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Administrator—Deacon John Roth

Sacramental Minister- Fr Marino Msigala

Administrative Assistant-David Mazzaferro

Secretary—Renee Putt

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH

1416 Dudley Road, PO Box 188

Dudley, Pa. 16634

Office: 814-635-2919 Fax: 814-626-0127

Currently, all masses, social events and gatherings of any type are suspended as a result of the Coronavirus situation. We will continue to have our bulletin updated and published on our website at www.iccdudley.com with news and updates as well as messages from our Sacramental Minister Fr. Marino Msigala and Deacon John Roth. There will also be prayers, devotions, and links to other relevant resources as we all continue to pull together to get through this very difficult period through our faith.

May 3, 2020 Fourth Sunday of Easter

Mass Times Until we are able to resume public masses, we will be live-streaming our Sunday

morning mass on our Facebook page at

9:00 am with Father Marino Msigala

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April 2020 Collections

Weekend Collection (April 25 & 26) 9 Env $2,186.00

April Total to Date $5,764.00

Monthly Goal $6,500.00

Saturday

Sunday

Server

Lector

E. Minister

E. Minister

Usher

Usher

Server

Lector

E. Minister

E. Minister

Usher

Usher

Thank you for your generosity

1st Reading Acts 2:14a

2nd Reading 1 Peter 2:20b-25

Gospel Reading John 10:1-10

Minister schedule will start on the date masses resume

Please Note: Collection amounts may vary

significantly from week to week during this time.

Checks are being received by mail. Some are sending their offering one week at a time while

others are sending several weeks at once. Money

received from past weeks will be counted in the

current week’s collection.

Offerings sent ahead will be held for that particular week. We want to thank you all for

your continued support, not only financially but

for your understanding, patience and prayers as

we walk together though this difficult time.

Week of May 3, 2020

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Immaculate Conception Masses

Sun May 3 9:00am For Jerry Maslanik req. by the Maslanik Family

Sun May 10 9:00am For Barbara Sodano req. by Aggie Lucas

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From the desk of Fr Marino Msigala

THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER/ THE

GOOD SHEHARD SUNDAY

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ; In this Sunday’s readings we are reminded that the

shepherd is our guide and a leader and so the

fourth Sunday after Easter is called “Vocation

Sunday”. A day of special prayer for those who

are “Shepherds” in the Church. There is only one

“shepherd” and that is Jesus. We are his flock. Those who belong to his flock recognize his voice

when he calls us by our names. In the first and

second readings we are shown what Jesus did,

which we must imitate.

Many of us have already heard that voice and

responded to him through Married life,

Consecrated religious life, ministerial priesthood

and some other special vocations. Let us pray

today that the Lord call more people and open

their ears to hear and respond to his call and

pray for us all who have already responded to

continue responding yes to his will in all our lives

regardless of the challenges. On this day of

vocations; Please, let’s hear what our Holy Father

Pope Francis tells us in the following letter of

exhortation and encouragement.

(I understand that some might have already

read it, but I encourage everyone to read

because it is a strong message especially in

this time of the Church)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

FOR THE 2020 WORLD DAY OF VOCATIONS

(3 May 2020)

Words of Vocation

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On 4 August last year, the 160th anniversary of the death of the Curé of Ars, I chose to write a letter to all

those priests who daily devote their lives to the service

of God’s people in response to the Lord’s call.

On that occasion, I chose four key words – pain, grati-tude, encouragement and praise – as a way of thanking priests and supporting their ministry. I believe that

today, on this 57th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, those words can be addressed to the whole people of God, against the backdrop of the Gospel passage that recounts for us the remarkable experience of Jesus and Peter during a stormy night on the Sea of Galilee

(cf. Mt 14:22-33).

After the multiplication of the loaves, which had aston-ished the crowds, Jesus told his disciples to get into the boat and precede him to the other shore, while he took leave of the people. The image of the disciples crossing the lake can evoke our own life’s journey. In-deed, the boat of our lives slowly advances, restlessly looking for a safe haven and prepared to face the perils and promises of the sea, yet at the same time trusting that the helmsman will ultimately keep us on the right course. At times, though, the boat can drift off course, misled by mirages, not the lighthouse that leads it home, and be tossed by the tempests of difficulty,

doubt and fear.

Something similar takes place in the hearts of those who, called to follow the Teacher of Nazareth, have to undertake a crossing and abandon their own security to become the Lord’s disciples. The risk involved is real: the night falls, the headwinds howl, the boat is tossed by the waves, and fear of failure, of not being up to the

call, can threaten to overwhelm them.

