November 8, 2020

Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Nov. 8, 2020

JUST A WORD From our Pastor (Page 9)

BUSINESS CORNER

(Page 4)

FIVE MINUTE 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

Mass Intentions

Saturday, November 7th, Vigil

5:30 pm

Sunday, November 8th Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 8:00 am

Mary Cashin (Living)

10:00 am

Pedro Ant. Litrenta, Sr.

12:00 pm

All Parishioners

5:00 pm

Imelda Litrenta (Living)

Monday, November 9th The Dedication of the Latheran Basila 12:00 pm

Mass Schedule

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

Giselle PeĂąa

Tuesday, November 10th St. Leo the Great 12:00 pm

Werner Hertzel

Wednesday, November 11th St. Martin of Tours 9:00 am

Altagracia Bellevue

Thursday, November 12th St. Josaphat 12:00 pm

Judit Csiki

Friday, November 13th St. Francis X. Cabrini 12:00 pm

Victor Vensas

Saturday, November 14th Weekday 12pm

Visit us at: www.stelmo79.org Follow us on social media by searching STELMO79

John Downes (Living)

Josefa Ortiz Litrenta (Living)

For Mass Intentions, please visit the Parish Center.

Sanctuary Lamp This Week Sanctuary Lamp In Memory of Pedro Ant. Litrenta, Sr. Offered by Maria Litrenta

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.

PRAYERS FOR THE SICK Myrna Moreno, Ananias Angeles, & Joanne Jack

All Victims of Military Activities

PRAYERS FOR THE DECEASED Luis Rico, Maria Rodriguez, Ernesto Angeles, Francisco Enaguas, Mia Collecton, William Duane, Alex Bujaki, Jr., Alex Bujaki, Sr., Philemon Flores, Alice & Samuel Lopez, &Victoria Tiongson,

Baptism Announcements Next Sunday, November 15th there will be a baptism service at 1:30PM At this service we will be baptizing: Julian T. & Jonathan A. Jones Please join us in congratulating: Thomas M. Jones & Anita Alijak on their children new life in Christ Baptism Services are open for members of the parish to join in the welcoming of our newest members

Bans of Marriage II Reginald St. Louis & Natalie Cereghino

Today’s Readings First Reading — Wisdom is easily discerned by those who love her (Wisdom 6:12-16).

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

Second Reading — Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 [13-14]).

Gospel — Stay awake! You know neither the day nor the hour (Matthew 25:1-13).

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: Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9;

1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17; Jn 2:13-22 Tuesday: Ti 2:1-8, 11-14; Ps 37:3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29; Lk 17:7-10 Wednesday: Ti 3:1-7; Ps 23:1b-6; Lk 17:11-19 Thursday: Phlm 7-20; Ps 146:7-10; Lk 17:20-25 Friday: 2 Jn 4-9; Ps 119:1-2, 10-11, 17-18; Lk 17:26-37 Saturday: 3 Jn 5-8; Ps 112:1-6; Lk 18:1-8 Sunday: Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Ps 128:1-5;

1 Thes 5:1-6; Mt 25:14-30 [14-15, 19-21]

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

Business Corner The Parish Center I am writing this column to discuss the parish center, both current activity and future projects. Fist, current activity. For those perhaps still unaware, the parish staff has all returned to normal work schedule and the parish office is operating within normal office hours. For COVID protocol the staff does a daily health screening which includes individual temperature taking.

We also have two groups of children in the building. The Pre-K 4 class for St. Stephen of Hungary School is utilizing the Msgr. Modugno Meeting Room (the basement level of the Parish Center). The children are dropped off at and enter the Parish Center via the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Chapel and utilize the East Staircase for travel within the building. The children and staff all undergo daily health screenings in accordance with the Department of Education and NYS protocol. In addition to our parish-based school students in the building, we have also rented our third floor to the Autism Partnership Foundation. The Autism Partnership is a national organization that works in various support and research in the treatment & support of those inflicted with Autism. In regards to our relationship, the Autism Partnership was seeking space for therapists to aid kids in their remote learning, so the children could be in somewhat of a school setting. With our Religious Education program currently running remotely, our 3rd floor space is unoccupied and therefore we had the space for the Autism Partnership to run its program. These children are screened under the same guidance as our school students, and this group utilizes the West Staircase which keeps both groups of children completed isolated from one another.

In addition to just keeping the parish community informed about some of the added foot traffic coming in & out of the parish center, we thought it was just as important to let everyone know the separation, social distancing and health screening being done amongst the groups. We want everyone to remain healthy and also feel safe coming to the Parish Center as needed.

