The parish of saint Mary
A Catholic Community Proclaiming the Greatness of God in our Time
OnePhalanxRoad,ColtsNeck,NJ07722
Phone:732-780-2666 Fax:732-780-0394
Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton: Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, C. M.
Pastor: Reverend Fr. Jeffrey E. Lee
Pastor Emeritus: Reverend Fr. William J. Bausch
Parish Trustees: Annette Raynor & Roger Zurro
SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST OUR KING
NOVEMBER 24, 2024
His Excellency, The Most Reverend David M. O’Connell, CM, Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton will be the Principal Celebrant and Homilist, Saturday, 30 November at 4:00pm. We begin the Liturgical Season of Advent that weekend. His Excellency visits parishes throughout the year and has chosen to visit and pray with us. I invite all those who are able to come and greet Bishop O’Connell as we begin the Advent Season. That is Thanksgiving weekend and we will observe an abbreviated Mass schedule: Saturday, 4:00pm & Sunday, 10:00am. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Thanksgiving Weekend Abbreviated Mass Schedule
Saturday, November 30, 4:00 PM Mass
Sunday, December 1, 10:00 AM Mass
Mass Intentions for:
Saturday November 23 2024 - Sunday December 1 2024
Saturday, November 23– 4PM
Catherine Bowdish * Barbara Saake
Gloria McGrath * Rich Luzzi
Veronica Grabowski * The Grabowski Family
Sunday, November 24–8AM
Anita Stutz
Helen and John Sionas * Eileen and Michael Stivala, Jr.
Evelyn Molony * Phyllis and Hugh Murphy 10AM
Doris Hudak * Nancy and Harry Bauer
Monjov and Kienic Families * Monika Monjov Irene Thompson * Linda/William Stagliano 12PM
Pro Populo
In Thanksgiving - 45 years of Priestly Ministry *
Reverend Msgr. Leonard Troiano
Anne Filipponi * Lorraine Lee
Monday, November 25 - 9AM
Mary Jo Scibetta * Mom - Ann Marie Dayton
Helen DeCerce * John DeCerce
Tuesday, November 26 - 9AM
Maryann Anselmo * Debbie Collins
Modestino Lucarelli * Richard and Maria Gerbino
Wednesday, November 27 - 9AM
Charles Rapacciuolo * Jack and Rorie Coppola
Thursday, November 28- 9AM
Anne Filipponi * Beth Ann and Tom Reardon
Loving Family Members * Janet Munger
Friday, November 29– 9AM
Annibale Cappelleri * The Cappelleri Family
Robert Wade * Farrow Family
Saturday, November 30- 4PM
Pro Populo
Catherine Howard * The Morin Family
Peggy Caponegro * Carol Ward
Sunday December 1 –10AM
Lawrence Patrick Dickinson * Dickinson-Pancila Family
Robert A. & Mary Joan McNamara * The McNamara Family
Edith and Richard Gold * Arlene Garito
Sanctuary Lamp
Church: Barbara Critchley
Requested by: The Brunner/Brennan Families
MSGR. LEONARD TROIANO 45th ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION
This Sunday November 24, 2024 at 12 noon, Msgr. Leonard Troiano will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for his 45th anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood. A light reception will follow in the narthex/gathering space. Please come, celebrate and congratulate Msgr. Len on this joyous occasion!
MASS INTENTIONS AND SANCTUARY LAMPS (MEMORIALS)
Mass intentions for all occasions (birthdays, anniversaries, sickness, etc.) for the deceased or living can be requested online HERE Please scroll down to the preferred date and time, whether daily Mass or weekend Mass. Intentions are available from the next couple of weeks until December 2025. The stipend per mass intention is $10
Consider requesting a Sanctuary Lamp in memory of a deceased person or in honor of a living individual. Sanctuary lamps burn permanently in the Church and Chapel. Requests can be made for a week, starting Sunday and ending the following Saturday. The stipend per sanctuary lamp is $25. Requests can be made online HERE
Mass intentions and sanctuary lamps can also be requested in person at the Parish office during business hours.
Lifelong Catechesis - Week of November 24– November 30
READINGS FOR THE WEEK:
Solemnity of Christ The King
Dn 7:13-14/Rv 1:5-8/Jn 18:33b-37
MONDAY November 25
Rv 14:1-3, 4b-5/Lk 21:1-4
TUESDAY November 26
Rv 14:14-19/Lk 21:5-11
WEDNESDAY November 27
Rv 15:1-4/Lk 21:12-19
THURSDAY November 28
Rv 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9a/Lk 21:20-28
FRIDAY November 29
Rv 20:1-4, 11 21:2/Lk 21:29-33
SATURDAY November 30
Rom 10:9-18/Mt 4:18-22
Almighty and eternal God, those who take refuge in you will be glad and forever will shout for joy. Protect these soldiers as they discharge their duties. Protect them with the shield of your strength and keep them safe from all evil and harm. May the power of your love enable them to return home in safety, that with all who love them, they may ever praise you for your loving care. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Pray for Military & First Responders
AMT Colton Boag, USCG
Col. John Anthony Coppola, US Army
TSgt Stephen Witherow, USAF
LCpl Edward Zarzecki, USMC
FOR DEEPER REFLECTION:
Question for Children: Is it difficult or easy for you to tell the truth? How does Jesus help you?
