Saturday, 07 April
Vigil of Easter Sunday
8:00 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Sunday, 08 April
Easter: The Resurrection of the Lord
7:45 a.m. - SALVATORE and MARIA ALFONSI
by their son, Andy, and their daughter-in-law, Clare
10:45 a.m. - ANDREW, FLORENCE and THOMAS FEELEY
by Carmella Evolo Palko and daughter, Joanne

Monday, 09 April
Easter Monday
12:05 p.m. - KARL A. ZELLER
by his wife, Rose Marie, and children

Tuesday, 10 April
Easter Tuesday
12:05 p.m. - Blessings on ANGELA LAPLACA
by her grandmother, Julia
7:00 p.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family

Wednesday, 11 April
Easter Wednesday
12:05 p.m. - JOSEPH A. LAPLACA
(69th anniversary of birth)
by his mother, Julia

Thursday, 12 April
Easter Thursday
12:05 p.m. - Deceased: CHIPLONIA FAMILY
by Julian and Nora
7:00 p.m. - JESSE J. KRIZNO
by Walter Kraus

Friday, 13 April
Easter Friday
12:05 p.m. - CERILLA AGNOLETTI CESCON
by her son, Joseph, and family

Saturday, 14 April
Easter Saturday
8:00 a.m. - SPECIAL INTENTION
(through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier)
by the Weidner family
Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday
4:30 p.m. - LILLIAN CAPPETTA KEVY
by her daughters, Phyllis and Roni

Sunday, 15 April
2nd Sunday of Easter: The Feast of the Divine Mercy
7:45 a.m. - God's Blessings on EILEEN GEORGE
by Sandy
10:45 a.m. - RALPH OWENS
(40th anniversary)
by his daughter, Kitty Owens DiCello



 

Saint Joseph Parish
$1,798.00 from the envelopes and $164.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $1,962.00 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 $466.74 of this collection is available for operating the parish.

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$106.00 from the envelopes and $45.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $151.00 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 ($158.31) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

Dear Father Connolly:
I hope you won't think this is a dumb question.
To tell you the truth, I'm a little bit embarrassed to ask you, but I decided to swallow my pride and ask you anyway.
You see, I notice that the word "deficit" shows up quite frequently on page two of your bulletin, where you print the collection totals from the previous weekend for your two parishes. Not every week, but almost every week, you have the sentence "This is a deficit!" at the end of the paragraph when you report the St. Francis deSales Parish collection totals. Sometimes, but not too often, you have the same sentence at the end of the paragraph when you report the St. Joseph Parish collection totals. I don't have the advantage of much education. My Dad pulled me out of school when I was in 3rd grade. He has a fertilizer factory and he needs me to shovel the manure into the hopper. He says I have more than enough education to shovel manure. So, that's why I don't know the meaning of the word "deficit". So, here is my question: What is a deficit? And, while you're at it, please tell me if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
Curious Parishioner

Dear Curious Parishioner:
Thank you for taking the time to write. You may be certain that I don't think your question is a dumb question. I'm glad you overcame your feeling of embarrassment in order to ask me. You seem to me to be a very intelligent person. Formal education does not make a person intelligent, nor does the lack of it make anyone unintelligent! Please don't ever put yourself down!
The word "deficit" means that the money we get in the collection is not enough to pay our most basic expenses. In other words, income is less than outgo!
A deficit is definitely a bad thing. It is a very, very bad sign, very bad indeed!
I'll give you an example: If all the horses and cows in the county stop "going to the bathroom", then your Dad and you won't have any manure to shovel into the hopper. In other words, you'll have a deficit of manure. So, you won't be able to make any fertilizer and, if you can't make any fertilizer, then you won't have any to sell. You see what this leads to. Your Dad and you would still have to pay the upkeep on your fertilizer factory and, so, pretty soon, your fertilizer business will go belly up and you'll find yourselves out of business.
EBC

