Saturday, 12 April
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - LILLIAN CAPPETTA KEVY (11th anniversary)
by their daughter, Phyllis, and family

Sunday, 13 April
4th Sunday of Easter:
7:45 a.m. - CERILLA AGNOLETTI CESCON
by her son, Joseph, and family
10:45 a.m. - JANE ANN TORPEY DINGER
by Marlin and Mary Jane Reed and family

Monday, 14 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - God's blessings on EILEEN GEORGE
by Sandy

Tuesday, 15 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - JENNY MANZO MILLER
by her sister, Kitty
7:00 p.m. - CESARE and RAFFAELA (Torchia) BONADIO
by their daughter, Mary Bonadio Butera, and family
Wednesday, 16 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - JOSEPH WILLIAM LEONARD IV
by his parents, Joseph and Josephine

Thursday, 17 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - JOSEPH MANZO
by his daughter, Kitty
7:00 p.m. - THOMAS J. FEELEY
by his sister, Patti Feeley Garland

Friday, 18 April
Easter Weekday
12:05 p.m. - God's Blessings on Rev. EDWARD B. CONNOLLY
(May God's love embrace him and submerse him into the depths of His mercy.)
by Sandra Frinzi

Saturday, 19 April
Easter Weekday
8:00 a.m. - LOUIS J. CESCON
by his brother, Joseph, and family
Vigil of Sunday
4:30 p.m. - ANTHONY J. LUPPINO (55th anniversary of wedding)
by his wife, Mary

Sunday, 20 April
5th Sunday of Easter:
7:45 a.m. - MARION, VINCENZO and ANTHONY CODY
by James Cody
10:45 a.m. - IRENE ROEDING KREIGER STECKLEY
by her friend, Vicki LaPlaca Hoffecker

Saint Joseph Parish
$1,967.60 from the envelopes and $140.00 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $2,107.60 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 $596.45 of this collection is available for operating the parish.

Saint Francis deSales Parish
$219.00 from the envelopes and $40.75 from the plate. Thank you.
When one deducts from the sum of these two figures, $259.75 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 ($35.28) of this collection is available for operating the parish. This is a deficit!

WE SHARE THE MAIL
Actually, in this case, we are sharing a fax.
It's a fax from Earth Day Network.
But I guess sharing a fax counts as "sharing the mail", does it not?
The following is page 2 of the two-page fax:

On the bottom of the fax (I shall simply summarize it here) was space for name of pastor, name of parish, address, etc., together with a question as to whether or not the name of the parish may be listed on the website of Earth Day Network.

NOW THEREFORE, I WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO KNOW that I shall not give a homily on climate change and / or equitable sustainability on 20 April 08 or on any other Sunday (or weekday), nor shall I provide such information in the parish bulletin.
On the other hand, if anyone in StJosPar or StFdSPar feels the need for a homily on climate change and / or equitable sustainability, please let me know and I shall try to find you a church / synagogue / mosque / ashram where they do that sort of thing.

THIS PAST WEEKEND, while speaking to a group of wealthy Democrats at a campaign fundraiser in Pacific Heights, an exclusive enclave in San Francisco, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)said the following:

"You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

To: The Honorable Barack Obama
From: Rev. Edward B. Connolly
Re: your opinion of small-town Pennsylvanians

Dear Senator Obama:
I am a small-town Pennsylvanian - the pastor of two small parishes located in two of the small towns in Pennsylvania to which you refer. One of these small towns in Pennsylvania is a city called Pottsville. The other small town - actually a very small town - is the Borough of Mount Carbon. Both of these small towns are in Schuylkill County - which is in Pennsylvania - or do I belabor the point?
You characterize the people of my area as bitter because we fell through both the Clinton and the Bush administrations and because we thought our area would be regenerated and it has not been.
Then you say that we are bitter and that we cling to guns or religion and that we have antipathy towards people who aren't like us and that we are anti-immigrant and anti-trade and that we are frustrated.
I would like you to know that, while you are sitting in Starbucks with your enlightened, secular progressive worshippers, sipping your Venti of Espresso Frappuccino and munching on your croissant, we benighted denizens of small-town Pennsylvania are sitting in Dunkin Donuts, drinking our small, medium or large coffee and munching our crullers. And, while digesting the latter, we are simultaneously digesting your stupendously and breathtakingly arrogant opinion about us.
However, have no fear! We are not bitter, even though you say that we are bitter. On the contrary, we are actually kind of sweet, if I say so myself.
Part of the reason we are so sweet is this: We are a religious people. Those of us who are Christians - and that's most of us - do indeed cling. We cling to Jesus. You have heard of Him, no doubt. He is our sweet Savior - and the secret of our sweetness. If you want to know more about Him, let me know. I can tell you things about Him you probably never heard from Pastor Wright.
As far as clinging to guns is concerned, I've never been a gun owner nor a gun user, although I did own a cap pistol when I was a child, which I liked to play with, although I haven't played with it since I was twelve and, so, you can't really say that I cling to guns, but I am against repealing the Second Amendment, to tell you the truth.
As far as having antipathy to people who aren't like me and being frustrated are concerned, I really don't think that I am antipathetic or frustrated on any regular basis. On the other hand, I do harbor some antipathy and also some frustration towards politicians like Hillary and you who vote to kill unborn babies - but that's another story for another day!
Anyway, I just wanted to touch base with you. I send you my best wishes and I hope you have a long and happy life. Please give my kindest regards to Michelle and the girls and please be careful what you say about small town Pennsylvanians because there are a few guys in our County, mostly north of the mountain, who have short fuses and who might take umbrage at what you said about us and, if you happen to be in the area, might offer to take you out to lunch for a knuckle sandwich.
EBC

