May 3, 2105 - Church of the Nativity

May 3, 2015
Elise Barton
Caroline Boufford
Julianna Butler
Anthony Carrea
Isabella Cigna
Terence Dahl
Kaylie Luciano
Gavin Martinkus
Ryan Natoli
Nicole Patterson
Colin Pegley
John Pissott
Ford Durden
Roark Durden
Owen Fall
Ryan Fleming
Benjamin Gmyrek
Julia Henderson
Sean-Rylan James
Tommy Jollie
Sara Klich
Carson Kroll
Kyle Lordi
Nate Rosenthal
Teya Rosso
Conor Shortway
Daniela Suarez
Gianna Tuosto
Anthony Warner
Ralph Warner
Angus Durden
Brodie Powers
G.R.E.A.T
Anthony Kurnat
Justin St. Augustine
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May 3, 2015
Fifth Sunday of Easter
WEEK OF
Mass
Please Remember
Mass Requested By
Saturday
May 2nd
5:00 Mass
Ralph Kallenberg
Gentile Family
Sunday
May 3rd
8:00 Mass
Sick & Deceased Members
of the Rosary Society
Rosary Society
10:15 Mass Rose Mastrangelo
Marie Logatto
12:00 Mass Doris Lane
Turchioe Family
Tom Mras
Monday
May 4th
12:10 Mass
Moser Family
Harry Lasher
Tuesday
May 5th
12:10 Mass
Ray & Marge Latterner
Wednesday Rose Marie Frapaul
May 6th
For all the souls in
12:10 Mass Purgatory especially
Linda & Dave Jones
May 4th
Monday
May 4
6:30PM C - Confirmation Reconciliation
7:30PM C - Confirmation Rehearsal
Tuesday
May 5
11:00PM CHA - Legion of Mary
1:00PM MG - Scripture Study
7:30PM C - Choir Practice
7:30PM MG - St. Francis Closet Meeting
Wednesday
May 6
Thursday
May 7
Eleanor Capomaggi
Marie Romero
Friday
May 8th
12:10 Mass
7:00PM MG - Rosary Society Meeting
Friday
May 8
Victor & Judy Bastis
Saturday
May 9
MG - Mini Clothing Drive-Maternity/Baby Supplies
Following 5:00 Mass - May Crowning
Carol & Frank Meyers
Sunday
May 10
MG - Mini Clothing Drive-Maternity/Baby Supplies
9:00AM C - Mass for differently-abled people &
Reception
deceased members of FOSS
Thursday
May 7th
12:10Mass
9:30AM UR - Moms’ Group
1:00PM OH - Nativity Knits
7:30PM C - Women’s Cornerstone
3:00PM C - Confirmation
Joan Smith
KEY
Saturday
May 9th
5:00 Mass
Kenneth Major
Sunday
May 10th
8:00 Mass
Elizabeth Scaglione
Scaglione & Salge
Family
9:00 Mass
John & Nancy Greskowitz
Jeff & Mary Allyn
Rich & Donna
Andrychewicz
10:15 Mass Mary E. Keuerleber
Daughter, Kathy
Marsden & Family
12:00 Mass Samuel McPherson
15th Anniversary
Wife & Family
Please remember in your prayers the sick
who have asked for our prayers…
Fr. Peter, Mary Lou Balog
▪▪▪▪▪
Please remember in your prayers the recently deceased…
Vera Reilly, John Oates, Robert Smith, Josephine Chiara,
Bridget Ann Park, Marilyn Brechbiel, Mary Vier, Charles
Lama, Sr, Veronica Paolillo, Margaret Harahan
C-Church
OH-O’Connell Hall
MG-McGrath Room
CHA-Chapel
S-School
KH-Kennedy Hall
UR-Upper Room
R-Rectory
Thank you for your
continued support
of your Parish.
Weekly Church Offering
On-Line Giving Weekly Average
Total
Budgeted Revenue*
Surplus/(Deficit)
Apr. 25 & 26
$ 8,079
*Amount needed
$ 2,082
each week to pay our
$10,161
$12,420 parish expenses
($ 2,259)
The 2015
Easter Collection
was $41,653
Thank you so much for your
continued generosity!
A Word
from the
Pastor
I am pleased to have
Ronaldo give us his
reflection on the readings for
the next few weeks. As a
student of Theology, he is
happy to share his
knowledge of the scriptures
with us.
