February 7, 2021

Parish life Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Feb . 7, 2021

Fr. Baker’s Six-Year End of Term Evaluation (Page 4)

Faith Formation (Page 6)

Who Are Those Saints?! ( Page 5)

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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 ............................................................. 9am - 5pm Tuesday - Thursday ....................................... 9am - 7pm Friday .......................................................Closed Saturday ................................................. 10am - 2pm Sunday ..................................................... Closed Closed for Lunch Weekdays......................1pm - 2pm

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 5:30pm

Sunday, February 7th Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time 8:00am Mary & Walter Ferber 10:00am Jozsef & Bridgette Tomahatsch

(Wedding Anniversary) 12:00pm All Parishioners 5:00pm Rosa Olga Teresa Litrenta

Monday, February 8th Weekday

12:00pm

William Keating

Tuesday, February 9th Weekday

12:00pm Giselle PeĂąa Wednesday, February 10th St. Scholastica 12:00pm Brian Thompson Thursday, February 11th Our Lady of Lourdes 12:00pm Werner Hertzel Friday, February 12th Weekday 12:00pm Adam Armetta

Visit us at: www.STELMO79.org

Saturday, February 6th Vigil Helen & Charles Chopey

Saturday, February 13th Weekday

12:00pm

Bernice Blain

Follow us on social media by searching STELMO79 For Mass Intentions, please visit the Parish Center.

Sanctuary Lamp

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

This Week’s Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of

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

Rosa Olga Teresa Litrenta

Divine Mercy

Offered by Maria Litrenta

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

Today’s Readings

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.

First Reading — Job finds life on earth to be drudgery; he is filled with restlessness (Job 7:1-4, 6-7).

Psalm — Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted (Psalm 147).

Second Reading — Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. I have become all things to all, to save at least some (1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23).

Gospel — Jesus cured many who were sick with various diseases (Mark 1:29-39).

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:

Gn 1:1-19; Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35c; Mk 6:53-56

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK James Mooney, Marcos Gonzalez, Mary Perocho, Ruth Nelson, Rev. Thomas Lynch, Rev. Carl Johnson & all those ill with or recovering from the COVID-19 virus and all Victims of Military Activities

Tuesday:

Gn 1:20 — 2:4a; Ps 8:4-9; Mk 7:1-13

Thursday:

Gn 2:18-25; Ps 128:1-5; Mk 7:24-30

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Idalina Carreira, Rev. Trent Watts, Flora Perez, Denise Johnson, Alexander Julian, Deogracias Ponce, Joseph Ritter & Darwin Salguer

Friday:

Gn 3:1-8; Ps 32:1-2, 5-7; Mk 7:31-37

Saturday:

Gn 3:9-24; Ps 90:2-6, 12-13; Mk 8:1-10

Wednesday: Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17; Ps 104:1-2a, 27-28, 29bc-

30; Mk 7:14-23

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

Father Baker’s Six-Year End of Term Evaluation Pastors in the Archdiocese of New York are assigned to six-year terms of service. Father Baker has now completed his first six years here. The Archdiocese conducts an evaluation of the pastor and the parish at the end of each term.

Parishioners and staff who wish to do so may write letters with their own comments about our parish and the pastoral leadership of the parish. Please address your letters to:

The Office of Priest Personnel Archdiocese of New York 1011 First Avenue

New York, New York 10022 Letters should be received no later than February 28, 2021 Please note: Any correspondence received after the deadline will NOT be included in the evaluation process.

Parish Life Our Social Justice Ministry, in collaboration with the Thrive for Life Prison Project, invites you to pray Vespers (evening prayer) every Wednesday in Lent at 8pm starting Ash Wednesday (2/17) via Zoom.

Join us by registering at: HTTPS://BIT.LY/WeeklyPrayerHour Please note that the link is case sensitive!

The Saints adorning the walls of our Church beg for acknowledgment. A series of short talks on each saint will be featured in the “Prayers & More” section of on our website at the end of January 2021. Please see the schedule below.

WEEK OF: February 8: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini February 15: St. Teresa of Calcutta Feb 22: St. Francis of Assisi & St. Anthony of Padua Have an idea or suggestion for social media content, or our website? Are you interested in snapping pictures that capture our lively parish? Join the Digital Media Ministry by emailing Pastoral Associate for Parish Life, Jasmine Gomez at jgomez@stelmo79.org

TIP FOR THE WEEK: Have you thought about " meatless Mondays “? We would love to hear about your favorite recipe! Email: greenteam@stelmo79.org Don't be surprised if you read ours soon!

Exploring Racial Justice from an Interfaith Perspective: An evening of Reflection Between Our Two Faith Traditions Join this crucial dialogue led by our Pastor, Fr. Baker and Rabbi Jeffrey Brown, of Scardale Synangue Temples East Tremont and Emanu-el.

