Parish Bulletin
March 7, 2010
Third Sunday of Lent
STEWARDSHIP
The parable in today’s gospel clearly warns that we, like the fig tree, will be judged by our fruit. While God mercifully provides us with time and opportunity, let us give witness to our faith with deeds of kindness and generosity!
.
Last weeks collection $ 6,686.00
++++++++++
Pray For Our Military
PFC Scott Scutari– Army
Gregory Azzara - Navy
Gunnery Sgt. John Scott Dowdell - USMC
SSgt Matthew Pica - Army
Capt. Michael Quinn - Navy
John Paul Redmond - Army
PFC Robert Temple—Army
SSgt. Shawn Weismiller - Airforce
Sgt. Jason Ramos-Army
CPO Andrew Darrow, -USN
Pvt Jonathan Salvestrini– Army
PFC Shane Gibney– USMC
Cpl Mark Anthony Barone-USMC
LC Benjamin Johnson– USMC
Lt. Philip J. Granati– U.S. Coast Guard
LC Daniel Kusa- USMC
WO1 Nalita Sellers-Army
LC Amanda Knepper-USMC
++++++++++
Pastoral Council
Stephanie Barry 631-627-6373
slbarry@optonline.net
Nicole Cavaliere 631-286-9659
Dilligafx9@aol.com
Johanna DiGiovanni 631-776-9038
jmdigiovanni@aol.com
Frank Dupointe 631-831-2571
Frank@Dewpointenergy.com
Felix J. Grucci Jr. 631-207-0903
FGruccijr@aol.com
Kathie /Ken Hawkins 631-286-2559
kkins620@hotmail.com
Doug Kerr 516-805-1997
wrdkiii@optonline.net
Cynthia Kusa 631-286-8871
ckusa@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Gary Lombardi 631-241-1435
glombardi@ftub.com
Doris Noehren 631-286-9659
hpndln@aol.com
Judy Travers 631-475-1026
jtravers@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Joe Panarello 631-286-1823
Harmoniagardens@yahoo.com
Michael Simon 201-965-3365
consultmike73@yahoo.com
It is our mission to engage in ongoing dialogue about the needs, feelings, hopes and reactions of parishioners, to maintain the integrity of the parish
We encourage you to reach out to any member of the council, as we are your representatives in framing the future of Mary Immaculate.
++++++++++
Our devotional Statue of the Blessed Mother
is available to all of our parish families
for personal adoration at home.
If you are interested in having this statue
in your home for a week,
please contact the Rectory at 286-0154 to reserve a date.
+++++++++++
Please Pray for Priests
Dear Lord,
We pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5) May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph, Mary’s most chaste spouse. May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross. May your priests be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.
+++++++++++
RCIA
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
Catechumens are people who have never been baptized and are now preparing to be baptized, confirmed and welcomed to the Lord’s table at the Easter Vigil through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults commonly called the RCIA. Often there are others who have already been baptized and who now desire to become fully initiated members of the Catholic church. They, too, undergo a period of formation based on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adult: they are called candidates because they are discerning a call to complete their initiation.
If interested please contact Deacon Bob at 286-0154
++++++++++
Parish Finance Committee
Dr. Joseph Grasskemper
Felix Grucci
Tara Turnow
Parish Trustees
Charlie Meinhold
Johanna DiGiovanni
++++++++++
Our High School Youth Group
Meets every Saturday in the Cottage
After the 5:00 mass (6:00-7:30)
If anyone is interested in contributing toward
dinner for the kids
( ziti , fried chicken, heroes, whatever…)
Please contact Patty 286-3504
+++++++++++
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday March 6th
5:00pm Robert Youth by family
Lorraine O’Neil by Kane Family
Sunday March 7th
9:00am Wanda Richard by The O’Keefe Family
11:00am Anne Ford by family
Monday March 8
9:00am Pray for Priests
Tuesday March 9
9:00am Pray for Priests
Wednesday March 10
9:00am Pray for Priests
Thursday March 11
9:00am Peg Schlyer by David & Lin Schlyer
Friday March 12
9:00am no Mass
Saturday March 13
5:00pm Philip Peters by The Sangiamo Family
Intentions of Berberich family
Gene Hassell by wife
Sunday March 14
9:00am Pray for Priests
11:00am Pray for Priests
++++++++++
The Liturgy of the Word for Children is a special ministry at Mary Immaculate that meets during the 9 a.m. Mass on most Sundays. Children ages 4 to 8 are invited to accompany teachers to the upstairs classroom during the readings and homily of the Mass to hear a brief summary of the Gospel message at their level. They then do an activity that is somehow related to the reading, or some other spiritual theme.
