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May 25, 2008 |
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May 25, 2008 |
Reminder: Monday, May 26, is Memorial Day. There will only be one Mass at 8AM. The rectory office will be closed on Memorial Day, but will reopen on Tuesday, May 27.
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION After the 8AM Mass on Fridays in the chapel
ROSARY 7:00 PM Fatima Prayer Group on Monday After the 6:45 AM and 8 AM Masses Monday thru Friday and after the 8 AM Mass on Saturday.
Moms and children’s Rosary group every Friday from 10AM to 11:30AM. Call MaryAnn at 922-3461 before you come for the first time.
RECONCILIATION Thursday, May 29, 7:30 PM – Fr. Mick Saturday, May 31, 3:00PM – Fr. Mick
READINGS FOR SUNDAY, JUNE 1 1st Reading: Dt. 11:18, 26-28, 32 2nd Reading: Rom. 3: 21-25, 28 Gospel: Mt. 7: 21-27
BABYSITTING FOR THE 9:30AM MASS, SUNDAY, JUNE 1 Adult Volunteers: Cindy Reis, Linda DeSantis
Students: Maria R., Richard R., Katie R.
THANK YOU TO: Community Wellness Center at Bayley Place for advertising in our bulletin.
This summer, the rectory office will be closed after 12 noon on Fridays starting on June 13, thru August 15. The office will resume normal business hours on Friday, August 22, 2008. |
Designate a gift to Saint Antoninus Church in your will and give witness to your faith.
come to your home! We encourage parishioners of all ages, those with families and those living alone, to participate in this special mission of praying for vocations. Our new coordinators for the Traveling Chalice program is Joe and Mary Beth Nolan. Call them at 451-7435 or e-mail at MBNOLAN@cinci.rr.com.
Learn more about your Catholic Faith! Read The Catholic Telegraph. Call 421-3131 ext. 496 to order your copy today.
6TH, 7TH, & 8TH GRADE BOYS AND GIRLS are needed for the Sunday 9:30AM Mass Babysitting program. Call Beth in the rectory office at 922-5400 to sign up.
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FROM OUR PASTOR Typically on a Tuesday morning I visit a classroom at our parish school. I try to walk the halls as well since I enjoy looking at the school work and art projects that adorn the walls. Since I had been thinking and praying about today's Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, I was taken by a display outside the second grade classrooms. As you know, our parish's second graders made their First Holy Communion on the First Sunday in May. The displayed showed open hands, palm side up, holding a "host." Each child wrote a brief phrase on the "host" such as "I'll receive Jesus each Sunday" and "The Body and Blood of the Lord." Today's feast was instituted because so many doubted the Real Presence of our Lord -Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity- in the Eucharist under the appearance of bread and wine. The best way to honor the Body and Blood of the Lord is to receive Him worthily at least every Sunday. Our "Amen" after receiving Him is an act of faith in the Real Presence and a promise to live in a manner worthy of the sacrament we have received. As St. Augustine told his hearer: "You receive the Body of Christ. Become what you receive." + Thanks to the PTO volunteers for a wonderful Parish Spaghetti Dinner and for the grateful recognition of Deacon Forrest Wallace's eleven years of service to our parish. Rev. Christopher R. Armstrong
Biggs and Kroger Gift Cards are on sale in the church elevator hallway after all weekend Masses, and at the rectory, M-F from 8AM to 3 PM.
CONGRATULATIONS TO: Ellen Smith the April winner of the $50 Kroger Card. And to Julie Busken and Ed Willig the winners of the $50 Biggs Cards. |
REFURBISH PEWS
The church pews along the main aisle will be removed and sent away for refinishing starting on May 30th, thru the end of June.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL SOCIETY Today as we celebrate the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ let us pray for those who are hungry, malnourished and starving. Is there a family you know who needs assistance? Please call the Society of St. Vincent de Paul so that together we can help those who are hungry.
VOCATION COMMITTEE MEETING will be on Saturday, May 31, at 8:30AM to 10AM in the St. Joseph Room. All parishioners are invited to join this committee.
MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL has been offered for Patricia Wissinger. Please keep Patricia and her family in your prayers.
