Parish
Information
Joining the Parish New Parishioners are always welcome.
Census forms can be found in the vestibule of the churches. Simply fill one out and drop it in the collection basket.
Planning a Baptism The birth of a child brings joy to the family. Through Baptism, that child is joined to the family of God, which brings great joy to the church.
Parents seeking Baptism are asked to contact the parish office.
Scheduling Weddings Couples contemplating marriage are asked to contact the parish office and set up an appointment with Fr.
Ken before making any other plans for their wedding. This appointment should take place at least one year before the contemplated date.
Our Parish Intercessory Prayer Group provides prayers for anyone in need throughout the parish.
Mary Ann Magda is the Coordinator and can be reached at
570-655-1218.
Outreach to the Homebound Sr. Madonna SSCM, assisted by our dedicated EMOCs, provides
Sacramental care to the elderly, homebound and hospitalized. If you, or someone you know, are
homebound or in need of a pastoral visit, please contact Sr. Madonna.
Anointing of the Sick The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick may take place at any time, especially if one is seriously ill.
Please contact the parish office to set up a time for Fr. Ken to visit.
Funeral Preparations The loss of a loved one is a particularly difficult time for those who are bereaved. Our parish community collaborates with local funeral directors in assisting families during their time of grief.
Bequests to the Parish Please Remember St. Andre Bessette Parish with Memorial gifts at the time of death or with a bequest in your will. Make a return to the Lord for all the good He has given you.
1. $1000 donated by Parish 2. $500 donated by Princess & Lady 3. $300 in memory of Robert Gregor Sr.
4. $100 donated by James Morpeth 5. $100 donated by Anna Hudock 6. $100 donated by Blue Sapphire 7. $100 donated by John & Patricia Gilligan 8. $100 in memory of Joseph Ulichney 9. $100 donated by Dolores Dlugosh 10. $100 donated by anonymous 11. $100 donated by anonymous
12. $100 donated by Paul & Patricia Baran 13. $100 donated by Regina Triani
14. $100 donated by Anthony & Lorraine Shurmanek 15. $100 donated by A.J. Hvozdovic Family
16. $100 in memory of Greely & Hirko families 17. $100 donated by Bob & Jane Cirko
18. $100 in memory of Hendershot & Milaniak families 19. $100 donated by anonymous
20. $100 in memory of Kathy Buckman 21. $100 donated by Magdalen Benish 22. $75 in memory of Brian Francis Montague 23. $50 donated by the Stone Family 24. $50 in memory of deceased parishioners 25. $50 in memory of John Snitko Sr.
26. $50 in memory of Mark Snitko
27. $50 donated by Daniel & Rosemary Shedlock 28. $50 donated by Mary Jo & Brian Clark 29. $50 donated by Joe & Marita Shappert 30. $50 in memory of Francis J. Mc Cabe Sr.
31. $50 in memory of Shirley Brawley 32. $50 in memory of Albert & Ann Kollesar 33. $50 in memory of Bernard Skibinski 34. $25 in memory of Brian Francis Montague 35. $20 donated by Ted & Septa Harowicz 36. $20 in memory of Frank Dirvonsky Sr &
Frank Dirvonsky Jr.
37. $10 in memory of Edward Blazejewski 38. $10 in memory of Donna Keil
PRIZES
Tickets have been provided through the generosity of the John V. Morris Family Funeral Homes Inc.
PARISH LABOR DAY FAMILY PICNIC Join us on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5th for an old fashioned Family Picnic. We will supply the Burgers and Dogs (not Princess, Lady or JR!), You bring a dish to share. Those of you with a knack for baking, we can also use some desserts.
In the event of inclement weather, this will be held in the hall.
September 4, 2016 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Summer Raffle Update
Labor Day Mass at
St. Andre Bessette
10 am Monday, September 5th followed by Parish Family Picnic!
Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest
production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.