If a parishioner would like to help out with this ministry they can contact the Religious Education office at Mary Immaculate, or call Paulette Brinka at 631-929-8549 (pbbrinka@aol.com).
+++++++++
Weekly Readings
Monday 2 Kngs 5:1-15b Lk 4:24-30
Tuesday Dn 3:25,34-43 Mt 18:21-35
Wednesday Dt 4:1, 5-9 Mt 5:17-19
Thursday Jer 7:23-28 Lk 11:14-23
Friday Hos 14:2-10 Mk 12:28-34
Saturday Hos 6:1-6 Lk 18:9-14
Sunday Jos 5-9a 10:12 2Cor 5:17-21 Lk 15:1-3 11-32
+++++++++++
March 13/14
Mass Servers
5:00pm level 7 Mass
Servers: S. Walsh, M. Gallagher, Z. Bluminthal
Lector: Doug Kerr
Host Usher: J. Garcia, P. Grucci, T. Derby
Eucharistic Minister: V. Marino, A. Leskowicz, J. Cardamone
9:00am level 2 Mass
Servers: R. Stanganelli, E. Stanganelli, J. LeRoux
Lector: Nick Cassone
Host Usher:C. Miller, D. Roberts
Eucharistic Minister: C. Meinhold, J. DiGiovanni, S. Barry
11:00am Level 8 Mass
Servers: M. Bontempi, A. Ferrigno, N. Milller
Lector: Family Mass
Host Usher: G. Moriarty, M. Fella, B Mele
Eucharistic Minister: K. Stehling, L. Carney, Sister Grace
+++++++++++
Lent is a call not just to “give up something” but more important to “give something for the poor.” Wherever you live in the parish, there are poor families within walking distance of your home. When in need, they ring the rectory bell. They are, in effects ringing your doorbell
Your gift in the poor Box will help the poor celebrate
the grace of God’s love this Easter.
+++++++++++
There will be a second collection
March 14th for Catholic Relief Services
+++++++++++
There will be a pilgrimage to the
Basilica in Washington DC
on April 10th,
Anyone interested see S. Grace
+++++++++++
Boys & Girls
Would you like to be an Altar Server?
You must be in Grade 3 or above
Register by phone or questions
Call Mrs. Hawkins 286-2559
Or Mrs. Barnett 286-8109
Altar Server Classes
5:15-6:30pm
Wednesdays In the Auditorium
Mar 3rd
Mar 10th
Mar 17th
Mar 24th
++++++++++
Virtus Training
The Diocese of Rockville Centre mandates that all parish volunteers complete the two hour Virtus Training Program.
Over 30 workshops will be offered this spring that will be held in neighboring parishes. Please consult the website: www:drvc.org, select Protecting our Children and tab to Virtus Training Calendar.
Our goal is to have all volunteers, who have not already done so, complete this workshop by May 1, 2010. Reports are sent to the Diocesan office to confirm compliance with this mandate.
We appreciate all you offer to our Parish and trust you will complete these necessary requirements.
+++++++++++
Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Taking Pain to the Heart
Writing in his journal during a time of bitter heartbreak, Henri Nouwen wrote these words: The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds than to understand them, better to let them enter into your silence than to talk about them. The choice you face constantly is whether you are taking your wounds to your head or your heart.
Part of us understands exactly what he is saying here, even as another part of us congenitally resists his advice: There’s place in us that doesn’t want to cry, doesn’t want to feel our hurt, doesn’t want to take our pain to a place of silence, and doesn’t want to take our wounds to our heart. And so instead, in our heartaches and wounds, we grow anxious and obsessive, we struggle to understand, we talk endlessly to others, and we try to sort things out with our heads rather than letting ourselves simply feel them with our hearts.
And that isn’t always a bad thing. Nouwen’s counsel, for all its wisdom, needs some qualification: It is important that we also take our wounds to our heads. Our hearts and heads need to be in sync. But what Nouwen points to here is something that he, a man blessed with an extraordinary sensitivity to the things of the heart, learned only through crushing heartache and breakdown, namely, that we more easily take things to the head than to the heart, even when we think we aren’t doing this.
The way we take pain to our heads and block healing tears in our hearts is by denial, by rationalization, by blaming, by not simply and honestly admitting and owning our own pain, our own helplessness, our own weakness, and our own inadequacy.
And we all have plenty of occasions to do this: The more alive and sensitive we are the more we will experience excruciating heartaches. The more honest we are the more we will be aware of our own limits and inadequacies. And the more generous and pure we are the more we will be aware of our own sin and betrayals.
