First Sunday of Lent 2/26/2023

Parish

Faith Formation

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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 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, 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:

Note: Please go to page 10 for our Holiday Schedule

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, February 25th Vigil

5:30pm Giavanna & Raffaele La Rosa

Sunday, February 26th

First Sunday of Lent

8:00am Robert McAuvic

10:00am Caren Gulotta

12:00pm All Parishioners

5pm Nine Souls of Lima

Monday, February 27th Lenten Weekday 12pm Dolores St. Martin

Tuesday, February 28th Lenten Weekday 12pm Leilani Molina (Living)

Wednesday, March 1st Lenten Weekday 12pm Robert McAuvic

Thursday, March 2nd Lenten Weekday 12pm Nilda Villanueva

Friday, March 3rd Lenten Weekday 12pm Kathleen M. Reddington

Saturday, March 4th Lenten Weekday 12pm Purgatorial Society

For Mass Intentions come to the Parish Center

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK

Joanna Jack, Rev. Thomas Fenlon, Rev. Peter Bonventre, Cindy Garnica Castro, Madeline Tipton, Jennie Marmo and all those ill with or recovering from the COVID-19 virus and all Victims of Military Activities

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED

Lydia Rodriguez,Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Rev. Karl Bauer, Rev. Salvatore Ricardi, Deacon Arthur Cuccia, Mike Ward, Sr. Suzanne LaChapelle, Maureen Crean, Wanda Denome, Patricia Roche & Leilani Waldman

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.

Sanctuary Lamp

This Week’ Sanctuary Lamp

In

Memory of

Msgr. Ferdinando Berardi

Offered by Maria Litrenta

Today’s Readings

First Reading — The man and the woman ate the fruit of the one tree that God had told them to avoid, and their shame overtook them (Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7).

Psalm — Have mercy on us sinners, O Lord (Psalm 51).

Second Reading — Death reigned from Adam to Moses, but now grace and life abound in Christ Jesus (Romans 5:12-19 [12, 17-19]). Gospel — Jesus was led into the desert by the Spirit and there he fasted for forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:1-11).

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.

Readings for the Week

Monday: Lv 19:1-2, 11-18; Ps 19:8-10, 15; Mt 25:31-46

Tuesday: Is 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-7, 16-19; Mt 6:7-15

Wednesday: Jon 3:1-10; Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19; Lk 11:29-32

Thursday: Est C:12, 14-16, 23-25; Ps 138:1-3, 7c-8; Mt 7:7-12

Friday: Ez 18:21-28; Ps 130:1-8; Mt 5:20-26

Saturday: Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; Mt 5:43-48

Sunday: Gn 12:1-4a; Ps 33:4-5, 18-20, 22; 2 Tm 1:8b-10; Mt 17:1-9

Bread & Wine

This Week’s Bread & Wine

In Memory of Msgr. Thomas Modugno

Offered by Maria Litrenta

St. Stephen of Hungary School (SSHS) offers a life changing education through a supportive, nurturing and faith-filled environment. Educating the whole child through a growth mindset, students are challenged to think critically and creatively while solving complex, real world issues in our everchanging global community.

Consider this:

• Overall proficiency in Math and ELA as per the New York State Exams and in MAP Growth Subject Assessments (Kindergarten – Grade 8) ranks SSHS in the top 5 percent of schools in the Archdiocese of New York and the top 15 percentile nationally.

• The Class of 2023 has received close to $1 million in merit scholarships at highly-rated high schools in the metropolitan area, including Regis High School, Convent of the Sacred Heart and Marymount School.

• Our dedicated and highly committed faculty work collaboratively in preparing students to be passionate leaders and life-long learners.

• Our campus features unique learning spaces including outdoor classrooms in our rooftop garden & turfed play yard.

• With a dedicated Parents Association and active SSHS Foundation, our community is truly a gem on the Upper East Side.

Choosing the right school for your children is one of the most important gifts you can bestow on them. For more information about applying to SSHS, your parish school, please email jdickson@saintstephenschool.org

February is Black History Month, and March is Women’s History Month.

The Litany of Saints on the First Sunday of Lent

A litany is a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer with a series of petitions or invocations, each followed by a set response. The Litany of the Saints is among the oldest of these in Catholicism, and is often used for the Entrance Procession on the First Sunday of Lent. Ash Wednesday and the three days following serve as a sort of prelude to Lent. We join with all of the angels and saints as we “process into the Season of Lent” again this year. We call upon the saints to be our guides and intercessors as we enter the desert of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Like Jesus, we too will face temptations on our journey, and we pray that, as they did for Jesus, the angels will be our protectors. During Lent, we prepare to profess or renew our baptismal promises at Easter, and our Lenten observance will end at the baptismal font. At the Easter Vigil, we process to the font calling upon the angels and saints, again using the ancient Litany of Saints.

