Saturday, 21 April
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - ANTHONY J. LUPPINO
(54th anniversary of wedding)
by his wife, Mary, and family

Sunday, 22 April
3rd Sunday of Easter
7:45 a.m. - KENNETH and CAROLINE TRAUGER
by Frank and Cheryl Messina
10:45 a.m. - JOSEPH A. PALKO
by his wife, Carmella, and his daughter, Joanne

Monday, 23 April
St. George, martyr; St. Adalbert, bishop, martyr (OptMems)
12:05 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Tuesday, 24 April
St. Fidelis, priest, martyr (OptMem)
12:05 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family
7:00 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Wednesday, 25 April
St. Mark, evangelist (Fst)
12:05 p.m. - ANDREW J. FEELEY
by his daughter, Patty Feeley Garland

Thursday, 26 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family
7:00 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Friday, 27 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Saturday, 28 April
St. Peter Chanel, priest, martyr; St. Louis deMontfort, priest (OptMems)
8:00 a.m. - ANDREW JOHN LUCAS
by Michael and Catherine Whitney
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - STEPHEN CHALINSKY
by Joseph T. Cescon and family

Sunday, 29 April
4th Sunday of Easter
7:45 a.m. - KATHRYN SELINSKY LUPPINO (1st anniversary)
by Rosa Alfonsi Lilley
10:45 a.m. - DOMENICO MERCURI (11th anniversary)
by M/M Santo Mercuri


 

Saint Joseph Parish
$1,366.00 from the envelopes and $150.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $1,516.00 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $358.85 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $149.20, the sum of which is $508.05, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $987.21, the sum total of which is $1,495.26, one sees that $20.74 of this collection is available for operating the parish.

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$93.00 from the envelopes and $73.45 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $166.45 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $55.15 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $56.72, the sum of which is $253.25, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $197.44, the sum total of which is $309.31, one sees that (($142.86) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

NOTE
The Tuesday morning (17 Apr) Bible Study will be held on Thursday morning (19 Apr) because of a funeral on Tuesday.

MOST OF THESE ARE GOLDEN OLDIES.
However, one of the advantages of getting older is that we enjoy the old jokes all over again.

Q - What kind of a man was Boaz before he got married?
A - Ruthless
Q - What do you call a priest who is in charge of a German parish?
A - A German shepherd
Q - Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A - Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q - Which woman in the Bible was a financier?
A - Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the Bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
Q - What kinds of cars are mentioned in the Bible?
A - God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. The members of the early Church were all of one Accord.
Q - Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A - Samson. He brought down the house.
Q - What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why the family no longer lived in Eden?
A - Your mother ate us out of house and home.
Q - Who was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A - Moses. He broke all ten commandments at once.
Q - Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A - The area around the Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.
Q - Who in the Bible was a babysitter?
A - David. He rocked Goliath to sleep - a very deep sleep.
Q - Who in the Bible had no parents?
A - Joshua, son of Nun.
Q - Why didn't they play cards on the Ark?
A - Because Noah was standing on the deck.
Q - Which book of the Bible answers the question about whether the husband or the wife is supposed to make the coffee.
A - Hebrews.

The following can be found on page 28 (classified ads) of the 21 April edition of the Pottsville Republican:

FREE - Publan milk snake, friendly, includes Tank, heating pad, plant, water bowl and lid for tank. Call ***-**** leave message.

COMMENT
I didn't know what "publan" means. So, I googled it. It seems to be an alternate spelling for "pueblan". Of course, I'm not sure what "pueblan" means. So, I can't enlighten you any further on that!
What really caught my attention was the description of the snake as "friendly"! I must say that I had never thought of snakes as "friendly". I think of people and even cats and dogs as "friendly" or "unfriendly", but not reptiles. I thought snakes and other reptiles held me and other mammals (and other reptiles, for that matter!) in utter contempt. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I've misjudged the whole reptilian class. If so, I'm sorry. However, I wish Mother Eve had not been so trusting of that reptile who struck up a conversation with her in the Garden. Ever since then, although I wish snakes no harm, I prefer to keep my distance and, when in need of friendship, to look for it "among my own kind", viz. mammals, preferably humans. So, I shall not be calling the person who wants to give me a free publan milk snake.
No offense intended!

