August 30, 2020

Twenty Second Sunday In Ordinary Time

Aug. 30, 2020

JUST A WORD From our Pastor (Page 9)

FAITH FORMATION (Page 6)

FIVE MINUTES JESUS (Page 8)

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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, August 29th, Vigil

5:30 pm

Walter & Mary Ferber

Sunday, August 30th, Twenty Second

Sunday In Ordinary Time

8:00 am

Julia Kaminski

10:00 am

Paul Siu

12:00 pm All Parishioners 5:00 pm

Theresa Angelillo

Monday, August 31st Weekday

12:00 pm

Julia Kaminski

Tuesday, September 1st Weekday

12:00 pm

Margaret Batista

Wednesday, September 2nd Weekday

12:00 pm

Thanksgiving to St. Agata

Thursday, September 3rd St. Gregory the Great

12:00 pm Thanksgiving

Friday, September 4th Weekday

12:00 pm

Sheila Foley Crane

Saturday, September 5th Weekday 12:00 pm

Thanksgiving to St. Agata

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.

Please remember in your prayers PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Dough Knox, Billy Banks, Jennifer Sayte & Dennis Cronin All victims of military activity

Treasures of our Tradition SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT (540-604) September 3 Imagine, fourteen hundred years after death, boasting a best-selling CD! Yet outside the Church and within, Gregorian chant is enjoying a renaissance. Still, the timeless sacred music that bears his name is but part of Gregory’s legacy. Renouncing civic service for monastic life, Gregory’s administrative and diplomatic skills prompted continual summons from the cloister. Papal ambassador and advisor, he was eventually elected pope himself, renowned as a wise steward of the church’s material possessions, generous benefactor of the poor, sponsor of missionaries, and promotor of monasticism. His liturgical enrichment of the Church endures not only in Gregorian chant, but in eloquent homilies still gracing the Liturgy of the Hours, the “Gregorian Canon” (Eucharistic Prayer I), and his spiritual classic, Pastoral Care, once presented to new bishops at ordination. Of countless impressive papal titles—Supreme Pontiff, Vicar of Christ, Successor of Saint Peter, Prince of the Apostles—the title still so cherished that it heads official documents is the one Gregory coined to describe his papal ideal: Servant of the Servants of God. Together with being designated “the Great,” a fitting epitaph.

—Peter Scagnelli, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.

Today’s Readings First Reading — The name of the LORD has become like fire burning in Jeremiah’s heart (Jeremiah 20:7-9).

Psalm — My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God (Psalm 63).

Second Reading — Be transformed; renew your mind; discern what is good (Romans 12:1-2).

Gospel — Those who lose their lives for Jesus’ sake will find them (Matthew 16:21-27).

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

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Maureen Healy, Helio Florez, Sharon Lee Daly & Theresa McNamara,

Readings for the week Monday: 1 Cor 2:1-5; Ps 119:97-102; Lk 4:16-30 Tuesday: 1 Cor 2:10b-16; Ps 145:8-14; Lk 4:31-37 Wednesday: 1 Cor 3:1-9; Ps 33:12-15, 20-21; Lk 4:38-44 Thursday: 1 Cor 3:18-23; Ps 24:1bc-4ab, 5-6; Lk 5:1-11 Friday: 1 Cor 4:1-5; Ps 37:3-6, 27-28, 39-40; Lk 5:33-39 Saturday: 1 Cor 4:6b-15; Ps 145:17-21; Lk 6:1-5 Sunday: Ez 33:7-9; Ps 95:1-2, 6-9; Rom 13:8-10; Mt 18:15-20

St. Stephen of Hungary School 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 Interested in admissions to our parish school? admissions@saintstephenschool.org

Parish Life At 6:30pm on September 3rd, our Young Adult Ministry (ages 18-35), in collaboration with our Senior Ministry, will host a virtual discussion on the film The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011).

This is the third film in a series dedicated to discussing race and racism in America.

Everything from the theme, to the cinematography and even the music will be discussed!

Register by September 1st on stelmo79.org so that the video conferencing information can be sent to you by September 3rd.

You can contribute to our presence on social media!

If you have an idea (for a campaign or posts), are interested or curious contact Pastoral Associate Jasmine Gomez jgomez@stelmo79.org

Our Green Team is looking for new members and a new team leader! The team is dedicated to education, service, and advocacy on behalf of the natural world, following the teachings of Pope Francis. If you are interested, please email Pastoral Associate for Parish Life, Jasmine Gomez at jgomez@stelmo79.org

Baptism Announcement

Next Sunday, September 6th, there will be a baptism service at 1:30PM At this service we will be baptizing: Hunter Bates Dicinto Please join us in congratulating: Marisa L. Shockley & Michael B. Dicinto on their child’s new life in Christ.

Baptism Services are open for members of the parish to join in the welcoming of our newest members.

