The Assumption of Mary: Incarnation Fulfilled

The Assumption of Mary:
Incarnation Fulfilled
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 14, 2011
Homily Next Week:
Fr. Jack O’Leary, S.J.
Readings for
August 21, 2011
First Reading: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Second Reading: Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Gospel: Matthew 15:21-28
Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday - 5 p.m.
Sunday - 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 5:30 p.m.
Weekday Mass Schedule
Monday - Friday - 7 a.m.
Reconciliation
Saturday - 3:30-4:15 p.m. in the Church
or by appointment
Parish Center Hours
Monday-Thursday - 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Friday - 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday - 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
www.stjosephparish.org
732 18th Avenue East, Seattle, WA 98112
Fax: (206) 329-5698
Parish Receptionist (206) 324-2522
Parish Staff
(206) 329-5981
Pastor
Rev. John D. Whitney, S.J.
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Rev. Jack O’Leary, S.J.
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Senior Priest in Residence
Deacon/Pastoral Associate
Steve Wodzanowski
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Pastoral Staff:
Dottie Farewell, Director of Religious Ed.
Dennis Gentele, Facilities
Renée Leet, Administrative Assistant
Bob McCaffery-Lent, Music & Liturgy
Caprice Sauter, Bookkeeper
Greg McNabb, Administration
Anne Moran, Administrative Assistant Randy Novak, Communications
John Stuntebeck, Accompanist
St. Joseph School
700 18th Avenue East • (206) 329-3260
Main Office
George Hofbauer, Principal
Rick Boyle, Academic Vice Principal Patrick Fennessy, Vice Principal
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On Monday, 15 August, the Church celebrates the Assumption of
Mary—the belief that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was received in her
fullness into God at the moment of her death. This tradition, called
“the Dormition of Mary” in the eastern Church, says that Mary, who
leads us in receiving Christ into this world, leads us, as well, into the
life that God promises through Jesus: a life that is a sharing in the
community of God, not only in her spirit but in her body. For Mary
is assumed into God both as body and soul, and so our sister is with
God, not as spirit alone, but as a fully living person.
From the time God first breathed life into the earth to bring forth life,
it seems as though our whole life has been a meeting of these two
moments: an encounter between the dust of the ground, this mudded
earth, this failing, glorious bag of blood and flesh, and that fragile
breath, that whisper of Word and wanting, that breeze of heaven
given us at the Creation. As beings created in the image and likeness
of God, we are not a monologue of parts—of one thing or the other—
but a dialogue of grace and groaning, of desire and need, of possibility and brutal fact; each of us an encounter of a lonely “I” and a quiet
passing “We”—a We who encompasses all that is and was and ever
shall be, a We who walks softly through the garden of Creation, a
Trinity and a oneness. To each of us, the Spirit is poured out, to give
us life and to promise us a relationship with God.
We are made to be—by the breath of God and the dust of mother
Earth—the enfleshed partners in a dialogue with God and with each
other; yet, so often we get caught by information and not communication; we look for things—results, data, rewards—and we miss the
communion that is our deepest desire. Lonely, though never alone;
unhearing, though surrounded by sound; unable to communicate,
though constantly talking to no one but ourselves. This so often
seems our destiny and our curse; the way we live with one another
and even the way we pray.
Think of how much of our lives are shaped by this informational
stance.
On the road, we listen to talk radio—encountering not a person, but a
voice or an idea; not in dialogue with us, but in the illusion of dialogue. In our homes, we leave notes on the refrigerator or yell over
our shoulder as we rush out the door, hoping to transfer data to our
children that we want them to know or to our spouse that we want
them to do. In Church, we read the rules and evaluate others—not
as persons—but by their adherence to the information we have. In
monologues of depersonalized truth, we engage—not the person who
is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—but the principles and precepts
that we hold in our hands or hear on the glowing screen of our lonely
room.
Monday, August 15
Feast of the Assumption, 7 AM Mass
Arrupe Room
Sacred Silence, 7 PM, Loyola Chapel
Thursday, August 18
Senior Outing to Burke Museum
(See Bulletin for details.)
