February 2, 2020

Very Rev. Fausto Stampiglia S.A.C., Pastor

Rev. R. Patrick Wilson, S.A.C. Rev. Jan Rykala, S.A.C.

Rev. Krzysztof “Chris” Frost, S.A.C. Rev. John Cao, C.R.M., Hospital Chaplain

Rev. George “Jerry” Hogan, Circus Chaplain Rev. Deacon William Ladroga

Rev. Deacon C. Patrick Macaulay Rev. Deacon Robert Gaitens Br. Lawrence Skitzki, C.S.C. Br. William Dygert, C.S.C.

Sr. Cathy Bonfield, S.S.N.D.

Parish Staff Sara Brinn, Office Manager/Parish Secretary

Virginia Bray, Music Director Gina Snode, Business Manager/Bookkeeper Patricia Sileo, Director of Religious Education

Teressa McCoy, Finance Assistant Pamela Paulson, Reception/Data Entry

Rose Ann Runnells, Sacristan Tom Patt, Sacristan

Janet Cocco, Sacristan Miguel Jimenez, Facilities Manager

Mass Schedule Church opens 30 minutes before each service and closes afterwards.

Saturday: 7:30 a.m. & 8:30 a.m.; (Vigil) 4 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. Sunday Church: 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., Noon & 5:30 p.m. Sunday Parish Hall: 8 a.m. (Spanish): Noon (Vietnamese) Weekday: 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m., Noon & 5:30 p.m. Holy Day: (Vigil) 4 p.m. & 5:30 p.m.; 7:30 a.m., 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., Noon, & 5:30 p.m.

Confessions Saturday: 9 a.m. - 10 a.m.; 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. (Reconciliation Room) Sunday - Friday: 11:30 a.m. - Noon (Church Entrance)

Expositon of the Blessed Sacrament The Carosella Chapel is open for quiet prayer during office hours.

Carosella Chapel: Tuesdays 9 a.m. - Noon; Fridays 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Stations of the Cross Monday through Friday at 11:15 a.m. in the Church.

The Pallottines (Society of Catholic Apostolate) / U.S.A. National Circus Church

200 N. Orange Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236 www.stmartha.org

Telephone (941) 366-4210 FAX (941) 954-8434 Facebook St. Martha Roman Catholic Church

St. Martha Catholic Church

DIOCESAN PUBLICATIONS WILL BE OUR NEW BULLETIN PUBLISHER BEGINNING 2/9/2020

Rosary & Morning Prayer Devotions Rosary is prayed daily following the 7:30 a.m. Mass, immediately followed by Morning Prayer. Rosary is again prayed before the Noon Mass. House Blessing Contact Sara Brinn at the Parish Office

Anointing of the Sick Saturdays after the 8:30 a.m. Mass

Baptism Classes are held on the 2nd Monday of each month from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Conference Room. Baptism will take place regularly every Sunday at 5 p.m. or by appointment with your choice of clergyman.

TV Mass Sunday, 9:30 a.m. on CW Network or dioceseofvenice.org /tv-mass Prayer Line 1-800-804-3823

St. Martha Church Marriage Preparation Program

Ambassadors, Advisors and Mentors Wanted! Be a support couple (Buddy Couple) to an engaged couple preparing for marriage. Share your marriage recipe for love. It is a lot of fun and rewarding!

Please pray for all the newly engaged couples!

For More information about Witness to love program: Please contact Witness to Love, St. Martha Church Coordinators Jim and Agnes Rutushni JARutushni@stmartha.org or call them 941-960-5128

Check out the Witness to Love web site: https://witnesstolove.org/

Sun., Feb. 2 Mal 3:1-4; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40

7:30 a.m. [JR] Timothy Mass by George and Judy Mass

8:00 a.m. [VC] (Span/Hall) Special Intentions

9:00 a.m. [JH] Rose Marie Ingrassia by John DeStefano

9:00 a.m. [PW] (Hall) Mary Rizzo by Kate Shaver

10:30 a.m. [FS] All Parishioners

10:30 a.m. [CF] (Hall) Special Intentions

12:00 p.m. [RN] Barbara Theisen

12:00 p.m. [JC] (Viet/Hall) Special Intentions

5:30 p.m. [FS] Lvg & Dec’d Mem. of the Plouffe Family by Joe & Betty Plouffe

Mon., Feb. 3 2 Sm 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13; Mk 5:1-20