The Gospel, however, tells us that in the midst of this challenging journey we are not alone. Like the first ray of dawn in the heart of the night, the Lord comes walk-ing on the troubled waters to join the disciples; he in-vites Peter to come to him on the waves, saves him when he sees him sinking and, once in the boat, makes

the winds die down.

The first word of vocation, then, is gratitude. Taking the right course is not something we do on our own, nor does it depend solely on the road we choose to travel. How we find fulfilment in life is more than a decision we make as isolated individuals; above all else, it is a response to a call from on high. The Lord points out our destination on the opposite shore and he grants us the courage to board the boat. In calling us, he be-comes our helmsman; he accompanies and guides us; he prevents us from running aground on the shoals of indecision and even enables us to walk on surging wa-

ters.

Every vocation is born of that gaze of love with which the Lord came to meet us, perhaps even at a time when our boat was being battered by the storm. “Vocation, more than our own choice, is a response to the Lord’s unmerited call” (Letter to Priests, 4 August 2019). We will succeed in discovering and embracing our vocation

once we open our hearts in gratitude and perceive the

passage of God in our lives.

When the disciples see Jesus walking towards them on the sea, they first think that he is a ghost and are filled with fear. Jesus immediately reassures them with words that should constantly accompany our lives and our vocational journey: “Take heart, it is I; have no

fear” (Mt 14:27). This, then, is the second word I wish

to offer you: encouragement.

What frequently hinders our journey, our growth, our choosing the road the Lord is marking out for us, are certain “ghosts” that trouble our hearts. When we are

called to leave safe shores and embrace a state of life—

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The Proclaim! TV Ministry is a

weekly television program

spotlighting news and happenings

in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown. It airs every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on

WATM ABC 23.

Tony DeGol, Secretary for Communications for

Bishop Mark L. Bartchak and the Diocese of

Altoona-Johnstown, is the producer and host of

the show. The program also features “Keeping the

Faith,” a weekly segment with Bishop Mark interviewing newsmakers in the Diocese.

like marriage, ministerial priesthood, consecrated life – our first reaction is often from the “ghost of disbelief”. Surely, this vocation is not for me! Can this really be

the right path? Is the Lord really asking me to do this?

Those thoughts can keep growing – justifications and calculations that sap our determination and leave us hesitant and powerless on the shore where we started. We think we might be wrong, not up to the challenge,

or simply glimpsing a ghost to be exorcized.

The Lord knows that a fundamental life choice – like marriage or special consecration to his service – calls for courage. He knows the questions, doubts and difficulties that toss the boat of our heart, and so he reassures us: “Take heart, it is I; have no fear!” We know in faith that he is present and comes to meet us, that he is ever at our side even amid stormy seas. This knowledge sets us free from that lethargy which I have called “sweet sorrow” (Letter to Priests, 4 August 2019), the interior discouragement that hold us back from

experiencing the beauty of our vocation.

In the Letter to Priests, I also spoke about pain, but here I would like to translate the word differently, as fatigue. Every vocation brings with it a responsibility. The Lord calls us because he wants to enable us, like Peter, to “walk on water”, in other words, to take charge of our lives and place them at the service of the Gospel, in the concrete and everyday ways that he shows us, and specifically in the different forms of lay, priestly and consecrated vocation. Yet, like Saint Peter, our desire and enthusiasm coexist with our

failings and fears.

If we let ourselves be daunted by the responsibilities that await us – whether in married life or priestly ministry – or by the hardships in store for us, then we will soon turn away from the gaze of Jesus and, like Peter, we will begin to sink. On the other hand, despite our frailty and poverty, faith enables us to walk towards the Risen Lord and to weather every storm. Whenever fatigue or fear make us start to sink, Jesus holds out his hand to us. He gives us the enthusiasm we need to live our vocation with joy and fervour.

When Jesus at last boards the boat, the winds die down and the waves are calmed. Here we have a beautiful image of what the Lord can do at times of turbulence and tempest in our lives. He stills those winds, so that the forces of evil, fear and resignation no

longer have power over us.

As we live out our specific vocation, those headwinds can wear us down. Here I think of all those who have

important responsibilities in civil society, spouses whom I like to refer to – not without reason – as “courageous”, and in a particular way those who have embraced the consecrated life or the priesthood. I am conscious of your hard work, the sense of isolation that can at times weigh upon your hearts, the risk of falling into a rut that can gradually make the ardent flame of our vocation die down, the burden of the uncertainty and insecurity of the times, and worry about the future.

Take heart, do not be afraid! Jesus is at our side, and if we acknowledge him as the one Lord of our lives, he

will stretch out his hand, take hold of us and save us.