As for projects, this past week we met with Kathleen Farewell. Kathleen is a Project Manager for Zubatkin Owner Representation; Zubatkin is one of the companies (along with Aramark Engineering) that aids the parishes and schools in the management of capital repairs. As we are working with Kathleen and Zubatkin on the replacement of the heating system for the Parish Center it made sense to stay with them on the remaining projects in the Parish Center. As noted in the Year-End Financial Report, the three projects that are still needed in the Parish Center are handicap access to the main office door, the replacement of the windows and an air condition system for the building. It is our goal to work on these three projects, in listed order, over the course of the next year. We are hopeful to have all three completed within the 2021 calendar year.

As always, if anyone has any questions regarding the above information on the Parish Center, or wishes to discuss the secular business of the parish, please contact me at mward@stelmo79.org and I would be happy to schedule a meeting.

Mike Ward, Parish Manager

Parish Life PARISH OUTREACH LET’S CONNECT! THE TELEPHONE IS THE MEDIUM In this era of COVID, everything is strange.

Our daily routines have been disrupted.

Many of us live alone.

IF YOU LIVE ALONE OR ARE ILL, you may appreciate some communication from one of our parishioners.

A volunteer from our parish church would be delighted to speak with you by telephone to say “HELLO” PLEASE CONSIDER PARTICIPATING! If you are interested in participating, contact the parish office at 212-288-6250.

Once we receive your contact information, we will have a volunteer parishioner telephone you.

TOGETHER, based on need, you can make arrangements as to time and frequency of call.

Thank you.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU. The Parish Council

We have a page on our website dedicated to prayers and devotions!

Explore new prayers and revisit treasured devotions by visiting: https://www.stelmo79.org/prayers-devotions

K-8 Parish Religious Education:

LAST CALL for K-8 Religious Education registrations!! This includes preparation for First Communion and Confirmation. Register online at www.stelmo79.org/reled-k8, or come by the parish center this week. Our program is all online this Fall, so even if you are not in the City, you can still participate. We will meet online each Sunday morning – but will be taking November 29th off for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Adult Faith Formation:

Our Sunday morning Scripture Discussions are underway, each Sunday, 10:15-11:45am, in our Parish Center (with masks and social distancing). All are invited to join us any Sunday to learn more about your faith, and how the Sunday Mass Scripture readings can be a guide for living our faith in today’s world. No registration required – simply come to the Parish Center (406 East 80th Street) and ring the doorbell.

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). Face to face gatherings (with masks and social distancing) are underway immediately following the 12noon Mass, at the Parish Center. An online Zoom link will also be made available for those who are unable to join us in person due to health issues or remote location.

Bereavement Ministry at our Parish This is a new and developing ministry at our parish. We seek to: • accompany those who are grieving a significant loss, • assist them in acknowledging and understanding their grief, • offer a Catholic Christian faith perspective that brings hope and healing to their bereavement.

To these ends, this ministry offers: • All Souls Day liturgy with a litany of remembrance • Morning of Reflection in November that focuses on the upcoming holiday season • Funeral Planning Workshop – offered in the Spring – learn how to pre-plan your own, or a loved one’s, funeral liturgy • Seasons of Hope Support Group o Led by trained facilitators o Each cycle meets for six consecutive Thursday evenings, 7-8:30pm o There are four cycles offered – you can participate in as many as you find helpful, in any order o Cycles will be offered 2-4 times a year. o The first cycle will be offered in January/February 2021 “Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who grieve with the same consolation we have received from him.” (From the Order of Christian Funerals If you feel called to join the facilitator team for this ministry, training will be offered in December.

Contact Maryann Tyrer at mtyrer@stelmo79.org for more information.

Remembering the Deceased During the Month of November

Traditionally, our Church prays for all of our Faithful Departed throughout the month of November. You are invited to participate in any or all of the following parish ways to remember our loved ones.

Images and Names of Our Loved Ones

All are invited to place a framed photo of a deceased loved one on the St. Joseph Altar in St. Monica’s Church during the month of November. Envelopes are also available for offerings – list your loved ones on the envelope and drop it in the collection. The envelopes will remain on our main altar throughout the month of November.

Morning of Reflection - Facing the Holidays After the Loss of a Loved One Saturday, November 14, 10am – concludes with Noon Mass - St. Monica’s Church

If you are grieving the loss of a loved one, the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season can be especially painful.