In all our lives we have several paths to choose
from, but only when we put Christ as our first
choice, can we understand the true meaning of
life and make right choices in our everyday lives.
In today’s gospel we hear about our relationship
with Jesus where he is the vine and we are the
branches. Jesus’ word is the life force that allows
us to bear fruit. By making Jesus as our first
choice, we will continue to be fruitful.
Dear brothers and sisters, today is a happy day
for our parish. Today our young children have
taken a big step in faith...the step to receive Jesus
in the Eucharist. It is possible that many of us
remember that great moment when we received
Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. Today our
children are the stars of this great celebration.
They are the fruits of the branches of the church.
Brothers and sisters, today Jesus invites us to
live our faith to the maximum. Now that these
children are celebrating their first major encounter
with Jesus in the bread and wine, we must guide
them in this new way of faith; not only as parents
and family, but also as members of this faith
community. I invite you to live this great
celebration today
as if it were your
own. Please join
me in praying for
these children
that they feel the
love of Jesus
every day of their
lives.

Thoughts on Scripture:
The pruning of which Jesus speaks in this gospel is simply a
means to an end. The end is the bearing of much fruit. To
this end, Jesus’ word has a twofold purpose. On the one
hand, his word is prophetic and prunes whatever drains life
out of his disciples. On the other, his word is the very sap of
life that enables disciples to remain in him and bear fruit.
True discipleship is to “remain” in Jesus. Only then does his
risen Life bloom in us for all to see.
We tend to think that the word “remaining” implies being
stagnant, staying put, not moving forward. Paradoxically,
“remaining” in Jesus means growing, changing, and bearing
fruit.
[From the Living Liturgy]
Living the Paschal Mystery
In the first reading the disciples were afraid to relate to Saul because of his past reputation for persecuting Christians. Barnabas,
a member of the community, took Paul under his wings and witnessed to the community on his behalf. In this way was Paul accepted so he could preach the word. Barnabas witnessed to how
Paul was “pruned” by his encounter with the risen Jesus, an encounter so intense that he was “pruned” from his old zealous hatred of this new Jewish sect and became a disciple himself, one
who “remained” in Jesus.
Part of our living the paschal mystery—its dying and rising—
requires that we be willing to be pruned. We must allow God to
tend us, so that we might rid ourselves of whatever gets in the way
of our being a faithful disciple who not only proclaims the Gospel,
but also lives it in “deed and truth.” First of all, this means that we
must witness to an intimate relationship with God. We do this
through prayer and worship—both private and public acts of glorifying God. We also witness in “deed and truth” through how we
relate to others. Taking someone troubled under our wing to help
them is but one example of how we remain in Jesus through our
caring for others.
The 64th National Day of Prayer
will be observed in Waldwick on
Thursday, May 7th
12:15-12:45PM
Christopher Goodell Public Safety Complex
East Prospect Street
Concerned individuals are asked
to unite at the flagpole and
pray for America and its
national, state and local leaders
The Community Thrift Shop
While doing your Spring Cleaning, please consider donating your
gently and still fashionable used spring and summer clothing, toys,
books, small appliances, etc., to the Community Thrift Shop.
Please - Mark the bag(s) with #18.
The Rosary Society would like to send a special “Thank you” to our
parishioners for all the donations made to the Thrift Shop. Because
of your generous contributions this past quarter, we earned $517.
For more information, see the flyer in the back of the Church.
May 3, 2015
Religious Education
Program for Grades K-8:
Re-registration letters have
been mailed to all families
presently enrolled.
Re-registration may be done
either by mail or in person.
Beginning JULY 1, NEW registration will be taken at the Religious
Education Office during office hours.
To complete registration for our Parish Catechetical Program, a family:
Must be registered members of the parish
Present a certificate of Baptism for the child/ren and
Registration fee
To ensure that we make adequate provision for all planning to attend
in the summer or fall, we ask that ALL NEW REGISTRATION be
completed by July 10th, 2015. Please relay this information to
prospective new registrants who might not receive this bulletin,
especially those planning to enroll first graders who have not been in
our kindergarten this year. Thank you!
For our Junior High Students (Gr. 7 – 8) Service Project Forms are due
back at the beginning of next school year.
We are grateful to the catechists, assistants, students and parents for
all they have done to make this year meaningful to so many.
FIRST COMMUNION 2015
Congratulations to the children who are receiving Jesus for the First
time today!!