ADULT SOCIAL GROUP
Monday, June 9, 1PM, Lunch at the Golden Corral. Pay at the door. Friday, June 27th, Steering Committee Meeting, 1 PM, in the St. Joseph Room. Monday, July 14, 11AM – 2PM, lunch cruise on the B& B Riverboat. $28 per person, includes tax & gratuity (payable by June 23). Provide your own transportation. If you need a ride, let us know when you pay. White Star Tour to Wheeling, WV, on November 16-18. Price is $349 per person double occupancy, $433 per person, single occupancy. $100 p/p deposit due by August 1. Balance due before October 2. Two nights stay at Wheeling Island Casino Hotel, two full course breakfasts, two full course dinners including a Holiday Dinner Show, Greyhound Racing at Wheeling Island Race Track, Wheeling Island Gaming Center with casino bonus, Colonel Oglebay’s Mansion Museum, Winter Fantasy Displays, Oglebay Park Festival of Lights Tour, The Glass Museum & Artisan Center, Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum, taxes and gratuities included. |
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Thank you all for the support that you showed for this year’s Jog-a-thon. We raised over $18,000.00 this year. This will go a long way supporting the PTO’s efforts to provide additional opportunities for our students. Also, thank you to all our parents of the eighth graders who will be graduating this Wednesday night, especially those who will no longer have any more students coming through St. Antoninus. We appreciate all the support you have shown us throughout the years. Many people do not realize how much our parents do behind the scenes for the school. We appreciate all the sacrifices you have made to educate your eighth grader here at St. Antoninus. We wish our eighth graders well as they continue their education in high school and beyond.
DEACON DAVID ENDRES YDuring my time at St. Antoninus I have been privileged to be part of our St. Vincent de Paul Society. In addition to their other charitable works, St. Vincent de Paul is beginning to coordinate nursing home visits to our parishioners. Volunteers are needed to visit nearby nursing homes once a week or every other week as their time permits. Membership in St. Vincent de Paul is not required of those who volunteer, but they would be welcome to join. Those who can volunteer to make visits to an area nursing home should call Marilyn Wempe at 922-3570. Since we can only visit those of whom we are aware, if you know of one of our parishioners in an area nursing home whom we might not be aware of, please call the rectory office at 922-5400. Thank you for your support of this important work.
HOLY SPIRIT PRAYER GROUP To wind up our tribute to the Blessed Virgin in this month of May, we will once again be led in the recitation of a special Scriptural rosary. The meditations are insightful and incredibly touching. Bring your rosaries and join us in Chapel Tuesday at 7:30 PM. |
ST. ANTONINUS BOYS GOLF LEAGUE Incoming 7th and 8th grade boys who want to participate in the WAC league (west side grade schools) should submit their names, grade, and phone number now to Dan Finn at Danprt@Fuse.net or 451-9695. Competition begins the first week of August with a meeting and practice session to be scheduled.
ST. ANTONINUS SUMMER FESTIVAL will be on Friday, June 13, at 6PM-11PM, Saturday, June 14, at 5:30-11:00PM and Sunday, June 15, from 4PM- 10PM. Sunday Specials: $10 unlimited rides from 3-5PM, Father’s Day Chicken Dinner. Free for Dads with another meal purchase! Call 922-1782 or see www.saintantoninus.org.
FOR THE SUMMER FESTIVAL, both Booth Chairpersons and Booth Workers are needed. A Booth Worker is one who can work a two-three hours shift. A Booth Chairperson is responsible for staffing a booth and coordinating the activities of that booth. To volunteer call Bonnie Sohngen 922-2192, Alex Hawk 467-6355, Mike Rolfes 451-6704 or Todd Logan 922-1782.
FESTIVAL BID-N-BUY BOOTH still needs items. Not sure what to donate...call Cara Hester at 347-0545. We appreciate anything you can do! Thank you to those parishioners and businesses who have already donated!
ST. DOMINIC CHURCH FESTIVAL Saturday, May 24, 5-11PM; and Sunday, May 25 3-11PM. Chicken Dinner, Sunday, from 3 to 7PM, Alumni Open House on Saturday, May 24 from 7-9PM. Shuttle service from parking lot behind Huntington Bank and the old Central Hdw parking lot.
ST. PETER & ST. PAUL UCC FIRST ANNUAL HOG & HEIFER DINNER on Saturday, June 7, from 5 to 7PM, Queen City and Ferguson Roads. Adults $8, children under 10 - $4. Carryout available.
