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01 / 02 March Saint Joseph Parish Saint Francis deSales Parish |
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Tuesday, 11 March 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at St. Joseph's 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at St. Joseph's 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at St. Francis deSales' |
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WE RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING NEWS ITEM VIA EMAIL FROM AN ASTUTE PARISHIONER Kelly A. McCord, a junior at Pottsville Area High School and a flautist * in the school band, marched in the "Disney Dreams Come True" parade in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week. Albert J. Yackenchick Jr., a 7th grader at All Saints, will be participating in this year's Republican & Herald Regional Spelling Bee as a representative of All Saints. Andrew Koinski, a 6th grader at All Saints, will also participate in the Spelling Bee as an alternate. Dominic J. Chiplonia, an 8th grader at All Saints, placed
2nd for the Boys Ages 13-14 category in the Pottsville Recreation
Commission's Hot Shot Tournament held this past Sunday. Apparently,
Dominic is a hot shot. (I think that means he can thread a basketball
through a hoop with a certain amount of finesse.) |
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Vincent J. Baiocco Sr. David R. Merrick Adreienne Purcell Potito ["Pat] Ricigliano Joseph C. Tucci Louise Gagliardi Kline Francis P. Morris James A. Chewey Sandra L. Kehler Kyrei M. Rose |
Lisa M. Strokelitus John J. McGovern Elizabeth Seifert Yanni Natalie L. Mengel Francis P. Mohan, M.D. |
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR
BISHOP! Wednesday, 12 March 7:00 p.m. All are invited! Dare we say, "expected?" |
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IF ONLY HE HAD LISTENED! Moral of the story For extra credit |
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MADE IN THE USA: SPOILED BRATS The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, two-thirds of the citizenry just ain't happy - and they want a change! So, being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking: What are we so unhappy about? Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air-conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? Could it be due to the fact that 95.4 percent of us have a job? Maybe it's due to our ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? Maybe it's because we can drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or could it possibly be because of the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that, when we wreck our cars, emergency workers show up and provide services to help us, one and all - and they'll even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital! Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that, in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top-notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family and your belongings. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. All of this, of course, is against the backdrop of neighborhoods free of bombs and of militias raping and pillaging the residents - neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy. The fact is that we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S., yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are: the most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? Is this the same President who cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? Isn't he the Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about this: Are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the Media told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day? Make no mistake about it! The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other-than-honorable'' discharge or - worst case scenario - a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why, then, the flat-out discontent in the minds of 69 percent
of Americans? Say what you will, but I blame it on the Media.
If it bleeds, it leads - and they specialize in bad news. Everybody
will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch
kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media know this and
media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells,
and, when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying"
them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow
a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about "how I
didn't kill my wife, but just in case I did, here is how I would
have done it" if he did he would have done it this way"-
-- Insane! We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day or at least be thankful and appreciative. "With hurricanes, tornadoes, out-of-control fires, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?" Craig R. Smith This delightful essay has often been attributed
to Jay Leno, but it was not written by Jay Leno. It was written
by Craig R. Smith, a columnist / commentator for World Net Daily.
However, the last paragraph (the one in quotation marks) did
originate with Jay Leno. Regardless of its authorship, I think
it is well worth reading. I guess that's obvious, because I am
printing it in this bulletin! PLEASE PRAY FOR a gentleman who died on Saturday, 1 March. Michael ["Mickey"] Malenich, is the brother of St. Joseph parishioner Victoria
Malenich LaPlaca. STEVEN S. KHELOUSSI, a student at Wilkes University, made the Dean's List for the fall semester. Steve is a pre-pharmacy major. He is a son of St. Joseph parishioner Claudia Franzelin Kheloussi. |
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THE PROFIT that accrued from last Sunday's spaghetti supper (2 March) came to We've said it before and we'll say it again: |
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[Hey, don't mock it! With $17.00 you can buy almost a third of a tank of gas!] |
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WHAT IS YOUR OPINION IN THIS
MATTER? Let us say that a woman goes to a clinic for a late-term abortion. Let us say that the baby in her uterus is viable. By "viable", we mean "could probably survive and develop normally outside the uterus if given the kind of care that is routinely given to preemies". Now let us say that, due to some sort of slip-up on the part of the abortionist, the baby emerges completely from the birth canal and is ALIVE and FULLY FORMED. This baby, if given the medical attention normally given to a preemie, would undoubtedly live and would probably have a normal life. What would you say if the doctor who was performing the abortion and who had made the mistake whereby the baby came out alive instead of dead were to decide to kill the baby outside the uterus? His or her reason would be: Well, this lady came in to have an abortion. Due to circumstances beyond her control and due to circumstances that I did not foresee and was unable to control, this baby is alive instead of dead. I need to make sure that this lady gets what she paid for, viz. a dead baby. So, I shall lay this baby aside somewhere - on a shelf or whatever - and "let nature take its course". In other words, I'll just let the baby die. Do you think the law should permit such deliberate neglect, such deliberate refusal to treat a baby? Would this not be "murder by neglect"? When BARACK OBAMA was a member of the Senate of the State of Illinois, he voted against the UNBORN BABY PROTECTION ACT. He voted against there being a law that would oblige hospitals and doctors to act to preserve the lives of babies who emerged alive from a botched abortion procedure. He explained his vote by saying that he saw the proposed law as an attack on a woman's fundamental right to choose. Think of this every time you look at this handsome, charming, well-spoken, eloquent man who wants to be President of the United States of America. |