Since it is established that you have been duly baptized and confirmed; that you have been enrolled as a candidate through the liturgical Rite of Admission (c. 1034, §1), and have been instituted in the ministries of Lector and Acolyte (c. 1050, 3o); that you posses sufficient maturity and theological knowledge as required by the Code of Canon Law (cc. 250; 1031, §1; 1032, §1); that following a consultation with the Christian People and the judgment of those who are responsible for establishing your suitability according to cc. 1043; 1051; you have been found worthy; that, to my knowledge, you are not bound by any canonical impediment, irregularity or censure; and as you have been ordained to the Order of Deacon with incardination in the Diocese of Allentown (c. 266); you have petitioned that you be ordained a Priest.

Therefore, by virtue of my Office as Bishop of Allentown, I do hereby consent to your petition and call you to:

Having duly received this call to Orders, you are asked to present yourself for Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena, Allentown, on Saturday, the 2nd day of June 2007.

Given in Allentown at the Chancery under my sign and seal and the countersign of the Chancellor, the 4th day of April 2007.

+ Edward P. Cullen
Bishop of Allentown

Gerald E. Gobitas
Chancellor

To: Parents of Teenagers
From: Fr. Connolly
Re: Questionnaire

I recommend that you take a look at this questionnaire. Then, in a quiet moment, when you are not distracted, jot down YES or NO to each question. Ask your wife / husband to do the same, but ask him / her to do it separately from you. Then sit down and compare your answers. Obviously, if you have more than one teenager in the house, you will have to do one for each.

Note: Answer Yes or No to each question.
Note: TAS / D = Teenage Son / Daughter

1. Does your TAS / D struggle with basic family rules and expectations?
2. Has your TAS / D ever been suspended, expelled, truant, or had a drop in school grades?
3. Is your TAS / D verbally abusive?
4. Does your TAS / D associate with a bad peer group?
5. Has your TAS / D lost interest in former productive activities, hobbies or sports?
6. Do you have difficulty getting your TAS / D to do simple household chores or homework?
7. Has your TAS / D had problems with the law?
8. Do you find yourself picking your words carefully when speaking to your TAS / D, so as not to elicit a verbal attack or rage from him / her?
9. Are you worried that your TAS / D may not finish high school?
10 .Does your TAS / D seem depressed or withdrawn?
11. Has your TAS / D's appearance and / or personal hygiene changed?
12. Does your TAS / D ever display violent behavior?
13. Is your TAS / D manipulative and / or deceitful?
14. Does your TAS / D seem to demonstrate a lack of motivation?

15. Do you suspect that your TAS / D sometimes lies or is dishonest with you?
16. Are you concerned that your TAS / D may be sexually promiscuous?
17. Has your TAS / D ever displayed any evidence of suicide ideation?
18. Do you suspect at times you have had money or other valuables from your home?
19. Does your TAS / D's behavior concern you for his / her safety?
20. Is your TAS / D angry or does he/she display temper outbursts?
21. Does your TAS / D seem to lack self-esteem and self-worth?
22. Do you have a problem trusting your TAS / D?
23. Does your TAS / D have problems with authority?
24. Does your TAS / D engage in activities you don't approve of?
25. Do you think your TAS / D might be using drugs/alcohol?
26. Do you worry about your TAS / D's well being and future?
27. Does your TAS / D seem to constantly be in opposition to your family values?
28. No matter what rules and consequences are established, do you feel that your TAS / D will defy them?
29. Are you exhausted and worn out from your TAS / D's defiant and/or destructive behavior and choices?
30. When dealing with your TAS / D, do you often feel that you are powerless?

If you find that you have answered YES to three or more of these questions, you might do well to sit down and talk it over with a third party - your parish priest, a school counselor, a trusted friend.
If you choose to talk it over with me, I'll be happy to give you my input. But do talk it over with someone who is reasonably objective.
Note: When we say "three or more", that is not any kind of exact cut-off. It could be as few as one. The point is that you should look for help before things get out of control.