Question for Youth: Today we celebrate Christ the King. How much do you let Jesus' truth rule your life? How difficult is it for you to follow Jesus?
Question for Adults: What is the truth for you? How do you live the truth everyday?
Life Long Catechesis
Lt. Col. Douglas Coppola, US Army
~ Lt. Mary Herman, USN
SN Christian Houlihan, USN
LT. Jason Joseph Howe, USN
SPC Michael John Mento, US Army
LTJG Matthew Motola, USN
LCpl Bradley O’Ree, USMC
SPC Nicholas Poskonka, US Army
Captain Richard Savo, US Army
1st Lt. Adam Sjoholm, US Army
Captain Ryan Tanguay, US Army
Pleaseprayforthefollowingmembersofourparishcommunitywhoareill:
Lori Lettieri
Jack Coppola
Kaitlin Donahue Nagle
Lauren vinci
Dawn Reinhardt
Gerard Thompson
Rose walch
Joyce daniel
Robert a . monaco, md
Jeff McBride
Owen Shoemaker
Peter Vickers
Toaddorremoveafamilymemberfromthesicklistpleasee-mailONLY parishbulletin@stmaryscoltsneck.org. Please,also,keepusupdatedonyourlovedone’shealth. Nameswillberemovedfromthelistafter3months.ThankyouforkeepingourParishinformed.
Andrew J. Macirowski - Pastoral Coordinator for Worship & Music / Principal Organist
Music@stmaryscoltsneck.org Worship & Music
Worship@stmaryscoltsneck.org
The Solemnity of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI with the encyclical Quas primas (in the first) Key elements of faith that we celebrate today include:
Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, the Incarnate Lord. His kingship is founded upon the ineffable hypostatic union… Jesus is fully God and fully man.
Jesus shares a law of charity to show the way to communion with God. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love.
The Church acknowledges the reign of Christ, not only privately, but publicly. Thus by sermons preached at meetings and in churches, by public adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed and by solemn processions, men unite in paying homage to Christ, whom God has given them for their King.
For Christians, when our faith can be repeatedly marginalized in public life, we can fall into the habit of compartmentalizing our lives. We love Jesus in our private lives, but we shrink from acknowledging the kingship of Christ in social life. When we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, we declare to the world and remind ourselves that Jesus is the Lord, not only of the Church, but of the universe. It is fitting that this solemnity falls on the last Sunday of Ordinary time before we begin a new liturgical year in the season of Advent. It stands as a remind of all that Christ is, before we realign ourselves with how it all began with his humble birth.
St. Gertrude the Great, Religious, 1256-c. 1301
There are conflicting accounts of the early life of this saint. By one telling, Gertrude was orphaned at an early age and nothing is known of her family. Another report tells us that she was the child of a noble family at a time when it was often the custom to commit one young child of a large aristocratic family to the religious.
In any case, the accounts agree that Gertrude was born on January 6, 1256, at or near Eisleben, Germany, and on the fact that she entered the Benedictine Convent of Helfta at the age of five. There, she came under the care and influence of the abbess, also named Gertrude, and her sister, Mechtilde. Under the guardianship of these two saints, Gertrude soon learned to speak and read Latin and developed a liking for the study of philosophy from the texts in that language Read More HERE
Liturgy of the Word Dismissal
This is the practice of having children, ages 4-12, leave the Sunday assembly during the Liturgy of the Word (readings) and gather in a separate environment to engage in the Liturgy of the Word at a level more appropriate to the children’s understanding.
Ministry Schedule: SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST OUR KING November 30 & December 1
Altar Server Cantor Reader 1 Reader 2
Saturday, 30 4 PM George Barasky Joseph Barasky Bridgett Farrow Jennifer Stubbs Paul Tonacci
Sunday, 1 8 AM
Sunday, 1 10 AM
Sunday, 1 12 PM
OH - Susan Murphy
TH - Richard Gerbino
TH - Monica Barr
ALT - Tom Nathanson
NO 8 AM MASS ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 1
Reagon Royal NOT FILLED
Choir/ Cantor Steve Rumsby Matt Yaninas
OH - Winifred O’Doherty
TH - Steve Stanley
TH - Dawn Reinhardt
ALT - Sue Fitzpatrick
NO 12 PM MASS ON SUNDAY DECEMBER 1
Christ the King Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one (LectionaryPage.net)
The Tree of Love
has one week left before gifts are due! Join in on the holiday spirit before it is too late. Tags name children's toys and gifts for nursing home residents. As in the past, please take a tag from the tree, fulfill the request ($25 value) and return the gift with the tag attached, no later than December 1
Thank you for your generosity towards those in need.
