May/Pentecost 2008
PENTECOST SUNDAY
CATHOLIC COMMUNITY DAY On Sunday — May 11th Time: 10:30 a.m. Mass, followed by lunch Place: St. Joseph High School Football Field (Special parking places for handicap and elderly) Celebrate Pentecost — The Birthday of the Church 150 years as a parish — 100 years in our present church Bring your Family and Friends. Come Casual. Wonderful music, diverse cultures, great community Food provided by the Knights of Columbus It’s Catholic Community Day. Only one Mass all weekend — 10:30 a.m. under the tent at St. Joseph High School. In case of rain or doubt, call the office at 335-5251. Dear Parishioners and Friends, It’s a great story. Many call it a great miracle of God in our midst. From our beginnings in 1858, St. Joseph Parish is a story of wonderful people, great sacrifices and deep commitment to ensure that the Catholic faith would remain strong in Greenville. Here we are now – 150 years later, 120 years in Catholic education for our children, and 100 years in our present church. It’s quite a story. We thank God for the so many who made it all possible and the many today who still work hard to keep it going. On behalf of our entire parish, I thank you for your dedication and your generosity. For those who are deceased we keep them in our thoughts and prayers and trust that God will bless them abundantly for their great faith and efforts. On Sunday, May 11th, we will have the first of our many celebrations to honor our faith. Pentecost Sunday is a true Catholic day of celebration. I hope you and your family and friends can be with us to celebrate our faith and our history. We have a wonderful parish and schools. We have so much to give thanks to God for. Come and join together in our Pentecost celebration as one family of faith. It will be great, but more so with you present. We rejoice as we celebrate with 20 children who are receiving their First Holy Communion this Sunday, May 4th, at 1:00 p.m. Mass. That will be 23 children total for this year plus 15 adults; and we praise God for the 21 teens who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Latino this Sunday, May 4th, at 5:30 p.m. Mass. We rejoice in the faith and the desire of all these young men and women of our Catholic faith. Bless you always, Fr. Somers Don’t ever stay away… Jesus continually encourages us to “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened…” yet it seems like we do the opposite, stay away. When I encourage people to not stay away from church or the sacraments, especially in time of need, people say things like… I’m devastated, or I’m lonely, or I’m going through a lot, or it’s tough, etc., etc., and they stay away from church, community, and the sacraments to where they should be flocking. Is it self pity? Is it pride? Whatever it is, it is not good. Remember the story of Thomas in John 20:19-31; he was missing and he was confused, in doubt and didn’t know where to go or what to do. But the next week he was back with the community and Jesus was present and said, “Thomas come to me, touch my wounds if you will and stop being confused, or hurting , or in doubt.” Thomas declared, “my Lord and my God” and he was blessed for life. What I encourage is don’t ever stay away from church and community. That’s where you get blessed and loved and healed. It’s His way. It’s the right way. It’s a wonderful way. Have you ever been just sitting there and
all of a sudden you feel like doing something nice for someone?