"MICKEY MOUSE PRIESTS"
In his homily at the Chrism Mass on Wednesday, 4 April, at the Cathedral, Bishop Cullen acknowledged the jubilarians among the priests, i.e. those priests who are observing the 25th and 50th and 60th anniversaries of their ordinations. It is customary to make such acknowledgments at this annual Mass.
The Bishop extended a compliment to the jubilarians. He said that there were no "Mickey Mouse priests" among them! He didn't expand on this compliment, but left it to the imaginations of those sitting in the pews to figure out what he meant.
It was amusing and somewhat startling to hear the Bishop use this expression. In my experience, Bishop Cullen is a model of circumspection in his formal discourses and even in his informal ones. To hear him use the term "Mickey Mouse priests" from the pulpit made me think that, at some point in his time as Bishop, he might have had some dealings with a priest [or two or three] whom he considers to be kinfolk of the World's Pre-Eminent Rodent.
After the Mass, I had some fun with a friend of mine, a priest who is a pastor in Bethlehem. I told him (in jest, of course) that I thought that I saw the Bishop's eyes glance towards the pew in which he was seated when the mouse reference was made. As I anticipated, he told me that, on the contrary, he was fairly certain the Bishop's eyes went towards my pew.
"Is it I, Lord?" "Is it I?" ………………."Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
Although I knew (or, at least, thought that I knew) the usage of "mickey mouse" as a pejorative, I turned to an on-line dictionary of American slang in order to clarify my understanding.
Here, in summary, is what I found.

Someone might be referred to as a mickey mouse kind of person if he is:
a niggling kind of person;
a person who is limited to petty enterprises;
a person who is full of trivial concerns;
a person who is irritatingly petty;
a person who is intellectually unchallenged and unchallenging;
a person who is excessively sentimental or melodramatic.

So, who are the priests of the Diocese of Allentown [if there are any] who are filed away in the Bishop's mind under the letter "M"?
[M for Mickey and M for Mouse.]
Lord knows, I would not want to speculate on this.
I think I had better mind my own business.
I think I had just better make certain that I do not join the Brotherhood of the Cheese.

All of the above prompts this prayer:

LORD JESUS CHRIST, High Priest of the Church, You have allowed me to share in Your priesthood. I am profoundly unworthy and I know it. Please be patient with me. On the other hand, please don't be too patient with me! Help me, Lord, not to be a niggler. Help me, Lord, not to limit myself to petty enterprises. Help me, Lord, not to be full of trivial concerns, most of all concerns about my own stupid self. Help me, Lord, to be neither petty nor irritating and, please, never to be irritatingly petty! Help me, Lord, to keep my mind and heart open to being challenged by Your holy Word and help me to challenge my people with the same. Keep me, Lord, from promoting that kind of religion that is nothing more than sentiment and melodrama. Help me, Lord, to be a real and genuine priest. Keep me, Lord, from all excursions into the Kingdom of the Mouse. Amen.

THE DIVINE MERCY NOVENA
continues at
Saint Joseph Church

#3 - Easter Sunday, 08 April, at 7:00 p.m.
#4 - Easter Monday, 09 April, at 7:00 p.m.
#5 - Easter Tuesday, 10 April, at 8:00 p.m.
#6 - Easter Wednesday, 11 April, at 7:00 p.m.
#7 - Easter Thursday, 12 April, at 8:00 p.m.
#8 - Easter Friday, 13 April, at 7:00 p.m.
#9 - Easter Saturday, 14 April, at 8:00 p.m.

FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY
Sunday, 15 April
3:00 p.m. - Exposition of Blessed Sacrament,
Praying of Divine Mercy Chaplet
Exposition continues, with intermittent public praying of chaplet and associated prayers
7:00 p.m. - Praying of chaplet, sermon, procession, Benediction of Blessed Sacrament