Expectations, seasonal events, and the celebration of those around us often collide with our loss and sadness. Join us for this morning of prayer, reflection, and ritual. Find comfort and hope in our faith, and in practical suggestions for navigating the holiday season. Please RSVP to the Parish Center or on the parish website by Thursday, Nov. 12.

Once in a decade opportunity: July 8-16, 2022 Reserve your seat today!

In 1633, the people of the German village of Oberammergau made a promise: if their community was spared from the plague, they would perform a Passion Play every ten years in thanksgiving. The village was spared, and the first play was staged the following year. Over 2000 citizens make up the cast, chorus, orchestra, and technicians that produce the play, and hundreds of thousands of people now make the pilgrimage from all over the world to see this spectacular event.

Travel to Germany and Switzerland with Fr. Donald C. Baker, pastor of the Church of St. Monica – St. Elizabeth of Hungary – St. Stephen of Hungary, and one of Collette Tour’s wonderful guides. Explore the Bavarian region around Oberammergau, Germany; see the 42nd installation of the famous Passion Play; visit beautiful Zermatt and Lucerne in the Swiss Alps.

Tour package includes flight to/from JFK, all airport and hotel transfers, tour bus, full-time tour guide, local tour guides, all hotel accommodations, 13 meals, taxes and fees. $200 discount for bookings ($800 deposit) by November 23, 2020. Because it is estimated that 750,000 people will attend the Passion Play over its 5-month run in 2022, we must book this far in advance in order to secure play tickets and area accommodations.

For more information, visit gateway.gocollette.com/link/938182 or contact Maryann Tyrer at mtyrer@stelmo79.org

Five Minute Jesus

Using the Gospel for Prayer – The 33nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – November 15, 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 25: 14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter?

Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then!

Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”

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

Tuesday Consider the ways of the man who summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them before setting out on a journey. What does it tell you about God? Wednesday In this reading, the servants represent humankind. What does this reading tell you about humanity?

Thursday What talents have been entrusted to you? In what ways have you put them to use? In what ways have you seen those talents be fruitful?

Friday Are there talents that you have not put to use? What have been the challenges in putting them to use? Spend some time asking God for the grace to use them today.

Saturday Think of one person in your life whose talents you can see and consider finding a way to gently encourage them in putting that talent to use.

From the Pastor 11.08.20 All Souls 2020 November is the month in which we traditionally remember the dead. Catholic parishes celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st, on which we remember all those who are in heaven; the saints. On November 2nd we remember all those who are being purified in preparation for heaven; the Holy Souls. Only God ultimately knows who’s who; but we pray with the saints and for the souls, knowing that ultimately, we are all united in the one Body of Christ which is the Church.

In our parish we have to custom of placing pictures of our deceased loved ones on an Altar of Remembrance, at the St. Joseph altar. This year we also celebrated a special mass at 6:30 on Monday November 2nd; a Mass of Remembrance for all the holy souls, but especially for all those who have died due to CoVID-19.

The Pandemic is a tragedy of world – wide proportion. However, we dare not forget that the tragedy we continue to experience is made up of the lives of millions of people who have been sickened, and who have died. It is made up of the sufferings of healthcare workers and police and firefighters who risk their lives going into situations where they could be exposed. It is made up of the sorrow of so many more of us who have lost family and friends. And it is exacerbated by all those who, contrary to compassion and common sense, continue to dismiss it, deny it and distance themselves from it.

We are a long way yet from being free of CoVID-19. Numbers of infections are going through the roof and could begin to do so here. Let’s pray this November for the dead; but do our part for the living. Wear a mask. Use hand sanitizer. Maintain social distance. It’s a way we love our neighbor as ourselves. I have it on good authority that that is a holy thing to do.

Election Day 2020 The way these columns are written for publication, I do not know what you know; who the winner in this year’s presidential election is (At least I hope you know!) You will also know whether the dire predictions of civil unrest, violence or ongoing accusations of voter fraud have materialized, or whether saner heads have prevailed. And importantly we will know how our Church has reacted; whether its leadership has reacted with the partisanship or as ministers of reconciliation.

Four years ago, I preached a sermon after the election that was well received (by some). I have asked Jasmine Gomez to post it on our website. It might be interesting to revisit it for those who read it, and for those who did not, to read it. I pray that, in the words of another president who ruled at another time of division in our country, Abraham Lincoln, the “better angels of our nature” have prevailed. But even if not, what I said in my homily four years ago this week is still true: as Catholics we are called to be reconcilers. The work continues.

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: November 8th, 2020 SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE PRINT 450 BULLETINS FOR THIS WEEK’S ISSUE