Sunday Bulletin - St. Mary Magdalen RC Church, Oakville, CT

7
Saint Mary Magdalen Parish
Oakville, CT.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mass Intention
SATURDAY, February 7, 2015
11:00 a.m. First Reconciliation
Vigil Mass Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
4:00 p.m. Vincenzo Zappone
requested by his wife
SUNDAY, February 8, 2015 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
8:30 a.m. Bernice Giordano
requested by her daughter
10:30 a.m. Gabriel & Anna Marie and Miguel & Filomena Rosa
requested by Joe & Teresa Distasti
Scout Sunday
MONDAY, February 9 2015 Weekday
8:00 a.m.
TUESDAY, February 10, 2015 Saint Scholastica
8:00 a.m. Joyce Forgue
WEDNESDAY, February 11, 2015 Our Lady of Lourdes
8:00 a.m.
THURSDAY, February 12, 2015 Weekday
8:00 a.m. Parish Community
FRIDAY, February 13, 2015 Weekday
NO MORNING MASS
SATURDAY, February 14, 2015
Vigil Mass Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
4:00 p.m. Deceased members of the Mazzola & Ciminea Families
requested by their families
SUNDAY, February 15, 2015 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
8:30 a.m. Kathleen & Joe Sotnik
requested by their family
10:30 a.m. Mary Schroeder
requested by her daughter Gerry Kaiser
Sanctuary Lamp Intentions
Activities & Meetings
February 8 - 14, 2015
SUNDAY
10:30a.m.
“Wee Celebrate” Religious Ed Program for 3-5
year olds, Church Hall
Scout Sunday, Church Hall
MONDAY
6:45p.m.
7:00p.m.
7:00p.m.
REACH, Youth Group, Church Hall
SMMS Board/Parish Council, School
Catholic Women’s Mtg., Rectory Mtg. Rm.
TUESDAY
6:30p.m.
7:00p.m.
Cub Scouts, Church Hall
Nifty Fifty Mtg., Rectory
WEDNESDAY
7:00p.m.
HomeFront Volunteer Mtg., Rectory Mtg. Rm.
THURSDAY
6:30p.m.
Boy Scouts, Church Hall
SATURDAY
3:00- 3:30p.m.
Confessions, Church
Saint Mary Magdalen School
www.smmsoakville.org
Stewardship of Treasure
Our parishioners need to give $5,500 every week to our
spiritual home in order to maintain it financially. The weekly
stewardship offering January 31 & February 1 weekend
totaled $4725.00 and Online giving totaled $495.00.
Totaling $5220.00.
Our goal was not met this week, fell short by $280.00.
Sign up for Online Giving by visiting our parish website at:
www.stmmagdalen-oakville.org.
The Church:
The Chapel:
Vocations: Healing, reconciling, and
proclaiming good news: the tasks of Jesus, the
tasks of the church. Does God call you to be a
healer, reconciler, proclaimer of good news as a
priest or religious? Call Fr. Jim at the parish office, 860-2749273. He would like to speak to you.
February 18th
Ash Wednesday Schedule
9:30 a.m. Mass with ashes
12:10 p.m. Prayer Service with ashes
6:00 p.m. Mass with ashes
New Parishioners: Welcome to our parish. Please introduce yourself
to Fr. Jim Gregory after Mass. We want to know and serve you.
Please register by stopping in or calling the parish office during the
week Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. We
encourage you to use our offertory envelope system and to share
your time, talent, and treasure for our parish community. You are a
blessing to our parish family and we’re glad you’re here!
___________________________________________________________
Baptisms
First Sunday of the month at Noon or during one of the weekend
Masses. Prior to Baptism parents and sponsors are to attend a prebaptismal session. Please contact the Rectory.
Weddings
Plans have to be made at least 6 months prior to the wedding date.
Please contact the Rectory before making further arrangements.
Sponsor Certificates
Town residence or parish registration alone are not enough to be
considered a practicing Catholic. Individuals seeking sponsor
certificates must worship and utilize the parish stewardship
envelopes on a regular basis as a sign that they are practicing
Catholics.
February 08, 2015
www.stmmagdalen-oakville.org.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ATTENTION THIS SUNDAY AT 11:30A.M.