Friday, August 19
Eucharistic Adoration, 7:30-11 AM,
Loyola Chapel, Parish Center
Note: Daily masses (Monday-Friday) are celebrated in the Arrupe Room at
7 AM and the Blessed Sacrament will be reserved in Loyola Chapel of the
Parish Center.
During the summer months, the Parish Center offices will close at 3 PM
on Fridays.
Even in our prayer, we speak to God as though we were writing email, composing our lists of desires and objections and sending it off
with an expectation of a later answer that we will get through results
or refusals: “O God, take care of my sick Aunt Lucy. Help me pass
my test today. Let me get this job at the dog hospital. Bring Tim
home safely.”
There is no dialogue here—no desire for communion with the other—but only monologues overlapping and distancing us one from
other persons and from a God who longed to walk with Adam in
the Garden, who was the confidante of Moses, and who negotiated
with Abraham over a town where maybe ten good people would be
enough to bring salvation. How often do we talk to God, but not with
God; look for God’s answer, but fail to see God’s presence in the
quiet companionship of our hearts? We find ourselves—or make ourselves—strangers in the universe that has been given to us, because
our voices do not go beyond us, or meet that breath within us that
gave us life.
But in the person of Mary, we have a companion, who shows us what
it is to enter into a dialogue with God. She prays, not in the form of
passing monologues that flow like e-mails into and out of the divine
mailbox, but from the depth of her being, with her whole self. For
dialogue is not, in the end, about information, but about encounter;
it is about entering into the life of the other and allowing the other
to enter fully into our own lives. To pray, as Mary did, in dialogue
with God, is to hold incarnate the spirit and the soil, the breath and
the body, the mystery and the moment of a person in the presence of
herself and of all that is and ever will be. And when we do that, God
becomes Incarnate in us, and we are assumed, with Mary, into the
very center of God.
Calendar
St. Joseph Community
extends its prayers and
hopes for the following intentions: For the
well being of friends and
family who feel their
world is turning upside
down with the economy
. . . For those who are
the care providers of
elderly parents . . . For
Danny’s well being . . .
For hope and charity to
be manifested to the people all over the world
who are suffering from war, malnutrition and
oppression.
“Upon arriving, the angel said to her:
Rejoice, O highly favored daughter!
The Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women.”
~Luke 1:28
If you are interested in having someone placed
on the prayer tree, please contact Renée Leet at
324-2522 or [email protected]
Parish Help Wanted!
St. Joseph Catholic Church is looking for a new
team member. We seek a mature person who is
used to multi-tasking in a small office environment. The successful candidate will be comfortable around technology. Additionally, you have
some accounting experience. Finally, you enjoy
interacting with others and helping make things
happen. This 24 hours per week Office Assistant position comes with benefits and will pay
between $14-16 per hour. Ideal position for a
school parent. Details are available on the parish
website under News, or call Greg McNabb at
965-1648.
St. Joseph Safe Environment
Training 2011-2012
All volunteers in the Parish, School and CYO
Sports are required to complete Called to Protect
for Ministries by October 1, 2011. We will be offering two classes at St. Joseph School - Friday,
September 2nd at 9 am and Monday, September
12th 6:30 pm. To register, visit www.seattle.
setanet.org/classes.php. If you have any questions, please contact Jane Mueller at jmueller@
stjosephsea.org or 206-329-3260, ext. 226.
Community
JustMatters
In keeping with St. Joseph’s mission to educate parishioners on Catholic social teaching, the Social Justice Commission will begin facilitating JustMatters modules in the
fall. These 8 week sessions engage parishioners in study
and prayer focused on topics found within the social teachings of the church. With a small group you will learn and
grow through listening and sharing. Currently, we are
beginning the planning phase for the fall and would like
to hear from you; what days of the week work for you,
what starting date work and what topic would you be most
interested in studying. There are 8 topics to choose from.
If you would be interested in participating and would like
to help choose the topic please email Meghan Mayo at
[email protected] with your availability and
top two choices of module: Ecology, Torture, Federal
Budget, Immigration, Climate Change, Prison Reform,
Forming a Mission-Based Community, Peacemaking and
Non-Violence. For more detailed information on each topic
please visit the JustFaith website http://www.justfaith.org/
programs/pdf/justmatters_modules.pdf
Seniors on the Go
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Thursday, August 18th - Senior Outing to Burke
Museum followed by lunch. $8 entry fee to museum
and bring money for lunch. Depart St. Joe’s at 10:30
am and return 3:30 pm. Please contact Renée at 3252422, x100 to reserve a space in the parish van.
