July 4, 2021

Parish life Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

7/4/2021

St. Joseph Seminary (Page 4)

Parish Life

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Just a Word (Page 9)

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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.

Mass Intentions

Saturday, July 3rd Vigil 5:30pm John Lynch Sunday, July 4th Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00am Oscar Salita 10:00am Vena D’Ortona 12:00pm All Parishioners 5:00pm Vincent Caretenuto

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

Monday, July 5th Weekday

9am

Tuesday, July 6th Weekday

9am Kathleen Walsh Wednesday, July 7th Weekday 9am

12pm

Souls in Purgatory Friday, July 9th Weekday

12:00pm

Giselle Peña

Saturday, July 10th Weekday

Follow us on social media by searching STELMO79

Mass Schedule

John Lynch Thursday, July 8th Weekday

Visit us at: www.STELMO79.org

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

Bridget O’Donoghue

12:00pm

Mary J Reilly

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 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:

Today’s Readings First Reading — They shall know that a prophet has been among them (Ezekiel 2:2-5).

Psalm — Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy (Psalm 123).

Second Reading — I am content with weaknesses and hardships for the sake of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Gospel — “Where did this man get all this? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:1-6a).

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

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 Monday: Parish office, so that we can arrange for a Eucharistic Minister to bring communion to them.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Victoria Vittini, Rolan Tejada Sean Callahan, Allyce Fucigna, Zita Silverman, Joan McKegney, Michael Berry, Andres Rodriguez, James Mooney & all those ill with or recovering from the COVID-19 virus and all Victims of Military Activities PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Jim Fahy, Jacqueline Gesske, Patricia Morales & Rev. Gerard DiSenso

Gn 28:10-22a; Ps 91: 1-4, 14-15ab; Mt 9:18-26 Tuesday: Gn 32:23-33; Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b, 15; Mt 9:32-38 Wednesday: Gn 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a;

Ps 33:2-3, 10-11, 18-19; Mt 10:1-7 Thursday: Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5; Ps 105:16-21;Mt 10:7-15 Friday: Gn 46:1-7, 28-30; Ps 37:3-4,

18-19, 27-28,39-40; Mt 10:16-23 Saturday: Gn 49:29-32; 50:15-26a; Ps 105:1-4, 6-7;Mt 10:24-33 Sunday: Am 7:12-15; Ps 85:9-14;

Eph 1:3-14 [1:3-10]; Mk 6:7-13

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terms that are commonly used: • Recycled-content product • Post-consumer content • Post-consumer content For now… HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE! It is special every year, but we all know this year is different in so many ways! Enjoy!

Prayer for Our Country Almighty God, bless this our land and nation and may we be defended by justice, good laws, love amongst ourselves and good neighbourliness.

Guide, Guard and protect us from fear, confusion, natural and man-made calamities and all wars, except the war of fighting the evil one.

Shower Your wisdom and love to all our leaders including our president and other leaders in the government and also our statesmen, so that they may have good vision to steer us into a Peaceful, Loving, United and Prosperous nation.

Do you have a favorite scripture quote? Do You have a favorite quote by a Saint? Please share it with your Parish Family by emailing it to jgomez@stelmo79.org

Lord God, help our citizenry to be more patriotic to this country and make all of us aware of our rights, duties and responsibilities as we endeavour to propel our nation to the future. amen.

Credit: https://catholicreadings.org/prayer-for-our-country/

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K-8 Parish Religious Education:

We are on our summer “pause,” but will resume in the fall.

Registration for Fall:

Registration for K-8 Religious Education (including sacramental preparation) is now open.

• Register online at stelmo79.org, and mail or drop off payment at the parish center, OR • Register in person at the parish center (406 E. 80th St.), complete forms and make payment.

• A copy of the child’s baptismal certificate is required for all new registrations • Religious Education will be live and onsite beginning in September 2021

Adult Faith Formation:

We will begin again in the Fall with a fresh new format on Sundays following the noon Mass! As you begin to shape your fall calendar, please consider adding this.

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. We gather occasionally over the summer, and weekly beginning in September.

Sacramental Readiness Course:

The Archdiocese of New York requires two consecutive years of religious formation (either in a Catholic School, or a Parish Religious Education program) prior to the celebration of First Communion (normally in 2nd grade) and Confirmation (normally in 8th grade.) If, due to the pandemic, your child is entering the 2nd grade or the 8th grade, and was not in any religious formation last year, we have an opportunity for your child to “catch up” over the summer and celebrate the sacraments with his/her peers next fall.

• The child must be a baptized Catholic (a copy of the baptismal certificate is required) • For First Communion, the child must be entering 2nd grade (or higher) in the Fall • For Confirmation, the child must be entering 8th grade (or higher) in the Fall • The child must also be enrolled for 2021-2022 in either Parish Religious Education, or in a Catholic School, to celebrate the sacraments in Spring of 2022 • Successful completion of the course will earn credit for the first of two years of sacramental preparation • This is a one-time offer, due to the constraints of the pandemic year!