Mass Book 2021

Our 2021 Mass Book will be open for intentions beginning Tuesday, September 8th during office hours at the Parish Center 406 East 80th Street

AINTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

This series is featured in our bulletin at least once a month and focuses on the lives of the Saints whose images adorn our beautiful church.

SAINT Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) Feast Day: September 5th Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the order she founded in 1950, as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.

Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia, Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father’s construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.

During her years in public school, Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18, she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy.

But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.

In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”

After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community, and undertake her new work, Sister Teresa took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals–the ordinary dress of an Indian woman–she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.

The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Others helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, and the use of buildings. In 1952, the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging, and street people.

For the next four decades, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home. Blessed Teresa was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016.

— https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-teresa-of-calcutta/

Sacramental Celebrations that were postponed in the Spring have been rescheduled as follows: • St. Stephen of Hungary 1st Communion – Saturday, September 19, 10am o Rehearsals will be during school days • Parish Religious Ed and Caedmon 1st Communion – Sunday, September 20, at the 10am Mass o Rehearsal for candidates and a parent– Thursday, September 17, 4pm • Confirmation for SSH group and parish group – Sunday, October 4, 2pm o Rehearsal for candidates and sponsors – Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10am

K-8 Religious Education • K-8 Religious Education will be online (via ZOOM) this Fall! We hope this will make it easier for your children to participate regularly, and allay your fears about the COVID-19 pandemic. We simply do not have the space to allow for necessary social distancing. No ZOOM account is necessary - you will be sent a link to connect each Sunday morning. All you need is internet access and a tablet or computer. This method of delivery has been approved by the Archdiocese of New York and by our pastor, and it will fulfill all Archdiocesan and parish requirements.

• Registration is now open. You may download the form on our website, complete it, attach a check, and mail it in, OR, you may register in person and pay fees at the parish center. New registrations must include a copy of the child’s baptismal certificate.

• Once you have completed registration, you will be notified of the dates when you can pick up your child’s textbook and support materials. Parent meetings will be offered in September via ZOOM. • The first K-8 Religious Education session is Sunday, October 4, 2020, at 10:15am. Registration must be completed by October 1. We hope the delayed start will allow everyone to settle in at school and prepare for the new religious education format.

Sacramental Preparation for Children and Teens not attending Catholic School • First Penance, First Communion, Confirmation o The Archdiocese of New York requires two years of either Catholic School or Parish Religious Education immediately before the reception of First Communion (2nd grade or up) or Confirmation (8th grade or up). o First Penance and First Communion have an at-home component that is to be completed in addition to regular participation in Religious Education.

Adult Faith Formation – open to all adults!

• Sunday Morning Scripture Discussions resume on October 18, 10:15-11:45am at the Parish Center • Friday Evening Prayer year round in the chapel at 5:10pm each week – all are welcome Adults who are thinking about becoming Catholic, or Catholic adults who are missing First Communion and/or Confirmation - contact Maryann Tyrer, Pastoral Associate, to discuss our adult initiation process. You can begin the process any time throughout the year - we’d love to welcome you!

Want to volunteer? Many different opportunities are available, with various time commitments – Contact Maryann to discuss how your gifts might meet our needs.

Parish Opportunities to Interact With Others: Offsite –

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•

Serve as a catechist or assistant for elementary or junior high students and families – religious education classes will be online (via Zoom) this fall, so you can help to pass on the faith to the next generation on Sunday mornings beginning October 4 Serve as a prayer partner for a child, teen, or adult preparing for Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and/or Eucharist) this year

Onsite – •

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•

•

Participate in Adult Faith Formation on Sunday mornings – join a small group of adults, socially distanced in the parish center, for discussion of the Sunday Scripture readings, beginning in mid-October Serve as a discussion leader or sponsor for our Adult Initiation Process (RCIA) – support those adults who are preparing to become one with us in the Catholic Faith Serve as hospitality assistants (once social distancing restrictions are lifted) to assist with set up, refreshments, and break down for Lifelong Faith Formation events (for adults, children, and families) throughout the year Serve as a member of our new Bereavement Ministry team, forming now, to facilitate a grief support ministry this fall

No experience needed for any of these opportunities. All training and materials will be provided. All volunteers are interviewed and screened, and background checks are required for anyone working with children. Archdiocesan Safe Environment Policies for online interaction with children will be enforced. Onsite programs participants will wear masks and follow appropriate social distancing protocols. For more information, please contact Maryann Tyrer at mtyrer@stelmo79.org, or call the parish office at 212-288-6250

Five Minute Jesus

Using the Gospel for Prayer – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 31, 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 Matthew 16:21-27 Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

Sunday 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?