What saint or saints might you ask to accompany you on your Lenten journey? How might you ask them to intercede to God for you?

1st Sunday in Lent

K-8 Religious Education and Sacramental Preparation:

• Participation in Sunday (or Saturday evening) Eucharist is an integral part of Religious Education for all ages in our parish Children’s Liturgy of the Word is on hold for now, due to renovation work in the sacristy. A Children’s Homily is offered at the 10am Mass.

• K-8 Religious Education meets at 11:10am in the Parish Center.

• Upcoming – Family Faith Formation, Saturday, March 4, 2-5pm in the Church – this event will focus on the Eucharist, and is the Family Retreat for all First Communion Candidates (parish and school) – all K-8 families are invited as well, but this is required for all who will be celebrating First Communion this Spring!

Sacramental Preparation for Children & Teens

• Please remember that the Archdiocese requires two years of Religious Education or Catholic School prior to the celebration of First Penance/First Communion (2nd grade or older), and prior to the celebration of Confirmation (8th grade or older).

Adult Sacraments of Initiation (RCIA)

• Have you ever thought about becoming Catholic? Or are you a baptized Catholic who has not yet celebrated First Communion or Confirmation? You, and your questions, are warmly welcomed! Come and share the journey with others. Please contact Maryann Tyrer at mtyrer@stelmo79.org to discuss our adult initiation process (commonly known as the RCIA). Join us on Sundays at 1:15pm in the Parish Center.

Adult Faith Formation Opportunities

• On Sundays, open and ongoing Adult Faith Formation takes place in the Parish Center after the noon Mass. We gather between 1:00 and 1:30pm for coffee, tea, and fellowship, then 1:30-3pm for a facilitated discussion of the Sunday Scriptures and the themes of Catholic Teaching that flow from those Scriptures. Drop in any time or participate regularly!

• Men’s Bible Study – our Group of Guys meet on Tuesdays at 12noon in the Parish Center – Please register online at stelmo79.org, or call 212-288-6250 so we have a head count to prepare materials.

• Theology Thursdays – every Thursday at 7pm in the Parish Center

Mini-series or standalone discussions on various topics of adult education. Check the website for more details at stelmo79.org!

The Parish of St. Monica – St. Elizabeth of Hungary – St. Stephen of Hungary presents a Parish Pilgrimage –

In the Footsteps of Paul the Apostle

October 3-13, 2023

(Oct. 3-16 with optional Rome extension)

Facilitated by Collette Tours

Spiritual Director: Fr. Anthony Ciorra, IVD (Weekend Associate at the Parish)

Join us for an unforgettable tour via air, sea, and land to many of the places where St. Paul preached and established Christian communities in the first century. Enjoy Mediterranean scenery and cuisine. Visit the Acropolis, Mykanos, the House of Mary in Ephesus, the cave in Patmos where John wrote the Book of Revelation, Santorini, and the monasteries of Meteora. The optional Rome Excursion will allow you to pray at the tomb of St. Paul, tour the Vatican museums, and explore the catacombs.

You can access the tour brochure at https://gateway.gocollette.com/link/1127331

Register this month to lock in great rates! Contact Maryann Tyrer for more info at mtyrer@stelmo79.org

KENT TRITLE Organ Concer t

March 10, 2023

7 PM

Meet the Artist

Called “a superb organist ” by The New York Times, Kent Tritle performs regularly across the United States and in Europe, and is the organist of the New York Philharmonic. He is also Director of Cathedral Music and Organist at the Cathedral of St . John the Divine in New York City, where he leads the Great Music in a Great Space series.