TWO CURRENT CHALLENGES TO THE CATHOLIC FAITH
#1 - I made brief mention in last weekend's bulletin of a paid advertisement (essay) in the 30 March edition of the Pottsville Republican. The space was purchased by the local branch of the Protestant denomination known as Church of Christ. I said that I would comment on it in this weekend's bulletin. This is my comment:
With all due respect, the essay was poorly crafted. There were too many words and the exact point did not clearly emerge, nor did the point connect clearly with the title of the essay.
Be that as it may, here is my very brief summary of the main point of the essay: The Catholic Church is not the true Church founded by Jesus Christ because it asserts TRADITION as being THE PRINCIPAL RULE OF FAITH, rather than THE BIBLE.
I think I am being fair to the writer of the essay in saying that that is what he was trying to say.
So, let me counter that assertion by saying the following:
It is true, unmistakably true, that the CATHOLIC CHURCH asserts that SACRED TRADITION is the source of DIVINE REVELATION. One must not stop there, however. One must explain what SACRED TRADITION is. SACRED TRADITION is the sum total of the DIVINE REVELATION received by the CATHOLIC CHURCH from God. The core of this SACRED TRADITION is set down in the CANONICAL SCRIPTURES (Bible). The BIBLE is inerrant. But is there any part of DIVINE REVELATION that is included in SACRED TRADITION that is not included in the BIBLE? The answer is this: The entirety of DIVINE REVELATION is set down in the BIBLE. However, not all of the corollaries or specifications of DIVINE REVELATION are set down explicitly in the BIBLE. It is the sacred mandate of the CATHOLIC CHURCH to declare what the BIBLE means and what it implies. It was the CATHOLIC CHURCH that determined the contents of the BIBLE! The CATHOLIC CHURCH is older than the BIBLE!
It is preposterous to isolate the BIBLE from the CATHOLIC CHURCH and to use it as a club with which to beat the CATHOLIC CHURCH on the head!
Yet, this is what Protestant apologists do all the time.
Eventually, they must surrender to History and to Common Sense and recognize that the CATHOLIC CHURCH, not the BIBLE, is the "pillar and foundation of the Truth" - as the BIBLE says!
But, if they do make this surrender, then they have to give up their pretenses and become Catholics.
Most of them, unfortunately, would rather eat glass than do such a thing!
It is a pity.
We must pray for them.

#2 - A member of St. Joseph Parish gave me a tract that she found on her front door. She lives on Mahantongo Street and told me that the tracts had been distributed widely in her neighborhood, as far as she could see. The tract was distributed by Haven Baptist Church in Schuylkill Haven. It is entitled "Which Road?" I read it and this is my comment:
I have read hundreds of similar tracts. It contains the fundamental kerygma, the call to repentance and to acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The tract asserts a number of undeniable truths: universal sinfulness, existence of hell as punishment for sin, need for a Savior, Jesus as the Only Way to salvation, true divinity of Jesus, etc.
All of these I have believed from my youth!
What then is my objection to the tract?
Not so much what the tract says as what it does not say.
It implies ETERNAL SECURITY - the non-possibility of the damnation of those who have, at some point in their lives, accepted Jesus Christ.
The truth is this: SALVATION is a process, not a once and done event. It blows my mind that this is not obvious to my Baptist friends.

DID YOU KNOW THAT our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, is a cat person?
Well, I didn't know that either, until recently!
And now it can be told!
In fact, it has been told!
You can read all about it in a book entitled

The "Joseph" in the title refers to the Pope. His name, prior to assuming the Chair of Peter, was "Joseph Ratzinger". The "Chico" in the title is the cat. It is alleged that Chico wrote the book. This makes me wonder if Kateri is taking notes for a biography of me. If so, she is certainly not being obvious about it.
You can find this book on Amazon.com or (probably) at any bookstore.
If you want Fr. Connolly to order you a copy, give a call.