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1911 – 2020

First Sunday of Lent – March 1, 2020

Rev. Bryan E. Page Pastor frb@olcjc.org

Deacon Kamil Belling Transitional Deacon

Rev. Thomas J. Ciba Pastor Emeritus

Mrs. Roseann Citro Principal

Mr. Ben Rauch Director of Music directorofmusic@olcjc.org Mrs. Matty Hiott Business Manager secretary@olcjc.org

Mrs. Barbara Peters Bulletin Editor bulletin@olcjc.org

Ms. Patricia Mercuri Communications Coordinator trish@olcjc.org Mr. Jerome Ransom Custodian

Parish Office 201-434-0798

Fax

201-985-0918

Website www.olcjc.org Office Hours Monday-Friday 9:30 am-5:30 pm

Mass Schedule Monday – Friday: 12:30 pm (Church open from 12:00 noon to 1:15 pm) Saturday: 5:00 pm, Sunday Vigil Mass Sunday: 8:00 am (Polish), 10:00 am, 12:30 pm and 7:00 pm Note: St. Anthony of Padua, 330 Sixth Street, Jersey City, is the Center for Polish Ministry in Jersey City. 10:00 am “Children’s Liturgy of the Word” We provide a Faith Formation program called “Children’s Liturgy of the Word” for children 2½ years+ and their parents during the 10:00 am Sunday Mass. Confessions/Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturday 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm in the church or by appointment with the pastor. Weddings Those interested in celebrating the Sacrament of Marriage should contact the parish office one year in advance of their proposed date of marriage. Infant Baptisms Preparation for Baptism should ideally begin before the birth of the child. Expectant parents should visit the parish website at olcjc.org for more information. Catholic School Education

The OLC School

Shaping Young Minds for a Brighter Future Lower School

248 Luis Marin Blvd., Jersey City, NJ 07302

Grades K – 2

Upper School 225 Morris Blvd., Jersey City, NJ 07302

Grades 3 – 8 Blue Ribbon School

MSA-CESS Accredited

201-434-2405 | www.olcschool.org The Little Harbor Academy

The Early Childhood Division of the OLC School

186 Grand Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

Tiny Tikes Program for 2-year-olds; Pre-K Programs for 3 & 4-year-olds

201-434-6708

Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church 120 Sussex Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

Our Mission The mission of our Parish is to reach out to all people and encourage them to join us in joyful-ly giving praise and glory to God; to build a Christian community that, with trust in God, em-braces the future, and in doing so, is a beacon of faith, hope and love on the Jersey City wa-terfront. Our History Our Lady of Czestochowa Church, or OLC, was founded in 1911 to serve Polish immigrants in Jersey City. Today, OLC is growing and changing as it seeks to serve all those who now live in our neighborhood. The Church takes its name from a city in Poland that houses a cher-ished icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A copy of that icon is centrally located in our historic Church.

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Dear Parish Family, We have a blessed season of joy upon us these next few weeks as we engage in the discipline of Lent. As Jesus is led out into the desert, we accompany Him on that journey. Over the next 40 days, as we are more deliberate with our social time, spiritual commitments, and dining habits, we become more focused on our relationship with God. Unlike Jesus, we are not called to spend this time alone; instead, it is crucial that we engage with our community and build up the body of Christ. Through our small group gatherings, we can dive deeper into our relationship with God and our community. As we walk the Stations of the Cross each Friday and share a meal, we gain strength from Jesus, transforming the Cross from something we avoid into our source of freedom and redemption. Abstaining from meat on Friday and offering up some other simple sacri-fice joins us together with Christians from around the world, enabling us to rejoice in the Resurrection every Sunday even more fully. Lent is indeed a time of penance, but not a time of punishment. This disruption to our routine is intended to help remove some of those comforts that keep us from Christ as we grow stronger in those areas we struggle. When we make the Lenten Season a priority, the relationships we nurture, insights we acquire, and strength we gain have the potential to remove much of our weakness, and fill us with JOY. God bless you always, and please pray for me.