Even amid the storm-tossed waters, then, our lives become open to praise. This is the last of our vocation words, and it is an invitation to cultivate the interior disposition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Grateful that Lord gazed upon her, faithful amid fear and turmoil, she courageously embraced her vocation and made of

her life an eternal song of praise to the Lord.

Dear friends, on this day in particular, but also in the ordinary pastoral life of our communities, I ask the Church to continue to promote vocations. May she touch the hearts of the faithful and enable each of them to discover with gratitude God’s call in their lives, to find courage to say “yes” to God, to overcome all weariness through faith in Christ, and to make of their lives a song of praise for God, for their brothers and sisters, and for the whole world. May the Virgin Mary

accompany us and intercede for us.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 8 March 2020, the Second Sunday of Lent

Francicus

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Immaculate Conception News & Events

Let us say a prayer for our Catholic members who are homebound and

unable to attend church.

Omer Black Lora Bridestine

Mary Lynn Dickson Nancy Detwiler

Butch Neuder Dora Mellot

Elaine Rheem Earl Fetters

Iola Cimbalista

If your Birthday is missing, please fill out a census form to be added into the church web file. Census forms can be found in the back of church on the shelf. If you have any questions please call the church office at (814) 635-2919 or email: davem@iccdudley.com

300 Club Winner

The winner of this weeks 300 Club drawing is Lois Matthews. The winning Ticket was sold by

Tom Matthews. We will continue to draw winners

throughout the period that the church is closed.

Judy Ford 05/07

Anthony Miller 05/07

Matthew Flasher 05/09

Albert (Scott) Barone 05/09

Renee Putt 05/10

Sofie Straley 05/15

Mary Hinkle 05/16

Karen Watkins 05/16

Joseph Bartholomew 05/19

Emma Runde 05/26

Susan Ross 05/30

Robert Black 05/31

Live Streaming of ICC Masses Until the “stay-at-home” order is lifted, Father Marino will be live streaming our Sunday morning

Mass on Facebook beginning at 9:00am.

For the period that Father Marino will be

celebrating Mass on Facebook on Sunday

mornings, we would like to continue to pray for the health of our family and friends. If there is

someone you would like to include on the list,

please call the parish office at 814-635-2919 or

email it to davem@iccdudley.com. We must

receive the request by Friday at noon. Thank you.

300 Club Winners by Week

Date Winner Seller

03/07 N/A N/A

03/14 Barrett Brode Kay Brode

03/21 Cindy Musser N/A

03/28 Chris & Lisa Crawshaw Chris & Lisa Crawshaw

04/04 Susan Schwartz Sandy Fink

04/11 Justin Duvall Dan Reed

04/18 Alan Baker Cathie Maslanik

04/25 Mike Maslanik Cathie Maslanik

05/02 Lois Matthews Tom Matthews

05/09

05/16

05/23

05/30

06/06

06/13

06/20

06/27

For all those who have died, including:

Jennifer & Avery Meck

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Spiritual Reflections

Families and the Gospel

May 3, 2020: Fourth Sunday of Easter

(JN 10:1-10) In today’s gospel Jesus tells us, HE IS THE WAY

and warns anyone who offers “another way” to

happiness is “a thief and a bandit.” Strong words!

Don’t listen to the sales pitch of society for

happiness. Look to yourself where God is present

and “calls you by name and leads you to

abundant life.”

Family Ritual

Due to the pandemic, with school and business

closures, many families are experiencing fear and

stress. But also, many families are spending more

time together than before.

While the fear and stress are real, and what is

causing them needs to be addressed, don’t pass up the opportunity your family has to spend time

together! Play with your children more. Read to

them. Take family walks. And make certain to use

this opportunity for prayer. You can read the

scriptures together or do a Daily Examen. There are many excellent ways to pray with

young children. Our Diocesan website has links

to a number of family prayer possibilities. W h i l e

it is ok to be afraid during these uncertain times,

and it is necessary to pray for all those who are

fighting the illness as well as those who have been impacted negatively by it, do not forget to see the

blessings that can be found within it. When God allows evil, it is to draw forth some

greater good. (CCC 412) Andre McCarville Family Life & Missions Office, Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown

The Order of the Mass: The 5 Parts of the Introductory Rites The Mass begins with the entrance chant/song.

The celebrant and other ministers enter in procession and reverence the altar with a bow

and/or a kiss. The altar is a symbol of Christ at

the heart of the assembly and so deserves this

special reverence.

All make the Sign of the Cross and the celebrant extends a greeting to the gathered people in words

taken from Scripture.