Monday This Gospel follows directly after last week. Last week Jesus is proclaimed that he is God’s chosen one by Peter. Today Jesus reveals what he is chosen to do; suffer, be killed and rise from the dead. Many Jews in Jesus day believed that at the end of the world, the dead would be raised; the old world would be judged, purified and a new world would come into being. Thus, Jesus’ Resurrection meant that God was beginning to make the world the way God wants it to be. What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for me? Is it important to me? If so, what promise does it hold for me? And why?

Tuesday Despite the fact that Jesus told Peter he would be raised. Peter was not happy. He refused to accept that such a thing would happen to Jesus. Because it meant that first he would have to suffer and die. We would have probably reacted the same way. What do suffering and death mean for me? Can I see something good coming out of them? IF so what? If not, why not?

Wednesday Jesus goes from calling Simon Peter the “rock” on which he will build his Church, to Satan, the obstacle that tries to trip Jesus up as he seeks to follow the path the Father has laid for him. The figure of Satan has evolved tremendously in the 2,000 years since this story was first told. For some of us Satan is almost a second God; an evil one in opposition to the Father. For others Satan is just an empty myth we use to shift the blame for our actions off of us (the Devil made me do it). What is my understanding of Satan and evil in this world? What role does it play in my faith? Do I try to shift blame to the devil when things go wrong in my life? If so, why?

Thursday Most of us have grown up relatively comfortable. We have had the advantage of health care, education, clean water, housing. Moreover, if we want something we can normally get it, if we have the money or the resources.

WE do not like the word “denial”. Yet Jesus says we must deny – OURSELVES! What do his words mean to me? Are their relationships that I would be better off ending; changes I would be better off making; Are there things that I can live without – and probably should? IF so what are they? And how do I go about denying myself these things so that I might follow Jesus?

Friday Most of us a have a cross. It hangs on our wall or around our neck. It is a symbol of our faith, and often a treasured possession. Not for Jesus and the first Christians; for them it was a form of execution so terrible that the Romans only used on non-Romans; never on Roman citizens. For centuries Christians avoided using the cross as a symbol of the faith; it was like if we used a hangman’s noose as such a symbol. And yet the cross became THE symbol of our faith; not just because of what happened on it; but because of what happened after; Jesus’ resurrection. What does the cross mean to me? How can I regain some of the understanding of it that the earliest Christians had? How does that affect my relationship with Jesus who carried that cross. . . as asks me to do the same?

From your Pastor August 30th, 2020

Worship in the time of Pandemic Despite the fact that we are reminded of CoVID-19 every time we walk out our door and see the vacant stores, the relatively empty streets and closed tourist attractions, it is important to remember here in church that we are still under the regulations set up by our state government to prevent the spread of the virus.

Here at St. Monica – St. Elizabeth of Hungary – St. Stephen of Hungary, we have worked very hard to see to it that worship is offered in accordance with those rules. Moreover, we have been guided by the Cardinal and the Archdiocese in the administration of the sacraments in these trying times.

It is hard; sacraments are all about physicality; we eat, we drink, we touch, we embrace, we anoint, we wash – Catholic spirituality is bodily spirituality which celebrates the flesh because God became flesh in Jesus. Thus, to have to avoid this physicality seriously compromises our worship and the way we live our faith.

Moreover, we are traditional; thus, we use gestures and rituals which are centuries old and sometimes we see them not only as expressions of our even older faith, but as our RIGHT. When the restrictions imposed due to CoVID-19 force us to forego some of these customs, this makes us feel that something essential has been lost.

However, despite the limitations placed on our ability to share the sacraments and engage in worship, nothing essential has been lost. Indeed, if we continue to follow the guidelines and regulations set out by the Church and state, the day will come when these restrictions will be gone, and we will be able to return to normal.

As we move into the fall, we are noticing the number of people at mass increase. This is great to see, as it means people are beginning to return after months of quarantine. Because they will not have been here during the pandemic, it will be important for them to know and to do what we already do. Thus, from time to time you will hear me remind people of some basic practices at mass: 1.

Masks are to be worn at all times.

2.

Please maintain social distancing in the pews – use the X’s on the pews for guidance in seating as individuals. Couple can of course sit together; families should take the whole pew. (See the seating chart at the entrance of the church for more guidance).

3.

There is no common sharing of the sign of peace. The priest will say: “The peace of the Lord be with you all.” You will respond: “And also with you.” And then the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) will begin.

3.

People coming forward for communion should maintain social distancing. Use the marks on the aisle floor as a guide.

4.

Communion is received only in the hand. Please leave your mask on when you approach the Eucharistic minister. Take the host, step to the side, lift your mask and consume it before returning to your seat.

5.

At the end of the mass the priest and ministers will return directly to the sacristy. Please leave through the main doors. Please do not gather in the church for conversation.

While most of you reading this already practice these regulations, we help others practice them by modeling them. In this way we keep the infection rate low, thus enabling our leaders to further loosen restrictions, and hopefully return our lives to normal even more quickly.

Father Baker

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