Apr 2010
From the Pastor
April/22/2010
It is with a real sense of sadness that we extend our sympathy to our Bishop Barbarito on the death of his mother, Anna Marie, who died on Saturday, April 17th, and was buried this past week in Brooklyn. She had bravely fought cancer these last few years of her life, and now, God has called her home to be with Him after a very beautiful life that included daily Mass and Holy Communion. May she enjoy happiness with the Lord and her husband forever, and may our Bishop and his sister and her family be consoled that God really loves His faithful followers!
This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, a.k.a., The World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is set aside for us to pray in a special way for more vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. In this Year for Priests, we pray even more intensely that God will raise up from among us more good and faithful people to answer his call to serve as one of His Priests. Once they are called, we pray that they may be guided throughout their life of service and not succumb to the power of the Evil One. We also join in asking God to extend the call to for more to become Religious Brothers and Sisters and Permanent Deacons.
Perhaps an invitation from you to your children or other members of your family who are open to God’s call to serve Him and His people in one of these capacities will cause them to think and open their hearts to the possibilities of sharing God’s love with a world in need of that love. If you qualify and are considering the possibilities that God is calling you to try out the seminary or convent to discern whether to are being called to serve Him in religious life, remember the words of a famous manufacturer: “Just do it!” Remember, the seminary or convent is a place of discernment; you will not be ordained or professed in solemn vows for many years. There, you are just given ample opportunity over several years to explore the possibility of a call to priesthood or religious life.
Speaking of shepherds, we extend congratulations to Archbishop-elect Thomas Wenski, a priest-son of Palm Beach County, who has just been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Archdiocese of Miami, which is the largest diocese south of Philadelphia and east of Huston. I just had dinner with him at his Orlando home ten days ago, and you would have thought he was the proverbial “cat that swallowed the canary.” The Archbishop served most of his priesthood in the Miami area before he was named six years ago to head the rapidly expanding diocese of Orlando. The 59-year old son of a Polish-immigrant father and Polish-American mother, he is well suited to lead the Miami-area Catholics, as he speaks fluent Haitian Creole, Spanish, English and a decent amount of Polish.
The enormous task that lies ahead of him will require a lot of energy and even more prayer, so please include this native son of our area in your prayers so that he will be a good shepherd. And, please don’t take any negative publicity in the media at face-value; they love to stir up controversy even where it doesn’t really exist. Yes, the devil has his minions at work, even when they may not realize he is using them.
Next Sunday, May 2nd, the Diocese of Palm Beach will celebrate our annual Marian Rosary Festival, beginning
at 2:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Parish. Once again, our own Bishop Barbarito has accepted the invitation to celebrate the devotions honoring Mary, the Mother of Our God. Events will include the procession of various Marian images, the recitation of the Rosary, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Knights of Columbus, parish chapters of the CCW, and Rosary groups from throughout our diocese are welcome to join in this celebration, followed by a multi-cultural fiesta of food and entertainment provided by different ethnic groups participating in the festival. You and your family are invited to honor Mary, too, with your prayer, and mark the beginning of Mary’s month of May.
On Saturday, May 8th, our little children, who have been preparing this year for their First Holy Communion, will receive Jesus at their special Mass at 10:30 a.m. I thank the teachers of religion and the parents of these children who have brought them to this point of their lives, most especially by the good example they have given through lives of volunteer service and deepened prayer. May they continue to show their faithfulness by teaching our children receive the Lord often in the Eucharist, attending Mass each and every Sunday as a means of growing
stronger in the spiritual life through this Bread of Angels.
There is a special notice in this week’s bulletin about our opening of a second counseling center on campus (the first is the diocesan-sponsored Catholic Charities Counseling office in the old convent, above the Parish Gift Shop). The new one is called Divine Mercy Healing and Counseling Center. Please check its announcement elsewhere in this bulletin. God bless you!
Very Rev. Canon Tom
This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, a.k.a., The World Day of Prayer for Vocations. It is set aside for us to pray in a special way for more vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. In this Year for Priests, we pray even more intensely that God will raise up from among us more good and faithful people to answer his call to serve as one of His Priests. Once they are called, we pray that they may be guided throughout their life of service and not succumb to the power of the Evil One. We also join in asking God to extend the call to for more to become Religious Brothers and Sisters and Permanent Deacons.