LAST CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR RETURNS
OR BUY YOUR TICKETS!
Raffle: MONDAY at NOON!
ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCILS
PARISH COMMITTEES
The TOY BINGO
COMMITTEE will meet on Thursday, September 1st at 6:30 pm in the Fr. Murgas Meeting Room
The Young at Heart Committee will meet on September 21st at 1 pm in the Fr. Murgas Conference Room
The Development Committee will meet on Thursday, September 22 at 6:30 pm in the Fr.
Murgas Conference Room.
The Liturgical Council will meet on Tuesday, August 30 at 7 p.m. in the Fr.
Murgas Conference Room The Parish Social Justice Council will meet in the Fr.
Murgas Conference Room September 8 at 6:00 p.m.
The Finance Council will meet on Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fr. Murgas Conference Room. All members of the Finance Council are asked to plan to attend.
The Pastoral Council will meet on Thursday, October 20at 6:30 p.m.
in the Fr. Murgas Conference Room.
Food for
September
Hot Chocolate/Cocoa Mix
Loaves & Fishes
Religious Education Sessions will resume on Sunday, September 18th.
Parents and children will meet in Fr.
Zolcinski hall at 10 am.
Regular classes will begin the following Sunday, September 25th at 9:30 am.
Bright Yellow Registration forms for Religious Ed have been included with this bulletin and are in the vestibule of the church. Please take one and invite your neighbors and friends to join with our children in our parish Religious Education program.
USO Dinner Dance - tickets will go on sale on Saturday, September 10th! This important fall fundraising event will be held on Saturday, October 8th, from 6:30- 10:30pm at St. Mary's Byzantine Social Hall (522 Madison Street, Wilkes Barre). As we honor our Veterans past and present, DJ Rockin' Fr. Mike Kloton will play the best of the oldies hits, and we will feature a homemade dinner and dessert buffet. Tickets for this BYOB event are
$20.00 each, and will not be available at the door. We want YOU there!
The Fall Raffle Basket tickets will go on sale on September 10th as well, and all baskets will be chanced off at the Dinner Dance. You do not need to be present to win. All of the empty
baskets have now been "adopted" to be filled - thank you!!! We are still in need of Bottles of Cheer and scratch-off lottery tickets. We ask that all donations be brought to Mass or to the Parish Office Classes for
NEW SERVERS will be held on Saturdays beginning September 10th at 9 am in the Church. Any child who has received First Communion is eligible to be a server. Please call the parish office (570-823-4988) or Michael Boris (570-954-9818) to register.
PS Classes are also open to any adult who would like to be a server at the altar. This is especially helpful for funerals!
The PARISH CHOIR will resume rehearsals beginning Tuesday, September 6th.
REHEARSALS for our Parish Cantors will be held every Tuesday beginning at 5 pm so that our cantors can become acquainted with the music for the
weekend and holiday Liturgies, as well as hone the finer skills needed for parish cantors.
REHARSALS for our PARISH CHOIR will be held on Tuesdays
beginning at 5:30 pm. This is an opportunity for our parish choir to also acquaint
themselves with the music for the
Sunday Liturgies as well as prepare for the upcoming holidays and holy days.
NEW
MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED! If you have a voice and want to join us in our praise of God, consider joining the choir today!
Amoris Laetitia
Pope Francis
Chapter 3: Looking to Jesus:
The Transmission of Life and the Rearing of Children
80. Marriage is firstly an “intimate partnership of life and love” 80 which is a good for the spouses
themselves,81 while sexuality is “ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman”.82 It follows that
“spouses to whom God has not granted children can have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms”.83 Nonetheless, the conjugal union is ordered to procreation “by its very nature”.84 The child who is born “does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the
spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfilment”. 85 He or she does not appear at the end of a process, but is
present from the beginning of love as an essential feature, one that cannot be denied without disfiguring that love itself. From the outset, love refuses every impulse to close in on itself; it is open to a fruitfulness that draws it beyond itself. Hence no genital act of husband and wife can refuse this meaning,86 even when for various reasons it may not always in fact beget a new life.