And so Nouwen’s counsel contains a healthy challenge: When we are brought to our knees by heartache and pain, we shouldn’t try to deny that pain, deny its bitter strength, or deny our helplessness in dealing with it. To do so is to risk becoming hard and bitter. But if we give our deep pains and heartaches their honest due they will induce the kind of tears that soften and stretch the heart. It is helpful to remember that tears are salt-water, of one substance with the waters of the original oceans from which we sprung. Tears connect us to our origins and allow the primal water of life to again flow through us.
Moreover, when we take our pain to our hearts, when we honestly admit our weaknesses and helplessness, God can finally begin to fill us with strength. Why? Because it is only when we are brought to our knees in utter helplessness, only when we finally give up on our own strength, that God can send an angel to strengthen us, like God send an angel to strengthen Jesus during his agony in the garden.
One night, some months before his death, Martin Luther King received a death-threat on the phone. It had happened before but, on this particular night, it left him frightened and weakened to the core. All his fears came down on him at once. Here are his words as to what happened next:
I got out of bed and began to walk the floor. Finally I went to the kitchen and heated a pot of coffee. I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud. The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory.
“I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership and if stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before.
It is only after the desert has done its work on us, says Trevor Herriot, that an angel can come and strengthen us. That is why it is better to feel our wounds than to understand them and why it is better to cry than to worry.
+++++++++++
On Sunday April 18, 2010, couples married 50 years or more are invited to a special mass to be celebrated by Bishop John Dunne at St. Lawrence the Martyr in Sayville at 3:00p.m. Please pock up your registration card at the rectory, fill it out and return it to the rectory in time to reach the Diocese of Rockville Centre no later than April 2. Approximately one wee before the ceremony, information regarding the day will be mailed to you.
If you have any questions you may call 516-678-5800 ext 583
+++++++++++
The devotional statue of the Blessed Mother that was blessed at our 100th Anniversary Mass is available to all or our parish families for personal adoration at home.
If you are interested in having this statue in your home for a week,
please contact the Rectory at 286-0154
+++++++++++
Eucharistic Ministers sign up
sheets are located in the Sacristy
+++++++++++
If you wish to have a loved one remembered in our Easter Flower Memorial,
please obtain the special Easter flower envelopes available at the back tables.
+++++++++++
The Home Visits Ministry
at Mary Immaculate involves volunteers who are Eucharistic Ministers
communion to homebound parishioners
at a day and time agreeable to both parties. Anyone who knows of any parishioner
who is homebound and would like to receive communion can call the rectory
and a Minister will be assigned.
If you are interested in joining this ministry please call Clair at 286-3526.
++++++++++++
In an effort to re-furbish and renew our Auditorium Church,
we will be purchasing new chairs in the near future.
If you are interested in helping in the purchase of these chairs
we are asking for a donation of $150.00 for each chair.
Make checks out to Mary Immaculate with the notation
"Chairs" in the memo section of the check.
more donations we receive, the more chairs we will be able to purchase
+++++++++++
Next Week our parish will take up The Catholic Relief Services Collection. This Collection helps to fund six Catholic organizations that improve the quality of life and protect human dignity. Your gift will support agricultural development to strengthen economies and create food sustainability, provide outreach services to survivors of human trafficking, and supply pastoral care and advocacy for immigrants and refugees.
By helping the marginalized and impoverished, you give hope to Jesus in disguise. Please be charitable in next week's Catholic Relief Services Collection
+++++++++++
Easter Sunday
Holy Week Services 2010
Monday March 29th
Confession 3:30-5:30pm
Reconciliation Service 7:30pm
Holy Thursday
(No 9:00am Mass)
8:00pm (Auditorium)
Institution of Holy Eucharistic Ministers
Good Friday (No 9:00am Mass)
Liturgy of Passion and Death
3:00pm (Auditorium)
(Word Service)
8:00pm (Church)
Stations and Veneration of the Cross
Holy Saturday
No Reconciliation and No 9am Mass
Blessing of Food
1:00 (Church)
Easter Vigil 8:00pm
(There is No 5:00pm Mass on Holy Saturday)
Easter Sunday
April 4th
6:00 am Word Service at Bellport Dock
Masses 8:00am, 10:00am and 12:00 noon
All Masses in the Auditorium
++++++++++++
Breaking open the Word
Every Tuesday
Room 7
9:30am—10:30am
++++++++++
Ask most people who St. Patrick was and you’re likely to hear that he was an Irishman who becamethe patron saint of Ireland and once chased all the snakes out of the country.He is the patron saint of Ireland, to be sure. But he wasn’t Irish – he was British – and there isn’t any evidence that he had anything to do with snakes.