Thursday, February 10th at 7:30pm until 9pm Register at STELMO79.org to receive the Zoom link.

The Young Adult Ministry will host a talk entitled, A Life Worth Living: How the Ignatian Examen can Help Us Live with Intention At this virtual gathering, we will learn about what the Ignatian Examen is, its history and why it is still relevant today.

Thursday, Feb. 25th at 7:00pm until 8:00pm Register by visiting STELMO79.org Social Media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have seemingly taken over the tech world but learning to navigate these platforms can be daunting. Join Pastoral Associate, Jasmine Gomez, on February 27th at 1pm for a brief virtual tutorial on some of the most popular social media platforms around. Register at STELMO79.org pg. 5

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.

• FAMILY FAITH FORMATION via Zoom on Sunday, February 7, 10:15-11:30am. The whole family logs in once, and then participates in several family activities at home while on Zoom with other Religious Education families. Don’t miss this fun family event that will help your family prepare for Lent! All Religious Education families will receive the Zoom link. Email Maryann at mtyrer@stelmo79.org if you are not registered this year, but are interested in participating in this event.

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. 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.

Lent is Coming!

• Ash Wednesday is February 17 this year.

• Distribution of ashes will be by sprinkling on the top of the head (the European way) so as to avoid person-to-person contact • Liturgies on Ash Wednesday are: o 7am Mass, 12 noon Mass, 3pm prayer service, 6pm Mass o All of our Masses are live-streamed for those who are unable to attend in person • Look for our Lenten Opportunities page in next week’s bulletin

FIVE MINUTE JESUS Using the Gospel for Prayer – The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time FEBRUARY 14 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 Mark 1:40-45 A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. He said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

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

Tuesday The leper had such deep faith in Jesus that he knew our Lord could just touch and heal him both physically and spiritually. How deep is my faith compared to this leper? How can I go even deeper?

Wednesday “If you wish, you can make me clean.” What are the “unclean” parts of me which separate me from Jesus? In what ways can I ask Jesus to remove these flaws and bring me closer to Him? Thursday

By Torah law lepers were isolated from their community and their religion. Who are the “lepers” in our society today? How can I be more like Jesus and reach out to them?

Friday Once healed, the leper runs off and gives witness of the Good News. Through his cleansing he leads others to accept the Good News. What witness can I give?

Saturday Jesus came to heal the broken and downtrodden. Today, whether physically or emotionally many people are suffering from the direct effects of covid-19. How can I devote myself to show compassionate care to those most affected in my community?

From the Pastor 02.07.21 Six Years!

Talk to older parishioners, and you’ll hear stories of the pastors of their youth. One thing you sometimes here is that father so-and-so was around for 15, 20, even 25 years. I hear those stories especially around the time a parish discovers that a pastor is being moved. “why,” people ask, “does our current pastor have to leave when father so-and-so was allowed to stay for so long!”

The reason is a policy change that was made back in the 1980s. According to Canon Law, a pastor says in a parish for as long as he and the bishop want him to. A bishop can ask him to move, but it would be extremely difficult to force him to. However, in the 1980s Rome allowed bishops conferences, should they wish, to introduce term limits. The idea was that moving pastors around kept them fresh and also was good for parishes, which would receive a variety of styles and approaches to ministry.

In the Archdiocese of New York, two six-year terms were established as the norm. Sometimes exceptions are made; Msgr. Modugno of St. Monica’s for example was allowed to stay longer as he was nearing retirement age. However, just this past year Cardinal Dolan reaffirmed the two six-year term limit for pastors.

I am now in my sixth year here! That means that a review process has begun. As part of that review, the Archdiocese invites parishioners to comment on the parish and my pastoral leadership.

Elsewhere in this bulletin you will find an address to send your letters or comments to. After the letters have been collected, I am contacted by the Archdiocese. It conducts a (self-)evaluation with me, and then ultimately the Cardinal decides whether a second six-year term is granted.

I invite any and all of you to comment on my time here. I hope to be granted a second term.

On the Saints We have done many things in the church during the past year; new lights, new sound system a new confessional. But one of the things that has received the most comments is the images of the saints that adorn the sides of our church. That project is largely complete, save for the two empty spaces in the rear of the church. But they will not be empty much longer as two final portraits have been ordered: St. Peter and St. Paul.

After they have been hung, we will address another of the concerns some parishioners have had. So many people love the paintings but are unable to tell who they are! We will be placing small name plates on each to solve that problem. We will also be finishing the relighting of the church by placing small lights on each of the columns; they will shine on the pictures, giving them just enough light to see them better.

But if you want to know more about the saints now, I suggest you go to our website where a series of videos is being presented over the coming weeks. They deal with each portrait and the saint it represents. These videos have been prepared by Ms. Anne Sabatini, who coordinates our Senior ministry and is a server in our parish.

Fr. Baker

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