Love, Fr. Bryan ______________________________________________________________________________________________

SOUP SUPPERS OLC CHURCH ANNUAL FISH FRY

FROM THE PASTOR

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MASS INTENTIONS FOR THE WEEK Saturday February 29, 2020 5:00 pm Kathleen T. McGuire

From Paul Guider Sunday March 1, 2020 10:00 am Oscar Leal

From family 12:30 pm Birthday Intention for

Rev. Mariusz Koch From cousins Maggie and Lenny Englese

7:00 pm People of the Parish Monday March 2, 2020 12:30 pm Helen Hyjek

From Kay and Mike Wesco Tuesday March 3, 2020 12:30 pm Charles Chee

From Julie, John and Eva Wednesday March 4, 2020 12:30 pm

Samuel R. Tesoro From Jessica and Sean Hablitz

Thursday March 5, 2020 12:30 pm Teofilo Sison

From wife and children Friday March 6, 2020 12:30 pm Lorraine Plummer

From Grace Riccardi Saturday March 7, 2020 5:00 pm Benedict Escott

From Lynette and Julian Tudorache Sunday March 8, 2020 10:00 am Sarah O’Donnell

From Anna Mae Stefanelli 12:30 pm Recuperation of Ryan Kelly

From Claire Warlikowski 7:00 pm People of the Parish

The Tabernacle Candle is Offered in Memory of David and Isabel Botelho & Leonilde Braga

From family

SUNDAY SCRIPTURE READINGS

Reflect on today’s readings – Prepare for next Sunday Sunday, March 1, 2020

Gn. 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-19; Mt. 4:1-11

Sunday, March 8, 2020 Gn. 12:1-4a; 2 Tm. 1:8b-10; Mt. 17:1-9

2020 MASS INTENTIONS BOOK Please call 201-434-0798 or

stop by the rectory Monday-Friday from 9:30 am-5:30 pm to arrange a Mass intention. You may also ded-icate the Tabernacle Candle or Bread and Wine in memory of a loved one.

ONLINE GIVING IS EASY AND SECURE! Consider making your weekly offering to our

church using our online sys-tem, Parish Giving. It’s easy to set up an account and have your contribution au-tomatically charged to your checking account or credit card every week or every month – whatever you choose. Go to www.parishgiving.org for details.

WEEKLY OFFERING Collection and Mass attend-

ance information for the weekend of February 23 & 24 was unavail-able at press time.

As always, thank you for living your financial commitment to our parish. We appreciate your gen-erosity.

SMALL-GROUP MEETINGS Come discuss your faith at small-group meetings

beginning now through May. Bishop Barron has cre-ated a guide to dive deeper in our faith entitled Untold Blessing. There are meetings at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thurs-day. Each week, there will be a new topic. We will share a meal, learn, and reflect on Christ in a friendly, relaxed setting. Meetings will be held at the following locations:

Tuesday - Barrow Mansion (83 Wayne Street) and Windsor at Liberty House (100 Dudley Street)

Wednesday - Warren at York (120 York Street) Thursday - 50 Christopher Columbus Drive

BAPTISM PREPARATION If you are looking to have your baby baptized at

OLC, having your baby baptized elsewhere and need preparation, or have been asked to attend a class to be a godparent, please send an email to bap-tism@olcjc.org to sign up. The next available class is on Sunday, June 7, at 11:15 AM.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING AT OLC Children’s Liturgy: Every Sun-day during the 10:00 AM Mass for 20 minutes. Ages 2 and older. Parents are welcome. No regis-tration required – join in! Confessions/Sacrament of Reconciliation: Confessions are

heard on Saturdays at 4:00 PM in church, or by ap-pointment with the pastor. Family Mass: Come to the Family Mass on June 14. Breakfast served at 11:00 AM in the Church Hall. Kid-friendly liturgy and activities; meet fellow parish-ioners and bring a friend! Juice & Doughnuts: Served after every Sunday 10:00 AM Mass in our Church Hall. If you wish to do-nate snacks and beverages, please sign up at: https://tinyurl.com/olcdonutschedule. OLC Adult Choir: Choir rehearsal will be every Sunday at 11:15 AM and we will sing right after at the 12:30 PM Mass. No experience necessary, all are welcome! For more information, please email the Director of Music, Ben Rauch, at directorofmu-sic@olcjc.org. OLC Baptism Preparation Class: The next availa-ble class is on Sunday, June 7, at 11:15 AM. It is re-quired if you’re having your baby baptized at OLC or another church, or are becoming a godparent. OLC Church Junior Choir: For kids 7 years and older. The Junior Choir sings twice a month at the 10:00 AM Mass. Rehearsals are mid-week in the Church Hall. For more information, please email the Director of Music, Ben Rauch, at directorofmu-sic@olcjc.org. OLC Prayer Group: Prayer group meets daily Mon-day-Friday after the 12:30 PM Mass. For more in-formation, please email Chona Veluz at cjve-luz@aol.com. OLC Seniors: The next meeting is March 11 at 1:00 PM in the Church Hall. New members are welcome (must be 55+). For more information, call Co-Presidents Laura Mullahey at 201-562-2107 or Ve-ronica Benekin at 551-580-0377. Also, all ages are invited to join their trip to Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA, to see “Queen Esther” on Thursday, April 23. $155 includes your play ticket, transporta-tion, smorgasbord lunch, and gratuities. Payment is due March 12; call Dorothy Bromirski at 201-333- 4888 for more information. Small-Group Meetings: Discuss your faith at small-group meetings at 7:30 PM on Tuesdays, Wednes-days and Thursdays. Bishop Barron has created a guide to dive deeper in our faith entitled “Untold Blessing.” See page 3 for more information. Soup Suppers: Every Friday in Lent, join us for soup suppers after the Stations of the Cross at 7:00 pm. Go to www.tinyurl.com/olclent2020 to bring soup.