Any questions, please contact Deb Stanley (732) 591-0257 or DebStan2@aol.com
Baptismal Preparation Session
St Mary Parish is offering our next Baptismal Preparation Session on: SUNDAY, December 8, 2024
Pre-registrationisrequired aweekinadvance.
ContactUs
Parish Office Hours
Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Tuesdays 2:00 pm to 7:30 pm. The Parish Office is closed Fridays and Saturdays.
The Parish Office will also be open Sunday December 8, 9am - 1pm
Any questions, please call the office at (732)-780-2666.
Faith Formation
Julia Cullen - Pastoral Coordinator of Faith Formation / Religion Ed
ReligiousEd@stmaryscoltsneck.org 732-780-2666 X 309
Religious Education Calendar
Grades1to8
1 December 2024
Decorate Rotunda INTERGENERATIONAL
Following 10 AM mass grades 5 and up only SIGN UPS ARE FILLED
1 December 2024
Advent Wreath Making INTERGENERATIONAL
Beginning at 12 PM mass limited space available SIGN UP LINK
1, 3 December 2024
Confirmation Prep Class
7 December 2024
Nativity Play Rehearsal
2:30 PM to 3:45 PM Madonna Hall
8 December 2024
Penance and Reconciliation Retreat/Rehearsal
Beginning at 12 PM mass, following in the church 2nd grade only
14 December 2024
Nativity Play Rehearsal
2:30 PM to 3:30 PM Madonna Hall
14 December 2024
Light Up a Memory INTERGENERATIONAL
4 PM mass in the church
Christmas carols and tree lighting SIGN UP HERE
15 December 2024
Penance and Reconciliation INTERGENERATIONAL
3 PM in the chapel Grades 1-8
IMPORTANT RELIGIOUS ED LINKS
2024 - 2025
• 2024 - 2025 RE Calendar grades 1-8
• 24/25 Fall RE Calendar grades 1-6
• Parent - Student 24/25 Handbook
• Intergenerational List
• Intergenenerational Recording link
Penance and Reconciliation
15 December 2024 – 3 PM Grade 1 - 8
We encourage all Religious Education families to participate in the Sacrament on 15 December 2024 at 3 PM in the Chapel. Attendance will be taken upon entering the Narthex for all grades. Please be reminded that 7th graders are asked to pick up their Chosen book needed for class at the P&R service.
Pleases watch the following link on how to make an Examination of Conscious
To prepare for your confession, it is important to reflect on your sins prior to receiving P&R. Two helpful links to assist your reflection: Exam of Conscious for teens
Exam of Conscious for kids
Many thanks to all who attended our parish Fall clean-up. Our campus looks beautiful! The Thanksgiving food drive was also met with amazing participation with over 300 bags packed for those in need. We are thankful for your generous contribution of time, talent and treasure.
SERVICE HOUR OPPORTUNITIES
Confirmation Prep– 7 & 8 grade VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Please print out your service log as it is due the end of 8th grade, in preparation for Confirmation.
• WELCOME & HAND OUT ADVENT REFLECTION BOOKS
November 23 & 24, 2024 SIGNUPHERE
• Summer RE assistant teacher:
Virtual or on-campus; look for sign-ups in 2025. More Christian service opportunities listed on website.
My Dear Parishioners:
Quo vadis...
Today we celebrate The Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ the King. Self-giving service is a small price to pay for our share in this eternal glory. Living the paschal mystery means that we don’t count the cost but always find strength, hope, encouragement in the glimpse of final victory that we are repeatedly given throughout the liturgical year. Living the paschal mystery means that we see the victorious Christ even in the everyday trials and difficulties that we face. Living the paschal mystery means that we are ever faithful to the rhythm of dying and rising as it unfolds every day—in our prayer, work, leisure. Living the paschal mystery means that we are “priests” (that is, mediators) for those whom we meet that we are the body of Christ leading others to holier lives and happier commitment. If someone should then ask us, "“What have you done?” (see gospel) our answer would come quickly and surely we have served our King.
Many thanks to all those who participated in the Thanksgiving Food Drive for the Poor & Needy. We had a banner year of support and participation…although lots came in at the last minute to keep us on edge. . The Fall Clean Up was also very productive. We were able to cover some areas that hadn’t been addressed for several years. Some came with great equipment; all came with a willing spirit. Thank you one and all!