All members of ministries ( Parish Council, Finance, Money
Counters, Ushers, Scouts, REACH Liturgy, Catholic Women’s
Ministers of Communion, Lectors, Altar Servers, Small
Christian Communities Music, School Board)
THIS Sunday, February 8th at 11:30 a.m., all members are
requested to gather in the Church for group shots for our
parish pictorial/directory. This is the ONLY TIME that these
photos will take place. We encourage all members to attend.
Thank you! Any questions, give a call to the rectory 860-2749273.
Catholic Women’s Organization
C.W.O. will meet Monday, February 9th at 7:00 p.m. in the
rectory meeting room. Prior to the business meeting meet in
the Chapel for Rosary. All women are invited and welcome
to attend our meetings.
NIFTY FIFTY CELEBRATION
Dear Friends:
Saint Mary Magdalen Church is
publishing a parish pictorial/directory
and a special commemorative Nifty-Fifty
birthday card for Father Jim Gregory in
preparation for a dinner/dance on May
9th at the Grand Oak Villa. More info to
come in next weeks’ bulletin, but mark your calendars to
hold the date, Saturday, May 9th.
We are seeking your support. We are offering a business card
size ad to appear in both the pictorial/directory and the
Nifty-Fifty Birthday card for $50.
In addition, you may want to sign Father Jim’s
commemorative birthday card with a patron listing for a $15.
All ads are due with full payment by February 6, 2015.
Checks are to be made out to Saint Mary Magdalen Church.
Please submit your payment with your business card and/or
the completed patron listing form below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Return this part form with your request no later than Friday,
February 9, 2015.
Drop off, put in the offertory basket, or mail to:
St. Mary Magdalen Rectory
145 Buckingham St.
Oakville, CT 06779
Name Listing: ____________________________________________
Name: _____________________________________
Telephone Number: ____________________
Address: ___________________________________
Shepherd’s Desk
By Father Jim Gregory
I attended the first Faith and Astronomy Workshop
put on by the Vatican Observatory for parish priests and
those who work with them. The week involved talks from
working astronomers, field trips to astronomical sites around
Tucson, and evening telescope observing. One of the
profound insights of the workshop was coming to know
again the Catholic image of God as Creator of heaven and
earth maker of all things visible and invisible. This insight is
profound because it is not the image held by many people,
especially some scientists whose beliefs are that discoveries of
science make no room for God.
Because one of the creation accounts in Genesis
opens with the words, “In the beginning” (Gn. 1:1), one
cannot help but to imagine God initiating the universe by
flipping a switch, lighting a fuse, or snapping a finger.
However, this kind of image of God makes God out to be a
nature god, that is, some kind of divine mechanic who causes
something in nature to happen. For example, one sees
lightning because the lightning god caused it. The danger in
believing in this type of nature god is if someone figures out
how lighting really works in nature, there no longer is a need
for a lightning god. A crisis of faith will surely follow.
It is this kind of nature god, a god who causes the Big
Bang like a god who causes lightning, which scientists debunk.
If an astrophysicist can describe what really caused the initial
expansion of the universe, then there is no need for a Big
Bang nature god. What is more, they would be right.
Catholics never believed in nature gods. The
Almighty who is Creator of heaven and earth and maker of
all things visible and invisible does not light a fuse. Catholics
believe in God who is beyond nature, that is, supernatural.
How then does nature get created by God who is beyond
nature?
If we look to the same Genesis account of creation
that begins, “In the beginning,” we also see God saying many
times, “Let there be.” Basically, by God speaking, things came
to be. More specifically, by God speaking words through the
Word who is the Christ of God, all things came into
existence. In other words, creation is an expressive act of God
from beyond nature, not a causal result of an act in nature.
Catholics believe all of creation is an expression of
limitless love of God (super or beyond nature) in limited
form (nature). Catholics also believe that God continues to
express and sustain as creation continues to become. The
nature gods that continually disappear by the advances of
scientific understanding do not pose a threat to our faith. We
don’t believe in them either.
This is an important distinction that has become
apparent to me as a result of my discussions at the Faith and
Astronomy Workshop.
The Anointed Ones
As “Christ” means “anointed,” we call ourselves “Christians” because
we are the anointed ones, the “oiled people,” so to speak. The
sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist initiate us into
the “oiled” community, the community anointed to continue the
vocation of the Messiah, the Christ.
from Catholic Update Guide to Confirmation