The Roman Catholic Parish of
Saint Monica Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Saint Stephen of Hungary ————————————————————————————————————— Church : 413 East 79th St. New York, NY 10075 Parish Center: 406 East 80th St. New York, NY 10075 Tel.:(212) 288-6250 Fax: (212) 570 - 1562 www.STELMO79.org www.facebook.com/stelmo79
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Baptism of the Lord–January 12th, 2020
Office Hours
Parish Staff
Our Offices are open: Mo. 9am – 5pm Tu.-Th. 9am – 7pm Fri. Closed Sat. 10am -2pm Sun. Closed Our offices close for lunch: 1pm – 2pm daily
Pastor:
Rev. Donald C. Baker
frdcab@stelmo79.org
Associate:
Rev. Msgr. Leslie J. Ivers
msgrlivers@stelmo79.org
Weekend Associates:
Parish Manager: Music Director:
Rev. Jim O’Shea Rev. Tony Ciorra Ms. Maryann Tyrer Ms. Jasmine Gomez Mr. Michael Ward Mr. John Zupan
mtyrer@stelmo79.org jgomez@stelmo79.org mward@stelmo79.org jzupan@stelmo79.org
Wedding Coordinator:
Ms. Debbi Burdett
DBweddingsnyc@gmail.com
Pastoral Associates:
Mass Schedule Saturday Vigil: 5:30pm Sunday: 8:00am,10:00am,12:00pm,5:00pm Monday – Saturday: 12:00pm Confessions: Saturday: 5:00 – 5:30pm and by appointment Our church is open: 7:15am – 3:30pm daily for private prayer Vespers (evening prayer): 5:10pm Fridays in Parish Center Chapel St.
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
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MISSION STATEMENT The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary and 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 and 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. TODAY’S READINGS First Reading — Isaiah speaks of the Servant whom the LORD upholds; he shall bring forth justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7). Psalm — The Lord will bless his people with peace (Psalm 29). Second Reading — Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit; he went out healing and doing good (Acts 10:34-38). Gospel — A voice comes from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased (Matthew 3:13-17). 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: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Sunday:
1 Sm 1:1-8; Ps 116:12-19; Mk 1:14-20 1 Sm 1:9-20; 1 Sm 2:1, 4-8abcd;Mk 1:21-28 1 Sm 3:1-10, 19-20; Ps 40:2, 5, 7-10;Mk 1:29-39 1 Sm 4:1-11; Ps 44:10-11, 1415, 24-25;Mk 1:40-45 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a; Ps 89: 16-19; Mk 2:1-12 1 Sm 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1a; Ps 21:2-7;Mk 2:13-17 Is 49:3, 5-6; Ps 40:2, 4, 7-10; 1 Cor 1:1-3;Jn 1:29-34
SATURDAY 5:30PM
January 11thVigil Joseph B. Williams, Sr.
SUNDAY 8:00AM 10:00AM 12NOON 5PM
January 12th Baptism of the Lord In Honor to St. Gabriel Christian Fuersich All Parishioners The Nine Souls of Lima
MONDAY 12NOON
January 13th Weekday Victor Vensas
TUESDAY 12NOON
January 14th Weekday Katherine & John Swanchak
WEDNESDAY January 15th Weekday 12NOON Brian Thompson THURSDAY 12NOON
January 16th Weekday Thelma Vicente
FRIDAY 12NOON
January 17th St. Anthony Adam Armetta
SATURDAY 12NOON
January 18th Weekday Peter Roy Philp-Thomas
SAINTS & SPECIAL OBSERVANCES
Sunday: Monday: Friday: Saturday:
The Baptism of the Lord First Week in Ordinary Time; St. Hilary St. Anthony Blessed Virgin Mary; Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins
If you wish to add the name of a loved one to the prayer list, please notify the parish center: (212) 288-6250
K-8 Religious Education • • •
We are back in session each Sunday, 10:15-11:45am in the Parish Center. No sessions on February 16 – Winter Break Our next Family Faith Formation will be on Sunday, March 1st, 9-11:45am. Mark your calendars!