This Sunday we pray with Monsignor Troiano as he gives thanks to Almighty God for 45 years of Priestly Ministry. Join us at the 12 noon mass. There will be an opportunity to greet Monsignor following the mass in the narthex. Ad multos annos!
Next weekend we begin the Season of Advent. This marks the beginning of a new liturgical year. The Lectionary Cycle of scripture readings for Sundays and Solemnities will be taken from Cycle C and the weekday readings from Year I. Many
thanks to all of our parish volunteers who have assisted us in preparing our parish community for a new liturgical year beginning with Advent. We will observe an abbreviated Mass schedule for Thanksgiving Weekend. Please mark your calendars.
Please join us Tuesday Evening for the Colts Neck Ecumenical Prayer Service held this year at The Colts Neck Reformed Church, Tuesday, 26 November at 7:30pm. . This is an important visible witness of the Christian Community coming together to offer thanks and praise to God for the many blessings of the past year. There will be a combined choir with representatives from both churches. Thursday morning at 9:00am in the Chapel, Thanksgiving Day, the Parish of Saint Mary will gather for the Eucharist giving thanks to God for the many and varied blessings and especially for the gift of Religious Freedom that is so much a part of the bounty which we receive. Come and join us on this civic holiday by witnessing to our faith with family and friends and receiving Holy Communion.
The Advent Penance & Reconciliation (Confessions) will be held Sunday, 15 December 2024 beginning at 3:00pm. Please consult the bulletin for additional details. We are suggesting a scheduled time for family names beginning with a specific letter. This is for your convenience and to minimize wait times. Thank you for your kind cooperation.
I am grateful for the feedback and questions regarding our Annual Stewardship Report. It is an important way for us to be accountable to our parishioners and benefactors. Thank you for your continued stewardship so that we can care for our parishioners needs and keep our facilities up to date and safe for all. May this new liturgical year continue to draw us into the mystery of God’s love manifested to us in the Incarnation. Have a great week. Let us remember one another in prayer. Happy Sunday. Peace. Father Jeff
Sharing Our Treasure Nov, 17 2024 –Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
A. SevillanoTemporalAdmin@stmaryscoltsneck.org
# Registered Parishioner Households 932
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over." Lk 19:9
Consider AYear-End Gift to St Mary Parish
As you begin year-end tax planning, take advantage of the charitable tax deduction for gifts made before December 31 and consider making a gift to St Mary Parish. Your gift to our parish can make a great difference to us and help you as well. Online Giving is a convenient way to make your gift to St Mary Parish. To create or update your St Mary Parish Online Giving account, visit https://giving.parishsoft.com/app/giving/smcn
If you choose to make a cash donation, please prepare your check and mail it so that your envelope is postmarked or received by the Parish Office by December 31 to qualify as a gift in the year 2024. Contributions received on January 1st or after will be treated as 2025 gifts. Thank you! Your generosity has been a blessing to St Mary Parish throughout this past year. Your continued support allows us to continue our ministries and mission to proclaim the Gospel in our time.
Please remember the Parish of Saint Mary in your will..
By naming St. Mary in your will or trust, you will provide a lasting gift that will greatly help St. Mary and our parishioners. Thank you for your consideration.
Sign-in for our Online Giving system to make your parish offerings from your bank account or Credit Card!
To set up an online giving account please visit https://giving.parishsoft.com/smcn
Alternatively, just Text SUNDAY to (732)-889-7800 and follow the instructions to complete your offering. Should you require our assistance setting up your new account, please call the parish office at (732)780-2666.
You can also download the Connect Now Giving App for Android or iOS.Thank you for your continuous support!
As of November 18 2024
Goal: $75,000
Pledged: 94,891.00
% of goal: 126% # donors: 234
Average gifts: $ 330.63
Total gifts: 287
Paid to date: $ 93,365.00
THANK YOU ! For all your efforts in supporting the Annual Catholic Appeal! Please continue to make your pledge payments so that our parish can receive the maximum rebate. If you haven't made a pledge yet please go to www.dioceseoftrenton.org/catholicappeal to send your gift electronically. Make sure to select St. Mary Catholic Church, Colts Neck in the Parish Affiliation box so we can receive credit for your gift.
Thank you for your prayers and support
“Light Up a Memory”
Preparations for the "Memory Tree" lighting this year have already started. A $10.00 contribution signifies a light in memory of a deceased loved one, or in honor of a living person. His/her name will be inscribed in a special "Memory Book", which will be on display in the Church Narthex.
Each $10.00 also entitles the donor to a Remembrance cards available in the Church Office during regular office hours for those who want to pick them up.
The deadline for submissions is December 2, 2024.
Submissions after deadline are included in the addendum of the Memory Book.
Participants are also invited to the joyous tree lighting ceremony, at the 4:00 pm Mass on Saturday, December 14, 2024.
Please follow link HERE to sponsor a light.