Crowning of Mary, Our Queen - On Saturday May 9, after the
5:00PM Mass, the children who received First Holy Communion, will
be crowning our Mother Mary. Please join us to celebrate this Catholic
tradition with the children! All are invited.
CONFIRMATION PROGRAM 2015
On Sunday May 10 at 3:00 pm Mass we will celebrate the Sacrament
of Confirmation in our parish. The Most Reverend John Flesey,
Auxiliary Bishop for Bergen County from the Archdiocese of Newark
will be the celebrant. Please continue to keep our young people in your
prayers.
SUMMER PROGRAM 2015
Children attend 10 days, Monday – Friday, 9:00AM – 12:30PM and
must attend Advent and Lent sessions, Masses during the school year
for continued religious education. The program will run from Monday
August 3 to Friday August 14, 2015. Registration forms were mailed
and also they are available at the Nativity i-desk and Religious
Education Office. Our reason for this option is to provide the best
quality religious education at the most convenient time for the majority
of our families.
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Catechesis…about Liturgy
Liturgy of the Word: One way to remain in
the risen Christ is to allow God’s words to remain in us, shape us, and help us bear fruit.
This suggests that the Liturgy of the Word
during Mass is more than just moral exhortation or a structural element of the liturgy that
brings us to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the
proclamation of the word we are being
“pruned” so that we can remain in Christ. In
the proclamation of the word we open ourselves to being shaped by Christ so that we
can bear the fruit of making present God’s
reign in a world that is redeemed, but also
torn by strife and selfishness. The proclamation of the word helps us hunger for the Bread
of Life and Cup of Salvation that we receive
during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, God’s
nourishment for our Life and fruitfulness.
Clearly, good proclamation is essential if the
Liturgy of the Word is to be taken into our
hearts, made part of us, and lived each day.
Proclamation is more than good reading—it
implies that the lector has lived the word in his
or her life (in “deed and truth”), is committed
to its message, and allows the word to remain
in him or her. Without this the word cannot be
a living word
nor can it
change us so
that we can be
more fruitful.
Are you retired (or not)
and missing a little
office interaction?
If so, how about joining the
Office Workers Ministry
A few times a year, you’ll be asked to label
envelopes and/or sit at the receptionist desk and
answer phone calls. That’s it! It’s a great way to
meet other parishioners and have fun too!
For more information contact Judi Plafta at
201.445.9469.
May 3, 2015
A well-kept and appealing landscape takes
many hours of work. Left without care, the shrubs
become unkempt, the grass looks like hay, the flowers
become leggy. Cutting back, cutting down, cutting away is
what brings out the beauty of a landscape. This kind of
work is more than a matter of simple tidiness. It shows
that the people who live on the property care. In the
gospel, Jesus metaphorically speaks of his Father’s
pruning us branches who are attached to the vine who is
Jesus. God’s care for us underlies the oft-repeated
gospel words remain, fruit, vine, branch.
Just as God planted and tended the true vine Jesus, so
does God tend us—prune us—so that we, too, might
“bear much fruit.” God prunes from us whatever does not
give life, and nourishes within us whatever does. Our
remaining in Jesus, our bearing fruit as disciples, our
believing in the Son and keeping the commandments
(see second reading) are all the work of the Father who
tends with great care the risen Life we share with Jesus.
The pruning of which Jesus speaks in this gospel is
simply a means to an end. The end is the bearing of
much fruit. To this end, Jesus’ word has a twofold
purpose. On the one hand, his word is prophetic and
prunes whatever drains life out of his disciples. On the
other, his word is the very sap of life that enables
disciples to remain in him and bear fruit. True discipleship
is to “remain” in Jesus. Only then does his risen Life
bloom in us for all to see.
The good fruit we bear when we remain in Jesus is
witnessing to Gospel living, drawing others to the Life
Jesus offers in the Holy Spirit, and glorifying the Father by
the choices we make to live as Jesus taught us. True
discipleship is about bearing this fruit. True discipleship,
on the one hand, is very personal and at hand: we must
remain in Jesus, grow in our relationship with him, and listen to his words
and take them into our heart as a habit of living. On the other hand, true discipleship is very other-centered and
broad: we must reach out to the whole
world. The fruit we bear by remaining
in Jesus is continuing his ministry of
bringing salvation to all people. Oh,
how sweet is this fruit!