Was there a real Patrick then? we might ask. Indeed, there was.Patrick was born sometime about 370 to British Christian parents.But when he was sixteen years old, he was captured by raiders and sold into slavery, taken to Ireland.After six years of captivity, Patrick then escaped and went back home when, in time, he joined a monastery.
One night, Patrick had a dream in which he heard a voice asking him to come back to Ireland to evangelize.“Come and walk among us once more,” pleaded the voice.So Patrick went back to Ireland and until the day he died, he worked among the pagan tribes and brought many an Irishman to know the love of Christ.
Patrick was not highly educated, but he had a passion for Christian discipleship and learning.He established monasteries throughout northern and eastern Ireland.
During the fourth and fifth centuries one of the great challenges to the Christian faith emerged and threatened to undo the very gospel of Christ.That danger came to be known as Arianism, named after its original spokesman, the Alexandrian churchman, Arius.
Arius preached that the Father alone was God andJesus, the Son, was merely a creature.The old doctrine of the Trinity – that Father, Son and Spirit are three ways of God’s true being – was rejected by Arius. The problem with Ariansim, Patrick and others insisted, was that if the Son is not God, then it wasn’t God who died on the cross for our sins; it was just another man. If God did not die for our sins, then we are still in our sins and have no hope of salvation.
Church leaders like Patrick resisted the teachings of Arius and worked tirelessly to teach the Trinitarian nature of God.This is how the three-leaf clover (the shamrock) came to be associated with St. Patrick.Legend tells us that Patrick often used the three-leafed little plant to teach about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit:three leaves but one plant.By the time of his death on March 17 sometime between 461 and 490 A.D., Ireland was almost entirely Christian.
Thomas Cahill, the author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, wrote: “Only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.”Because of Patrick, Cahill said, the once warring Irish tribesmen “lay down the swords of battle, flung away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery.”
No one would have blamed Patrick if he had never gone back to Ireland after he escaped from his own slavery.But Patrick did go back and the church is greater for it.
+++++++++++
We will be Praying the Stations of
The Cross every Friday for
Lent in the Little Church at 9am.
++++++++++
My name is Lindsay Spaulding, and I’m a Casting Producer for ABC’s Emmy award winning TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." We are in the process of finding families who are deserving and in need of a new home for our next season of the show, and we want to move that bus to LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK.
We are looking for inspirational families that America can really root for. Because you are so plugged into the community, you might be able to help us reach those local heroes who need our help, or others in the community who can bring those families to our attention. would be great if you could post a bulletin on your website, or include our information in your newsletter, and forward this information on to anyone you see fit.
We're looking for inspirational members of the community who, for whatever reason, need a new home. we know that there are so many families in need all over this country, we want to focus on people that have given back in some way despite their personal hardships. examples from past episodes include The Bliven family of Minot, ND who started a little league baseball program for children with special needs. in Indiana, Shawna Farina heads up the local Relay For Life cancer walk for life in honor of her mother's struggle with the disease and, in an ironic twist of fate, now battles breast cancer herself. of our episodes have focused on people who have been inspirational within their own family. Hawkins of Hendersonville, TN was left paralyzed after she threw her body over her 2 sons as a tornado ripped apart their home. As you can see, our definition of deserving can be fairly broad.
Attached, is our show flyer, which details what we are looking for and how people can submit their materials to us. assistance you can offer in getting the word out to volunteer, service, and community-building organizations would be deeply appreciated. nominations should be sent to castlongisland@gmail.com
To be eligible, a family must own their own single family home or at least property on which a home can be built. , they must be able to show producers how a makeover will make a huge difference in their lives. must include the names and ages of each member of the household along with a description of the major challenges within the home. also include contact information of the family. possible, we would also love to see pictures of the family and their home.
The deadline for family nominations is March 15, 2010. , the sooner we find some deserving families, the better!
Thanks again! And please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.
Lindsay Spaulding-
Lindsay Spaulding
Casting Producer
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Lock & Key Productions
5200 Lankershim Blvd., 5th floor
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Office: 818-824-9627
Fax: 818-824-9699
+++++++++++
Breaking open the Word
Every Tuesday
Room 7
+++++++++++
+++STEWARDSHIP
The parable in today’s gospel clearly warns that we, like the fig tree, will be judged by our fruit. While God mercifully provides us with time and opportunity, let us give witness to our faith with deeds of kindness and generosity!
.