Perhaps an invitation from you to your children or other members of your family who are open to God’s call to serve Him and His people in one of these capacities will cause them to think and open their hearts to the possibilities of sharing God’s love with a world in need of that love. If you qualify and are considering the possibilities that God is calling you to try out the seminary or convent to discern whether to are being called to serve Him in religious life, remember the words of a famous manufacturer: “Just do it!” Remember, the seminary or convent is a place of discernment; you will not be ordained or professed in solemn vows for many years. There, you are just given ample opportunity over several years to explore the possibility of a call to priesthood or religious life.
Speaking of shepherds, we extend congratulations to Archbishop-elect Thomas Wenski, a priest-son of Palm Beach County, who has just been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to head the Archdiocese of Miami, which is the largest diocese south of Philadelphia and east of Huston. I just had dinner with him at his Orlando home ten days ago, and you would have thought he was the proverbial “cat that swallowed the canary.” The Archbishop served most of his priesthood in the Miami area before he was named six years ago to head the rapidly expanding diocese of Orlando. The 59-year old son of a Polish-immigrant father and Polish-American mother, he is well suited to lead the Miami-area Catholics, as he speaks fluent Haitian Creole, Spanish, English and a decent amount of Polish.
The enormous task that lies ahead of him will require a lot of energy and even more prayer, so please include this native son of our area in your prayers so that he will be a good shepherd. And, please don’t take any negative publicity in the media at face-value; they love to stir up controversy even where it doesn’t really exist. Yes, the devil has his minions at work, even when they may not realize he is using them.
Next Sunday, May 2nd, the Diocese of Palm Beach will celebrate our annual Marian Rosary Festival, beginning
at 2:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Parish. Once again, our own Bishop Barbarito has accepted the invitation to celebrate the devotions honoring Mary, the Mother of Our God. Events will include the procession of various Marian images, the recitation of the Rosary, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a solemn Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The Knights of Columbus, parish chapters of the CCW, and Rosary groups from throughout our diocese are welcome to join in this celebration, followed by a multi-cultural fiesta of food and entertainment provided by different ethnic groups participating in the festival. You and your family are invited to honor Mary, too, with your prayer, and mark the beginning of Mary’s month of May.
On Saturday, May 8th, our little children, who have been preparing this year for their First Holy Communion, will receive Jesus at their special Mass at 10:30 a.m. I thank the teachers of religion and the parents of these children who have brought them to this point of their lives, most especially by the good example they have given through lives of volunteer service and deepened prayer. May they continue to show their faithfulness by teaching our children receive the Lord often in the Eucharist, attending Mass each and every Sunday as a means of growing
stronger in the spiritual life through this Bread of Angels.
There is a special notice in this week’s bulletin about our opening of a second counseling center on campus (the first is the diocesan-sponsored Catholic Charities Counseling office in the old convent, above the Parish Gift Shop). The new one is called Divine Mercy Healing and Counseling Center. Please check its announcement elsewhere in this bulletin. God bless you!
Very Rev. Canon Tom
From the Pastor
April/15/2010
What tragedies have befallen God’s people again, this time in West Virginia and Poland. My classmate, the Bishop of West Virginia, missed our class reunion last week to spend much time ministering to those of his flock who have lost loved ones in the coal mine disaster there (I did get to see his picture on the news more than once during that sad vigil). In Poland, the nation suffered its most devastating setback since World War II. Their leaders were on their way to offer a commemorative Mass marking the 70th anniversary of the wiping out of the leadership and intelligentsia of Poland by the Soviets in Katyn Forest.
My Polish-language professor had been among the leadership of those who persisted in bringing to light the atrocities that were hidden for years by Russia. When he died two years ago, he was given a state funeral from Warsaw’s Cathedral, already having been given the equivalent of Poland’s Medal of Honor and the Polish Parliament’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. For those of us who remember the Kennedy assassinations and were deeply affected by them, just try to imagine the wipe-out of not only the Kennedys, but much of the leadership of our military and Congressional leaders.
It is virtually unparalleled in these times outside of war and genocide. I knew the bishop of the Polish Military Diocese who lost his life (just saw him last summer), as well as the ex-President of the Republic-in-exile, who served his people from London during the years of Soviet and Communist domination of Poland. There were seven other priests also on board that ill-fated aircraft.
Please pray for all those who have perished in these disasters, as well as their families (and for our Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy, who cannot return home at this time to join in their nation’s mourning), and the entire Catholic Polish nation. Now that the flu season is over and the danger of rapid transmission of the “bug” seems to have passed, the reception of the Precious Blood at Sunday Masses in our parish will be resumed, with the usual precautions for both Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and recipients still being observed. The ministers will continue to purify their hands before distributing the host or cup, and carefully wipe the cup after the recipient has partaken of the Precious Blood.
