Weekly Bulletin

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME JUNE 28, 2009 SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009 5:30 P.M. Elizabeth Piscitelli George Ostrander Magdalena Robinson SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2009 7:30 A.M. People of the Parish Robert & Jean Laird Carmine Turissi Robert Laird, Jr. 10:00 A. M. Donald White Giovanni Occhipinti John Mulcahy 12:00 P.M. Walter Donnelly Intentions of Margaret Longo Kevin Carver Intentions of Lucy Giordano MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2009 8:00 A.M. COMMUNION SERVICE TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009 8:00 A.M. COMMUNION SERVICE WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2009 8:00 A.M. COMMUNION SERVICE THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2009 8:00 A.M. COMMUNION SERVICE FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2009 8:00 A.M. COMMUNION SERVICE SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 5:30 P.M. Lora White Josephine Picariello Magdalena Robinson Linda Galinus SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009 7:30 A.M. People of the Parish Theresa Callamari Ann Marie Hivish Pat Garland 10:00 A.M. Marie Blessinger Fannie Canali Walter Donnelly Intentions of the Family of Nathan Gainey 12:00 P.M. Our Lady’s Pro-Life Intentions Walter Donnelly Frederick Ackerly, Sr. Pray daily for the safety of our servicemen and women serving their country. PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS SICK: Will Trusewicz Barbara Burford Augie Rosati Ann Buchalski Joseph Rapelye Georgia Imhoff Odie Mercorella Geraldine Marotta Alisa Harvey DECEASED: Our Deceased Loved Ones	SCHOOL CLOSED for summer vacation! Those of us with school aged children and those who work in schools have some time off. A few moments of reflection on schools, and in particular, our Catholic Schools will be most helpful. First of all, we thank God for the past school year, for the many and numerous blessings. We thank God for our Principal, Secretary, teachers and support staff; for our parents and benefactors and for our students with whom Catholic Education has been made possible. Words like: dedication, respect, charity, service, integrity, character building, industry, constructive discipline, safety, friendship, moral living, religion and God are central to our daily curriculum. Recently, I had a chance meeting with a person who does much for his local parish, for his local community and for our diocese. He challenged me to consider our work in our parish school. His point was that Catholic Schools are a big money pit, and a drain in our energy. I said that he was actually right. We do spend more and above what we receive from school tuition fees. We have a large faculty and support staff teaching our children while on either side of Ringwood Avenue we have our local Elementary public schools. However, the education and formation we offer, and the achievements we boast of are priceless. If the Catholic parish is all about money, then stop giving to the poor - they never seem to grow out of their poverty. Stop visiting the sick, the elderly and the disabled - they are not going to get better. Stop doing good - it is not worthwhile in this modern age. According to his values, we might as well close down our soup kitchens, homes for orphans and battered spouses, hospitals and clinics, hospices and hope houses. We at St. Francis of Assisi Parish have a mission: “... to witness, to serve and to educate.” Look at the multiple ways in which we have educated, formed and created better people. For instance, this year 6 of the graduating class from Lakeland High School are honor students and have been given scholarships: Laura Carroll, Nicole Macko, Justin Mancini, Jackie Rivera, Samantha Stevens - they were students of St. Francis of Assisi School. Yes, the salutatorian was a graduate from our parish school – Monica Martini. We congratulate all of them!!! And we thank God for the opportunity to form their lives while they attended our parish school. Schools have closed and I like to remember all of our faithful parishioners who believe in Catholic Education and for your support. It has not been easy, and will not be a smooth task to cover the expenses to make Catholic Education possible. But we shall do our best. I also like to take this opportunity to welcome all and any parent/student in our parish who wants to have a Catholic Education in St. Francis of Assisi School. We are very willing and open to work with our parents to make this education affordable and convenient. This is our mission, and we rely of God’s help and grace. Do not hesitate to talk to me. By the way, our school continues to offer summer school. We shall have Vacation Bible School from August 3^rd through August 7^th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. We also look forward to our Annual Parish Carnival from July 14^th until July 19^th. Have a great summer, filled with relaxation, fun, safe travels and God’s blessings. - Fr. Lance CHURCH MEMORIALS Church Altar Candle in memory of Walter Donnelly requested by Friends & Neighbors of Butler Place & Wanaque Ave. WEEKLY COLLECTION Budget - $8,000.00 Sunday - $5036.00 Thank you for your continued support.