Kent performed Saint-Saëns’s Organ Symphony with the Philharmonic in 2018 conducted by Antonio Pappano and David Robertson, and in 2010 conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. He has recorded Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, Britten’s War Requiem, and Henze’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philharmonic, all conducted by Kurt Masur, as well as the Grammy-nominated Sweeney Todd conducted by Andrew Litton. He is featured on the DVDs The Organistas and Creating the Stradivarius of Organs.  Recordings include The Romantic Organ; Kent Tritle at St . Ignatius Loyola; Kevin Oldham’s Organ Symphony No. 1; Duruflé’s Suite for Organ, Op. 5; and a disc of works played on the Noack tracker organ at the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow

He has performed recitals at such historic venues as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Zurich Tonhalle, and Church of St . Sulpice in Paris, King’s College (Cambridge), Westminster Abbey, and St . Vitus Cathedral in Prague. Kent Tritle is one of America’s leading choral conductors. Called “ the brightest star in New York 's choral music world” by The New York Times, he is Music Director of the Oratorio Society of New York and of Musica Sacra in addition to his posts at the Cathedral of St . John the Divine. Kent founded Sacred Music in a Sacred Space, the acclaimed concert series at New York ’s Church of St . Ignatius Loyola , in 1989, and led it for 22 years.  www.kenttritle.com

Tickets

Available online at stelmo79.org Or stop by or call the Parish Center during business hours. 212. 288.6250

Location

Click here for direct link for tickets

Tickets $20 general seating

VIP Tickets $50

includes pre-concert wine and cheese. VIP seating in choir loft . [limited to 16 people]. Choir loft not handicap accessible

Church of St . Monica - 413 East 79th Street - New York , NY 10075 - www.stelmo79.org

Five Minute Jesus

Using the Gospel for Prayer – Second Sunday of Lent - March 5, 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.

The Gospel according to Matthew 17:1-9

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

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

The Gospel says that Jesus led Peter James and John up a high mountain. This story is one of the roots of the expression “mountaintop experience”; a transformative moment or experience in our life. Have I ever had a mountaintop experience? What did it do for me? What did it teach me? Where was God on that mountaintop with me?

Wednesday

Once on the mountaintop we discover Moses and Elijah are there. They are there to say that Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Law commands and the prophets preached. Do I read the Bible - even if it is just the readings at mass? And when I do, what do I hear? Are there moments when Moses, Elijah or Jesus himself speak to me? What do they say? How do I respond?

Thursday

Peter loved the mountaintop. He was even willing to build tents so that they could stay! Have I ever had a mountaintop experience where I tried to stay? What happened to the experience then? Why did it happen? What happened to me as a result?

Friday

The “bright cloud” and the voice remind Peter, James and John of who Jesus truly is, and what they have to do: listen to him! They are terrified. But when they DO listen to Jesus, his first words are “Do not be afraid”. Scholars tell us that Jesus says “do not be afraid” more times than any other sentence in the Gospels. It must have been very important for the first Christians to hear Jesus say that. Is it for me? Have I ever been afraid? Truly terrified? What would it have meant for me to hear God say, “Do not be afraid” to me?

Saturday

Sooner or later, we have to come down off the mountain and tell others about our awesome experience. But why did Jesus tell his friends they could not tell anyone about it? Have I ever tried to share an experience with someone

and they did not understand? How did that feel? What did they need to see and experience what I did? And why was it so important that they remain silent until “the Son of Man had been raised from the dead”?

Dear Parishioners,

Just a Word

will return next week

I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about the ongoing work on the façade of the church. I am happy to report that the project is moving forward smoothly thus far, and continues to remain on target for a late spring completion.

At this time, they have successfully deconstructed four spires, and have only the tw o smaller front spires to go. As some of our neighbors are a ble to see from their apartment windows, as the spires are dismantled, each piece is numbered, and placed on one of the side roofs. Given that some of these p ieces are quite large, and many are heavy, there are only so many that can be placed on the roof. You will see in the coming days, if not already, that par t of 79th street in front of the rectory and church will be blocked off with barriers, and some stones will be stored on the street level. Pieces will be well wrapped, and p rotected to be kept safe while they remain there. We have all been happy to hear that many of the stones are in good condition, and will be cleaned off, and replaced in their current condition when the time comes.

In summary, the project is mo ving along, and we are gra teful to be in good hands with our contractors. This is a team e ffort to ensure that the church façade is not only safe, but also in good condition for decades to come.

While the outside of our church continues to be covered in scaffolding, we are working hard to make sure that we keep the inside b eautiful. We are thankful to all of the generous parishioners, neighbors and friends who made our Christmas Flower campaign so successful. I think we all agree that the church was absolutely beautiful throughout the Christmas season.

As we near the season of Lent, we will enter into our Easter Flower campaign We will again offer the opportunity to remember your loved ones with a page dedicated in the bulletin on Easter weekend. Please be sure to include the name/s of your loved ones on your flower envelope, or donate online (please see the QR code below). All of us at the Parish Center look forward to creating a beautiful space as we prepare for the season of Lent and Easter.

Thank you for your con tinued support,

Jenn DeSpirito