The Penitential Act follows the greeting. At the

very beginning of the Mass, the faithful recall their sins and place their trust in God's abiding

mercy. The Penitential Act includes the Kyrie Eleison, a Greek phrase meaning, "Lord, have

mercy." This litany recalls God's merciful actions

throughout history. On Sundays, especially in

Easter Time, in place of the customary Penitential

Act, from time to time the blessing and sprinkling of water to recall Baptism may take place.

On Sundays, solemnities, and feasts,

the Gloria follows the Penitential Act.

The Gloria begins by echoing the proclamation of

the angels at the birth of Christ: "Glory to God in the highest!" In this ancient hymn, the gathered

assembly joins the heavenly choirs in offering

praise and adoration to the Father and Jesus

through the Holy Spirit.

The Introductory Rites conclude with an opening

prayer, called the Collect. The celebrant invites

the gathered assembly to pray and, after a brief

silence, proclaims the prayer of the day. The

Collect gathers the prayers of all into one and

disposes all to hear the Word of God in the context of the celebration.

Thoughts on Aging Saint John Paull II encourages us: “By virtue of

our spiritual souls, we will survive beyond death. And to realize how quickly time flies is to be called

to make full use of the years we still have before

us.” We cannot say it often enough: “Our soul

never dies.” And as our Holy Father says, the

almost-speed-of-light passage of time calls us to an alert, holy use of every day Our Lord gives us.

Inspiring Quotes “You will never be happy if your happiness

depends on getting solely what you

want. Change the focus. Get a new center. Will

what God wills, and your joy no man shall take

from you.” Venerable Fulton Sheen

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Liturgical Notes for Easter

From Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the

Calendar:

22. The fifty days from the Sunday of the

Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday are celebrated in

joy and exultation as one feast day, indeed as one

"great Sunday." These are the days above all others

in which the Alleluia is sung.

23. The Sundays of this time of year are

considered to be Sundays of Easter and are called,

after Easter Sunday itself, the Second, Third,

Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Sundays of

Easter. This sacred period of fifty days concludes

with Pentecost Sunday.

24. The first eight days of Easter Time constitute

the Octave of Easter and are celebrated as

Solemnities of the Lord.

25. On the fortieth day after Easter the Ascension

of the Lord is celebrated, except where, not being

observed as a Holyday of Obligation, it has been

assigned to the Seventh Sunday of Easter (cf. no.

7).

26. The weekdays from the Ascension up to and

including the Saturday before Pentecost prepare

for the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.

The liturgical color for Easter is

white. The General Instruction of the Roman

Missal (no. 346) also states: "On more solemn

days, festive, that is, more precious, sacred

vestments may be used even if not of the color of

the day. The colors gold or silver may be worn on

more solemn occasions in the Dioceses of the

United States of America."

Especially during Easter Time, instead of the

customary Penitential Act, the blessing and

sprinkling of water may take place as a reminder of

Baptism.

There are six metropolitan sees and their suffragan

Dioceses which maintain the Solemnity of the

Ascension on Thursday: Boston, Hartford, Newark,

New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia. Every other

region of the United States has opted to transfer

the Solemnity to the following Sunday (the Seventh

Sunday of Easter)

—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Isaac: A Man of Peace

“It’s just not fair!” We all have had times in our

lives when this thought crossed our minds.

Someone commits an injustice to us or to our

loved ones, and we don’t like it. The natural

instinct is to strike back, to get even, to fight for our rights. The Bible, both through command and

through godly example, shows us there is a better

way.

In the arid land of southern Palestine, nothing is

more precious than water. Without water, no

herds or crops can live. Without water, no life can

exist.

After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac

abundantly. The Philistines were jealous of Isaac’s

prosperity and instigated a conflict with him over

water rights. Sometimes they filled Isaac’s wells

with earth, and other times they argued with him

over the ownership of the wells. Isaac had a clear right to the wells he dug, as well as to the wells

that had belonged to his father. Over and again,

Isaac gave up these rights to avoid conflict with

his neighbors. He chose a way of peace.

Centuries later God, speaking through Moses,

would command the Israelites not to covet

(Exodus 20:17). The Philistines suffered from a

spiritual problem of envy. Isaac chose not to let

their problem become his.

The Bible teaches the rightness of self-defense,

both in protecting your person and in protecting

your property. However, the Bible also shows that

the better course to follow is to forgo our rights and to follow the way of peace. Isaac followed in

the faith of his father, trusting God to provide.

God blessed Isaac just as He blessed Abraham.

“And he…dug another well, and they did not

quarrel over it.” (Genesis 26:22)