Last weeks collection $ 6,686.00
++++++++++
Pray For Our Military
PFC Scott Scutari– Army
Gregory Azzara - Navy
Gunnery Sgt. John Scott Dowdell - USMC
SSgt Matthew Pica - Army
Capt. Michael Quinn - Navy
John Paul Redmond - Army
PFC Robert Temple—Army
SSgt. Shawn Weismiller - Airforce
Sgt. Jason Ramos-Army
CPO Andrew Darrow, -USN
Pvt Jonathan Salvestrini– Army
PFC Shane Gibney– USMC
Cpl Mark Anthony Barone-USMC
LC Benjamin Johnson– USMC
Lt. Philip J. Granati– U.S. Coast Guard
LC Daniel Kusa- USMC
WO1 Nalita Sellers-Army
LC Amanda Knepper-USMC
++++++++++
Pastoral Council
Stephanie Barry 631-627-6373
slbarry@optonline.net
Nicole Cavaliere 631-286-9659
Dilligafx9@aol.com
Johanna DiGiovanni 631-776-9038
jmdigiovanni@aol.com
Frank Dupointe 631-831-2571
Frank@Dewpointenergy.com
Felix J. Grucci Jr. 631-207-0903
FGruccijr@aol.com
Kathie /Ken Hawkins 631-286-2559
kkins620@hotmail.com
Doug Kerr 516-805-1997
wrdkiii@optonline.net
Cynthia Kusa 631-286-8871
ckusa@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Gary Lombardi 631-241-1435
glombardi@ftub.com
Doris Noehren 631-286-9659
hpndln@aol.com
Judy Travers 631-475-1026
jtravers@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Joe Panarello 631-286-1823
Harmoniagardens@yahoo.com
Michael Simon 201-965-3365
consultmike73@yahoo.com
It is our mission to engage in ongoing dialogue about the needs, feelings, hopes and reactions of parishioners, to maintain the integrity of the parish
We encourage you to reach out to any member of the council, as we are your representatives in framing the future of Mary Immaculate.
++++++++++
Our devotional Statue of the Blessed Mother
is available to all of our parish families
for personal adoration at home.
If you are interested in having this statue
in your home for a week,
please contact the Rectory at 286-0154 to reserve a date.
+++++++++++
Please Pray for Priests
Dear Lord,
We pray that the Blessed Mother wrap her mantle around your priests and through her intercession strengthen them for their ministry.
We pray that Mary will guide your priests to follow her own words, “Do whatever He tells you” (Jn 2:5) May your priests have the heart of St. Joseph, Mary’s most chaste spouse. May the Blessed Mother’s own pierced heart inspire them to embrace all who suffer at the foot of the cross. May your priests be holy, filled with the fire of your love seeking nothing but your greater glory and the salvation of souls. Amen
Saint John Vianney, pray for us.
+++++++++++
RCIA
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
Catechumens are people who have never been baptized and are now preparing to be baptized, confirmed and welcomed to the Lord’s table at the Easter Vigil through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults commonly called the RCIA. Often there are others who have already been baptized and who now desire to become fully initiated members of the Catholic church. They, too, undergo a period of formation based on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adult: they are called candidates because they are discerning a call to complete their initiation.
If interested please contact Deacon Bob at 286-0154
++++++++++
Parish Finance Committee
Dr. Joseph Grasskemper
Felix Grucci
Tara Turnow
Parish Trustees
Charlie Meinhold
Johanna DiGiovanni
++++++++++
Our High School Youth Group
Meets every Saturday in the Cottage
After the 5:00 mass (6:00-7:30)
If anyone is interested in contributing toward
dinner for the kids
( ziti , fried chicken, heroes, whatever…)
Please contact Patty 286-3504
+++++++++++
MASS INTENTIONS
Saturday March 6th
5:00pm Robert Youth by family
Lorraine O’Neil by Kane Family
Sunday March 7th
9:00am Wanda Richard by The O’Keefe Family
11:00am Anne Ford by family
Monday March 8
9:00am Pray for Priests
Tuesday March 9
9:00am Pray for Priests
Wednesday March 10
9:00am Pray for Priests
Thursday March 11
9:00am Peg Schlyer by David & Lin Schlyer
Friday March 12
9:00am no Mass
Saturday March 13
5:00pm Philip Peters by The Sangiamo Family
Intentions of Berberich family
Gene Hassell by wife
Sunday March 14
9:00am Pray for Priests
11:00am Pray for Priests
++++++++++
The Liturgy of the Word for Children is a special ministry at Mary Immaculate that meets during the 9 a.m. Mass on most Sundays. Children ages 4 to 8 are invited to accompany teachers to the upstairs classroom during the readings and homily of the Mass to hear a brief summary of the Gospel message at their level. They then do an activity that is somehow related to the reading, or some other spiritual theme.