SAINT BONIFACE WHITE ELEPHANT SALE on Sunday, June 8, from 9AM to 2PM in the school cafeteria. At 1PM fill a brown bag for $1. |
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Spiritual Fruitfulness: Reflections on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Rev. Mr. David Endres
Pentecost Novena, May 1-9, 2008
The Gift of Right Judgment/Counsel
We often rely on the advice of others – we rely on their counsel. Think of how often you ask a friend or a spouse or a parent for advice. We may even write to a “Dear Abby” column or post a question to an internet web page looking for a response. Or we seek out a specialist to give us advice – a mechanic when our car breaks down; a doctor when we experience back pain; a lawyer when we believe our rights have been infringed.
But the gift of right judgment is not related to these worldly matters. It is related to matters of eternal life. This gift allows us to decide between right and wrong. It warns us of those things that endanger our salvation and allows us to choose those that will lead to eternal life. In short, it allows us to “do good and avoid evil.”
When I think of the divine gift of right judgment I am reminded of the life of St. Augustine. Before he was a Christian, Augustine lived a wild and crazy life – much to the consternation of his mother, Monica. In his spiritual autobiography, The Confessions, Augustine relates a story from his youth. He and some friends snuck onto the property of a neighbor and shook the fruit from his pear trees. Augustine says that he stole not because he wanted the fruit. In fact he and his friends were not hungry at all. They didn’t even taste the fruit, but instead threw it to the pigs. Reflecting back over his life, Augustine was shamed by his conduct – his lack of right judgment. At that time in his life he said he was in love with sin and sinning, and had no knowledge of God and His counsel.
We can often be like Augustine. In difficult situations, especially when it is easier to follow others, or the status quo, or cultural norms that may go against the teachings of Christ, we may choose the evil instead of the good. We may try to rationalize sinful choices or even excuse ourselves by saying that most people don’t consider it wrong anyway. Or the juvenile excuse, “everybody’s doing it.”
The divine gift of right judgment allows us to see each decision as it truly is – either beneficial or disordered. It saves us from quick and impulsive decisions and those decisions that are either in themselves sinful or will lead to sin. The gift allows us to judge every action according to its end: Will it lead to holiness? Will it lead to heaven?
Let us pray for the Spirit’s gift of right judgment that we may judge rightly according to the will of God and so make the decisions that will prepare us for eternal life. The Gift of Courage/Fortitude
What does it mean to be brave, to have courage? Some might say skydiving or rock climbing or other “adventure sports” equate with bravery.
But for us, the Spirit’s gift of fortitude refers to the firmness of mind and spirit that is necessary for us to do good but also to endure pain and suffering. In short, this gift strengthens us to do the will of God in all things.
When I think of this gift, I remember a conversation I had with a first grade student at our school a few weeks ago. He was talking to me about the pope’s visit to the United States. He asked, “Why does the pope have to travel behind glass?” I hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be appropriate to tell a first grader that Pope John Paul II had been shot in St. Peter’s Square. But I decided to tell him the truth – that indeed someone had tried to kill the pope who was pope before Pope Benedict. The student’s response was surprising. He simply said, “Wow, the pope must be a very brave man!” And indeed he is. That first grader grasped an aspect of the gift of fortitude – the courage to do good (in this case preaching the Gospel to all nations) and not count the risk.
When I think of this gift I am also reminded of the life and sacrifice of St. Maximilian Kolbe who died in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz in 1941. St. Maximilian Kolbe had the great fortitude to offer his life in exchange for another. Kolbe heroically offered to switch places with a fellow prisoner – a father of a family – who had been condemned to death. The gift of fortitude allows us to endure pain and suffering with the strength and power infused by God. Surely, St. Maximilian relied on that strength while enduring two weeks of starvation before being put to death by lethal injection.
Few of us may be asked to give our lives in such a dramatic fashion. Yet we all need the gift of fortitude – fortitude perhaps to endure the death of a parent or a spouse, courage to endure the pain of a child leaving the Church, fortitude to accept our own physical pain and limitations.
Perhaps the greatest test of fortitude for each of us will be our own death. Divine courage aids us in the fears and difficulties that can accompany death. Fortitude provides us with at inner peace to accept the finality of our time on earth. Let us pray for the gift of fortitude that the Spirit’s gift of courage will give us confidence that the trials of earthly life will give way to the eternal joy of heaven. |
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A NOTE FROM