Divine Mercy/Albis Deponendis Sunday 4/15/2007
Building Fund ‘Capital recoup’ goal in 3 years Oct 2006-9 $180,000.00
Fiscal year’s
Offertory Budgeted for 2006-7 $113,004.00
What we need
weekly to match our offertory budget 2006-7 $2,173.00
Total
Offertory donation of last weekend $3,301.00
Difference
with our expected weekly budget 2006-7 $+1,188.00
# of
pledges for Capital Campaign thus far
[$0.00 included] No. 140
# of pledges
for Parish Share thus far [$0.00 included] No.
160
# of Adult
Offertory envelopes received last weekend No.114
‘Capital
Recoup’ down-payment received thus far $40,251.00
Increase in
‘Capital Recoup’ campaign from last weekend $180.00
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Parish Share 2007 thus far
& comparisons to recent history:
2003, 2004
2005 2006 2007 (thus
far)
# Of pledges 184
163 181
163 160
# $0.00
pledges 22
26 37 29 27
Total Parish
Share down-payments thus far $12,748.00
Increase in Parish Share contributions
from last weekend $270.00
Our Parish
Share + Parochial School assessments 2007-8 $33,013.00
‘+++
Today’s Readings:
Effects of Christ’s resurrection. Guided by the Spirit, individuals [Thomas] &
Congregations grow in faith.
Acts 5:12-16. This text presents one of
Luke’s summaries on the early Christian life in Jerusalem. The Apostles have maintained a
successful link between their growing number of converts & the rest of the
Jews. God has endowed the Apostles with Jesus’ healing ministry & power.
Because of their charisma & life-style, everyone treats them with awe. They
are recognized as the official witnesses of Jesus’ past ministry & of his
resurrection. The many applicants for converts are first baptized, and then are
extensively instructed on the teachings & deeds of Jesus. From the abundant
and varied oral teachings used in these catechesis, eventually will develop our
present written Gospels. During these early years before the destruction of Jerusalem, the newly
baptized join, grow & contribute to their new ‘family in the Lord,’ the
Church. They accept their various tasks & responsibilities towards each
other. A number of them even agree to live together. They celebrate the
Eucharist daily in their private homes & join the rest of the Jews daily in
the official, liturgical worship events going on at the Temple. These early Christians are convinced
that eventually the rest of Israel
would accept Jesus as the long expected & promised Messiah.
Psalm 118. In this liturgical hymn, an
individual, who speaks for the collective Israel, thanks God for his
faithfulness in upholding the Covenant. This ‘contract’ protects Israel,
its priests and its converts.
Revelation
1:9-19.
Because of his faith, a Christian named John [probably not the Apostle nor the
author of the Gospel] is exiled to the Roman penal colony of Patmos in the Mediterranean. There, he sees & describes, in veiled
& symbolic setting [the then popular apocalyptic style], his vision of
Christ’s victory after his resurrection. Christ fulfills all the hopes of Israel.
For John
20:19-31 there is no separate later date of Ascension & Pentecost.
Everything happens on the very same day of Easter. By the evening hours of that
day, Jesus has already ascended to the Father. Now, in his glorified state,
Jesus presents himself for the 1st time to the official witnesses of
his entire public ministry and passion, the 12 Apostles and a few other
disciples. Just like God had done at the moment of creating of Adam, the first
man, Jesus breathes on the Apostles the gift of a new life, the Spirit. John
envisions here something like the act of God creating new leaders for his
renewed world. This new life, initiated through Jesus’ Spirit brings back Eden’s original peace,
harmony, intimacy between these new Adams, the universe & God. The Church
is endowed with the power to judge & forgive sins. The Apostles will need
the Spirit to judge & evaluate human sinful states both at baptism and
afterwards and confer on converts the forgiveness for sins. Next, Jesus
commissions the 12 for their apostolic work. Under the influence of this
Spirit, the future converts will not need [like Thomas] to first prove the
reality of the resurrection through a physical contact with Jesus before
declaring their faith in him, his doctrine & his resurrection. But here,
Jesus presents to the Apostles and to Thomas the physical contact with his
hands & feet to prove that, although different from the crucified, mortal
Jesus they have experienced in the past, he, the resurrected Jesus, is the very
same person. Thomas [& the Apostles] responds by acknowledging that this
resurrected Jesus is both Lord &
God. This is John’s 1st human ‘confession’ on the inner nature of
Jesus. This represents the 1st official statement by the official
future teachers of the world about the divine nature of Jesus. It echoes &
fulfills John’s Gospel opening statement about the ‘Word’ [Jn 1], the creator
of the world. Those who accepted him find life. He empowers them to become
children of God. But, historically, the rest of the world did not know or
accept Jesus as God. The Evangelist concludes by stating that the gospel was
never meant to be the ‘definitive’ biography of Jesus. The author acknowledges
that he has been selective in choosing Jesus’ biographical events &
doctrinal teachings. The only purpose behind his selective writing has been to
promote and sustain in all converts & in the Christian community both those
words and actions that promote the faith in Jesus as Lord and God.
