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Sunday Reflection:REFLECTION FOR 2nd WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
Fr Peter‘WHAT’S IN A NAME?’
This Sunday, as we emerge from the official liturgical Christmas season, Jesus emerges on the public scene after 30 years of solitude in Nazareth. He is greeted by none other than John the Baptist. What does John call him? Not, ‘my cousin, Jesus.’ Not, ‘the son of Joseph and Mary.’ Not, the ‘carpenter from Nazareth.’ Not, ‘the Messiah.’ John calls Jesus something very strange. He says, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God!’ What do we pray 3 times before Holy Communion? “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” Then the priest holds up the Eucharist as says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” What a strange name for Jesus. However, for a good Jew, that phrase “Lamb of God” was rich with meaning.
They immediately think of the 1st Passover. God told the Israelites to eat the Passover lamb and sprinkle the blood of that lamb on their doorposts so the angel of death would literally, ‘pass over’ them and save them.
They think of the lambs that were sacrificed every morning and evening in the Temple for the sins of the people.
They think of the prophets who spoke of the ‘innocent lamb led to the slaughter’ in speaking of the Messiah to come.
Finally, they think of the ‘conquering lamb’ spoken of in Maccabees and in Revelation that is a reference to the victorious figure of the ‘resurrected lamb.’
What’s in a name? Lots and lots of meaning! Of all the things John the Baptist could call Jesus, he calls him “The Lamb of God!”
God Bless -
Music Selections for Sunday Mass
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - January 17, “Music selections live streamed with permission under OneLicense #A-729760. All rights reserved.”
837 Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow Text: Psalm 100; William Kethe, d.c.1593; Doxology, Thomas Ken, 1637-1711 Tune: OLD HUNDREDTH, LM; Louis Bourgeois, c.1510-1561
Psalm 40: #1198 Here I am Lord I come to do your will Text: Verses, the Revised Grail Psalms, © 2010, Conception Abbey and The Grail, admin. By GIA Publications, Inc.; refrain, Lectionary for Mass, © 1969, 1981, 1997, ICEL Music: Refrain, Richard Proulx, © 1975, GIA Publications, Inc.; verses, Joseph Gelineau, SJ, © 1963, The Grail, GIA Publications, Inc., agent, and A. Gregory Murray, OSB, © Downside Abbey
Gospel Acclamation from “Jubilation Mass” James Chepponis The English translation of the Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. Setting Copyright © 1999, 2010 by GIA Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
773 The Summons Text: John L. Bell, b.1949, © 1987, Iona Community, GIA Publications, Inc., agent Tune: KELVINGROVE, 7 6 7 6 777 6; Scottish melody; arr. By John L. Bell, b.1949, © 1987, Iona Community, GIA Publications, Inc., agent
Holy, Holy, Holy, Proulx Text: ICEL ©2010 Music: A Community Mass, Richard Proulx, © 1971, GIA Publications, Inc.
Mem. Acc: When we eat…Proulx Text: English, © 2010, ICEL. Music: Misa Santa Fe, Ronald F. Krisman, © 2010, GIA Publications, Inc.
Great Amen, Janco Music: Mass of wisdom, Steven R. Janco, © 2010, World Library Publications.
Lamb of God, Isele Music: Holy Cross Mass, David Clark Isele, © 1979, GIA Publications, Inc.
939 Gift of Finest Wheat Text: Omer Westendorf, 1916-1997 Tune; BICENTENNIAL, CM with refrain; Robert E. Kreutz, 1922-1996 © 1977, Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Published by International Liturgy Publications Mr. David Tisbert, Director of Music and Organist ❖ stjosephmusicoffice@gmail.com -
Mass Times and Reconciliation
Keep in mind-Social Distancing-Maximum of 100 people
Mon - Sat: 6:45 - 8:30 - 12 Noon
Sunday - 8:00am - 9:30 - 10:45 - 12 Noon - 5:00pm
Vigil Mass: Sat 5:00p.