Annual School/Parish Picnic!
Sunday, September 11th
1 to 4 p.m., Parking Lot
School/Parish will provide refreshments, hot
dogs, sno-cones, ice cream and cotton candy.
Inflatable rides for the kids and so much more!
(Please bring a salad or side dish to share.)
To volunteer contact:
Mary Freiburger (rides) at 206-412-6279 or
[email protected]
Steve Wodzanowski (set-up/clean-up) at 965-1646 or
[email protected]
Come and See What the
Catholic Faith Has to Offer
Tuesday, September 20th
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
St. Joseph Parish Center
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Are you, your spouse, a friend, or an acquaintance a
member of another faith tradition but worship regularly here at St. Joseph.
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Are you experiencing God’s call in your life and
seeking Baptism or full communion with the Catholic
Church.
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If you are, please consider participating in the Rite of
Christian Initiation for Adults. The RCIA program is
an opportunity to explore with others what the Catholic Church has to offer. It is an opportunity, through
a process of discernment and gradual conversion to
become a full member of the Catholic Church.
If you are interested contact Deacon Steve Wodzanowski
at 965-1646 or [email protected]
All are welcome in this journey of faith.
Tent City Thank You
The St. Joseph Tent City committee would like to
thank the individuals and families who helped make
hosting Tent City III possible this summer. Everything you did from set up and break down of Tent
City, to the delicious meals provided, to the time you
spent with members of Tent City playing, singing and
talking together, enriched the experience for us all.
A special thank you to the companies who donated
goods and services to Tent City including: Tully’s
Coffee, Husky Deli, Franz Bakery, Piecoras Pizza and
Capital Hill Hair.
St. Joseph Marriage Enrichment
The Marriage Enrichment group is sponsoring a short
group hike at the Mercer Slough on August 27th at
10 am. We will meet at the Eastside Heritage Center
(Winters House). It has easy, straightforward trails
and it isn’t too far away for a nice Saturday morning walk. All ages are welcome. For details, contact
Sarah O’Neil and John Kew at sarahconeill@gmail.
com or 291-5593. Visit www.ci.bellevue.wa.us/mercer_slough_trail for Mercer Slough details.
IThe Food Bank @ St. Mary’s
12th Annual Harvest Dinner
Dinner and Auction
Saturday, September 24th
Doors Open at 5:30 pm
Seattle Design Center
Georgetown District of Seattle
5701 6th Ave S.
$45 donation per person
Please RSVP by September 5th via email at
[email protected]
ICentennial Celebration
Immaculate Conception
School Building
August 27, 2011
Open House - 4 pm
Mass with Archbishop J. Peter Sartain - 6 pm
Reception Following
810 18th Ave.
Please remember to include St. Joseph Parish in your estate plans.
IAugust is Baby Corner Month
The St. Joseph Baby Corner, which serves poor mothers
and young children in their many needs, needs us! As part
of our prayer and action for the month of August, St. Joseph Parish is responding to the call of a work that started
in our community. Baby Corner is in desperate need,
especially, of the following items: Newborn & Infant size
undershirts & pajamas, Outfits for newborns & infants,
Baby Bath Towels, Baby Wash, Diaper Rash Ointment,
Lotion, Diapers! Diapers! Diapers! (especially sizes 3-6),
High Chairs, Bouncer Chairs, Booster Chairs, Bath Tubs,
Floor Gyms. Baby Corner accepts “gently” used and new
items, all of which goes directly to the most needful in our
community: mothers with small babies. Like Mary and Jesus, these mothers and children depend on St. Joseph--may
we honor our patron by following his example.
Children’s Faith Formation
Fall Registration
CFF Registration is OPEN NOW!! Sign up TODAY by visiting the St. Joseph Parish website: www.stjosephparish.org
Collection: August 7, 2011
Total Needed Weekly to Meet Budget:
Total for Masses and Gift Mailed In:
$15,994.00
$17,735.00