Thursday, 11/21: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Rv 5:1-10/Lk 19:41-44
Friday, 11/22: Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr Rv 10:8-11/Lk 19:45-48
Saturday, 11/23: Weekday 3 Jn 5-8/Lk 18:1-8
Next Sunday, 11/24: Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Dn 12:1-3/Heb 10:11-14, 18/Mk 13:24-32
Baptism Announcement
On Sunday, November 17 at 1:30 PM, we baptize Fiona Ann Solowitz child of Noel F. McKenna and Rebecca A. Solowitz
Please join us in congratulationing this family as they celebrate their child’s new life in Christ!
JOIN US JOIN US OPEN HOUSE OPEN HOUSE f o r a n
You’ll have a chance to tour the school; meet parents, students, and members of the administrative team; gain insight into our application process; and learn about the amazing benefits of attending Saint Stephen of Hungary School!
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22 AT 8:30 AM
CREATING A PLAN: Preserving Your
NOV 18
MONDAY (Parish Center, 1PM)
FRIDAY
DEC 6
LOVE, DEATH, LOVE with Ellen Long Stilwell
Join us for a discussion on the subject of grief and how best to process the emotion when a loved one passes. Ellen Long Stilwell has seventeen years of experience with hospice. She is a registered nurse, a trained death doula, and a faculty member at Adelphi University, teaching Caring for the Patient Nearing End of Life.
Attorney Michael N. Connors of Connors and Sullivan will present an informative seminar on a wide range of estate planning, probate and elder law topics. Learn how to protect, preserve, and direct your assets at every stage of life. (Parish Center, 6:30 PM) Questions? Email primetime@stelmo79.org
INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING PRAYER SERVICE
Please join us at the Church of St. Monica to welcome outside faith communities in the area to an evening of togetherness in music, prayer, and reflection. All are invited to give thanks for God’s many blessings, and to pray for peace in our world, our nation, our communities, and in our hearts. A reception with drinks and light bites will follow.
November 21, 2024; 7PM
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2024 3:00 PM
beloved Yorkville community
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2024, 1:30 PM
(Doors open at 1:00 PM)
Tickets are on sale for $5 a person, and purchases must be made in person at the Parish Center during office hours. We need your help - scan the QR code to volunteer! person at the Center office
Liz’s Pantry
Our next pantry is on November 23, 2024 from 10 -11 AM.
A L L A R E W E L C O M E .
Following Jesus' command to feed others and faithful to the example of our patron St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the mission of Liz’s Pantry is to support and nourish others in need with dignity and respect, without regard of age, race, creed, or lifestyle
CENTERING PRAYER GROUP
rs! Centering Prayer is a Christian contemplative practice popularized by the Trappists in the 1970's but based on a 15th century treatise on prayer called, "The Cloud of Unknowing " Fr. Michael Holleran will be establishing a weekly Centering Prayer group in the St. Elizabeth of Hungary Chapel on Wednesday evenings.
The Introductory session will take place at 7 PM on Wednesday, December 4th. Everyone is welcome! The first sessions will include beginner instruction for those new to this type of prayer. The meetings will conclude around 8:15 PM.
For more information about Centering Prayer, please visit www.contemplativeoutreach.org.
Crafting for a Cause
Seniors in nursing homes often feel forgotten and lonely, especially around the holidays. Join us in making Christmas cards for our local rehabilitation and nursing center on
Saturday, November 30 from 10AM - 2PM in the Angelo Room at the Parish Center. Craft supplies will be provided, just bring your creative spirit!
Bake Sale Fundraiser
Please come to our bake sale on Sunday, November 24 for a delectable assortment of baked goods: Irish soda breads, cupcakes, cookies, pies, and more!
PLACE: Church of St. Monica - 413 E. 79th Street (between 1st and York Ave)
Bakers Wanted!
This fundraiser will support the cost of our many ministries. Please consider donating a homemade or store bought item!
Baked goods can be dropped off at the Parish Center on Friday 11/22 and Saturday 11/23.
To participate, email theresa10021@gmail.com, or sign up with the QR code below!
Thank you for your support!