Adult Faith Formation
Our Sunday Morning Scripture Discussion Group is in session, and runs 10:15-11:45am in the Parish Center each Sunday that Religious Education is in session. This group is open to any and all adults – you can become a “regular,” or just drop in occasionally as your schedule allows. Make a New Year’s resolution to deepen your faith! • Save the dates for our next Icon Painting Workshop – March 2-6! More details will be coming soon. •
Adult Sacraments •
Adults thinking about becoming Catholic, or Catholic adults who have missed First Communion or Confirmation – it’s never too late! Contact Maryann Tyrer, Pastoral Associate, to discuss our adult initiation process. You can begin the process any time throughout the year. Sessions are held on Sunday in the Parish Center following the noon Mass. All inquirers are welcome!
Christmas Season
The Christmas Season began at sundown on December 24, and continues until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (which this year falls on January 12.) • The vestment color is white throughout this season, and the church will remain decorated for the season. We will continue to sing Christmas hymns, as well! • So even though stores switch over the Valentine’s Day on December 26, we as a church continue to rejoice in the birth of our Savior! So keep those decorations up at home, and keep playing Christmas Music all season long! • Happy New Year! •
What is your date of birth? It’s a common question, and one we can readily answer. What is your date of baptism? Not such a common question, and not so readily answered. And yet, as Christians, the day of our baptism is as important as the day of our birth!
Today, the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River, an event that points to the significance of the Sacrament of Baptism for all believers. In an ancient sermon, St. Maximus of Turin wrote about this feast's connection to the Christmas season: Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. For the consecration of Christ involves a more significant consecration of the water. For when the Saviour is washed, all water for our baptism is made clean, purified at its source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people of future ages. Christ is the first to be baptized, then, so that Christians will follow after him with confidence. In the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus’ Baptism forms a bookend of sorts to his public life—his work begins and ends with Baptism. His Baptism by John marks the beginning of his ministry. After his resurrection, Jesus commissions the apostles to “Go and make disciples of all nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” The word “baptize” comes from the Greek word that means to “plunge” or “immerse.” In Baptism, the faithful are immersed and plunged into Christ’s death; they emerge from the water with Christ as a new creation through his resurrection. The water becomes a way to new life, much like the Israelites passed through the Red Sea in their liberation from captivity in Egypt. Ancient homilists often compared Christ's Baptism to the column of fire going before the Israelites in their exodus from Egypt. In the same way, the light of the world plunged into the waters of the Jordan to pave the way for all the baptized. On this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us give thanks for our Baptism by which we are made God’s children! Source: http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx? sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=34194&cid=67902&ecid=67902&crid=0
SPECIAL DEVOTIONS After all weekday masses Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament Every Friday after the Noon Mass to 3 PM, with Benediction following the Divine Mercy Chaplet Devotions Miraculous Medal on Mondays after each Mass Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy Chaplet is prayed each Friday afternoon at 3 PM Sacrament of Reconciliation: 5:00 PM on Saturdays Anytime 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 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 Please remember in your prayers Fr. Jim O’Shea, Mary Skapils, Georgina Hernandez, Maria Rotandaro, Judith Baron, Albert Walsh, Jim O’Shea, Glenn Allen & Jean Stephens
ALL VICTIMS OF MILITARY ACTIVITY
PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Please pray for our deceased parishioners and family members Sebastian Begne, Scott Principe, Anna Campbell, Evelyn Rodriguez, Ann Lova, Mary Forten & Jose Gutierrez
TREASURES FROM OUR TRADITION SAINT HILARY (c. 315-367) January 13 Born in Poitiers, France, whose populace would later elect him bishop, Hilary, married and a father, was converted from paganism to Christianity through his reading of scripture. The focus of his prayerful study was the Prologue to the Gospel according to John, which portrays Jesus as the divine Logos, eternally begotten of the Father. As a result, Hilary became in the words of the biblical scholar Jerome, “the Latin Trumpet against the Arians,” heretics who believed Jesus to be merely human, not divine. In defense of Christ’s divinity, Hilary was not only eloquent in debate but utterly fearless in the face of relentless persecution and even exile. Thus by the witness of his own discipleship, Hilary taught that faith in Jesus as the divine Son of God has consequences. Reflecting on Jesus’ challenge to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), Hilary notes that, as salt both preserves from corruption and adds savor to food, so must the faithful disciple bear a witness that, by word and example, leads others to immortality and virtuous living. —Peter Scagnelli, Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
Bread & Wine This Week’s Bread & Wine In Memory of The O’Donoghue Family Offered by Kitty O’Donoghue
Sanctuary Lamp This Weeks’ Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of Breslin Walsh-McCarthy
Offered by Kitty O’Donoghue
Care for Our Common Home ("Green Team") St. Monica's Green Team would like to remind you that caring for our common home includes recycling! In his encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis says we need to pursue "a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them." Here in NYC, only 23% of what is sent to landfill is actually non-recyclable. Instead of going into the trash, the following items can and should be recycled: shoes, boots, purses, scarves, hats, belts, gloves, towels, bedding, linen, curtains, and even clean rags and torn clothing, The NYC Department of Sanitation has a program to make it easy for people to donate these items. If you go to www.nyc.gov/refashion, you can find out how to get a bin in your building for these items so it becomes easy for you and your neighbors to take an important step toward caring for our common home. You can also donate all these items every Saturday at the Greenmarket on 82nd Street between York and First Avenues. NYC Sanitation has a booth set up there every week to accept donations.