If a parishioner would like to help out with this ministry they can contact the Religious Education office at Mary Immaculate, or call Paulette Brinka at 631-929-8549 (pbbrinka@aol.com).
+++++++++
Weekly Readings
Monday 2 Kngs 5:1-15b Lk 4:24-30
Tuesday Dn 3:25,34-43 Mt 18:21-35
Wednesday Dt 4:1, 5-9 Mt 5:17-19
Thursday Jer 7:23-28 Lk 11:14-23
Friday Hos 14:2-10 Mk 12:28-34
Saturday Hos 6:1-6 Lk 18:9-14
Sunday Jos 5-9a 10:12 2Cor 5:17-21 Lk 15:1-3 11-32
+++++++++++
March 13/14
Mass Servers
5:00pm level 7 Mass
Servers: S. Walsh, M. Gallagher, Z. Bluminthal
Lector: Doug Kerr
Host Usher: J. Garcia, P. Grucci, T. Derby
Eucharistic Minister: V. Marino, A. Leskowicz, J. Cardamone
9:00am level 2 Mass
Servers: R. Stanganelli, E. Stanganelli, J. LeRoux
Lector: Nick Cassone
Host Usher:C. Miller, D. Roberts
Eucharistic Minister: C. Meinhold, J. DiGiovanni, S. Barry
11:00am Level 8 Mass
Servers: M. Bontempi, A. Ferrigno, N. Milller
Lector: Family Mass
Host Usher: G. Moriarty, M. Fella, B Mele
Eucharistic Minister: K. Stehling, L. Carney, Sister Grace
+++++++++++
Lent is a call not just to “give up something” but more important to “give something for the poor.” Wherever you live in the parish, there are poor families within walking distance of your home. When in need, they ring the rectory bell. They are, in effects ringing your doorbell
Your gift in the poor Box will help the poor celebrate
the grace of God’s love this Easter.
+++++++++++
There will be a second collection
March 14th for Catholic Relief Services
+++++++++++
There will be a pilgrimage to the
Basilica in Washington DC
on April 10th,
Anyone interested see S. Grace
+++++++++++
Boys & Girls
Would you like to be an Altar Server?
You must be in Grade 3 or above
Register by phone or questions
Call Mrs. Hawkins 286-2559
Or Mrs. Barnett 286-8109
Altar Server Classes
5:15-6:30pm
Wednesdays In the Auditorium
Mar 3rd
Mar 10th
Mar 17th
Mar 24th
++++++++++
Virtus Training
The Diocese of Rockville Centre mandates that all parish volunteers complete the two hour Virtus Training Program.
Over 30 workshops will be offered this spring that will be held in neighboring parishes. Please consult the website: www:drvc.org, select Protecting our Children and tab to Virtus Training Calendar.
Our goal is to have all volunteers, who have not already done so, complete this workshop by May 1, 2010. Reports are sent to the Diocesan office to confirm compliance with this mandate.
We appreciate all you offer to our Parish and trust you will complete these necessary requirements.
+++++++++++
Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Taking Pain to the Heart
Writing in his journal during a time of bitter heartbreak, Henri Nouwen wrote these words: The great challenge is living your wounds through instead of thinking them through. It is better to cry than to worry, better to feel your wounds than to understand them, better to let them enter into your silence than to talk about them. The choice you face constantly is whether you are taking your wounds to your head or your heart.
Part of us understands exactly what he is saying here, even as another part of us congenitally resists his advice: There’s place in us that doesn’t want to cry, doesn’t want to feel our hurt, doesn’t want to take our pain to a place of silence, and doesn’t want to take our wounds to our heart. And so instead, in our heartaches and wounds, we grow anxious and obsessive, we struggle to understand, we talk endlessly to others, and we try to sort things out with our heads rather than letting ourselves simply feel them with our hearts.
And that isn’t always a bad thing. Nouwen’s counsel, for all its wisdom, needs some qualification: It is important that we also take our wounds to our heads. Our hearts and heads need to be in sync. But what Nouwen points to here is something that he, a man blessed with an extraordinary sensitivity to the things of the heart, learned only through crushing heartache and breakdown, namely, that we more easily take things to the head than to the heart, even when we think we aren’t doing this.
The way we take pain to our heads and block healing tears in our hearts is by denial, by rationalization, by blaming, by not simply and honestly admitting and owning our own pain, our own helplessness, our own weakness, and our own inadequacy.
And we all have plenty of occasions to do this: The more alive and sensitive we are the more we will experience excruciating heartaches. The more honest we are the more we will be aware of our own limits and inadequacies. And the more generous and pure we are the more we will be aware of our own sin and betrayals.
