August 9, 2015 - Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
222 East Harris Street, Savannah, Georgia 31401 - Located at Abercorn and East Harris Streets
Most Reverend Gregory J. Hartmayer OFM Conv.— Bishop of Savannah
Most Reverend J. Kevin Boland — Bishop Emeritus
Photo by Mary Clark Rechtiene
Mass Schedule
Saturday: 12 Noon & 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 am, 10:00 am, & 11:30 a.m.
Latin Mass 1:00 p.m.
Weekdays: Mon thru Fri: 7:30 am & 12 Noon
Holy Days: 7:30 am, 12 Noon, 6:00 pm
Nursery: 10:00am Masses on Sundays.
Sacraments
Baptisms
Arrangements should be made in advance.
Confessions
Saturday:11:00 am to 11:45 am & 4:15 pm to 5:00 pm
Also by request at other times.
Weddings
Arrangements should be made at least four months in
advance. Participation in a marriage preparation
program is required. Please call parish office for more
information.
Anointing of the Sick
Faith Formation
Children’s Religious Ed Sunday 8:45 am to 9:50 am
R. C. I. A. Tuesday 7:00 pm to 8:00pm
Parish Staff
Rector - Very Rev. J. Gerard Schreck, JCD
In Residence - Msgr. William O’Neill, Rector Emeritus
In Residence - Very Rev. Daniel F. Firmin, JCL, VG
In Residence - Rev. Pablo Migone
Permanent Deacon - Rev. Dr.. Dewain E. Smith, Ph.D.
Sacristan - Lynne Everett, MD
Director of Religious Education - Mrs. Janee Przybyl
Bookkeeper/Admin. Assistant - Ms. Jan Cunningham
Office Assistant - Mrs. Brenda Price
Music Director - Mr. McDowell Fogle www.sjbmusic.org
Asst. Organist- Ms. Heidi Ordaz
Cantors - Rebecca Flaherty and Jillian Pashke
Maintenance - Mr. Jimmy Joseph Sheehan III
Housekeeper/Food Services- Ms. Alma Young
Docents - Mrs. Peggy Baker, Mrs. Gloria Keane
Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ۰Phone: (912)233-4709 Fax: (912)233-8229 ۰E-mail: [email protected]
Cathedral Website: www.savannahcathedral.org ۰Diocesan Website: www.diosav.org ۰ USCCB: www.usccb.org
Page 4
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Aug 9, 2015
Rector’s Corner
A Culture of Death
What does it mean to have lost one’s way? It means to be without direction; to have lost any sense
of where one is headed, and more importantly, to have lost all track of where one began. We are living in
disturbing times, when it seems that every day there is yet another report of death for innocent people in the
news: Christians beheaded or burned alive; people in a theatre, watching a movie, shot to death; devout and
faithful people studying the Bible, murdered in Church. The culture of death, of which St. John Paul II
warned so clearly, has cast its shadow upon the world and upon our country. Life has become cheap, and
disposable, and people are looked upon as means to an end, and often a stupid and silly end.
Like you, I am sure, I was amazed and disgusted to see the videotape of “doctors” working in
Planned Parenthood clinics, speaking so casually about crushing the skull of a fetus in order to preserve its
organs for sale; and the “doctor” negotiating for a higher price for the organs in order to be able to buy an
expensive sports car. That can’t be real, can it? Is that where we are in twenty-first century America? Isn’t
this the land of Thomas Jefferson? “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal,
and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.” Yet the objections are dismissed, and the media is relatively silent. Defenses are made for
Planned Parenthood, as if any could be made. And while this is happening, an American dentist shoots and
kills a lion in Zimbabwe (and I don’t understand or condone this either), and Hollywood and the national
media are up in arms, with a sense of outrage. What about the children in the womb! Where are we going,
and more importantly, where have we come from? We have lost our way.
We are made in the image and likeness of Almighty God, our Creator, from whom the rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness come. Should we be surprised that since 1973, when the U.S. Supreme
Court found a way to justify abortion, that we have witnessed a consistent decline in the respect for and value of human life in our country? If you can crush the skull of a child in its mother’s womb, because no one
wants the child, and someone wants a sports car, is it so great a leap from there to all the other acts of violence and murder that we see displayed nationally and globally?