81. A child deserves to be born of that love, and not by any other means, for “he or she is not something owed to one, but is a gift,” 87 which is “the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of the parents”.88 This is the case because, “according to the order of
creation, conjugal love between a man and a woman, and the transmission of life are ordered to each other (cf. Genesis 1:27-28). Thus, the Creator made man and woman to share in the work of his creation and, at the same time, made them instruments of his love,
entrusting to them the responsibility for the future of mankind, through the transmission of human life”.89
82. The Synod Fathers stated that “the growth of a mentality that would reduce the generation fo human life to one variable of an individual’s or a couple’s plans is clearly evident”.90 The Church’s teaching is meant to “help couples to experience in a complete, harmonious and conscious way their communion as husband and wife, together with their responsibility for procreating life. We need to return to the message of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae of Blessed Pope Paul VI, which highlights the need to respect the dignity of the person in morally assessing methods of regulating birth...The choice of adoption or foster parenting can also express that fruitfulness which is a characteristic of married life”.91 With special gratitude the Church
“supports families who accept, raise, and surround with affection, children with various disabilities”.92
83. Here I feel it urgent to state that, if the family is the sanctuary of life, the place where life is conceived and cared for, it is a horrendous contradiction when it becomes a place where life is rejected and destroyed.
So great is the value of a human life, and so inalienable the right to life of an innocent child growing in the mother’s womb, that no alleged right to one’s own body can justify a decision to terminate that life, which is an end in itself and which can never be considered the “property” of another human being.
The family protects human life in all its stages, including its last. Consequently, “those who work in healthcare facilities are reminded of the moral duty of conscientious objection. Similarly, the Church not only feels the urgency to assert the right to a natural death, without aggressive treatment or euthanasia”, but likewise “firmly reject the death penalty”.93
80 SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 48.
81 Cf. Code of Canon Law, c. 1055 § “ad bonum coniugum atque ad prolis generationem et educationem ordinatum”
82 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2360.
83 Ibid. 1654
84 SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 48.
85 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2366
86 Cf. PAUL VI, Encyclical Letter, Humanae Vitae (25 July 1968), 11-12:AAS 60 (1968), 488-489.
87 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2378
88 CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction Donum Vitae (22 February 1987), II, 8: AAS 80 (1988), 97.
89 Relatio Finalis 2015, 63 90 Relatio Synodi 2014, 57 91 Ibid., 58.
92 Ibid., 57
93 Relatio Finalis 2015, 64
September 4, 2016 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Expenses
August 25 to August 31, 2016
Administration 676.75
Diocesan
Assessment -0-
School
Assessment -0-
Clergy Residence -0-
Liturgy 279.00
Religious
Education -0-
Social Justice -0-
Operation &
Maintenance 38.48
Fixed Expenses -0-
Insurance -0-
Taxes -0-
Diocesan
Collections 815.65
TOTAL EXPENSES
THIS WEEK $1,809.88
+
General Fund Recapitulation General Fund
Previous
Balance $7,874.47
+ Income
this week +5,988.55
- Expenses
this week -1,809.88
Balance
Forward $12,053.14
Income
August 28, 2016
In Church Mailed In
Loose 253.25 -0-
Sunday Offering 3,717.25 800.00
Holy Days 17.00 18.00
Initial Offering -0- -0-
Dues 83.00 95.00
Debt Reduction 33.00 122.00
Holiday Flowers -0- -0-
TOTAL PARISH
COLLECTION $4,103.50 $1,035.00 Our Weekly goal for our Total Parish Collection is
$7,500.00.
This will ensure the financial stability of our parish.
Diocesan and Other Collections These are charitable collections that go directly to
the Diocese and do not impact our operating budget.