Temporarily: Extra Masses in the Parish Center
(only if needed)
Sat 5:15pm - Sun 11:00 am & 5:10 pm ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Reconciliation -(Confession)
Thursday & Saturday - 11:00 - 11:30
Temporarily heard in the Sacristy - Face mask Required
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The Mon - Sat 6:45 & Sunday Masses are livestreamed and available to view on Facebook - click on the "f" next to the search box at the top of this page ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ANNOUNCED MASSES FOR 2021
Many have asked about reserving announced Masses for 2021. Because of COVID-19, we have to do this process a little differently this year. Please request Masses either by email or U S Mail -
Rectory Office Information
ADDRESS: 15 Cedar Street Bronxville, New York 10708
PHONE: 914-337-1660
FAX: 914-337-1342
MON - FRI: 9 AM - 4:30 PM
SAT - SUN: 9 AM - 3:00 PM -
"WeShare" - An Opportunity to TitheWhen you are unable to attend Mass
WeShare is our new easy to use online giving tool. To join click here: https://www.churchgiving.com/?pc=rqa93d37
QUESTIONS: Contact WeShare support at 1(800) 950-9952
If you are already registered and wish to tithe: https://saintjosephsbronxville.churchgiving.com/ -
Dear Family of the N Y Archdiocese
A Message from Cardinal DolanThe Covid-19 pandemic, which has caused disruption across many aspects of our daily lives, is having an especially profound impact on young people, including those in our Catholic schools, whose education is being altered or interrupted.
The pandemic and resulting economic impact have dramatically reduced the number of parents who can afford to make tuition payments for the upcoming school year. Two weeks ago, I shared the sad news that 20 of our schools, already facing soaring deficits, would not be able to re-open this Fall due to steep declines in enrollment. Without assistance to our parents and children from the Federal government, many more of our Catholic schools may have to close permanently. These closures will harm thousands of students from our archdiocese, and across the nation.
Many of our nation’s elected officials of both parties recognize the crisis that is confronting all schools, including Catholic and other non-government schools. Congress is working on another bill to provide relief from the Covid crisis for critical parts of our economy and society such as our schools. Catholic and other non-government schools must be included in that relief.
The time to make your voices heard is now. If Congress does not provide assistance to our schools within the next few weeks before the school year opens, many parents may find themselves unable to meet even our modest tuition costs, and we will be forced to write you again announcing yet more school closures.
Please contact your elected officials – Senator Chuck Schumer at (202) 224-6542 or (212) 486-4430, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand at (202) 224-4451 or (212) 688-6262, and your local Member of Congress (you can find the name and contact info of your Representative here) – and implore them to provide assistance to prevent our Catholic schools from closing permanently.
With gratitude and prayerful best wishes, I am,
Faithfully yours in Christ,
Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop of New York -
walking with purpose - Study group
Walking with Purpose transforms the hearts and lives of women by providing Bible studies that enable women to know Christ through Scripture and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church
Opening Your Heart, The Starting Point
This 22 week foundational course is designed for women who are new to WWP as well as those with more Bible study experience.
Join us as we examine the core questions that we need to wrestle with if we want to experience all the God has for us.
How can I conquer my fears?
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in my life?
What does the Eucharist have to do with my friendship with Christ?
What challenges will I face in my efforts to follow Jesus more closely?The Walking with Purpose Bible Study group will meet virtually beginning
Tuesday, September 22nd
from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.To register and get the full calendar,
please contact Marla Greco at:
mgreco@themontfortacademy.org or
Aine N Schenk at
ainenschenk@gmail.comThere is no fee to register, but all participants are asked to purchase The Opening Your Heart workbook, which is available on the WWP website:
walkingwithpurpose.com -
Welcome from Fr. Peter
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Weekly News at St Joseph's
Monday January 18 is a Federal Holiday
The Rectory office will be closed and the Church will close following the 8:30 AM Mass
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It is no secret that all churches are struggling financially during COVID-19. We are 9 months into the pandemic and even given the hope of new possible vaccines, it looks like social distancing will be with us for many months to come. This impacts Mass attendance and church income. I want to THANK again those of you who have continued to support St Joseph’s by mailing in your contributions or by joining WE SHARE ---electronic giving.We hope many more parishioners will join We Share . It is quick and easy to sign up. Just go to our website for details. You can make changes at any time. ‘ THANK YOU’ for your love and support of St Joseph’s.God bless you,Fr Peter
Please remember:---PRAY for our veterans. Their selfless sacrifices have ensured our many freedoms.