ST. FRANCIS ANNUAL PARISH CARNIVAL Our 46^th parish carnival will be held from Tuesday, July 14^th – Sunday, July 19^th. Sign-up sheets for volunteering are in the Narthex and at the side door of the church. You may also volunteer through our website: www.stfrancishskell.org. We need all the help we can get and you’ll really enjoy working with your fellow parishioners for this worthy cause. We call upon the generosity of our parish members as we once again ask for contributions of items needed for the food booths, etc. For now, the only things needed are: Paper towels Ice Tea Powdered Sugar Coffee These items may be dropped off at the rectory Monday – Friday, 9am – 4pm. Thank you for any contributions you are able to donate. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REGISTRATION FOR SEPTEMBER, 2009 Registration for religious education classes for September 2009 is now in progress! ATTENTION: RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PARENTS - Registration forms for the 2009-2010 CCD school year have been distributed to all families presently registered in the program. Please return registration forms as soon as possible. NEW REGISTRATIONS – Children who are new to the parish or who are entering First Grade in the public schools in September should also register at this time. Registration forms are available at the Religious Education Office or at the Rectory. For further information call 835-1946. ST. FRANCIS RELIGIOUS EDUCATION NEEDS YOUR HELP!! As our St. Francis community grows with many new families, we are in need of CCD teachers, substitutes and aides, etc. Please give some consideration to volunteering as a teacher, substitute, or aide for the upcoming school year. We are always willing to assist and train anyone who would be willing to serve. Our CCD program succeeds because of the fine and generous efforts of so many. We need you all! HARVEST We will continue accepting canned/non perishable food donations as often as you can donate. You may drop your donations off in the Narhtex or at the rectory, whatever is convenient for you. Thank you on behalf of the needy.	GOD DID NOT MAKE DEATH Earlier this year I sat and watched my father die. There’s not much we can do for the people we love in this hour but pray and be present. I recited all the mysteries of the rosary, all the mysteries of life and love and suffering, during the weeks before his death. But after he was gone, I sat with his body and prayed only the glorious mysteries. In the end, we believe, all that’s left for the faithful is glory. Death has a fearful thing, whether it comes suddenly or slowly. Saint Francis of Assisi claimed it as our Sister, not a foreigner but a member of the family. Mystics of his caliber can greet even death as an ally along the gracious way to God. But for the rest of us, death remains an enemy of sorts, ever-threatening the only life we know. When we find ourselves awash in the river of questions that come with mortality—Why do we die? What is life if it must end? Where do we go when we’re not here?—it’s comforting to recall the words from the Wisdom writer: “God did not make death.” Death is not God’s idea, and it’s certainly not God’s plan for us. Sin may have made death unavoidable, but it doesn’t make it invincible. Jesus shows us a new way to consider death. It’s like sleeping and requires only the right person to reach out and wake us up. All the attendant commotion, the weeping and wailing that many of us simply must do, is natural but not the whole story. I cried for my father, for my loss of him, and for my mother, who has lost her man of nearly 60 years. But I also believe, as surely as we have lost him, that Dad himself is not lost. He is found, because Jesus is the one who seeks and finds those who are lost. Jesus restores the community of the faithful to wholeness, both here and beyond death and across the two realms. See how his healing nature goes out to the hemorrhaging woman separated by a flow of blood for a dozen years. It used to be she was untouchable, estranged, so alone. Now she can rejoin her family, as well as the entire community, her health and vitality and creativity renewed. At the touch of Jesus, death has no sting. In the presence of Jesus, community is reconciled. When we find ourselves isolated by illness or loneliness, by what we have done or failed to do, there is hope. When those we love are lost to us through years and circumstances or even through death, there is hope. Jesus is our hope. - Alice Camille THOUGHTS FOR SUNDAY Who has touched my clothes? When the woman with a flow of blood touched Jesus, he felt “that power had gone out of him.” Only he seemed to notice the gesture, but he wanted to see who had done it. He called forth the woman, not to rebuke her, but to tell her that her faith had saved her. He seemed to be saying that a healing encounter with him cannot be anonymous and hidden. The person seeking him should do so in the open, without shame and fear. The gospel continues to tell believers today to approach Jesus with trust, confident in him and his ability to save and heal. - Joel Schorn