HEALING SHMEALING!
I HAVEN'T STOPPED BLEEDING YET!
I was in my car a few minutes before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, 16 April. I was listening to BBC News on my XM radio. A brief mention was made about a mass killing at a college in Virginia. The name of the college was not given. My heart jumped! I have a grandnephew who is a freshman at a college in Virginia.
Because the BBC doesn't give depth coverage to American domestic news, I quickly switched over to Fox News. There I learned that the tragedy took place at Virginia Tech - not the college my grandnephew attends. I felt relieved, to say the least.
Then I learned that thirty-some students had been killed. The number at the time was imprecise. Reports were still coming in. I thought, Oh, my God!
I tried to picture the horror in my mind. I said a quick prayer: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Then I thought about the parents, most of whom probably didn't even know yet that their children had been killed! Oh God, help them through this terrible time!
One of the newscasters said that it was anticipated that the administration of Virginia Tech would be holding a news conference pretty soon in order to release more information. Then the newscaster said something that made me wince. In fact, it made me more than wince, it made me angry. He said that "once the news conference is held" then "the healing process can begin".

The healing process can begin?????
I want to say to him: "For God's sake, knock it off, will you? Let them finalize the body count and notify the next of kin before you start mouthing phrases about "letting the healing begin"!
Have you noticed how ubiquitous the references to "healing" and "the healing process" have become in recent years? It seems that, no sooner has the dread event happened to you or your loved ones than everyone starts crowding in on you to get you to get on with the business of healing! And then, of course, there is "closure". We have to have closure!!

Friend, did you say that the Sabeans just carried off your oxen and asses in a raid and put your herdsmen to the sword?
Friend, did you say that lightning just fell from heaven and consumed all of your sheep and shepherds?
Friend, did you say that the Chaldeans just formed three columns, seized your camels, carried them off and put your camel drivers to the sword?

WELL NOW, WE MUSTN'T LET THAT GET US DOWN, MUST WE? STIFF UPPER LIP AND ALL THAT! LET'S GET ON WITH THE HEALING!
Friend, did you say that, just a few minutes ago, while your ten sons and daughters were attending a party in the house of your eldest son, a great wind came in from the desert, smote the four corners of the house and the house collapsed and all of your children were killed?

WELL, THAT WAS A BIT OF A JOLT, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. BUT LET'S GET ON NOW WITH THE HEALING PROCESS! WE HAVE A GRIEF COUNSELOR WAITING FOR YOU IN THE NEXT ROOM. SHE WILL HELP YOU FIND CLOSURE IN THIS MATTER.
Friend, did you say that you have just come down with a case of severe boils from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head and that the pus is running out and the itch is driving you bananas and all you can do anymore is sit on a dung heap and scrape yourself with a piece of broken pottery?

WELL NOW, FRIEND, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A PSYCHOSOMATIC REACTION TO YOUR EARLIER PROBLEMS. LET'S START THE HEALING PROCESS, SO WE CAN GET SOME CLOSURE ON THIS.

Do you know what's wrong with the "healing now / closure now" people? I'll put it in theological terms: They rush the eschaton! Do you know what that means? It means that they don't allow time for Good Saturday. They jump right from Good Friday into Easter Sunday and, in fact, they don't even do a decent Good Friday! They can't stand to contemplate the crucified Lord. They want year-round white vestments and alleluias. They don't process suffering very well. They tend to run off to faith healers and are absolutely certain that God doesn't want them to endure any pains, inconveniences or contradictions. They gravitate towards either Pentecostalism or Christian Science. They are not happy campers in the Catholic Church.
The truth is this: Life in this world is difficult. It is full of sadness and pain. Death awaits us all. However, fear not! Jesus Christ has overcome the world. "If we die with Him, we shall rise with Him. If we endure with Him, we shall reign with Him."
Dying must precede rising and enduring must precede reigning. That's my point.