Conclusions: Through our belief in
Jesus as God & through humbly confessing our sins we are forgiven by God.
We believe that Jesus gave authority to the Church to forgive sins so that we
could be reconciled and completely restored to his intimacy. The Gospels are
the catechetical outlines used by the Apostles. They had been commissioned to
spread the faith. The Eucharist is central to this Christian faith. We, the
Community, like the Apostles, are ‘commissioned’ to seek out the un-churched.
Periodically, we are all tested like Thomas, and are called to respond with
faith.
I’ll believe it when I see it. “You’ve got to be
kidding.” “That can’t be for real” “You’re pulling my leg; you can’t mean
that.” “I just can’t believe it.” “That’s incredible.” “I won’t believe it
until I see it.”
An everyday experience. Aren’t these all familiar
words we hear in conversations every day? We utter them when we hear something
that is difficult to believe. It may be a tragic event such as a death: “I
don’t believe it. I just had lunch with him yesterday.” Or it may be a joyous
occasion, as when someone is told that she has won the million-dollar lottery:
“I’ll believe it when I see the check.”
Aren’t we all doubting Thomases? There is probably not a
person on earth who would not fit the role of the skeptic apostle Thomas in
this story. It’s the age-old “I don’t believe it; prove it to me” story. We
know what Jesus did. He didn’t just say, “See, Thomas, I’m here.” Rather, Jesus
made absolutely certain that Thomas experienced that he was in his presence:
“Take your finger and examine my hands. Put your hand into my side.”
Jesus proves his presence every day. But Jesus did even more.
He proved himself to Thomas and then said: “Blest are they who have not
seen and have believed.” We fit into that category. We can’t put our hand into
Jesus’ side as Thomas was told to do. But we know that Jesus is with us.
He proves this in 101 ways each day. Jesus is present in the Eucharist each
day. Or we find Jesus in our neighbor, our co-worker, our student, our teacher,
or the myriads of people around us who serve our needs without our ever
recognizing Jesus’ presence in each of them. In this way Jesus is blessing us
with his gifts and favors. Incredible, you say. To that Jesus replies: “Do not
persist in your unbelief, but believe.”
+++
Next weekend readings: Acts 5:27-41, Ps 30,
Rev 5:11-14, Jn 21:1-19
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Last week’s
tithing: 114 Offertory envelopes: 1 $250, 1 $150, 1 $120, 3 $100, 1 $80, 1
$70, 2 $60, 8 $50, 7 $40, 3 $35, 1 $30, 9 $25, 2 $22, 29 $20, 1 $18, 7 $15, 1
$12, 2 $11, 26 $10, 1 $7, 1 $6, 16 $5, 1 $4, 3 $3, 8 $2, 5 $1; donations: $466;
Votive candles: $26.75; Flowers: $10.08;
4 Parish Share env.: $270; 4 Building Fund: $29; 7 Capital Campaign: $180; Support
$7; Festival Raffle: $20; Holyland: $142.25; Campaign Human Devel.: $5.
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Last week’s adults’ free-labor for our parish glorifies God & benefits all
of us: Thanks to all who donated the 350 baby food jars and 43 pots of
lilies; many parishioners were involved in preparing, rehearsing, &
dismounting the hall for our Triduum Liturgies; 2 friends collaborated, working
at the Rectory laundry to make it more efficient. 4 parish council members
attended the day long Diocesan updating on tentative new priorities for the
parish Pastoral and Financial councils today, Sat, Apr 14. Apologies if we forgot to mention what
some of you did for us? Correct that by calling the Rectory! Did you forget
that you wanted to accomplish something for our Community? Stop & consult
the Rectory if you are available & willing to perform any long & short
term jobs.
+++
Last week’s Junior
good deeds: I helped mom make cookies; I shared my candy
with my baby sister; sharing; cleaned the bathroom; helped Ninny & mom dye
eggs. [Parents, please, help remind your children to
weekly report some of their good deeds on their weekly offertory
envelopes]
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Congratulations!
Our St. Vincent DePaul container (set in a corner of the rectory parking lot) keeps
contributing so much that, according to the De Paul workers, that we are 4th
largest donors in Butler
County. Only St. Paul’s, St
Joseph’s in Cabot and Holy Sepulcher are contributing more
items.
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Meetings:
1) Festival Meeting on Mon., Apr. 16 at 7 PM. 2) Education/CCD Staff meets on
Tues., Apr. 17 at 7 PM. 3) Guild/Apostolate Meeting on Thurs., Apr. 19 at 7 PM.
4) Worship Committee meeting on Wed., May 2, 7PM. 5) Financial Council meets on
Thurs., May 3, 7PM.
