December 23, 2018 — Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 23, 2018 Page 3

Mass Intentions for the Week Sunday, Dec. 23 (4th Sunday of Advent)

7:00 Mr. & Mrs Elias Arthur Brown Sr. ( The Marchany Family)

9:00 Michelina Carlisle, Robert Duerr & Antoinietta Partenope

(Loving Family)

10:30 Anthony Frasca (The Sheldrick Family)

12:00 Dr. Frank C. Favazza (Loving Favazza Family), Jose

Vilmenay (Millie Fernandez), Andrew Baldacci (The

Butzbach Family), Kathleen O’Loughlin (Patty & Jerry

Peters), Sr. Eilish White (Patty & Jerry Peters), Walter

Vilkas (Maryann & Dan Diesburg)

5:00 Ronald V. Berscak Sr. (Loving Family)

Monday, Dec. 24

7:00 For the People of the Parish

9:00 For the People of the Parish

4:00

6:30

10:30

Tuesday, Dec. 25

7:00

9:00

10:30

12:00

1:30 Spanish Mass

Wednesday, Dec. 26

7:00 Frank Famulare Jr. (Mary Ellen Bergin)

9:00 George McGrath (Loving Niece Linda)

Thursday, Dec. 27

7:00 Rose Casey (James Alipo)

9:00 Kristopher Appel (Theresa Rowden)

Friday, Dec. 28

7:00 Peter Grabowski (Loving Wife)

9:00 Teresa Murphy (The Devlin Family)

Saturday, December 29

8:00 Pauline Cordingley (Roy & Irene Dujat)

5:00 Helen M. Christopher (Loving Son), Robert Arthur Grant Jr.

(James Alipo), Rose Lorenzino (Thomas & Jackie

McCarthy)

Sunday, December 30 (Holy Family of Jesus, Mary & Joseph)

7:00 Arnold Thomas Brown (LIVING) (The Marchany Family)

9:00 Walter Vilkas (Maryann & Dan Diesburg), For the

People of the Parish

10:30 Frances Coletti (CDA Court St. Joseph 975)

12:00 Sandra Antoniato (Loving Family)

5:00 Alan E Fricke (Thomas & Jackie McCarthy)

6:30 Spanish Mass

Serving Your Sacramental Needs

The Sacrament of Baptism

The Sacrament is celebrated on Sundays at 1:30 PM and on the first Saturday of each month. Parents, please call the parish office to arrange a meeting with a priest.

The Sacrament of Eucharist

See front cover for mass times. If you are sick for an extended period of time or are homebound, contact the parish office to have someone bring Communion to you.

The Sacrament of Confirmation

School aged children can prepare for this Sacrament by contacting our Faith Formation Office. Adults who have yet to be Confirmed should contact the Parish Office

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

As listed on front cover or call the office to see a priest.

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick

This Sacrament is for the living. We celebrate this Sacrament each Spring and Fall for those who are chronically ill, advanced in age, or who are about to undergo surgery or hospitalization. We can arrange the Sacrament at other times by calling the Parish Office.

Emergencies: Call the office to speak to a priest.

Nighttime emergencies (631) 538-7219

The Sacrament of Matrimony

Bride or Groom please call the office at least six months before your desired wedding date to begin preparations for marriage. Please make contact with the parish before making other wedding day plans!

The Sacrament of Holy Orders

If you feel called to serve in the church as a priest deacon or in consecrated religious life, call the office to speak to one of the priests or deacons for guidance.

Interested in possibly becoming Catholic?

Contact the rectory to arrange a meeting to discuss your questions. We have classes to help people learn about our faith and decide if becoming Catholic is best for you. This whole process of inquiry and potential conversion is called RCIA—The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

We will respect your personal journey with God!

Altar Bread & Wine

In Memory of

The Mickelson & Williams Families & Msgr. Francis Midura

Requested by

Barbara Mickelson

REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE DIED

Cecilia Formica, Doris Connelly, Henry Gregorek

our deceased soldiers and all of our deceased relatives and friends.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen

Christmas Mass Intentions

Christmas Mass

Intentions

Building the City of God in 2018 It is kind of difficult to measure concrete growth in the City of God because it is not a concrete place - it is our community, us growing as the Body of Christ. As we come to the end of a year it is great to look back and see some of the ways we have grown together and have served together. These are just some of the signs of our growth as a community of mercy:

In January we had a food drive to replenish our Parish Outreach after the holidays. The response was overwhelming. We had a little trouble finding space for everything that was donated.