And so Nouwen’s counsel contains a healthy challenge: When we are brought to our knees by heartache and pain, we shouldn’t try to deny that pain, deny its bitter strength, or deny our helplessness in dealing with it. To do so is to risk becoming hard and bitter. But if we give our deep pains and heartaches their honest due they will induce the kind of tears that soften and stretch the heart. It is helpful to remember that tears are salt-water, of one substance with the waters of the original oceans from which we sprung. Tears connect us to our origins and allow the primal water of life to again flow through us.
Moreover, when we take our pain to our hearts, when we honestly admit our weaknesses and helplessness, God can finally begin to fill us with strength. Why? Because it is only when we are brought to our knees in utter helplessness, only when we finally give up on our own strength, that God can send an angel to strengthen us, like God send an angel to strengthen Jesus during his agony in the garden.
One night, some months before his death, Martin Luther King received a death-threat on the phone. It had happened before but, on this particular night, it left him frightened and weakened to the core. All his fears came down on him at once. Here are his words as to what happened next:
I got out of bed and began to walk the floor. Finally I went to the kitchen and heated a pot of coffee. I was ready to give up. With my cup of coffee sitting untouched before me, I tried to think of a way to move out of the picture without appearing a coward. In this state of exhaustion, when my courage had all but gone, I decided to take my problem to God. With my head in my hands, I bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud. The words I spoke to God that midnight are still vivid in my memory.
“I am here taking a stand for what I believe is right. But now I am afraid. The people are looking to me for leadership and if stand before them without strength and courage, they too will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can’t face it alone.” At that moment I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before.
It is only after the desert has done its work on us, says Trevor Herriot, that an angel can come and strengthen us. That is why it is better to feel our wounds than to understand them and why it is better to cry than to worry.
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On Sunday April 18, 2010, couples married 50 years or more are invited to a special mass to be celebrated by Bishop John Dunne at St. Lawrence the Martyr in Sayville at 3:00p.m. Please pock up your registration card at the rectory, fill it out and return it to the rectory in time to reach the Diocese of Rockville Centre no later than April 2. Approximately one wee before the ceremony, information regarding the day will be mailed to you.
If you have any questions you may call 516-678-5800 ext 583
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The devotional statue of the Blessed Mother that was blessed at our 100th Anniversary Mass is available to all or our parish families for personal adoration at home.
If you are interested in having this statue in your home for a week,
please contact the Rectory at 286-0154
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Eucharistic Ministers sign up
sheets are located in the Sacristy
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If you wish to have a loved one remembered in our Easter Flower Memorial,
please obtain the special Easter flower envelopes available at the back tables.
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The Home Visits Ministry
at Mary Immaculate involves volunteers who are Eucharistic Ministers
communion to homebound parishioners
at a day and time agreeable to both parties. Anyone who knows of any parishioner
who is homebound and would like to receive communion can call the rectory
and a Minister will be assigned.
If you are interested in joining this ministry please call Clair at 286-3526.
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In an effort to re-furbish and renew our Auditorium Church,
we will be purchasing new chairs in the near future.
If you are interested in helping in the purchase of these chairs
we are asking for a donation of $150.00 for each chair.
Make checks out to Mary Immaculate with the notation
"Chairs" in the memo section of the check.
more donations we receive, the more chairs we will be able to purchase
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Next Week our parish will take up The Catholic Relief Services Collection. This Collection helps to fund six Catholic organizations that improve the quality of life and protect human dignity. Your gift will support agricultural development to strengthen economies and create food sustainability, provide outreach services to survivors of human trafficking, and supply pastoral care and advocacy for immigrants and refugees.
By helping the marginalized and impoverished, you give hope to Jesus in disguise. Please be charitable in next week's Catholic Relief Services Collection
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Easter Sunday
Holy Week Services 2010
Monday March 29th
Confession 3:30-5:30pm
Reconciliation Service 7:30pm
Holy Thursday
(No 9:00am Mass)
8:00pm (Auditorium)
Institution of Holy Eucharistic Ministers
Good Friday (No 9:00am Mass)
Liturgy of Passion and Death
3:00pm (Auditorium)
(Word Service)
8:00pm (Church)
Stations and Veneration of the Cross
Holy Saturday
No Reconciliation and No 9am Mass
Blessing of Food
1:00 (Church)
Easter Vigil 8:00pm
(There is No 5:00pm Mass on Holy Saturday)
Easter Sunday
April 4th
6:00 am Word Service at Bellport Dock
Masses 8:00am, 10:00am and 12:00 noon
All Masses in the Auditorium
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Breaking open the Word
Every Tuesday
Room 7
9:30am—10:30am
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Ask most people who St. Patrick was and you’re likely to hear that he was an Irishman who becamethe patron saint of Ireland and once chased all the snakes out of the country.He is the patron saint of Ireland, to be sure. But he wasn’t Irish – he was British – and there isn’t any evidence that he had anything to do with snakes.