The recipient should not approach the cup if he/she is aware of any cold or other illness that could infect any other recipients. This will be the last Sunday that Deacon Chris LeBlanc will serve as a Deacon in our parish before his going off to prepare for his priestly ordination and First Mass. We are grateful for his weekends of service throughout the past year, and wish him only the best for his last days in the seminary as a student. He has been a good preacher of God’s Word here, and a valuable asset to our parish family, especially to the youth of our Life Teen program. Though we will lose his presence in our area, we know that his Diocese of Pensacola- Tallahassee will utilize his many talents, and hope that he will receive a suitable assignment there and continue to develop his gifts for the use of God’s people in that diocese. Pray for him, that he may be worthy of that call by God to serve Him and His flock in the best ways possible. Pray, too, for the health of his own bishop, the Most Reverend John Ricard, weakened by a series of strokes and physical setbacks in this 70th year of his life.
Father Chris will be ordained in the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Pensacola on Saturday, June 5th, in this “Year for Priests.” Then, on June 20th, “Father” Chris will return to us to offer a Mass of Thanksgiving, followed by a reception in our Parish Center. Until then, we wish him the choicest of God’s blessings and “bon voyage!”
Steve Dudenhoefer, of Ak’Tenamit in our Guatemalan mission, has sent us a lovely message of thanks for your generous contribution to that cause. He will greet us when several men from the Knights of Columbus of our parish and their sons arrive in mid-July (17th to the 25th) for our annual volunteer work week (actually 9 days) in the steamy rain forest of Guatemala. If you wish to donate to this worthy project, green envelopes marked for the Guatemalan mission are found in the clear plastic brochure holders at each of the entrances of our church. You may put your offering along with your weekly parish stewardship envelope in the Sunday collection. Thank you so much for your support of this worthy cause!
We welcome the newest members of our parish, who will join us after the last Mass this Sunday morning, in a meeting and reception in our parish hall. We thank Karen Turnbull and her team of welcoming volunteers who, with the leadership of our parish, are making them feel welcome to our parish family.
Very Rev. Canon Tom
My Polish-language professor had been among the leadership of those who persisted in bringing to light the atrocities that were hidden for years by Russia. When he died two years ago, he was given a state funeral from Warsaw’s Cathedral, already having been given the equivalent of Poland’s Medal of Honor and the Polish Parliament’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. For those of us who remember the Kennedy assassinations and were deeply affected by them, just try to imagine the wipe-out of not only the Kennedys, but much of the leadership of our military and Congressional leaders.
It is virtually unparalleled in these times outside of war and genocide. I knew the bishop of the Polish Military Diocese who lost his life (just saw him last summer), as well as the ex-President of the Republic-in-exile, who served his people from London during the years of Soviet and Communist domination of Poland. There were seven other priests also on board that ill-fated aircraft.
Please pray for all those who have perished in these disasters, as well as their families (and for our Sister Maria and Sister Dorothy, who cannot return home at this time to join in their nation’s mourning), and the entire Catholic Polish nation. Now that the flu season is over and the danger of rapid transmission of the “bug” seems to have passed, the reception of the Precious Blood at Sunday Masses in our parish will be resumed, with the usual precautions for both Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and recipients still being observed. The ministers will continue to purify their hands before distributing the host or cup, and carefully wipe the cup after the recipient has partaken of the Precious Blood.
The recipient should not approach the cup if he/she is aware of any cold or other illness that could infect any other recipients. This will be the last Sunday that Deacon Chris LeBlanc will serve as a Deacon in our parish before his going off to prepare for his priestly ordination and First Mass. We are grateful for his weekends of service throughout the past year, and wish him only the best for his last days in the seminary as a student. He has been a good preacher of God’s Word here, and a valuable asset to our parish family, especially to the youth of our Life Teen program. Though we will lose his presence in our area, we know that his Diocese of Pensacola- Tallahassee will utilize his many talents, and hope that he will receive a suitable assignment there and continue to develop his gifts for the use of God’s people in that diocese. Pray for him, that he may be worthy of that call by God to serve Him and His flock in the best ways possible. Pray, too, for the health of his own bishop, the Most Reverend John Ricard, weakened by a series of strokes and physical setbacks in this 70th year of his life.
Father Chris will be ordained in the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Pensacola on Saturday, June 5th, in this “Year for Priests.” Then, on June 20th, “Father” Chris will return to us to offer a Mass of Thanksgiving, followed by a reception in our Parish Center. Until then, we wish him the choicest of God’s blessings and “bon voyage!”