BAPTISM AT OLC CHURCH On Saturday, Febru-ary 22, the following children received the sacrament of Baptism at Our Lady of Częstochowa Church. We congratulate them

and their families, and may God watch over them al-ways:

Josephine Clara Garbaccio the daughter of Julian and Monika

Jack Robert Mousseau the son of Jonathan and Amanda

Julian Christopher Viviano the son of Stephen and Hannah

Faye Ann Winograd the daughter of Daniel and Kelly

STEWARDSHIP “It is written: The

Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” - Matthew 4:10

Tempted between

the riches and power of this world and service to God, Jesus chose service to His Father. If we wish to truly follow Jesus, we, too, must decide to turn away from power and riches and put God at the center of our lives. How is God calling you to serve?

2020 ANNUAL APPEAL

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2020 LENTEN REGULATIONS 1. The days of both Fast and Abstinence during Lent are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. If possi-ble, the fast on Good Friday is continued until the Easter Vigil (on Holy Saturday night) as the "paschal fast" to honor the suffering and death of the Lord Je-sus, and to prepare ourselves to share more fully and to celebrate more readily His Resurrection. The other Fridays of Lent are days of Abstinence. On a day of Fast, only one (1) full meal is permitted, and two (2) smaller meals, which, if added togeth-er, would not exceed the main meal in quantity. Those between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast. On a day of Abstinence, no meat may be eaten. Those who have reached the age of 14 are obliged by the law of abstinence. 2. The obligation to observe the laws of Fast and Abstinence "substantially,'' or as a whole, is a serious obligation. 3. The Fridays of the year, outside of Lent, are des-ignated as days of penance, but each individual may substitute for the traditional abstinence from meat some other practice of voluntary self-denial as pen-ance. 4. The time for fulfilling the Paschal Precept (Easter Duty)* extends from the First Sunday of Lent, March 1, 2020 to The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 7, 2020. *Canon 920, §1. All the faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year. February 10, 2020 Office of the Vicar General & Moderator of the Curia

ANNUAL MARRIAGE ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION BY ARCHDIOCESE

The Archdiocese will honor couples in our Archdiocese who will be celebrating five, twenty-five and fifty years of Christian mar-riage in the year 2019. These an-niversary liturgies will be celebrat-

ed by Cardinal Joseph Tobin in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark as follows:

May 3, 2020 3:00 pm 50 years (All counties) April 19, 2020 3:00 pm 5 & 25 years (All counties)

If you wish to participate in these liturgies, please contact the rectory at 201-434-0798 to register.

YOU’RE ENGAGED? CONGRATULATIONS! Now, give your parish a call! Ideally, this should

be done at least a year in advance of your wedding. The engaged couple meets with the priest or deacon preparing them for the sacrament of matrimony. Then, they register for the two marriage preparation programs required for a Catholic wedding: the Pre-Cana Conference and God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage. These programs help engaged couples understand a Catholic vision of married love and offer practical insights and assistance in building a successful marriage. For more information, please go to the Archdiocese of Newark website: www.rcan.org.

Pre-Cana Conferences – March 21, from 9:00 am-4:00 pm at St. John the Baptist in Jersey City March 22, from 12:00 pm-6:30 pm at St. Michael in Cranford March 29, from 9:00 am-4:00 pm at the Archdioc-esan Center in Newark To register, please visit www.rcan.org/precana.

The offering is $100 per couple. God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage – March 21, from 9:00 am-4:00 pm at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Jersey City March 22, from 12:00 pm-6:30 pm at St. Michael Church Cranford NJ March 29, from 9:00 am-4:00 pm at the Archdioc-esan Center in Newark

To register, please visit www.joyfilledmarriagenj.org. The offering is $125 per couple.

NO CATHOLIC SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS!

Are you a part of or apart from the family of God?