24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
One of my favorite movies is the 1991 comedy What About Bob? Bill Murray plays a troubled, paranoid hypochondriac named Bob Wiley who innocently but annoyingly hounds Dr. Leo Marvin, played by Richard Dreyfuss. Bob is paralyzed by his fear of, well, everything, and is convinced the psychologist can heal him. But Dr. Marvin’s failed attempts to heal Bob end up driving the doctor to attempt to murder Bob. He fails. The surprise is that, having faced death head on, Bob is suddenly healed. He attributes his healing to Dr Marvin for break-through “death therapy.” In facing the cause of his deepest illness and dysfunction, Bob is healed. Underneath this light-hearted comedy is a dead-serious resonance with this week’s feast: the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Christ is lifted up on the cross to force us to face the truth of sin and death. In that reckoning we find healing. Like Moses’ snake on a pole, the cross says: this is what is causing your sickness – rebellion, disobedience, sin. Look at it! Don’t run from it. Now seeing it exposed, we see life. We see our physician mercifully healing us. In this sense, we are all like Bob Wiley. The “death therapy” of the cross is our only hope for healing. This week I invite you to “exalt the cross.” If you don’t have one in your house, get one. Use it for prayer. Gaze on it frequently. It teaches us to not be afraid. It heals us. — Father John Muir
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I need to share something I have observed over the years about what is left at the clothes bin in the parking lot behind the church. First is the fact that people don’t read because it clearly states in big bold red print that no furniture should be left at the box and people still leave furniture. The second thing I noticed is how often useless things are left at the box, just a few examples – there was a coffee table left that obviously at one point had a glass top – the top was missing – what good is a coffee table without a top? Next to the coffee table were four cushions from a couch but no couch! Who needs cushions without the couch they belong to? One last example was a kid’s white board that was drawn on with permanent marker and thus no longer could be cleaned – what kid wants a board they can’t draw on? I believe there are two problems that lead to these things being left – first people treat it as a dump – they don’t know how to get rid of their garbage, so they make it the church’s problem to get rid of it. Second, there is the mindset that it is going to the poor and the poor will take “anything”. This attitude is disrespectful and anti-Christian. The poor are our brothers and sisters and deserve to be treated with dignity. If you don’t want it because it is broken, useless, etc., either do they! I doubt it is actually people from this parish that are leaving these items, but just a reminder to all of us – that the poor deserve to be treated with respect – they deserve to be treated as who they are – our equals – our brothers and sisters in Christ. So before making a donation ask yourself, is the item actually useful or is it just something you are trying to get rid of? Also, please read the box and follow the instructions – no furniture should ever be left there.
God Bless you and have a wonderful week,
Fr. Michael
PRAYER REQUESTS
That God will relieve their suffering and restore them to health. Please pray for:
Kellie Salata, Kelly Chinchar, Jessica, Daniel Breslin, Stanley, Joseph Marrone, Anthony, Michael, Joseph, Jessica Esopo, Steve, Audra, Bernadette, James Weiss, Baby Ford, Rosemary Malangone, Elizabeth Malangone, Sue West, Danny, Colleen Emery, Richard, Joan Russo, Christina Martin, Mornia Evans, Valerie Valverde, Diana McGuckin, Manny Scarangella, Cheryl Prinjinski, Ron Barth, Stephen West, John K. Hammel.
Holy Name Medical Center is looking for Eucharistic Ministers, volunteers, who are willing to help out in giving out Holy Communion to their patients. If you are interested, you can email them at pokafor@holyname.org or call their office at 201-833-3243 or stop by their Pastoral Care Office, behind the chapel, lobby/ground floor at Holy Name Medical Center.
SCRIPTURAL REFLECTIONS ON STEWARDSHIP
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.”
God created us to be in relationship with Him. Sin broke that relationship. Jesus came to earth so that we may reconcile our relationship with God. Following Jesus’ example, we can be blessed with a joy-filled life on earth and eternal life in heaven. These four points are known as the “kerygma” – the first proclamation of the Gospel. This core message is the basis of our Catholic faith. How do you live this out in your daily life?
The gift of Bread & Wine for the first two weeks of September has been given in memory of Louise & John Hansen by Mr. & Mrs. Raymond DeRiso.
The Sanctuary Lamp for the month of September has been given in memory of Cecelia Jashembowski by Linda J. Sylvestri.
Please consider sponsoring our Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, and the oil for the Sanctuary Lamp.
Opportunities for Parish Support
There are several ways you can help support our parish and honor loved ones at the same time. As you may have noticed on the first Sunday of every month in our bulletin, we thank the donors of our Altar Gifts. You can donate the Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, or the Sanctuary Lamp in a two-week block for $50 in someone’s memory. We have blocks open for this year. We also need to purchase a new Easter candle each year (the tall candle on the altar) for $300-$400 which can also be donated in someone’s memory. You do not have to fund the entire amount, anything you wish to donate towards the purchase of our Easter candle is appreciated. We also have masses available for your intentions. If you wish to honor someone in any of these ways, please call the rectory.
Prayer for our Nation
God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for your glory and dwell among your people. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will. Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of our land, grant us the courage to reject the “culture of death.” Lead us into a new millennium of life. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Praying the ROSARY
The Rosary is a meditation, a time to recall and think about the life of Jesus as seen and experienced by Mary. As the model of faith, Mary’s life sets a pattern that we strive to follow: saying ‘yes’ to God’s will in our lives and sharing His love and message with others. The Mysteries of the Rosary form a mini lesson of faith, using the highlights and significant moments of the life of Jesus. Like paging through a family scrapbook, we see in brief the events of salvation history that are the core of our belief and the hope of our eternal life.
WE NEED BULLETIN ADVERTISERS!!
We would like to thank all the advertisers who have supported us throughout the past year. Our parish benefits greatly from the ads you see in the bulletin. The revenue pays for the printing which is an important means of communication for the parish. If we do not have enough advertisers, the cost of our bulletin goes up. We thank the local businesses that advertise with us especially in these tough economic times. We have some spaces on the back of our bulletin that need filling so if you would like to advertise your business as well as benefit your church, please contact John Patrick Publishing at 1-800-333-3166.
Please support our advertisers at the back cover of bulletin.