We have to pray, and invoke God’s mercy, for the crimes that we have committed against human
life. In our newspaper recently, the columnist Charles Krauthamer correctly noted that this could be a moment in which the country builds a consensus to outlaw late-term abortion. We Catholics are against all
abortion, but we can in fact support legislation that, while not restricting all abortion, will lessen its reach.
We should support that. Let’s pass legislation to make late-term abortion illegal. Let us pray for our country, and pray for forgiveness for the sins which we have committed against human life; and pray that we
find our way again.
Rev. J. Gerard Schreck
Rector
Page 5
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint Paul has an important message for us today as we gather at God’s
invitation: “All bitterness,
fury, anger, shouting, and
reviling must be removed
from you.” While Saint
Paul could not have known
about our talk radio or daytime television or even the
state of politics in our
country today, it is clear
that he is onto something.
Perhaps our prayer today
can be to heed Paul’s words
and strive for more civil dialogue in our country, our
city, and even in
our church.
Aug 9 , 2015
Mass Intentions for the week
of August 9, 2015
SUNDAY
Pro Populo
Helen Hickey
William Joseph Price (Anni)
MONDAY
Fred & Josephine Doyle
Leonora Welch
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
John Stacy III (MM)
FRIDAY
Ruth Carr Powers (Anni)
SATURDAY
Gloria N. Zimney (Anni)
Please Pray for: Sheila and Jaime Baldwin,
Elaine Batty, Gary Bowers, Erica Brown, Michael
Cavanagh, Kyley Cornwell, Chris Ellington,
Amanda Mizelle Fanning, Suzanne Gardner, Peter
Genova, Linda Grotke, Pat Gullikson, Chip Hartwell, Molly Heckert, Frank Hester, Margaret
Hunter, Patricia Gignilliat, Shari Laist, Denise
LeMay, Margaret Meagher, Gayle McGhee, Dan
Mobley, Kathy Moore, Dolores Myatt, Maureen
O’Connor, Carolina Parson, Peter Robaulo, Tony
Roby, Kenny Rudd, Chris Salien, Stephen Saunders, Judy Walker, Ron Weier, and Art Zimney.
"If you or your child will be attending Georgia Southern this fall, please check out the website: www.saintmatthewsparish.com for information about events, bible studies, dinners, etc. offered at
St. Matthew Catholic Church. Beginning Sunday, August 16, a University Mass will be offered each week
at 6:00 p.m. with a free home-cooked meal in the social hall afterwards. Four Fellowship of Catholic University Students missionaries will be ministering to the students this year. FOCUS Team Director Brooke
Maryniak can be contacted via email at: [email protected].
Aug 9, 2015
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Rummage Sale
Page 6
Second Collection this Weekend
Like many modern families throughout the world,
families in Latin America and the Caribbean face
numerous challenges as they strive to live and share
their faith. Without marriage and family life ministries to offer help and support, both in joyful times
and in times of stress, families struggle to live their
faith daily. Today, we will take up the Collection
Assumption of Mary
for the Church in Latin America. Your gifts to the
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on collection will fund catechesis, marriage and family
Saturday, August 15, 2015. The Assumption com- life programs, and seminarian education in Latin
America and the Caribbean. The support you give
memorates the death of Mary
today will provide opportunities for years to come.
and her bodily assumption
Please support the Church in Latin America and be
into Heaven. Because it siggenerous in today’s collection.
nifies the Blessed Virgin's
passing into eternal life, the
Catholic Day at Wild Adventures!
Assumption is the greatest of
The Diocese of Savannah is once again hosting
all Marian feasts and a holy
"Catholic Day" at Wild Adventures on Saturday, Auday of obligation. However,
gust 29, 2015. Registration ends August 14 so don't
since the feast falls on a
delay! A block of hotel rooms have been reserved at
Saturday, it is not a holy
the Hampton Inn located at 2 Meeting Place
day of obligation this year.