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NOW PLEASE PAY ATTENTION! 8:00 p.m. (after Stations of the Cross) St. Joseph Parish Hall #04 - We are going to have
sandwiches and beverages and fruit and snacks and that sort of
thing. |
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WARNING! On pages 14 and 15 of the current (6 March 08) edition of The A. D. Times, our diocesan newspaper, there is an article about a conference that took place at the Bernardine Franciscan Spirituality and Conference Center in Reading. The conference was sponsored, so the article said, by St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Reading. The title of the article is "Ecospirituality conference explores stewardship of God's creation". The title of the particular conference was "Worshipping the Creator Through Creation". I wish to warn the members of my two parishes (and anyone else who is willing to be warned by me) that the spirituality promoted by this conference is incompatible with the Catholic Faith. I reject it absolutely and unreservedly. I am distressed to know that such a conference took place under the auspices of a Catholic parish and in conjunction with the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters. I am deeply concerned that this conference was honored by being featured in our diocesan newspaper. The casual reader would infer from this fact that the conference had the approval of the Diocese of Allentown. I am certain that it did not! It is inconceivable to me that the theology that underlies the Cosmic Walk exercises could possibly be countenanced by the Diocese of Allentown. I am as certain as I can be that this conference slipped under the radar of "the front office". Such things are entirely possible. No bishop, not even one who is as orthodox and conscientious as our own Bishop Cullen, can possibly monitor everything that is going on in every corner of his diocese! I anticipate that someone in authority will discreetly say something to someone about this event. As a result, unless I miss my bet, we will not be seeing any future Cosmic Walk exercises being featured in the pages of our diocesan newspaper! I devoutly hope that there will be no further such conferences or exercises held in any institution that is aligned with the Diocese of Allentown. It is beyond the scope of this parish bulletin to give a comprehensive critique of the Cosmic Walk exercises. Anyone who wishes to discuss with me the rationale of my objections certainly knows where to find me. |
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Perhaps, just to whet your appetite to know more, you might want to read the following verses from what is called "The Universe Story". This is the foundational philosophy behind the Cosmic Walk exercises. ************ 4.6 billion years ago, our mother star, in the Orion arm of the Milky Way galaxy, having consumed and sacrificed herself, collapsed. In the intense energy of that collapse, she was transformed into a supernova, exploding her stardust into space, and birthing all the new elements which would take shape as Earth's body, what we call chemistry. ************ 20,000 years ago, reflecting on their experience of a fertile, abundant, and regenerative Earth, humans, began to image and shape female deities and form matrilineal societies. ************ 5,000 years ago, megalithic stone structures appeared throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, marking a transition to warring, powerful, male images of the Divine. ************ 3,200 years ago, the exodus of Israel out of Egypt. 2,500 years ago, a flowering of ethical and spiritual consciousness exploded throughout China and India through the teachings and works of Confucius and the Buddha. 2,300 years ago, highly evolved classic Mayan civilization flourished and spread throughout the Americas. 2,000 years ago, Jesus revealed the deepest mysteries of the universe and spoke an uncompromising truth about the unity of all peoples. Please note that I have picked out only a few of the verses. The complete text is available on line to anyone who has a strong stomach and wants to read it. Suffice it to say for now that the Cosmic Walk exercises and the entire eco-spirituality program are a form of neo-Gnosticism, incompatible with the Nicene Creed. Such programs slither from the covens of those female religious who abandoned the Catholic Faith a long time ago, but decided, nonetheless, to remain with the Church that teaches that Faith, so as to be able to subvert it from within. "In times past there were false prophets among God's people, and among you also there will be false teachers who will smuggle in pernicious heresies. They will go so far as to deny the Master who acquired them for his own, thereby bringing on themselves swift disaster." (2 Peter 2, 1-2) |
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THIS WEEK
Includes Exposition and Benediction of The Blessed Sacrament. * ultima |
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The highest perfection consists not in interior favors, not in great raptures nor in visions, not in the spirit of prophecy, but in the bringing of our wills so closely in conformity with the will of God that, as soon as we realize that He wills anything, we desire it ourselves with all our might, and take the bitter with the sweet, knowing that to be His Majesty's will. St. Teresa of Avila Sometimes I hear someone say, "I'm not very religious, but I am spiritual!" That reminds me of someone who says, "I never actually vote, but I am registered to vote!" Gregory P. Rendelman, CRNA |
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SAINT FRANCIS deSALES CHURCH %20Jan%202007/abu076.gif){kind=small} Saturday, 08 MarchVigil of Sunday 6:00 p.m. - DAVID B. THORN by Joseph T. Cescon and family Sunday, 09 March5th Sunday of Lent 9:15 a.m. - DICK YUENGLING Sr. by Nancy Dunbrowney Haag 12:15 p.m. - KATHRYN SELINSKY LUPPINO by Grace Luppino Joy and sons Monday, 10 MarchLenten Weekday 10:00 a.m. - ESTELLE WEINER PURCELL (anniversary of birth) / God's Blessings on JIMMY PURCELL (birthday) by Estelle's sons / by Brian Wednesday, 12 MarchLenten Weekday 10:00 a.m. -HEALTH and CONVERSION OF EMMANUEL and GLORI by a family member Friday, 14 MarchLenten Weekday 10:00 a.m. - PEACE and HEALTH for WILLIAM J. YOUNG by a family member Saturday, 15 MarchVigil of Palm Sunday 6:00 p.m. - DOMENICK J. D'ALESSANDRDO by his parents Sunday, 16 MarchPalm Sunday of the Lord's Passion 9:15 a.m. - PARISHIONERS: StJosPar / StFdSPar by EBC 12:15 p.m. - God's Blessings on JOANIE WALLACE and FAMILY by Brian Michael |