Saturday, 19 January
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - ELVIRA ALFONSI HESS
by her sister and her brother-in-law, Rosa and Harry Lilley

Sunday, 20 January
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
7:45 a.m. - Deceased: GENOVESE FAMILY
by the family
10:45 a.m. - H. ROBERT PICCIONI Sr. (4th anniversary)
by his wife, Ann, and family

Monday, 21 January
St. Agnes, virgin, martyr (OblMem)
12:05 p.m. - SANDRA CHAPLICK TRABOSH (7th anniversary)
by her husband, Eugene

Tuesday, 22 January
St. Vincent, deacon, martyr (OptMem)
6:00 a.m. - Msgr. FRANCIS X. CONNOLLY
by his brother, Edward
12:05 p.m. - THADDEUS MALYS
by his brother and his sister-in-law, Casimir and Julia

Wednesday, 23 January
Weekday
12:05 p.m. - RONI J. KEVY (anniversary of birth)
by Roberta

Thursday, 24 January
St. Francis deSales, bishop, doctor (OblMem)
12:05 p.m. - GERALD MEGNA
by his sister, Josephine Megna Messina
7:00 p.m. - SALVATORE ALFONSI
by his daughter and his son-in-law, Rosa and Harry Lilley

Friday, 25 January
Conversion of St. Paul, apostle (Fst)
12:05 p.m. - HELEN SPINA
by her sister, Cecelia, her niece, Joanne, her grandniece, Sandra

Saturday, 26 January
SS. Timothy and Titus, bishops (OblMem)
8:00 a.m. - God's Blessings and Health on PASQUALE A. PILO
by his family
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - RONI J. KEVY (anniversary of birth)
by Phyllis and family

Sunday, 27 January
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
7:45 a.m. - JOSEPH MAZZUCA and FRANCES MAZZUCA GARDNER
by their wife / mother, Julia
10:45 a.m. - JOANNE PALKO BACH
by Kevin F. Pinto

Saint Joseph Parish
$1,431.00 from the envelopes and $132.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $1,563.00 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $410.08 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $160.01, the sum of which is $570.09, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $941.06 the sum total of which is $1,511.15, one sees that $51.85 of this collection is available for operating the parish.

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$112.00 from the envelopes and $60.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $172.00 the parish's weekly financial obligation to the Diocese, i.e. assessments, $46.15 plus the weekly premiums for property and liability insurance, $60.67, the sum of which is $106.82, plus its weekly obligation to All Saints School, $188.21, the sum total of which is $295.03, one sees that ($123.03)of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

THE SANCTUARY LAMP at St. Joseph Church is offered, during the week of 20 - 26 Jan, in loving memory of H. Robert Piccioni Sr., at the request of his wife, Ann, and family.

"I cannot bring myself to speak of the many virgins who daily fall and are lost to the bosom of the Church, their mother . . . Some go so far as to take potions, that they may insure barrenness, and thus murder human beings almost before their conception. Some, when they find themselves with child through their sin, use drugs to procure abortion, and when, as often happens, they die with their offspring, they enter the lower world laden with the guilt not only of adultery against Christ but also of suicide and child murder"

Saint Jerome (AD 396)
Letters 22:13

22 January 2008
35th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision
A day of penance and reparation

A LOCAL BUMPER STICKER THAT IS JUST BEGGING FOR SOMEONE TO COMMENT ON IT AND I GUESS THAT SOMEONE IS ME, UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE HAS ALREADY DONE SO, BUT I DON'T THINK SO!

Driving north on Centre Street, I often see a car parked at the curb, with a bumper sticker that reads as follows:

I say to myself: Is that true?
Truth is something that pre-occupies me.
Then I say to myself: In order for something to be true, it has to be true at all times and in all places and under all circumstances. In order for something to be false, it need only be false at some time or in some place or under some circumstances.
With that as my guide, I say to myself: It is not true that WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER. It is sometimes true that war is the answer. Therefore, to assert as a universal principle the maxim, WAR IS NOT THE ANSWER is a disservice to right reason.
Please don't think that this is the observation of a warmonger. It is merely the observation of a Catholic.
Absolute pacifism is actually a heresy.
A man has a moral obligation to defend the lives of his family members against unjust aggressors, even to the point of war (i.e. violence) if he has exhausted all non-violent means.
This is something we should know, so that we don't get involved in muddled thinking.

