The Parish Family of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Transcription
The Parish Family of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
The Parish Family of Our Lady of Perpetual Help as the Mother Church of Polonia in the Greater New Bedford Area 235 North Front Street, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02746 Phone: 508-992-9378 Fax: 508-993-4881 www.olphchurchnb.org Conventual Franciscan Friars: Father Conrad Salach, O.F.M. Conv., Pastor [email protected] Masses: Saturday (Lord's Day Vigil) ..........................4:00 PM Sunday Bi-Lingual English-Polish.............. 10:00 AM Monday-Saturday ..........................................7:30 AM Holy Day ........................................Please consult the bulletin Devotions: Rosary: Weekdays after Mass; Lord's Day before Mass Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament: First Fridays after Mass Divine Mercy Novena: Good Friday to Easter Saturday OLPH Triduum: June 24, 25, 26 Parish Registration: If you are new to the area, we welcome you to join our Parish Family. Please introduce yourself after Mass or at the rectory. Baptism: Kindly consult with the Pastor at least a month in advance. Baptism Preparation Class is required. Reconciliation: Confessions are heard before Saturday morning and Saturday evening Masses and at other times upon request. Marriage: Kindly consult with the Pastor one year before your planned wedding date. Anointing of the Sick: Kindly advise Father Conrad of your impending operation or current hospital stay, so that you can receive this sacrament of healing. Ministry to Parishioners Confined to Home: Housebound parishioners are urged to notify Father Conrad of your desire to receive the sacraments. PARISH MISSION STATEMENT: As a Parish Family, we strive to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ and emulate Him through His teachings. We honor Mary our Mother and promote a strong community through service and ministry. We extend our hands and open our hearts to embrace all people in unity, young and old, wishing to join us in worshipping together as a Parish Family in the spirit of Franciscan Joy, Peace and Love. OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP OUR CHRISTMAS MASSES will be celebrated at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve and 10 a.m. Christmas Day. The choir will lead the congregation in koledy and carols at 3:40 as a prelude to Christmas Eve Mass. YOU, TOO, CAN TAKE PRIDE in decorating the church for Christmas! The Christmas Tree Set-Up Team will begin setting up and lighting up the trees in our sanctuary after the 10 o’clock Mass next Sunday, December 20th. The finished product is always so beautiful and a joy for us to admire, but it really does require a lot of parishioners working together to make it happen. Can we count on you to help? OUR ANNUAL OPLATEK DINNER for parishioners and friends will be served in the parish social hall on Sunday, January 2nd, after Mass. The menu will consist of roast stuffed pork with all the trimmings. We are happy that we are able to hold the price of tickets to $15 again this year. To reserve your tickets, call Eileen Szymanski at 508992-4740. OPLATKI are available in the main vestibule and at the side entrance of the church, as well as at the rectory. The suggested offering is $3 per package of five wafers. AGING RELIGIOUS NEED YOUR HELP. In the United States today, there are more than 33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and religious order priests. These religious worked tirelessly in our Catholic schools, hospitals, parishes, and Catholic agencies, usually for little to no pay. As a result, many religious communities lack adequate savings for retirement and eldercare. Your gift to today’s collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious helps provide medications, nursing care, and more. Please be generous. A GREAT BIG “THANK YOU” to all the wonderful volunteers who worked together many hours over several days to make pierogi for our Pre-Christmas Polish Food Sale. I hesitate to list names for fear of omitting one, but you and I -- and, most importantly, God -- know who you are! May God bless you. NEW BEDFORD, MA. AND “THANK YOU” as well to Fred Kalisz, Kathy Kalisz, and Joe Sobolewski who staffed the Polish food sale this Saturday. OUR 2015 “GIVING TREE” was surrounded with a heartwarming number of