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CCD News: 1) CCD resumes now, Apr.
15-16. 2) CCD Registration for 2007-08 is also now, Apr. 14-16. 3) 1st
Communion Presentation to the Congregation is today, Sun., Apr. 15, 11AM. 4)
Practice for 1st Communion is next Fri., Apr. 20, 6:30PM. 5) 1st
Communion is Sun., Apr. 22, 1PM. 6) Mon., Apr. 23, 6PM, CCD 6th
grade rehearsal. 7) Mon., Apr. 30, 6PM, Mass of the Holy Spirit-closing CCD.
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The Men’s
Club
will serve coffee & donuts after each Mass the weekend of Apr. 28-29.
+++
The Ladies
Guild
is hosting their annual “Spring Ladies Luncheon” on Sun., May 6 at 12:30PM. All
food is provided by the Guild; there will be entertainment & a Chinese
auction. Sign-up sheets will be in both lobbies.
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Pope set to make mark on U.S. church.
[By Eric Gorski, for AP] Two years into his reign, Pope
Benedict XVI is finally poised to make a major mark on American Catholicism
with a string of key bishop appointments and important decisions about the
future of U.S.
seminaries and bishops' involvement in politics. Benedict's
election on April 19, 2005, shook liberals and conservatives. So far, the Pope has
not made the United States
much of a priority. When Benedict has gained attention, it has mostly been on
the world stage, focusing on the re-Christianization of Europe,
Islam and mending relations with Orthodox Christians and has stressed universal
themes of faith and reason. "The last two years have been much quieter
years as far as the papacy is concerned because you have a very different
personality" than John Paul II. He is taking a very pastoral approach, and
I think people resonate very positively with that." Yet America's turn
may be coming. At the top of the list is a looming generational shift among the
nation's bishops, whose decisions at the local level greatly affect Catholics
in the pews and can carry national weight. For instance, church leaders
recently closed parishes in Boston and New York, while the St.
Louis archbishop has clashed with a heavily Polish
parish over control of its assets. Key appointments are expected in New York, Baltimore and Detroit, where cardinals
have reached retirement age - 75. And retirements or appointments are likely in
at least seven other dioceses and archdioceses: Seattle;
Minneapolis-St. Paul; Pittsburgh; New Orleans; Louisville, Ky.; Omaha, Neb.; and Mobile,
Ala. Then there is the potential ripple effect -
if some bishops move to larger cities, then they too must be replaced. "At
the end of these two years, we will see what the enduring impact of this
pontificate on the leadership of the U.S. church will be". So far, Benedict
has appointed former Pittsburgh Bishop Donald Wuerl to the prestigious Washington, D.C.,
archdiocese, and he chose former San Francisco
Archbishop William Levada as his successor to head
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog.
Levada is the highest-ranking American ever at the Vatican. While faithful to Rome, neither man has a
hard-line reputation. Wuerl, for instance, has refused to withhold Communion
from Catholic legislators who support legal abortion. Levada has strongly
affirmed traditional Catholic teachings while shepherding flocks in liberal
cities - San Francisco and Portland - before that. Benedict has tended
to appoint people who are moderate, who are good teachers, good communicators
and pastoral. "John Paul II was appointing people who were aggressive. The
new appointments will be more conciliators than fighters." The Rev.
Richard John Neuhaus, editor of the Catholic ‘First Things’, predicted that for
the major posts that lie ahead, Benedict will appoint bishops who are
"vibrantly orthodox" and strong communicators. There is no evidence
whatsoever that the Pope has changed his judgment on anything of consequence
the last two years," Neuhaus said. "He is a gentle, thoughtful,
paternal, firm and loving person. That's the man you see. For those of us who
knew Ratzinger over the last 25 years, there were no surprises at all." A review
had begun in 2005 by Vatican investigators of
229 U.S. Catholic seminaries for evidence of a gay culture and faculty dissent
from church teaching. There is no signal yet on the result of the
investigation, which grew out of reforms following the clergy sex abuse crisis.
Some Catholics expected Benedict, a champion of orthodoxy, to study closely
dissident theologians. The Vatican
did censure the writings of the John Sobrino in El Salvador and proponent of
liberation theology, over his writings about Christ's divinity. Even in that
case, however, Sobrino was not barred from teaching or publishing. In 2004, a
few vocal Catholic bishops spoke out against Catholic politicians who take
stances in conflict with church teaching, particularly on abortion. The main
target then was Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic. This
next election cycle, it's a Catholic Republican and former New York Mayor
Rudolph Giuliani who clashes with the church on abortion and gay marriage. He
also is twice divorced, though one marriage was later annulled. The pope
"is taking a forceful approach on a number of life issues. He has made very
clear his opposition to same sex marriage and abortion. The question is, to
what extent he will ask bishops to take very forceful positions or not take
steps in the political arena?"
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Pope was dismayed over the