Drive, Valdosta Georgia. Call (229) 241-1234 to reserve your room now! Tickets are $45 per person or
VIRTUS Training Schedule
$10 for season pass holders and includes: all Day
The Catholic Pastoral Center in Savannah has added a admission to Wild Adventures Amusement and Warepetitive schedule of VIRTUS training sessions for ter Park, Mass with Bishop Boland, all you can eat
the Fiscal Year 15-16. A session will be held every dinner buffet, and, much more!!! For more infor2nd Tuesday of the month from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, mation please contact [email protected] or visit
and a session will be held every Friday of the month www.diosav.org/oyyam-cyd.
from 9:00 to 12:00 pm. Beginning in August 2015, a
Low Country Catholics
session will be held every Saturday from 10:00 to
Hear Hear!! 'Tis the time for the monthly
1:00 PM. VIRTUS Training is required for Safe EnTheology on Tap!
vironment Compliance for any adult who will come
into contact with youth as part of their ministry and All young adults between the ages 21 and 35
must be completed before they begin ministry. Seat- (married, single, widowed, or divorced; with or withing is limited and you must pre-register online to save out children) are invited to join us on August 11 for
your seat. To register, go to www.diosav.org and Adoration at St. Peter the Apostle Church on Wilfind the trainings listed on the Upcoming Events Cal- mington Island at 7:00 PM followed by dinner at
Basil's. Please visit the Low Country Catholics Faendar.
cebook page to see more upcoming events! For
Cathedral Christmas Ornaments
more information, please contact yamsavanThe 2015 Cathedral ornament, ninth in the series, is [email protected] .
available at the reception desk in the rear of the
church, the rectory or www.savannahcathedral.org.
It features the lancet window of St. Anthony of Padua. All previous ornaments are also still available. We
ask for a $20 donation for all ornaments.
The Cathedral CCW will be holding a rummage sale
on September 12th in the Parish Hall. You can drop
off any donation items to the parish hall after the
8:00, 10:00 and 11:30 Masses this weekend, Aug
9th. Please no computers or clothes. Any questions,
call 912-677-6800, 912-272-0205, or 912-660-7406.
Aug 2, 2015
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CATHEDRAL PARISH OFFERTORY
Offertory August 2, 2015: $22,570.50
Offertory August 3, 2014: $17,029.50
VISITOR’S DEPOSITORY BOX
Week Prior to August 2, 2015: $5,336.50
Week Prior to August 3, 2014: $3,600.85
2015 BISHOP’S ANNUAL APPEAL
Parish Target
$ 94,435
Parish Pledges
$ 58,095
Collected
$ 101,422
WEEKLY REMINDERS
Please turn off cell phones/pagers during Mass.
Notify the rectory of hospitalized parishioners
and their Room Number at 233-4709.
Abuse Hotline Number 1-888-357-5330.
Copies of the policy on sexual abuse of minors
are available on tables at the rear of the Church.
Please consider use of the Sunday nursery for children under four years old.
Please send Mass Intention requests to the rectory office in writing with donation enclosed.
Please do not call them in over the phone.
ACTIVE PARISHIONER STATUS
We receive many requests for parishioners to qualify for weddings here, or to be godparents or sponsors for the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and to rightfully enjoy the number of services
offered at the Cathedral. Part of that request is to
call 912-233-4709 be able to verify that a person is
an “active member” of the Cathedral Parish. Because of the nature of our congregation, having so
many visitors, it is difficult to know everyone.
An “active member’ of this Parish is one who:
 Is properly registered and on the parish rolls.
 Faithfully attends Mass on Sundays and Holy
Days
 Participates in parish activities when possible
 Uses the parish envelope system
While assessments of an inquirer’s status will be
made individually, the above are the main factors
that will be considered in making that determination.
Page 7
The “Will” To Help
Please remember the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in your will. If you have a will now and would
like to make the Cathedral a beneficiary, a simple
codicil may be appropriate. If you do not have a
will and need a referral to
an attorney you can call Ms.
Jan Cunningham at 912-233
-4709 who can suggest an
attorney who is assisting the
Cathedral in this endeavor.
PARTICIPATING CATHOLIC TUITION
Cathedral parishioners who have children in Catholic Schools and who wish to receive the parish participating tuition rate must be endorsed by Fr.
Schreck. A participating parishioner is a parishioner who attends Mass on weekends and Holy Days of
Obligation, participates in the activities of the parish, contributes to the offertory collection in a recognizable way by using envelopes or checks as a
means of verification of attendance.
NEW PARISHIONERS
& ADDRESS CHANGES
Those wishing to become a parishioner of the
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, should complete
the following and drop it in the offertory
collection basket. A census form will be mailed to
you. You will not be considered a registered
parishioner until the census form has been
completed and mailed back to us. Thank you.
New Parishioner
Change of address
Name _________________________________________
Address _______________________________
________________________________________
Telephone Number ______________________________
Email Address __________________________________
Mail to: 222 E. Harris St., Savannah, GA 31401.
You may place form in collection basket.