepares its students to be passionate leaders and self-confident life-long learners.

Our holistic, differentiated approach to learning creates an environment where students are supported to take calculated risks and explore the world around them. Students are challenged to think critically and creatively in order to solve complex real-life problems. Working collaboratively students learn to clearly communicate diverse opinions and resolve conflict. Students are celebrated for their unique differences and curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each individual student. Through a self-reflective process, students are empowered to be active participants in their own decision making abilities. Saint Stephen School provides students with the skills to be successful in our ever-changing global community.

Interested in admissions to our parish school? admissions@saintstephenschool.org

Welcome Cardinal's Annual Stewardship Appeal The Cardinal’s Annual Appeal was established in 1979. Prior to 1979, it was known as the Catholic Charities Appeal. The name change signified an increase in the scope of the effort from not only charities, but to what the Appeal is today: the financial support of the pastoral, educational and charitable works of the Archdiocese of New York. In 2010, then Archbishop Timothy Dolan changed the name to the Stewardship Appeal.“Stewardship” asks that donors demonstrate their thanks to God for their many blessings by making an offering of their time, talent and treasure to the Church. Upon his elevation to the College of Cardinals in 2012, the campaign became the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal.

Thank you for your continued generosity to the Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal, which supports so many efforts in the Archdiocese. This appeal addresses many of the spiritual and material needs of our brothers and sisters here in New York. Please consider your gift if you have not yet done so, and please take a look at the website for more information: https://cardinalsappeal.org

K-8 Parish Religious Education: •

We continue to meet online each Sunday morning at 10:15am. Zoom links are emailed each week to all registered families. (We will not meet April 4, but resume on April 11.)

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 meet on Sundays 10:15 to 11:30am, in the Parish Center. Social distancing and face masks are required. Please join us! No registration is required – you can drop in any Sunday (We will not meet April 4, but resume on April 11.)

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.

We celebrate with Ronald Barth, Alissa Cherry, and Robert McCasky, who were baptized, confirmed, and received their first communion at the Easter Vigil! Congratulations!!

Bereavement Ministry:

Our next Seasons of Hope series, our grief support group, will be on Wednesdays, 7-8:30pm, April 21-May 26, in the church. Separate discussion groups for men and for women. If you have lost a loved one, and would like to join us for this next series, please register on our website, stelmo79.org, or contact Maryann at mtyrer@stelmo79.org.

Save the date!

Icon Painting Workshop

Reverend Peter Pearson, professional iconographer and teacher, returns May 3-7, 2021 to lead us in painting this icon of St. Joseph. We will gather in the Angelo Room (observing safe distancing and wearing masks) each evening of the week, 6:30-9pm. The $250 fee covers all the materials (board, brushes, paints, and tools) that you will need to paint your own icon, as well as the expert instruction of Reverend Peter Pearson.

Don’t miss out on this annual opportunity!

Contact Maryann at mtyrer@stelmo79.org to save your spot.

Five Minute Jesus Using the Gospel for Prayer – Second Sunday of Easter April 11, 2021 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 John 20:19-31 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.” Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.” Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

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

Tuesday The Gospel says that the disciples were living behind locked doors; locked not from the outside but from within. Locked out of fear.

They were afraid that what the larger community had done to Jesus, they would do to them. Do I live behind locked doors? And are they locked from without or from within? Why are they locked? What am I truly afraid of?

Wednesday Even though the doors were locked, the risen Jesus appears in the midst of the disciples. In the midst of their fear, he wishes them Peace. For us the word peace means an absence of war, of strife or of conflict. But in Jesus’ language, “peace’ or Shalom means so much more. It means harmony and order. It speaks of the beauty of creation at its beginning, and its weekly return in the peace of Sabbath rest. Jesus wishes his disciples, peace. Am I at peace in my life? Or is my life simply lived in the avoidance of conflict? Where am I at war? Where do I need peace in my life? And how do I find that peace as the disciples did, in Jesus?

Thursday Jesus breathes on his disciples. While that might nowadays cause us to run for the disinfectant, our masks and a big bottle of hand sanitizer, Jesus was not trying to INfect his friends, but AFfect them, by EFfecting a change in them: they were once Disciples, a word which means followers, but now they are Apostles; now they are ones sent out on a mission. And what is that mission? To forgive.

The Church then is built on forgiveness. But we do not always experience it as such. Where have I experienced God’s forgiveness?

Have I experienced it in the Church or elsewhere? How do I see Jesus in that forgiveness? And how does it affect my forgiving others?

Friday Thomas was not present when Jesus appeared, and like so many others ever since, he doubted the resurrection. Jesus offered him proof. Not just his appearance. But the opportunity to touch Jesus’ wounds: Proof not only that he was alive but that he retained the marks of his suffering; Jesus knows what it is for us to suffer; to doubt; to question. ANd in that he invites us to draw near to him still. What does Jesus’ suffering mean to me? How does it help me in my own questioning and doubt? What does it say to me about the God of Jesus Christ?

Saturday The end of this Gospel reads like the end of a book. And many scholars believe it is: That the Gospel of John originally ended here.

But just so it ends with a wish; that reading this gospel will lead us to believe in Jesus. How central is Jesus to me? Do I trust him? Or merely acknowledge his presence? Am I like the disciples, more afraid of Jesus than in love with him? Do I doubt like Thomas? How do I believe?

From the Pastor 4.4.21 Easter Sunday The other day a kid in the second grade asked me – “what’s with the eggs?” I thought it was a good question. He was aware enough to notice the disconnect between what he sees in stores at this time of year; bunnies and rabbits as symbols for Easter, as opposed to the stories he was learning in Catholic School; the Last Supper, the cross and the empty tomb of Easter.

On one level, the disconnect is easy to explain. Just as the egg looks lifeless until it breaks open with a newborn chick; just as the rabbit spends its winter in its den, only to come up from the earth in the spring, so does Jesus turn death into life by rising from the dead. Eggs and bunnies were used as symbols to teach to simpler minds theological truths; like the shamrock being used to explain the Trinity, for example.

On another level, the disconnect is harder to bridge. People understand candy and eggs, bunnies and baskets. Everyone likes a party. Easter as a celebration of spring is easy. But then there are those stories our kids learn in school; stories of betrayal, of rejection, of torture and death. It is understandable that people want to fast forward to the good part. Easter as the happy ending, that is easy too.

But Easter has no real meaning without everything we have remembered, reenacted, celebrated and suffered this past week. Why? Because we do not live a world of bunnies, and candy eggs and flowers. We live in a world where friends are unfaithful, loved ones betray us, where people are tortured and killed because of who they are, what they believe or how they live. We live in a world where, due to inaction, incompetence and disregard for others, a pandemic occurred which has killed millions. In short, we live in Jesus’ world and our story becomes his story, so that his victory can become ours.

At least that is the promise of Easter: that injustice eventually will be met with justice, that hatred will drown in love, and that nothing not even death - can stop him. Or us.

The Stories of Holy Week and Easter are not easy. Thank God. That is what makes them worthwhile.

Christ is Risen! Happy Easter!

Father Baker

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