In February, Fr. Bob Bonnot from Unbound came to visit us and invite parishioners to join in the work of ongoing sponsorship of children, youth or elderly in developing countries. There were 48 new sponsorships from that weekend. This is the third time Unbound has visited us and our parishioners have made commitments sponsor a total of 275 people!

In March we let God’s light shine off our heads as we sponsored our first St. Baldrick head shaving event. Our goal was to raise $4,000 to fight childhood cancer. We raised over $12,000 and $325 for Alex’s Lemonade Stand. Also, many of our children did the same thing at head shaving events in their school.

In April we had a shoe shining event. This was a way to be in solidarity with children in developing countries who shine shoes to help support their families. We raised $1,500 to build a house in El Salvador.

In May, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we collected a tremendous amount of baby diapers, bottles and other baby supplies to help mothers in need.

In June we collected CD’s and DVD’s for the VA in Stony Brook.

In July we had a blood drive. We hadn’t had one here in years and found out that the reason was poor response. Our goal was 40 pints. We collected 69 pints of blood that day! Next Blood Drive is January 6!

In August, a Dominican Sister asked if we could collect some used cell phones for people in need who she works with. She was completely overwhelmed by our generous response!

In September, we blessed the backpacks of our children and gave them all St. Joseph medals. We also collected so many school supplies that we took care of our parishioners and helped two neighboring parishes as well.

In October everyone was given a baby bottle as a reminder to pray for children waiting to be born or adopted, families trying to conceive, and people facing crisis pregnancies. We also asked people to put their spare change in the bottles throughout the month to give to The Life Center.

In November we counted the change that was collected in the bottles - over $6,000 was counted. We also got a lot more bottles after our counting day and sent them directly to The Life Center. All in all we sent over $7,000 to them.

In December we collected socks and gift cards for our friends who come to our Soup Kitchen. We also made Christmas greetings for them and wrapped over 100 toys for children in need.

In the midst of all of this, we raised $6,000 to sponsor the training of a Guide Dog Puppy who we named Gil. These are only some of the many ways we celebrated God’s love in our works of mercy. All are welcome to join in the works of mercy we have planned for the coming year!

Here Is The Fruit Of One Of Our Works Of Mercy Our parishioners visited El Salvador last August and built a home for Fatima (9), her Grandmother Noemi, and her Uncle Nicholas. The home they were going to share was destroyed by an earthquake two years ago. Our shoe shining on Share Mercy Sunday in April paid for their new home. There was money left over and August 2 was Fatima’s birthday. The people at Unbound saw that she had a bed already but nowhere to put her clothes. They asked if they could use the extra money to buy her this beautiful wardrobe for her new home as a birthday gift.

We had the joy of sharing in the surprise when Fatima saw her gift. She was moved to tears (and so were we). Watching her as she saw her new gift, it was as if she were a princess for the day!

She has a mirror! I’m not sure if she ever saw her reflection before in her life. But now she can see that she is a reflection of God’s image.

Fatima now has a home that is her own. She has a place to keep her clothes and she can see her reflection every day. If that’s not building the City of God, I don’t know what is!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVING SERVICE ANF FOR THIS AMAZING WORK OF MERCY!

Jesus is born in us in every work of mercy!

OUR LITURGY In the first reading, Micah prophesies that tiny Bethlehem will be the birthplace of the Messiah, a great ruler for all time. Paul reflects on Jesus’ offering of himself and his obedience to God’s will, through which we are consecrated. The Gospel depicts Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, who recognizes Mary’s role as Mother of God.

December 23, 2018 Page 6

Our Prayer and Action In Building the City of God

Our Prayer for Financial Well Being is $23,700 in our Sunday

Offerings (which will be a $5,000 increase over our 2017 Weekly

Average):

Sunday Dec. 16, 2018 Collections: $16,904

Same Week from Last Year: $18,837

Weekly Average ((to-date) $17,190

Last Year Weekly Average Was: $18,210

Our Prayer for Evangelization is an increase of 500 new people

at Sunday Mass (which will be 2,043 people at Sunday Mass):

Mass Attendance on Sun. Dec. 16th 1,663

2018 Average Mass Attendance: 1,416

2017 Average Mass Attendance: 1,535

________________________________________________ Our Prayer for our St Joseph School Enrollment

Is 245 Students (which is an increase of 50 Students):

2017/18 Enrollment is currently: 195

2018/19 Enrollment to date:: 183

__________________________________________________________

Repair and Maintenance

December Collection: $5,465___________

Catholic Ministries Appeal:

Our Goal for 2018 was $75,000. We Met Our Goal! Thank You!