Diocesan Collections
672.05 134.00
TOTAL DIOCESAN
COLLECTIONS 672.05 134.00
TOTAL SUNDAY
COLLECTION $4,775.55 $1,169.00 Other Income
This income is in addition to our regular income and contributes toward the operating budget.
Candles 44.00
Perquisites -0-
Rental of
Properties -0-
Miscellaneous -0-
Transfer -0-
TOTAL OTHER
INCOME $44.00
TOTAL INCOME GENERAL FUND
THIS WEEK $5,988.55
Mass Attendance
August 27-28,2016
# of
People In-Church
Collection Average Offering per person 4:00 p.m. 137 1,988.05 14.51
5:30 p.m. 76 707.25 9.31
8:00 a.m. 87 1,036.00 11.91 11:00 a.m. 93 1,044.25 11.23
Total 393 4,775.55 12.15
Monthly Diocesan Bills (July 1, 2016– June 30, 2017) Title Prior
Balance
2016-17 Assessment
Amount Paid Balance Due
Assessment for Schools 134,171.24 59,435.00 9,905.82 180,700.42
Parish Assessment 170,717.07 34,572.00 205,289.07
Insurance 89,165.83 14,638.00 103,803.83
Clergy Pension 28,265.02 7,440.00 35,705.02
Clergy Medical (BC/BS) 41,363.48 15,232.00 56,595.48
Post Retirement Fund 433.29 5,200.00 5,633.29
Clergy Care
and Wellness Fund 18,147.19 8,133.00 26,280.19
BALANCE 482,263.12 144,650.00 9,905.82 617,007.30
Votive Offerings
Bread and Wine Sanctuary
Lamp In
Memory of
Marie Siemon
Offered by
Dyann, Jim &
Josh
Your Gift to God
August 27-28, 2016
Over $100.00 2 $20 43
$100.00 1 $16-19 1
$76-99 0 $15 18
$75 0 $11-14 3
$51-74 2 $10 116
$50 8 $6-9 13
$26-49 11 $5 63
$25 11 under $5 29
$21-24 0 Total Envelopes used
321
THANK YOU to those who
have already increased their
Sunday Offering. It is a great
help to your parish.
by Deacon Thomas Frankenfield Continuing our Journey
Each one of us receives numerous gifts from our loving God. Some gifts are very evident to us and are developed throughout our life’s journey like unique musical talents or academic abilities. Other gifts are often hidden inside of us and come to the forefront as others call us forth to journey with God’s community.
Examples are the ability to be present to those in need and the ability to listen with one’s heart. Finally, there are those gifts that many would label as burdens that through the grace of our loving God can be transformed into powerful gifts for others. Our journey in this series deals with how those who bear pain and sufferings are able to use our gifts to further make the reign of God present in our broken world regardless of our troubles.
To Bear Wrongs Patiently
This reflection on the Spiritual Works of Mercy is the call for us to bear wrongs patiently. In today’s world this is one of the great challenges to anyone in our Christian Community. We can be injured in many different ways from physical abuse to the searing pain of mental mistreatment. Each of us is challenged in many unique ways.
Unquestionably, our role model in this area is Our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who bore Pilate’s mental and physical abuse and without saying a word of defense or without making a single gesture to stop them--even though he was accused of crimes he had not committed.
In these areas and in all others we should try to model the example of Our Divine Lord, who endured wrongs by praying for those who injured Him.
In His Passion and Death, Jesus taught the lesson that more violence in not the proper response to violence.
Jesus showed by example a healthier approach to bearing wrong besides “an eye for an eye.” The Good Sheppard shows His flock that being in relationship with Him means bearing wrongs with love and forgiveness. Imagine a world where war, violence and revenge were not our first
reaction to hurts.