Was there a real Patrick then? we might ask. Indeed, there was.Patrick was born sometime about 370 to British Christian parents.But when he was sixteen years old, he was captured by raiders and sold into slavery, taken to Ireland.After six years of captivity, Patrick then escaped and went back home when, in time, he joined a monastery.
One night, Patrick had a dream in which he heard a voice asking him to come back to Ireland to evangelize.“Come and walk among us once more,” pleaded the voice.So Patrick went back to Ireland and until the day he died, he worked among the pagan tribes and brought many an Irishman to know the love of Christ.
Patrick was not highly educated, but he had a passion for Christian discipleship and learning.He established monasteries throughout northern and eastern Ireland.
During the fourth and fifth centuries one of the great challenges to the Christian faith emerged and threatened to undo the very gospel of Christ.That danger came to be known as Arianism, named after its original spokesman, the Alexandrian churchman, Arius.
Arius preached that the Father alone was God andJesus, the Son, was merely a creature.The old doctrine of the Trinity – that Father, Son and Spirit are three ways of God’s true being – was rejected by Arius. The problem with Ariansim, Patrick and others insisted, was that if the Son is not God, then it wasn’t God who died on the cross for our sins; it was just another man. If God did not die for our sins, then we are still in our sins and have no hope of salvation.
Church leaders like Patrick resisted the teachings of Arius and worked tirelessly to teach the Trinitarian nature of God.This is how the three-leaf clover (the shamrock) came to be associated with St. Patrick.Legend tells us that Patrick often used the three-leafed little plant to teach about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit:three leaves but one plant.By the time of his death on March 17 sometime between 461 and 490 A.D., Ireland was almost entirely Christian.
Thomas Cahill, the author of How the Irish Saved Civilization, wrote: “Only this former slave had the right instincts to impart to the Irish a New Story, one that made sense of all their old stories and brought them a peace they had never known before.”Because of Patrick, Cahill said, the once warring Irish tribesmen “lay down the swords of battle, flung away the knives of sacrifice, and cast away the chains of slavery.”
No one would have blamed Patrick if he had never gone back to Ireland after he escaped from his own slavery.But Patrick did go back and the church is greater for it.
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We will be Praying the Stations of
The Cross every Friday for
Lent in the Little Church at 9am.
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My name is Lindsay Spaulding, and I’m a Casting Producer for ABC’s Emmy award winning TV series "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." We are in the process of finding families who are deserving and in need of a new home for our next season of the show, and we want to move that bus to LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK.
We are looking for inspirational families that America can really root for. Because you are so plugged into the community, you might be able to help us reach those local heroes who need our help, or others in the community who can bring those families to our attention. would be great if you could post a bulletin on your website, or include our information in your newsletter, and forward this information on to anyone you see fit.
We're looking for inspirational members of the community who, for whatever reason, need a new home. we know that there are so many families in need all over this country, we want to focus on people that have given back in some way despite their personal hardships. examples from past episodes include The Bliven family of Minot, ND who started a little league baseball program for children with special needs. in Indiana, Shawna Farina heads up the local Relay For Life cancer walk for life in honor of her mother's struggle with the disease and, in an ironic twist of fate, now battles breast cancer herself. of our episodes have focused on people who have been inspirational within their own family. Hawkins of Hendersonville, TN was left paralyzed after she threw her body over her 2 sons as a tornado ripped apart their home. As you can see, our definition of deserving can be fairly broad.
Attached, is our show flyer, which details what we are looking for and how people can submit their materials to us. assistance you can offer in getting the word out to volunteer, service, and community-building organizations would be deeply appreciated. nominations should be sent to castlongisland@gmail.com
To be eligible, a family must own their own single family home or at least property on which a home can be built. , they must be able to show producers how a makeover will make a huge difference in their lives. must include the names and ages of each member of the household along with a description of the major challenges within the home. also include contact information of the family. possible, we would also love to see pictures of the family and their home.
The deadline for family nominations is March 15, 2010. , the sooner we find some deserving families, the better!
Thanks again! And please feel free to contact me directly with any questions.
Lindsay Spaulding-
Lindsay Spaulding
Casting Producer
Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Lock & Key Productions
5200 Lankershim Blvd., 5th floor
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Office: 818-824-9627
Fax: 818-824-9699
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Breaking open the Word
Every Tuesday
Room 7
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