If all pledges are paid by Jan 31, we will receive a $15,000 Rebate!

Respect Life The St. Joseph Respect Life Committee wishes all the members of our Parish community a very Blessed Christmas!

Please keep the families who have been the victims of abortion or euthanasia in your prayers. Also, please pray to restore a genuine respect for life in our coun-try, and the whole world. And lastly, please pray for those who work tirelessly to bring about positive change in our world.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you! May the Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! May the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!” Num 6:24-26

“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…”

Jeremiah 1:5

Hold the Date

Jan 18, 2018 March for Life in DC

SJ will again be sponsoring a bus.

Christmas 2018

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

(also called “Penance” or “Confession”)

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

after Morning Masses;

Saturdays after 8:00 am Mass

Saturdays 4:00 pm to 4:45 pm

CHRISTMAS EVE MASSES

December 24, 2018

4:00 pm in the Church

(Musical Prelude starts at 3:30 pm)

4:00 pm in the Church Lower Hall

6:30 pm in the Church

10:30 pm in the Church

(Musical Prelude starts at 10:00 pm)

CHRISTMAS DAY MASSES

December 25, 2018

7:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am, 12:00 pm

SPANISH MASS 1:30 pm

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH

Saturday, December 29, 2018

5:00 pm

Sunday, December 30, 2018

7:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am,

12:00 noon, and 5:00 pm

SPANISH MASS 6:30 pm

SOLEMNITY OF MARY,

MOTHER OF GOD

New Year’s Day, January 1, 2019

7:00 am, 9:00 am, 12:00 noon

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

(also called “Little Christmas”)

Saturday, January 5, 2019

5:00 pm

Sunday, January 6, 2019

7:00 am, 9:00 am, 10:30 am,

12:00 noon, and 5:00 pm

SPANISH MASS 6:30 pm

Venturing Events In Carew Hall after 5:00 PM Mass

Venturing is open to men and women age 14 through 20 who have graduated from 8th Grade. This year's crew plan is jam packed with interesting and fun activities here at St.

Joseph's and "off-campus" as well.

Come to our meeting and check it out.

Visit our next meeting:

December 23, 2018 Tonight e-mail: Crew272@StJoRonk.org

phone: Advisor Mike Keller (631) 872-7675

What did you do this weekend?

Cub Scout Pack 272

Scout Troop 272

St. Joseph’s Cub Scout Pack 272 and Scout Troop 272 have fun, exciting, educational, character building pro-grams for boys and girls, age 7 through 17 (first Grade and up).

For more information or to enroll your child, contact Dr. Louis Scotti at 656-8428

or e-mail JoinScouting@StJoRonk.org.

Pack, Troop, and Crew 272 have

a YEAR-ROUND scouting program.

Page 10

CYO Sport Programs

http://stjoecyosports.com

Baseball:

Intramural (Coed, ages 4-16): Gene 588-1879

Travel * (Boys) Vinny 543-4100

Basketball:

Girls (koolmom4d@msn.com) Debbie 467-6174

Clinic Division (Coed Grades K-2) Nick 585-7723

Boys Grades 3-12) Vinny 543-4100

Travel* Vinny 543-4100

Track:

Boys & Girls, Grades K-8 Jerry 585-4048

Soccer :

Intramural Boys & Girls(ages 3-13) Joe 585-0748

jcaiola@fast.net

Travel (LIJSL): Rob 721-8831

Softball: Dennis 467-6174

Faced with a Drinking Problem?

Perhaps

Alcoholics Anonymous Can Help.

“Heart of the Lake” - AA Group

Meets here at St. Josephs R.C. Church

In the basement of the Rectory (entrance in rear)

Wednesday Evening @ 7:30 - 8:45 pm

And

Saturday Afternoon @ 2:00 - 3:15 pm

“The Only Requirement for Membership

Is a desire to stop drinking.”

Vincenzo Galimulla