[From the Living Liturgy]
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Come to an
Open House!
Maybe becoming a
Seton Associate
is right for you!
Come to an Open House at Saint Paul’s Parish in Ramsey
on Tuesday, May 12 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to learn about the
Seton Associates of the Sisters of Charity of Saint
Elizabeth. Meet Sisters and Seton Associates who will
describe the membership to you.
Seton Associates are the lay affiliate of the Sisters of
Charity – women and men who seek deeper spirituality
and engage in ministry by living the charism of charity.
Today there at 275 Seton Associates throughout the
region and in many other states who gather in small
groups to pray and to serve those in need, especially the
poor. They can be found in soup kitchens, parish
ministries, hospices and prisons. They serve
disadvantaged children, immigrants, homeless,
unemployed and the disenfranchised. They donate food,
clothing and other goods. They support the missions of
the Sisters of Charity in Haiti, El Salvador and New
Mexico. They pray. They are a force of good in our world.
The evening includes a light supper. RSVP by calling
Sister Maureen Corcoran at 201-327-0976. This may be
the best thing you ever did for yourself – and for others!
Rosary Society News
Please mark your
calendars and plan to
attend...
Our first evening meeting of the year will be on
Thursday May 7th at 7:00 PM. We will recite the
rosary, weather permitting, at Our Lady of the
Highways Shrine located on the road behind the
Church. We will then move to the McGrath room
for our meeting and refreshments. All are welcome!
Next Mini Drive
May 9th & 10th
Maternity/Baby Supplies
Please bring you Maternity and Baby Supplies to
the McGrath Room. If you would like to donate
furniture or appliances or if you are interested in
helping with this ministry please contact
Tia Patterson at [email protected].
May 3, 2015
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The men of Nativity are invited to
spend a weekend with the Lord
on May 15 – 17 at the Loyola
Jesuit Center in Morristown. The
silent retreat offers a singular
opportunity for quiet reflection
and spiritual renewal. The cost is
a free-will donation.
Call Steve Beiter (201-447-1830) or Andy Coll (973-304-1832).
Knights of Columbus
Scholarship
Any 2015 High School graduate who is a member of Church of
the Nativity is eligible to apply for a $1000 scholarship awarded
by the Knights. Application forms and criteria information may
be picked up in the rectory office. Deadline for submission of
application is May 6, 2015
Also any 2015 8th grade graduate who is a member of The
Church of the Nativity Parish and attending a Catholic secondary school in the Fall is eligible to apply for a $1000 scholarship
awarded by the Knights. Application forms and criteria may be
picked up in the rectory office.
Deadline for submission is May 6, 2015.
OPEN HOUSE: On Tuesday, May 5th, from 6:30 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.,
Saint Joseph Regional H.S., Montvale, NJ will be hosting an Open
House for prospective students (6th ,7th and 8th grade boys) and their
families to gain more information concerning St. Joseph Regional, its
programs & the people who make up the SJR community. SJR
students will provide tours (starting promptly at 6:30 p.m.) and guests
will have the opportunity to speak with SJR faculty, administrators
& parents. For more information & directions please call the school at
201-391-3300 or pre-register at www.sjrnj.org
If you wish to participate in adoration and
quiet meditation on a regular monthly basis
please contact the rectory.
Please be sure to fill out a
prayer card for Fr. Peter.
There are enough cards for
everyone in the family.
And when you are
done...take a bracelet!
If you have 10 Catholic
friends, chances are at
least one of them has
not completed the final
Sacrament of Initiation
to the faith.
So as a very special
gift, we are
encouraging you to
invite them to consider
our RCIA Walk. With
an emphasis toward
young adults, we are
offering a compelling re
-introduction to
Catholicism and a
personal connection
with Jesus, through
open and honest
discussion about God,
religion, spiritual
practices, and the
issues of the day.
Nativity shepherds are sponsoring a trip to the
Westchester Dinner Theater
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
“Westside Story”
rated among the best plays ever!
Tickets are $75 per person.
This includes bus,
luncheon and play
Gratuities included, except for bus driver.
Tickets are on a first come, first serve basis. Bus
leaves chapel parking lot at 10:00am. Checks
should be made out to: Church of the Nativity
and mailed to Ruth Major, 24 Crescent Ave,
Waldwick, NJ07463
Contact Jim Kenny if someone you know,
or perhaps even yourself, might be
interested in this program, 201-444-6362.