OUT OF ABUNDANCE Generosity, Saint Paul tells the Corinthians, has a lot to do with equality. Because you have more, and others are in need, it makes sense to balance things out - to take from your surplus to make up for another’s deficit. Scott Neeson was living the abundant life. Born in Scotland, he came to Los Angeles in 1993 and became a successful Sony Pictures movie executive. Then, in 2009, while on an backpacking trip to Asia, he stopped in Phnom Penh. There he encountered a common sight in many poor cities: crowds of children begging and picking through garbage dumps. Lots of these children were orphans, or had been abandoned by their parents, or suffered abuse. Quitting his Hollywood job, he established the Cambodian Children’s Fund. At first the organization provided shelter and food for the street children. Now it has developed health care and educational programs, as well. “The one thing it’s really taught me,” Neeson told Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, “. . . is the resilience of the human spirit. What these kids have been through is remarkable . . . with 170, 180 children who are going through the process of changing their lives, how can you just walk away from that?” Though may of us worry about money and having enough, most of the time we have so much more than we need. What can you share with others? - Joel Schorn Save the Date St. Francis of Assisi School 20th Anniversary Tricky Tray Saturday, October 17, 2009 More details to come..... BLIND FAITH Daniel and his sister Daniela have been blind since birth, the consequence of a genetic disease. They were born in a rural area of Ghana, where resources are scarce and disease runs rampant. Before Daniel reached his teen years, his father died, and his mother struggled to keep herself and her four children alive. Finally out of desperation, she led her blind 11-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter to a small hut in a remote area and left them to die. After hours of anguished cries begging their mother not to leave them, the children got busy living. They foraged for food on their hands and knees and subsisted mainly on roots for three months until they were rescued by a local orphanage. They were immediately given food, shelter, medical treatment, and counseling. The children couldn’t bring themselves to talk much about their mother, but they did talk about their faith, which they said saved them. Doctors felt that Daniel would benefit from a corneal transplant. So through the help of several charities, he was flown to the United States for his surgery. In the end his eyes, like his sister’s, proved to be beyond repair. Daniel cried a little and admitted he felt embarrassed to be going home without his sight. But amazingly he never expressed any anger for his heartrending fate. His faith continues to save him. - Patrice J. Tuohy JUNE 50/50 RAFFLE WINNER The winner of the June 50/50 raffle is Vi Heller of Wanaque. Vi is a lifelong resident of Wanaque and a lifelong member of St. Francis Church. This is the third time she has won the 50/50 raffle and each time she won she donated her winnings back to St. Francis Church. She is also donating her June winnings of $205.50. We thank Vi Heller for her continued generosity and support to St. Francis Church.	YOUNG ADULTS The Wayne Area Young Adult Ministry team is sponsoring two Theology on Tap events next month. Please call (973-879-3102). THANK YOU LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR “On behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor and the Residents of St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, we would like to thank you for your generous parish donation in the amount of $1,714.65. We appreciate the outpouring of support from your parishioners.” ST. FRANCIS HSA CAR RAFFLE Win a 2009 Ford Escape. Only 800 tickets to be sold. $50 per ticket. Drawing: July 19^th at the St. Francis Carnival. A special thank you to parishioners Vic D’Agostino and Boots Bailey for your support and ticket sales last year! For more information or to order tickets, please visit www.sfashaskell.org or call Cristin Toscano 973-657-0779. Tickets are also available after all weekend Masses. L et us . . . have our eyes fixed on the image of God so that we may be formed anew in God’s likeness. . . . By looking back at the image of God, in whose likeness humanity was created, we will receive back from the power of God’s Word the form we had by nature. - Origen (+254) LAKELAND NURSING HOME SCHEDULE JULY 5, 2009 Nick Spina & Frank Caropreso LECTOR ASSIGNMENTS SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009 5:30 P.M. T. Luciani SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2009 7:30 A.M. M. O’Keefe 10:00 A.M G. Boroski 12 NOON H. Pairo Eucharistic Ministers & Altar servers are not scheduled during the months of July and August. We hope that when you are at Mass you will step up and volunteer to help Fr. Lance. Have a wonderful and safe summer.