Steve Dudenhoefer, of Ak’Tenamit in our Guatemalan mission, has sent us a lovely message of thanks for your generous contribution to that cause. He will greet us when several men from the Knights of Columbus of our parish and their sons arrive in mid-July (17th to the 25th) for our annual volunteer work week (actually 9 days) in the steamy rain forest of Guatemala. If you wish to donate to this worthy project, green envelopes marked for the Guatemalan mission are found in the clear plastic brochure holders at each of the entrances of our church. You may put your offering along with your weekly parish stewardship envelope in the Sunday collection. Thank you so much for your support of this worthy cause!
We welcome the newest members of our parish, who will join us after the last Mass this Sunday morning, in a meeting and reception in our parish hall. We thank Karen Turnbull and her team of welcoming volunteers who, with the leadership of our parish, are making them feel welcome to our parish family.
Very Rev. Canon Tom
From the Pastor
April/08/2010
Thank you to the many kind people who visited us over the past Easter weekend (the busiest time of year for church services and record attendance) and supported our church through their generous donations and collections.
The church was packed at many of the Masses, and parking seemed tougher than usual. So, I tip my hat to those kind and loyal volunteers who did their best to try to keep the great volume of cars flowing in and out after the most crowded of our Easter Masses, or who offered their services in such a way as to lessen an already difficult
situation. Thank you for being so patient, too, when the bridge went up and the train came through, causing a real delay in arrivals for Mass because the previous crowd couldn’t leave so quickly.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see these crowds coming to Mass each Sunday? But, alas, we know that many are only Easter-time visitors – some for good reasons, too. We appreciate their support of our parish while they are with
us, especially the many seasonal snowbirds who are a tremendous asset to us. We will miss you until you return to us. May God bless all of you who support us while you’re here, especially those who generously support the Diocesan Services Appeal!
Thank you to all those workers and volunteers who helped us prepare for such beautiful and spiritually uplifting Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Our maintenance staff (guided by Jay Flood), our volunteer grounds crew (headed by Chris Grant), the entire Skinner family, Ana Kenefick, and Gene Montfort (decorating the church), seminary students Mark Gobeo and Wesler Hilaire, and several other parishioners stayed very many extra hours in church and on the campus to give that special “extra time and effort.” Our mellifluous-sounding choir (with Bill Stafford & Mark Galsky at the helm) did its part to enhance each of the liturgies. Our teens did a reverent and dignified rendition of the Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening. The many attendees had to be deeply moved by the presentation, as several related later to me.
This weekend unfolds in a relatively new feast in the Church known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks to the intervention of the late Pope John Paul II, we have this celebration of the unlimited love and mercy of Our Lord, shown to us through His divine revelations to Saint Sister Faustina. While each Mass this Sunday is a celebration of Divine Mercy in itself, there will be a special Holy Hour in the afternoon in the church at 3:00 p.m., concluding a nine-day novena. Our weekly visiting transitional Deacon Chris Le Blanc is approaching his priestly ordination (June 5th) in Tallahassee. He’ll still in service with us as a deacon for just this weekend and the next one, too. Then it’s off to the required retreat and time for his immediate preparation for his ordination. “Deacon Chris” will then return to us as “Father Chris,” to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in our parish on June 20th, followed by a reception for all our parishioners in his honor in our Parish Center. I certainly hope you plan to be with us for that memorable
occasion.
On Thursday, April 15th, we will begin our 70th year as a parish!! It’s hard to believe that we have aged that much, but it is so. Checking out our parish website, you can trace the history of the growth of our wonderful parish from its earliest moments as it emerged from Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, and later gave birth to several other neighboring parishes. So much has happened here in the span of these years, and we give thanks to God for the spiritual benefits of this pilgrimage. May He grant us seventy more years plus, and may His love continue
to be poured out upon us through the work of so many generous parishioners and great volunteers!
The feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), our parish patron, is usually observed on April 5th (though this past Monday, we observed Day 2 of the Easter Week celebrations). Vincent, the son of an Englishman who settled in Valencia, Spain, and married his Spanish-born bride there, has been named the patron of plumbers and builders. He entered the Dominican Order at age 17, distinguished himself as a scholar, and became an outstanding preacher and philosopher. He had quite notable success in arousing Christians to repentance in Spain, France and Italy, and he also converted literally thousands to Roman Catholicism. Among his many converts was the Rabbi Paul, who later became bishop of Cartagena, Spain. He did his best to try to arrest what Church historians refer to as “The Great Western Schism” (when there were two, then three claimants to the papal throne at one time), but to little avail. Still, he continued to serve God and His Church very faithfully, influencing so many people in a positive way. Incidentally, Vincent’s very own brother was chosen to head the great monastery of Grand Chartreuse in France, the country in which Vincent died after being worn out by his many successful preaching labors. Shortly after his death, a spontaneous popular cult arose about him, and he was later declared a saint in 1455.