---COME EARLY to Mass to secure a seat. We have overflow Masses on Saturday at 5:15 pm, Sunday at 11 am, again at 5:15 pm on Sunday.
---SUPPORT your parish. St Joseph’s needs your financial help now more than ever. Go to our website and join WE SHARE. It is very simple and the best way to support your parish.
---STAY SAFE and never forget to pray for our caregivers.--ONE ANOTHER. Continue to be careful, be cautious, be considerate, and be charitable.
COVID-19 AND THE GOOD SAMARITINWe all know the parable about the ‘Good Samaritan.’ The man mugged and left for dead on his way to Jericho. The priest and Levite breeze by. Only the much- hated Samaritan comes to the rescue offering his compassion, his time, and his money to help this stranger.
When there seems to be so little good news these days, we love hearing about modern day ‘Good Samaritans.’ Those who, without thinking of their own safety, and not fearing litigation, choose to get involved in the plight of total strangers. They come to the aid of those assaulted on the street, those who have fallen on the subway tracks, those involved in a tragic house fire, or in a serious car accident. These ‘Good Samaritan’ stories warm our hearts and restore our faith in human nature. Those who choose to get involved know just who their neighbor is.
In these days of the COVID virus, we are tempted to live in isolation. Our masks and social distancing can keep us at arm’s length from each other. However, we all need to be ‘Good Samaritans’ to others. Not in those dramatic ways that will make the evening news, but in very simple ways. It may mean reaching out and chatting to a senior citizen who is homebound. It may mean knocking on the door of a neighbor to shop for them or do some chore around their house. It may mean donating food to places like HOPE. It may mean giving a real sacrificial gift to the missions. During these historic days of COVID, we can be ‘Good Samaritans’ to others by just simple acts of kindness done with genuine love. However, just like the man in Jesus’ parable, we first have to ask ourselves that all-important question: “Who IS my neighbor?”
God bless you,
Fr Peter
BEST IN CLASS PART IISTATE OF ST JOE’S 10 MONTHS INTO THE VIRUS
Who ever thought that the COVID-19 pandemic would still be radically affecting our lives almost 10 months after it shut down our churches here in NY?
Now, it looks like its effects will continue to be with us for many months to come. Wearing masks and social distancing---and the anxiety that come with it--are clearly not going away anytime soon. As your pastor and temporal administrator of our great parish, I felt I needed to reach out to you and address two very important topics as we move forward: worship and stewardship.
I fully understand that many people, especially our older parishioners, still may not feel safe coming to church. I hope you and your families will worship with us virtually as we continue to have Mass live streamed every day, Monday-Saturday at 6:45 and Sunday at 10:45. You can pray with us at whatever time is convenient by just going to our website and clicking the ‘Facebook’ icon.
For those wishing to join us physically at Mass, you can do that daily at 6:45, 8:30, and 12 Noon.
For those coming for the weekend liturgy, we can accommodate 100 in the church (I recommend you come early) Saturday at 5, Sunday at 8, 9:30, 10:45, 12 noon and 5 pm. Please note that when we reach our capacity of 100 in the church, we have 3 additional Masses in the Parish Center: Saturday at 5:15, Sunday at 11 am and 5:15 pm.
What is vitally important—especially for our children-- is that we continue to make time for reverent worship and keeping the Sabbath special and ‘holy.’ The great fear is that many are finding it easy NOT to come to Mass or to even worship virtually on Sunday. What we don’t want to lose is your valued connection to our parish community of St Joseph’s. Yes, so many of our programs and events have had to be changed, post phoned, or even cancelled, but this will not last forever. As a church, above all, we need to keep praying with and for one another—it goes to the very heart of who we are as a church.
My second reason for writing you is to frankly discuss the financial impact of COVID on our parish. Let me say, “Thank you” to those of you have continued to mail in your contributions, dropped them off in church or those who have joined electronic giving (We Share) via our website. I want to also thank the 420 families who have been so generous to the Cardinal’s Annual Appeal in this difficult year that does so much to help the poor. This year, St Joseph’s collected almost $300k---just an amazing amount and a clear testimony of your great generosity and sense of stewardship!