7:30 a.m. [JH] Kathy Beveridge by Sara and Kate

8:30 a.m. [PW] Altar Society

12:00 p.m. [RN] Maria De Santo by The Pallottine Fathers

5:30 p.m. [CF] Herman Heibel by The Heibel Family

Tues., Feb. 4 2 Sm 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3; Mk 5:21-43

7:30 a.m. [JH] Grace Hipp by Claire Collins

8:30 a.m. [PW] Ann Murphy by Una Murphy

12:00 p.m. [CF] Kathy Beveridge by Friend 5:30 p.m. [RN] Christine Hobbs by Frances Verdoni

Wed., Feb. 5 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17; Mk 6:1-6

7:30 a.m. [RN] (L) John Britanako and (L) Elizabeth Berth by Sister

8:30 a.m. [CF] Jim Styer by Peg Styer

12:00 p.m. [FS] Elizabeth Lyman by Daniel

5:30 p.m. [JR] Christine L. Hobbs by Evelyn Moya

Thurs., Feb. 6 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12; Mk 6:7-13

7:30 a.m. [JH] Marie Hoffberg

8:30 a.m. [FS] Christine Hobbs by Madeline Fox

12:00 p.m. [JR] Tricia Bedi by Pete and Claire McIntosh

5:30 p.m. [RN] (L) Michael Daly by The Veitkus Family

Fri., Feb.7 Sir 47:2-11; Mk 6:14-29

7:30 a.m. [RN] Charles Wilkens by Claire Collins

8:30 a.m. [JR] Aime Verhofstadt by Kate Shaver

12:00 p.m. [CF] Luis Ricardo Paez by Nancy Baez

5:30 p.m. [JC] Richard J. Suder by Kirsten Suder

Sat., Feb. 8 1 Kgs 3:4-13; Mk 6:30-34

7:30 a.m. [RN] Roger Harvie by Marge and Paul

8:30 a.m. [CF] Josephine Eguiguren by The Family

4:00 p.m. [PW] Roland Kruse by His Wife

4:00 p.m. [JR] (Hall) Claire and Mercedes Wingertsahn by Children

5:30 p.m. [FS] Eleanor Tufaro by Rita and Leonard Tufaro

Sun., Feb. 9 Is 58:7-10; 1 Cor 2:1-5; Mt 5:13-16 7:30 a.m. [JH] Billy Miller by Louise Miller

8:00 a.m. [VC] (Span/Hall) Special Intentions

9:00 a.m. [RN] Aime Verhofstadt by Gladysrose Stoll

9:00 a.m. [CF] (Hall) Special Intentions

10:30 a.m. [FS] All Parishioners

10:30 a.m. [PW] (Hall) Special Intentions

12:00 p.m. [JR] Michael Houlihan by Michael Houlihan, Sr.

12:00 p.m. [JC] (Viet/Hall) Special Intentions

5:30 p.m. [PW] Lvg & Dec’d Mem. of the Burch Family by Joe & Betty Plouffe

Fr. Fausto (FS), Fr. Patrick (PW), Fr. Jan (JR), Fr. Chris (CF), Fr. John (JC) Fr. Victor (VC), Fr. Jerry (JH), Fr. Notter (RN)

Weekly Mass Intentions “The Big $100,000 Cash Raffle”

Buy a raffle ticket for $50, and you may win up to $100,000 in cash, and support our school. Tickets will be sold after all Masses next weekend, February 8 & 9.

Tickets are available at the school office, 4380 Fruitville Rd., or online at stmarthaschool.net.

Check out our new and updated Facebook Page

St. Martha Roman Catholic Church Don’t forget to “LIKE” us!

My Dear Friends, Thursday, February 2, is Candlemas (Candelora, Candelaria,

Gromnica), which commemorates the presentation of the Lord in the Temple, forty days after His birth, thus revealing His divinity to Anna and Simeon. If you would like to have your home candles blessed according to the ancient Catholic tradition, bring them to Church for a priest to bless them.