• The course will consist of home study with the family, and daily Zoom sessions (no on-site requirement) • For rising 2nd graders, the Zoom sessions will be Aug. 23-27, and Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 6:30-7pm • For rising 8th graders, the Zoom sessions will be Aug. 23-27, and Aug. 30-Sept. 3, 7:15-8pm • Fee is $50, and includes a text, resource materials emailed home, and instruction by Maryann Tyrer • Register online at stelmo79.org, or in person at the parish center during office hours • Registration deadline for either course is Monday, August 16, 2021. Contact Maryann for more info.

Five Minute Jesus Using the Gospel for Prayer – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time – July 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 Mark 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

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

Tuesday Jesus sends the Twelve out two by two. Why do you think this is so? Do you have a “partner in faith,” someone to accompany you on your faith journey? Someone with whom you can discuss faith and doubt and how God might be calling you to live your faith? Are you this person for someone else?

Wednesday The Twelve are instructed to take very little with them. Our “stuff” can weigh us down and distract us from our mission. Having less causes us to depend more and more on God for what we need. Think about your relationship with possessions. What could you give away? How might this free you to respond to others, and to God’s call, in your life?

Thursday Jesus knew that the Twelve would not always be welcomed. Not everyone is open to the Gospel message. How do you respond when your service to others, or your message of God’s love, is rejected? Perhaps “shaking the dust off your feet in testimony” means to not dwell on the rejection or carry it with you, but rather, to move on to a more receptive audience.

Friday The Twelve “went off and preached repentance.” They called others to hear the call of God, and to turn towards God in their life. We also are sent into the world (at the end of every Mass, for example) to share the Gospel with others. To do this, we have to know the message, believe the message, and live the message of the Gospel in order to lead others to Christ. What might you need to do to feel more prepared to share the Good News with others?

What is one small step you could take this week?

Saturday The Twelve were successful in driving out demons and curing the sick as they preached repentance. How has God worked through you to do amazing things in your life? How can you open yourself up even more to God working through you this week?

From the Pastor 07.04.21 Independence Day One of the things that puzzles my European friends is the role religion plays in American life. On the one hand, it influences politics, opinions, laws, and lifestyles. But on the other hand, America maintains a separation of Church and State unheard of in Europe. In Europe, the Church functions as the social services arm of the state, and in some cases, is supported by State-managed taxes! Imagine if the State took up our Sunday collections!

The idea that people should be free to follow their conscience with regards to religion, and thus it should be separate from State control, arises from that flowering of science and philosophy known as the Enlightenment. As Thomas Jefferson and the other “founding fathers”, all influenced by Enlightenment ideas, worked to bring the 13 colonies into a “more perfect union”, they had to deal with America’s religious peculiarities. The compromise was spelled out in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Amazingly the 13 colonies agreed. That was because they understood that freedom of conscience was important. Many of the original 13 colonies were founded to escape State control of the Church. Their founders were non-conformist believers: The Puritans in Massachusetts, the Quakers in Pennsylvania, Congregationalists and Unitarians in Connecticut and Rhode Island, English Catholics in Maryland. While they might not have agreed with each other, they realized that freedom for one required freedom for all, and thus agreed to the Constitution.

Freedom of religion. Freedom of the press. Freedom to protest. These three freedoms were so important that the founding fathers listed them first. Everything else flows from them because they are rooted in the freedom of conscience. The Constitution then goes on to list the basics for all the ways the State, through laws and resolutions, governs our living and working together in that “more perfect union” known as the United States of America. But everything in the Constitution exists to protect the freedom of conscience enshrined at its beginning.

We live in a time of immense challenges to our democracy. Models of government proliferate abroad which are the modern equivalent of the regimes our foremothers and forefathers fled from. Here at home, there are some who seek to impose their religious beliefs (or lack thereof) upon us. Others who seek to coerce our consciences with fears of hell or threats of tyranny.

And yet when we read the Constitution, we see that these failed regimes, the coercion of and the impositions placed upon our consciences are the very definition of tyranny. When someone tells you how you must believe, what you must say and when you can say it, or whom you must vote for, know that, even if they are wrapped in the flag and carrying a holy book, tyranny is at the door.

I for one, would not want to live with the relationship of Church and State that still exists in many parts of Europe. Here we experience a freedom which has enabled our faith as well as others to flourish. Thus, as Catholics we are especially thankful for the independence we celebrate today. The declaration of independence was proclaimed in 1776. The Constitution did not come into effect until 1789. Clearly the establishment of freedom took time. Many would say, it is still going on.

Happy 4th of July! God bless our country.

Father Baker

CHURCH NAME AND ADDRESS 511510: Church of St. Monica/ St Elizabeth of Hungary / St Stephen of Hungary 406 East 80th Street, NYC., NY 10075 PHONE: 212 288-6250 CONTACT PERSON: Gladys Tejada/Office

SUNDAY DATE OF PUBLICATION: July 4th, 2021 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE PRINT 450 BULLETINS FOR THIS WEEK’S ISSUE