gifts. Your kindness and generosity will help make Christmas morning happy and memorable for many poor children in the Greater New Bedford area. Catholic Social Services will be back one last time, if needed, to pick up any late donations. May God reward each one for your goodness. CHOOSE LIFE!...AN ADVENT PRAYER God of Life, We rejoice in the promise of Your coming. You have sent Your Son, born in Bethlehem. He is the Prince of Peace, and the One In whose Name all oppression shall cease. May we welcome His coming each day And prepare for His coming at the end of time. May we build a culture that welcomes Him By welcoming every child, born and unborn. We pray in the name of the same Christ our Lord. Amen. FOOD FOR THE POOR representative, Father David Diebel, asked me to thank our OLPH Parish Family for welcoming him so warmly last weekend. In his message at Mass, Father shared just a smidgeon of the real-life daily trials suffered by so many of our sisters and brothers in many South- and Central-American countries. If you are still undecided, please read the flyer that was in your pew last weekend (additional flyers are at the church entrances) and prayerfully consider how you will respond. It isn’t every day that we are asked to help the poor by providing a goat, a piglet, or baby chicks. But we have that opportunity today. THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT December 13, 2015 A MESSAGE FROM FATHER CONRAD Sisters and Brothers of Our Parish Family, Today is “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of St. Paul: “The Lord is near.” This joyful spirit is signified by the rose-colored candle of our Advent wreath. Sat.- Dec. 12 - Third Sunday of Advent 4:00 PM +Alvin Bodzioch Req. Friends of Poland Sun.- Dec. 13 - Third Sunday of Advent 10:00 AM OLPH Parishioners Living & Deceased Mon.- Dec. 14 - St. John of the Cross 7:30 AM +Regina & +Josef Tomon Tues.- Dec. 15 - Advent Weekday 7:30 AM +Angela & +Chester Kowalczyk Wed.- Dec. 16 - Advent Weeday 7:30 AM In Thanksgiving for Blessings Req. M/M Mieckowski Thurs.- Dec. 17 - Late Advent Weekday 7:30 AM For Son’s Recovery from Alcoholism Req. Parents Fri. - Dec. 18 - Late Advent Weekday 7:30 AM +Bill Arabasz Req. Wife, Helen Sat.- Dec. 19 - Late Advent Weekday 7:30 AM +Walter Palys Req. Allen & Gail Ponichtera Sat.- Dec. 19 - Fourth Sunday of Advent 4:00 PM +Julia Salach Req. Son & Daughter Sun.- Dec.20 - Fourth Sunday of Advent 10:00 AM OLPH Parishioners Living & Deceased The second Part of Advent always begins on December 17th, so that will be Thursday of this week. For the final eight days before Christmas, there is a bit of a change in the readings at daily Mass: the first readings are still from the prophecies, but the gospels are from the infancy narratives of Saints Matthew and Luke. We read the stories of faithful men and women who prepared the way for our salvation. We enter into the story of how Jesus’ life began. These stories are filled with hints of what His life will mean for us. This week we prepare by experiencing the joy—feeling a part of the waiting world that rejoices--because our longing has prepared us to believe that the reign of God is close at hand. We can pray: “Prepare our hearts, Lord God, and remove any sadness that prevents us from experiencing the joy and hope that Christ’s presence will bestow. Each morning this week, we can choose to light that third inner candle of joy, using the words of our Blessed Mother: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. So as we go through our day to day life this week, we can experience the difference our faith brings to it. The grace we ask for will be given to us. In spite of the sin we will encounter—in our own hearts and in our experience of the sin of the world--we can feel the joy of the words: “You are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1.21) The Light shining into the dark shadows of our lives, and showing us patterns of sinfulness, invites us to experience God’s mercy and healing. Perhaps we will choose to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week--and walk by that Light in joy. Our celebration of the coming of our Savior in history is opening are hearts and minds to experience His coming to us today—and preparing us to await His coming in glory. “Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people. We await your coming. Come, O Lord.” Peace and Blessings, Father Conrad