[And you think we have it rough in the Church in this day and age!]
Very Rev. Canon Tom
The church was packed at many of the Masses, and parking seemed tougher than usual. So, I tip my hat to those kind and loyal volunteers who did their best to try to keep the great volume of cars flowing in and out after the most crowded of our Easter Masses, or who offered their services in such a way as to lessen an already difficult
situation. Thank you for being so patient, too, when the bridge went up and the train came through, causing a real delay in arrivals for Mass because the previous crowd couldn’t leave so quickly.
Wouldn’t it be nice to see these crowds coming to Mass each Sunday? But, alas, we know that many are only Easter-time visitors – some for good reasons, too. We appreciate their support of our parish while they are with
us, especially the many seasonal snowbirds who are a tremendous asset to us. We will miss you until you return to us. May God bless all of you who support us while you’re here, especially those who generously support the Diocesan Services Appeal!
Thank you to all those workers and volunteers who helped us prepare for such beautiful and spiritually uplifting Holy Week and Easter celebrations. Our maintenance staff (guided by Jay Flood), our volunteer grounds crew (headed by Chris Grant), the entire Skinner family, Ana Kenefick, and Gene Montfort (decorating the church), seminary students Mark Gobeo and Wesler Hilaire, and several other parishioners stayed very many extra hours in church and on the campus to give that special “extra time and effort.” Our mellifluous-sounding choir (with Bill Stafford & Mark Galsky at the helm) did its part to enhance each of the liturgies. Our teens did a reverent and dignified rendition of the Living Stations of the Cross on Good Friday evening. The many attendees had to be deeply moved by the presentation, as several related later to me.
This weekend unfolds in a relatively new feast in the Church known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Thanks to the intervention of the late Pope John Paul II, we have this celebration of the unlimited love and mercy of Our Lord, shown to us through His divine revelations to Saint Sister Faustina. While each Mass this Sunday is a celebration of Divine Mercy in itself, there will be a special Holy Hour in the afternoon in the church at 3:00 p.m., concluding a nine-day novena. Our weekly visiting transitional Deacon Chris Le Blanc is approaching his priestly ordination (June 5th) in Tallahassee. He’ll still in service with us as a deacon for just this weekend and the next one, too. Then it’s off to the required retreat and time for his immediate preparation for his ordination. “Deacon Chris” will then return to us as “Father Chris,” to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving in our parish on June 20th, followed by a reception for all our parishioners in his honor in our Parish Center. I certainly hope you plan to be with us for that memorable
occasion.
On Thursday, April 15th, we will begin our 70th year as a parish!! It’s hard to believe that we have aged that much, but it is so. Checking out our parish website, you can trace the history of the growth of our wonderful parish from its earliest moments as it emerged from Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, and later gave birth to several other neighboring parishes. So much has happened here in the span of these years, and we give thanks to God for the spiritual benefits of this pilgrimage. May He grant us seventy more years plus, and may His love continue
to be poured out upon us through the work of so many generous parishioners and great volunteers!
The feast of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419), our parish patron, is usually observed on April 5th (though this past Monday, we observed Day 2 of the Easter Week celebrations). Vincent, the son of an Englishman who settled in Valencia, Spain, and married his Spanish-born bride there, has been named the patron of plumbers and builders. He entered the Dominican Order at age 17, distinguished himself as a scholar, and became an outstanding preacher and philosopher. He had quite notable success in arousing Christians to repentance in Spain, France and Italy, and he also converted literally thousands to Roman Catholicism. Among his many converts was the Rabbi Paul, who later became bishop of Cartagena, Spain. He did his best to try to arrest what Church historians refer to as “The Great Western Schism” (when there were two, then three claimants to the papal throne at one time), but to little avail. Still, he continued to serve God and His Church very faithfully, influencing so many people in a positive way. Incidentally, Vincent’s very own brother was chosen to head the great monastery of Grand Chartreuse in France, the country in which Vincent died after being worn out by his many successful preaching labors. Shortly after his death, a spontaneous popular cult arose about him, and he was later declared a saint in 1455.
[And you think we have it rough in the Church in this day and age!]
Very Rev. Canon Tom