Yorkville Knights of Columbus
The Yorkville Knights of Columbus is recruiting new members for its 2020 Charitable Campaign. We received our charters in 1896 and are in danger of losing it. We need new members to carry out our charitable endeavors. It would be a shame if we have to close our doors. With all the Catholic institutions either closing or merging this would be a great loss to the Yorkville community. For more information, Please call George Gangi at 646-265-5515 Thank you for your consideration.
From your Pastor January 12th, 2020 Why are the Trees Still up?!?! Every year someone asks me this question. It is logical, especially in our increasingly secular society. After all, for most people Christmas begins around Thanksgiving – by the time the 25th rolls around many of us have had enough! Sure, the tree might stay up a few days after Christmas, but on into the new year? It makes no sense. But actually, it does. In the Church the Season of Christmas doesn’t end with the celebration - it begins then. We all know the song of the “12 Days of Christmas”. Those 12 days were the original length of the season of Christmas, stretching from the 25th of December until January 6th, or the Feast of the Epiphany. Because in most of the world, the Feast of the Epiphany is not now celebrated on the 6th of January (which might fall on any day of the week) but on the Sunday closest to that date, the Church has chosen to extend the Christmas Season until the following Sunday, upon which we celebrate the related feast; the Baptism of the Lord. That is officially the first day of Ordinary Time, which will stretch until Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, and begin again after Pentecost. So, expect Carols, Poinsettias, evergreens on the altar and white vestments on the priests until January 12th. When you think about it, it is actually kind of nice: after the hectic rush through the holiday season, we can breathe, enter into this Holy Season, and reflect on all the different ways the Good news proclaimed at Christmas: “Christ is Born!” Might be Good News for us throughout the rest of the year. Images on the Side Altars of our Church In November I announced that we would be installing a series of holy pictures on the Air Conditioner risers and I offered the possibility to memorialize them. The response was nothing short of astounding! SO MANY people responded. Of course, we could not have everyone memorialize them; there were just too many people who wanted to. The pictures have been ordered and are being prepared. We are currently finishing up the memorialization, and when that is complete, we will hang the pictures and shortly thereafter the memorial plaques. Thank you again, to all those who memorialized these pictures, and all those who wanted to – your generosity is overwhelming. Let There Be Light Several of you commented on how great it was to actually be able to see during the celebrations of Christmas; especially at the Midnight Mass. I agree! Others came to me and said, sure it was great, but the light in church now is like sitting in a doctor’s office in 1982. Again, I agree! The lights that are currently in the church were merely a stopgap until a more permanent solution could be found. They are certainly bright enough, but the color has to have a warmer hue. We have already communicated that to the lighting company so that the permanent lights will fix that. Be prepared however, that scaffolding will soon appear in the church. I do not know how long it will be up, but I have been assured by the lighting company that the repairs and replacement of the lighting system will be completed as quickly as possible. Interestingly this will include the illumination of the exterior of the church. Those lights have not worked since I am here; and that is now five and a half years. Soon after the lighting is done will come a new sound system, as well as a new confessional. I will keep you informed about these projects as well. If I have not seen you over the past week on Sunday evening or on the Holy Day on January 1st, I wish you the happiest of New Years. We are living through dark days as a city, nation, Church and world. May this new year be a time when we as a parish community shine some light on the people of the Upper East Side. All are welcome to come and stand in that light for as long as they wish. Father Baker