People seem confused about the origin of this feast from the fifth century of our Christian era. In Leviticus (12: 2-8), Moses commanded that any woman having given birth to a boy, after seven days from birth, should circumcise the boy, then spend 33 days of purification, without touching anything sacred or entering the Temple, until the 40th day. Then she will present a lamb or, if she cannot afford a lamb, she will offer a pair of doves or pigeons; one as a holocaust, totally burned to ashes, and one for a sacrifice, partly burned and partly returned to her. It is a sign that Joseph and Mary were poor or that they had spent the Magi’s gifts.

This ancient Hebrew ritual seems very strange and of obscure meaning to us modern people, especially because the gory details of ancient rituals repel us, although we do delight in barbequing meat! But there is something that should touch us here, not just the poverty of Mary and Joseph, which invokes our attention to love the poor and the needy, but also to observe religious laws, as in their situation. Mary could have concluded that Jesus, as Messiah, was superior to all regulations and precepts of the Mosaic law. She did not do so, giving us all an example of obedience to religious laws.

One of the common sentences I hear from some Catholics and many non-Catholics, too, is: “Oh! This law is Man-made church law, not a divine law (Bible).” I would like to remind these dear friends of Jesus, that He did not write a book, and He did not die for a book, but for us His people. He left us a Holy People (lay people) with an organized structure: the 12 Apostles and as a visible head over the Apostles, disciples and believers, Jesus appointed Peter. These believers, under Peter with the Apostles and their successors, continue through the millennia, and now form the biggest religious group in the world, Jesus followers, in many denominations. The books of the Bible, as sacred and inspired, were chosen and preserved by the original Bishops and Popes. We would not have a New Testament unless the successors of Peter, and/or the Apostles, decided on a list in the first 300 years of our faith, lived under terrible persecutions.

It is all of us, the Baptized Church, who form the Mystical Body of Christ, fed by the Eucharist, that keep the scriptures and interpret them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Tradition).

So, although generations come and go, interpretation dis-covers new guidance and teaching from the Bible, we cannot say that Church laws are man-made Church laws, necessarily adapted to different ages and places, reflect the Bible and give witness to the Holy Spirit, alive in our hearts.

As Joseph and Mary were loyal to the Mosaic Law, we, the Christians, must be loyal to Church laws, keeping of course due respect to the rights of our conscience.

February 3 is the Feast of St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr. We clerics, at the end of each Mass on Monday, February 3, will bless throats in commemoration of the miraculous healing by the saintly Bishop of a young child, who had a fish bone stuck in his throat. Remember this blessing is a Sacramental and not a Sacrament; its efficacy is dependent mainly on your faith and devotion.

Next Sunday is Caritas Sunday. In December, your generous donations at our Church doors totaled $5,601. The need seems greater than ever to help the less fortunate in our parish. Thank you for your generosity!

We would like to thank everyone who for participating in this year’s Annual Prayer Walk for Life on January 21. It was a big success and we had over 200 participants. Thank you, Thank you! Support for life is so important, and your prayers will help to stop abortion.

January has been the month of Respect Life, and a parishioner sent me this beautiful poem:

Please Don’t Murder Me By Charles Moore

I feel safe and warm here mommy Lying so close to your heart

The steady rhythm soothes me Tho’ some day we will part

But soon I’ll look upon your face And snuggle near your breast My little fingers holding yours

The one I love the best

And as I snuggle with you mommy I wonder what I’ll be

A doctor curing cancer Or an athlete running free

So as I grow and face the world Wherever life takes me

You’ll always know I love you so And in my heart you’ll be

So I pray you love and want me So at birth your face I’ll see I love you dearly mommy

So please don’t murder me

Smile, God loves you and so does Fr. Fausto with your St. Martha clergy:

Fathers Patrick, Jan, Chris, John, Jerry & Richard Deacons Bill, Patrick & Robert

Brothers Lawrence & William and Sister Cathy

From Our Pastor, Fr. Fausto ... Baby Bottle Fundraiser for My Choice Pregnancy Center

Join us in supporting the life-saving ministry of My Choice Pregnancy Center!

Representatives will be in the courtyard this weekend

to collect your Baby Bottle.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will benefit My Choice Pregnancy Center. My Choice Pregnancy Center’s mission is to promote a life affirming, healthy pregnancy, safe de-livery and a positive parenting experience. For information about the services offered, please visit www.mychoicepregnancycenter.comRemember our thrift store for material donations. All proceeds support center programs.