However, this model of bearing wrongs with love and forgiveness does not mean that one should invite continual abuse and mistreatment as a form of false piety--it doesn’t promote people submitting to constant danger and abuse Becoming a Font of Grace
Quite often those who display abusive behavior are acting out in
response to their own sinful ways and an expression of their inner pain. In order for us to help those in this kind of pain we should display a patient acceptance.
Simple actions like saying a quiet prayer like “God, you love them with unconditional love, help me to love them in the same way.”
Becoming an example of peacemaking means acting peacefully even in life’s little things. When a customer is rude, most
successful business owners do not react violently. So, when co-workers disappoint you, bear those wrongs patiently. Only God’s grace can help us to overcome our innate reactions. Only grace can turn our natural instinct to make a nasty response into a flowing font of patient love.
A Statement of Faith
In the end, we must have the strength to embrace the sufferings of lives and turn our weakness into strengths.
This is a thunderous statement of faith. This is a faith in God's unconditional love that whatever humans do to us-- God ultimately will reign victoriously. By bearing injustices committed against us patiently we show our faith in God's power to overcome all evil.
For Your Reflection
From a Ministry Perspective:
Are there persons in my ministry with whom I struggle because of their tendency to perform painful actions?
Can I become a font of loving grace by bearing these wrongs patiently?
Where do I cause others stress because of my sinful actions?
How can I lessen their need to bear my wrongs patiently?From a Family Perspective:
In my Domestic Church, as parent, sibling, widow or single, are there persons with whom I struggle because of their tendency to perform painful actions?
Can I become a font of loving grace by bearing their wrongs patiently?
In what areas in my Domestic Church do I cause others stress because of my sinful actions?Spiritual Works of Mercy: To Bear Wrongs Patiently
September 4, 2016 Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Please email comments/questions/suggestions to [email protected].
Day and Date Time Intention Offered by Events of the Week
Monday, September 5
St. Teresa of Calcutta 10:00 am For all who labor Parish
LABOR DAY 10 am MASS 11 am Family Picnic Noon Raffle Drawing
If you see Fr. Ken today, wish him a happy 29th anniversary of Ordination!
Tuesday, September 6
Weekday 8:00 am Walter Terpak Mary Jo & Ken Pryor 5:00 pm CANTOR REHEARSAL
5:30 pm CHOIR REHEARSAL
Wednesday, September 7
Weekday 8:00 am Barbara Ritsick Harowicz & Aileo Families
Thursday, September 8
Nativity of the Theotokos 8:00 am Frances Slusarz Marie & Joe Stefanides
Noon—5 pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 5 pm Vespers and Benediction 6 pm SOCIAL JUSTICE COUNCIL
Friday, September 9
St. Peter Claver 8:00 am Tomascik Family Estate of Margaret
Tomascik
Saturday, September 10
Weekday NO Morning Mass Scheduled Confessions 3 pm
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Vigil 1
4:00 p.m. Marie Siemon FamilyCemetery Envelopes
Tickets for USO dance & Basket Rafffle
Vigil 2
5:30 p.m. John J. Lynch Sr. Wife & ChildrenSunday
8:00 a.m. Martha Bykowski Dolores YesuvidaSunday
11:00 a.m. Parishioners PastorLiturgical Ministries
PLEASE NOTE: The dates on the calendar issued to the Liturgical ministers are incorrect. The schedule printed here has been corrected!
Sorry for any inconvenience this may have occasioned.
September 5, 2016 Labor Day
Servers Lectors Extraordinary
Ministers of Communion
10 a.m.
Rosemary Shedlock Pat Baran John BenzSeptember 10-11, 2016 Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
4 p.m.
Ted Harowicz John Bednarz Ted Harowicz5:30 p.m.
John & RichardMorris Jackie Barkus Rosemary Shedlock
8 a.m.
Nicholas Kreidler Anna Hudock A.J. Kondracki11 a.m.
Sr. Tina Josh Price Mimi ToshAGN US DA Y :
The Lectionary Comic Strip by Pastor James Weitzman