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: November 17, 2024
Christmas Mass Schedule
CHRISTMAS EVE
PM - Christmas Caroling 5:10
PM - Family Mass 5:30
PM - Lessons and Carols 9:00
PM* - Candlelight 10:00 Christmas Eve Mass
*This year, the 10:00 PM mass takes the place of the no mass at midnight. the midnight mass. There will be
CHRISTMAS DAY
AM - Mass (Cantor and Organ) 8:00
AM - Family Mass (Children’s Choir) 10:00
PM - Mass (Adult Choir and Chamber Ensemble) 12:00
*No 5:00 PM mass
From Priest in Residence, Fr. Michael Holleran
NOVEMBER 17, 2024
Do You Know God?
My guess is that many people know things about God, or have beliefs in God, but do not actually have personal knowledge or experience of God. It would be as if a husband or wife could write down all the autobiographical details of their spouse, but never had any personal intimacy with them. And make no mistake, a marriage is precisely the language that God uses, in both the Gospels and the Hebrew Scriptures, for the relation between God and His People, Christ and His Church. The experience of heaven, according to the Book of Revelation (21:2), is one in which the New Jerusalem descends as a “bride prepared to meet her husband.” In this regard, therefore, it is rightly said that mystics or contemplatives are simply believers whose faith has allowed them to have a deep experience of God rather than just accept certain propositions about God. In that sense, mystics should not be rare and strange, but rather the identity of every Christian, and indeed every human, since that ecstatic eternal relationship is our destiny and the reason for our creation.
My own history testifies to what is often such a neglect in our formation. In grammar school, and even Jesuit high school, I experienced the wonderful riches of the liturgy, rightly called by the Second Vatican Council the “source and summit” of our Christian life; but God still somehow remained external, an object of worship, and our relationship with God mainly one of moral obligation. We were not taught that prayer could be other than vocal, prayers of petition or praise, etc.. It was only when I entered the Jesuits after high school that I learned the meditation techniques of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. I later learned that they mirrored a famous medieval treatise, written by a Carthusian monk in the 12th century (the “Ladder of Monks”, or “Ladder of Paradise”) with its fourfold ascent: 1) Reading (Lectio) of a Scripture passage or Gospel parable; 2) Meditation (Meditatio) or discursive reflection on it; 3) Prayer (Oratio), an outflow of the heart to God in response; 4) Contemplation (Contemplatio), a silent resting in the Lord as a culmination. Before long, I also learned from my Novice Master that an inability to meditate, but rather an invitation to plunge into silence, was the normal evolution of the spiritual life. I was astounded and attracted, and eventually led into the Carthusian Order of monks; but such is the calling, the internal vocation, that wondrously awaits everyone, whatever their external vocation.
Nor should this surprise us! God is obviously beyond the grasp of any word or concept. As the great mystic (the Mystical Doctor, according to the Church) St. John of the Cross famously says: “God speaks only One Word from all eternity, in silence.” Dionysius the Areopagite, a monk of the sixth century often quoted by St. Thomas Aquinas, pointed out that beyond all Church structures and sacraments, beyond even the angelic hierarchies, a “ray of darkness” brings us into contact with God. St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Jesus outline the trajectory, as each one of our faculties turns silent in the face of a loving mystery, and then is united with God. Our own Mind and Will, Heart and Soul, become one with Christ’s (Cf. 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5). Finally, as both authors exuberantly point out, we enter the Transformation of Mystical Marriage with the Lord. United with Him, we breathe the same Spirit of Love as God, the Holy Spirit (cf. the magnificent chap. 8 of the Letter to the Romans), which we can then breathe with Christ into the World, transforming it more and more in Mercy and Love into the Kingdom of God. (Thus does “Thy Kingdom Come”). Since this is the ultimate calling of the whole universe, and the purpose for which each one of us is created, the experience is enormously satisfying and ineffably transporting. We were created for ecstasy, a standing outside of ourselves, and we finally encounter here the most authentic way to do that, in the face of all the counterfeits we so easily find.
Of course, much more could be said, and asked, about this. The important point is to practice this Life of Prayer and allow it to develop. One method that can be used is both simple and traditional: Centering Prayer: I will be introducing such a weekly prayer group here in the parish (starting in Advent, on Wednesday evenings), as I have also done in my previous three parishes. Please do not hesitate to join us, or simply to inquire more profoundly, even if you cannot attend, as I am more than happy to encourage and assist on the path!