“When parents say ‘yes’ to life for their child, they are saying ‘yes’ to the most loving and healing path for all involved. When God invites us to draw close to him by following his commandments (Jn 14:15), he does so because he wants what is best for us. By

saying ‘yes’ to life for their child, which is morally good and right, parents are placing their trust in God and embracing their child and the life their child has been given for as long as it is given.”

This Week in Our Parish Sunday, February 2 7:00 a.m. Caritas Sunday

7:00 a.m. Baby Bottle pick up - Courtyard

8:00 a.m. Family Ministry Coffee Service - Geenen Hall

9:30 a.m. RCIA “Catch-up” Classes - Meeting Room

10:15 a.m. Religious Education Classes - 2nd Floor 11:30 a.m. Confessions - Fr. Jan Monday, February 3 6:00 p.m. Bible Study Class - Geenen Hall Tuesday, February 4 9:15 a.m. Bible Study Class - Geenen Hall 10:30 a.m. Emmaus Journey Bible Study - Conference Rm 6:00 p.m. RCIA Meetings - Conference Room Wednesday, February 5 5:30 p.m. Adult Choir Practice - Choir Room Thursday, February 6

10:00 a.m. Matt Fradd: God, The Universe and Everything - Hall Friday, February 7 10:00 a.m. St. Martha Rosary Ministry - Geenen Hall

7:00 p.m. AA Spanish - Geenen Hall

8:00 p.m. Vietnamese Ministry 1st Friday Adoration - Church Saturday, February 8 9:00 a.m. Confessions - Fr. Jan 9:00 a.m. Diaconate Liturgy Practicum - Church & Hall

9:15 a.m. Legion of Mary - Meeting Room 3:00 p.m. Confessions - Fr. Chris 4:00 p.m. St. Martha School Raffle Sale - Courtyard 4:00 p.m. Wine & Cheese Gathering - Courtyard

Giờ Thánh Lễ: Chúa Nhật: 12:00 trưa

Liên lạc: - Lm. Gioan Cao Vũ Nghi 239-224-0638 - Anh Nguyễn Hoàng Hiếu 941-350-3454

Tri Ân - Xuân Canh Tý Chân thành cảm ơn quí ông bà anh chị em trong Ban Thường Vụ và Hội Đồng Mục Vụ, và toàn thể ông bà anh chị em trong Giáo Đoàn, đã góp công góp của, góp tài năng, trong việc tổ chức Thánh Lễ và chương trình mừng Xuân Canh Tý 2020. Xin Thiên Chúa và Mẹ La Vang ban ơn chúc lành cho từng phần tử và các sinh hoạt của Giáo Đoàn.

Thứ Sáu Đầu Tháng - 7 tháng 2, 2020 - 7:40 tối: Viếng Đàng Thánh Giá - 8:00-9:00: Thánh Lễ - Chầu Thánh Thể

Tĩnh Tâm Mùa Chay Tối Thứ Sáu và Thứ Bảy, ngày 6 và 7, tháng 3, 2020.

Giáo Đoàn Đức Mẹ La Vang

Phân Công Phụng Vụ Chúa Nhật, 9 tháng 2, 2020 - CN 5 Thường Niên

Bài đọc Lời Nguyện: TNTT

Giúp Lễ:

Are you 70 ½ years old and have a retirement account?

The federal tax law allows donors to give directly from their retirement account to a charity while

avoiding the usual tax associated with IRA and 401k withdrawals, and the IRS does not count the transfer as income for federal tax purposes. Plus, qualified contributions may be counted toward the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD), which are mandatory starting at age 70 ½.

Donating via your retirement account is a simple process. Please contact Teressa McCoy in the Parish Office at 941-366-4210 or at tmccoy@stmartha.org and we can provide you with details and instructions.

Thank you for your support of St. Martha Parish. Our parishioners are our only source of funds and your

contributions keep the lights on, enable parish ministries, and support our outreach to the poor.

Wine & Cheese Gathering Saturday, February 8th

after the 4:00 pm & 5:30 pm Masses

Please join the Hospitality Ministry in the courtyard for our Wine and Cheese gathering!

It’s a great time to get to know your fellow parishioners and priests as well as welcome back our seasonal parishioners and visitors! If you have any questions, or would like to join the Hospitality Ministry, call Beth Cannata at 941-321-2953.

Contact the Parish Office to arrange for a priest or a deacon

to bless your new home!