THAT’S GOD talking to you through the Holy Spirit. It’s a good one… A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, “Do these turkeys get any bigger?” The stock boy replied, “No ma’am, they’re dead.” The cop got out of his car and the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. “I’ve been waiting for you all day,” the cop said. The kid replied, “Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could.” When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket. A little boy was attending his first wedding. After the service, his cousin asked him “How many women can a man marry?” “Sixteen,” the boy responded. His cousin was amazed that he knew the answer so quickly, but what did he mean? “How did you know that?” “Easy,” the boy said. “All you have to do is add it up. Father said,’Four better, four worse, four richer, four poorer,’ which adds up to sixteen.” Catholic Service Appeal Collection This Weekend Our personal growth in the Catholic faith and the passing of the faith on to our children and others are challenged by a priest shortage and a sudden rise in the number of Catholics to be served. To meet these challenges, the Catholic Service Appeal is funding specialized diocesan-wide adult leadership and ministry formation programs and workshops. This formation training is producing fruit for today and for the future. This weekend, Bishop Joseph Latino is asking all of us to Care to Share our very best on May 4 for the sake of all those who teach and receive the faith. Catholic Schools…It has to be faith first The Scripture reminds us to “train a child in the way he should go and when he is older, he will not depart from it.” (Prov. 22:6) The purpose of Catholic schools is to teach our children the really important things in life and to train them well. The most important thing in life is faith. In Hebrew 11:6 we read “without faith it is impossible to please God” or live a blessed life. The faith that makes the difference. That’s the mission of our Catholic schools, the gift we give to our children, for life. Catholic schools are for Catholic children and for others who want to be trained and grow in faith. Faith is the only thing that lasts forever… and Catholic faith is the best. Parents promise, we deliver. Make sure your child attends our Catholic schools and hopefully a Catholic college. It is well worth any sacrifice that has to be made. It is our clear understanding as church that no Catholic child will ever lose out on a Catholic school education because of lack of funds. We are fully invested in our children. That’s our promise to parents, your/our children are worth investing in the best. For information or a tour: Our Lady of Lourdes call 334-3287 and St. Joseph, 7th – 12th grade call 378-9711. Dime Store Jewelry When a girl receives an engagement ring from her fiancé, it doesn’t matter what size the diamond is. It might be a plain ring, but it has immense value because it says something wonderful. It is a symbol of love and devotion; a sign of faithfulness and hope; a pledge of self-sacrifice; it is testimony that he belongs to her. But what if the bride-to-be was given the impression by her fiancé that the ring was “14 karat golf,” yet when she looked inside her ring instead found the name of a well-known dime store? And after a couple of weeks the ring turns green? Do you think she would have reason to be a little suspicious of her fiancé’s intentions – especially if he drives the latest in sports cars? What is the point? Simply this: we must also make certain that our gift to God really means something. We must make sure that it is in proportion to our ability to give. Thank you very much… • To all who have responded and continue to respond to the new school Capital Campaign to “Complete the Dream” and continue to wipe off the debt so we can proceed with our future plans for the elementary school. • To Chariety Wright, Bobbie Norrell, Viola Butler, and all who help them keep our church grounds looking so clean and beautiful. It’s not easy to keep up, there is a big area to cover but they do a great job. • To Florence Signa, Evelyn Rossie, Leonard and Stella Signa for making sure we have coffee, orange juice, and donuts available for us every Sunday morning after the 8:00 Mass. • To all who are contributing to our cruise raffle for the benefit of our schools. We appreciate all of you. Thank you all so much. God bless you well. Together we are the Body of Christ. St. Joseph School Field House A great naming opportunity. $150,000 over four years. A $25,000 donation already received for one of the rooms. There are four more available. We have two–$5,000 donations over three years already received. Your name will be gold plated on a plaque. Eighteen more will take care of it. Can you help or know of someone who can? This is a much needed facility for our athletic program. For information call Paul Artman or Benny Strazi at 378-9711. A Sail-A-Bration Raffle for the support of our Catholic schools will take place on Pentecost, May 11, at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased ($10) at the parish office (335-5251)or school offices (Lourdes 334-3287) (St. Joe 378-9711). Prizes are a 4-day cruise to Cozumel, a 20" LCD television, and free tuition for a month (or $250 cash). Your support is appreciated and a most worthy cause – our schools. The Paul E. Abide Golf Classic will be held on Wednesday, May 21st. For any information call Dick Clark at 335-5251. “Jesus
Christ will be Lord of all, or He will not be Lord at all.”
–St. Augustine
Breathe
in me, O Holy Spirit, That my thoughts may all be holy,
Act in me, O Holy Spirit, That my work may be holy, Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, That I love only what is holy, Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, To defend all that is holy, Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, That I always may be holy. — St. Augustine |
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