I fully realize these are tough financial times for so many families. However, I would be derelict in my duty as your Pastor if I didn’t tell you that the impact of COVID on our parish has been severe.
In the last 28 weeks, we have lost an average of $10K a week in our collections. We also lost about $100K in the missed Easter collection. Do the math. Do the math if this continues for the next 28 weeks! The impact on the parish has been alarming. Like any family, we are trying our best to curtail expenses, but our overhead in salaries and maintenance is substantial.
I need your help now and in the many challenging weeks ahead. If you have neglected to send your contributions—for whatever reason-- in the last 6+ months, please re-consider your level of weekly stewardship to the parish we all love so much.
God bless you for all that you do.
Please continue to pray for me---Fr Peter
On Wednesday, September 9 th, our parish school of St Joseph’s opened for its 71 st academic year with a sparkling new look. Over the summer, construction crews were working hard 6 days a week to totally gut and rebuild the ground floor. Our goal was to put in a new, much-needed Pre-K, a remodeled science lab, and a state- of -the-art TRAC room. We hope that this new construction, together with a revised teaching curriculum, will attract new students and retain those in our upper grades. When so many schools around us were closing, St Joseph’s was the only one to embark on a daring new building project to invest in the future success of our students.SOME GREAT NEWS!
On Thursday, Bishop Gerald Walsh came to represent Cardinal Dolan to bless our new classrooms as well as our students. We all agreed that this is a new and exciting chapter in the life of our parish school.
My special thanks to all those who worked on the “Best in Class’ Committee for over a year to make this dream a reality. My thanks to Paul Scariano, our energized chairman, who conceived this project. Thanks also to our faculty reps, Helen Marricco, Tim Chapman, and Annette Caserella. Thanks to our parent reps, Jean Enke and Joe Spillane, Jr. A very special thanks to Dean Marrazzo, our facilities manager, who worked day and night to oversee every detail of this project. Most especially, a big ‘THANK YOU’ to our tireless principal, Mrs. Sanchez. She has worked this entire summer trying to make St Joseph’s School stronger and better. With her enthusiastic leadership, we have added 69 new students this year.
These are very challenging times for all of our schools. With your support and your prayers, I know St Joseph’s will be a cutting edge, successful and truly CATHOLIC school for many generations to come.
God bless you and all of our students.
Fr Peter (SJS ’63)
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St Joseph’s is a beautiful church. At the tender age of 92, she is getting even more beautiful.
For 7 years now, I have always wanted to have a mosaic of The Divine Mercy to replace the simple print we had. However, we have had lots more pressing, practical, and very expensive projects to do first. Now, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of Ms Sarajane Brittis, we have the mosaic, given in honor of her parents, Dr Anthony & Marianna Brittis. The mosaic was lovingly handcrafted in Italy—just outside Venice-- over the last 6 months and was just installed last Friday. How blessed we are! Generations to come will be able to pray before this sacred reminder of God’s infinite mercy. From all of us at St Joseph’s, “THANK YOU”, Ms Brittis!
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COVID-19 PrayerCOVID-19 PRAYERIt is amazing how our lives and our language has changed in the last 5 months. COVID-19 has affected us all in how we live, how we work, how we learn, and how we worship. This virus is not going away anytime soon. It remains vicious, capricious, and often deadly. The statistics in our country and around the world remain staggering and sobering.Please pray this prayer often and share it with your loved ones.God of all mercies, grant:To your holy people, safety and good health.To those afflicted with COVID-19, swift healing.To the frightened, courage.To the dying, comfort.To the dead, eternal life.To health care providers, strength and stamina.To our leaders, wisdom and compassion.To our nation, unity of purpose.To the Church, the grace to serve the suffering selflessly.To all believers, strong faith in your divine presence.To the whole human family, unity of heart.And to us, your servants, the reward of knowing that we are doing your will when we spend ourselves in the service of others.
Amen.Be prudent. Be respectful of the health of others. Wear your mask. Stay distant. Be healthy.Remember that very one of us is precious in the eyes of Almighty God!God bless you,Fr Peter -