St. Alphonsus Liguori
1696 - 1787

I became aware of these words of St. Alphonsus quite recently. I was watching one of Fr. Charles P. Connor's lectures from his excellent series on the Doctors of the Church. Fr. Connor quoted St. Alphonsus as having said (or written) these words.
I think the words are interesting for more than one reason. One reason is this: These words were written (obviously) in regard to celebrations of "the Tridentine form" of the Mass and there are those who think that the wider use of the Tridentine Mass will be the great panacea to all of our liturgical ills.
I respectfully beg to differ.
For the record: I thoroughly support and approve of our Holy Father's efforts to revive the Tridentine Mass. I would be happy to play a part in this revival. At the same time, I am very much old enough to remember some celebrations of the Tridentine Mass that were not the least bit edifying. (I was about 27 years old before "the new Mass" became the norm. I know whereof I speak!)
If a priest has deep and uncompromising personal faith in the reality of the Eucharist and if he takes his time with all of the words and gestures of the rite, his celebration of the Mass will be reverent and worthy, regardless of whether he celebrates according to "the old way" (Missal of Pius V as revised by John XXIII) or "the new way" (Missal of Paul VI.)

 ROSE MARIE CATALINI FRANK PLUSWICK,
a member of St. Joseph Parish, died on Tuesday, 15 January 2008.
Born on 26 November, 1932, she was 75 years of age.
Rose Marie had been baptized in St. Joseph Church on 22 December 1932 by Fr. DeStefano and Fr. Perlo.
(I cannot explain how it came to be that both priests' names are recorded under this particular entry in our baptism register. This is unusual. I'll ask them about this anomaly the next time I see them. Suffice it to say that, with two such distinguished priests' names listed, Rose Marie was most assuredly baptized!)
On 26 November 1955 (her 23rd birthday), Rose Marie was married to William J. Frank in St. Joseph Church, in the presence of Fr. George A. Gormley.
Mr. Frank died on 24 February 1975.
On 9 August 1975, Rose Marie was married to Leo M. Pluswick in St. Joseph Church, in the presence of Fr. Ferdinando Capra.
Mr. Pluswick died on 21 October 2001.
The Mass of Christian Burial for Rose Marie was celebrated in St. Joseph Church on Saturday, 19 January. The interment took place in the parish cemetery.
Some time ago, Rose Marie was made aware of the fact that she had a medical condition for which a cure was highly unlikely. She accepted God's difficult will with remarkable and admirable submission - without bitterness or resentment or anger of any kind.
She received the final absolution and the Holy Viaticum on Sunday, 13 January. She was well prepared to meet the Lord. A bystander noted that, even in her extremity, while lying on her bed and listening to the final prayers, Rose Marie bowed her head at the Holy Name of Jesus!

Eternal rest grant unto Rose Marie, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

REGIONAL FACT SHEET, MEETINGS 1 AND 2
South Schuylkill Deanery
Region 1

Parishes: St. Patrick, Pottsville; St. John the Baptist, Pottsville; Mary Queen of Peace, Pottsville; St. Joseph, Pottsville; St. Francis deSales, Mount Carbon; St. Ambrose, Schuylkill Haven

Dates and Places: October 30 at St. Patrick, Pottsville; December 4 at St. John the Baptist, Pottsville

Attendees: Monsignor Zemanik (acting as dean), Monsignor O'Connor, Father Bambrick, Father Loeper, Father Medve, Father Connolly, Deacon Visot, Deacon Quirk, Mary Sitcoske, Angelo Barone, Patty Garland, Ellen King, Karen Powers, Martina Chwastiak, Paul Filiac, Mary Ann Dragna, Frank Boncore.

Information: Monsignor Zemanik reviewed the Criteria for Parish Restructuring and the Implementation Guidelines. Both were published in the AD Times on November 2 and are posted on the Diocesan Web site - www.allentowndiocese.org - click on Synod Implementation and then on Criteria for Parish Restructuring.

The committee watched "Matters of Faith", a DVD produced by the Diocese of Buffalo (NY) on how the consolidation of parishes worked there.

Monsignor informed the committee members that five priests will be assigned to the region: three in Pottsville and two in Schuylkill Haven. There are currently seven. The committee agreed that restructuring will be needed in the region.

The committee reviewed statistics on baptisms, weddings, funerals and seating capacity at the seven parishes in the region and the results of the parish surveys.

Tasks: By the next meeting do a four-week count of Mass attendance at each parish and break down the number of souls in each parish into 15-year age brackets as was done in the surveys.