Saint Joseph Parish: $1,437.50 from the Sunday envelopes; $94.25 from the second collection (plate); $60.00 from the Dues envelopes; $190.00 from the Easter envelopes; $112.00 from the loose. Thank you.

Saint Vincent DePaul Parish: $1,000.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $140.00 from the second collection (plate); $22.00 from the Good Friday collection; $195.00 from the Easter envelopes; $130.00 from the loose. Thank you.

[cf. Sirach 25, 2]

  Evan Getzey                                       Albert J. Yackenchick 

   Nicholas Yackenchick                        Michael J. Yackenchick 

THESE FOUR BOYS RECEIVED THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION at St. Ambrose Parish, Schuylkill Haven, on Tuesday, 21 April 2009.
Evan is a member of St. Vincent dePaul Parish, Girardville. He is a son of Robert J. Jr. and Denise (Lang) Getzey.
Albert, Michael and Nicholas are members of St. Joseph Parish, Girardville. They are sons of Albert J. Sr. and Annetta (Mercuri) Yackenchick.
They had been scheduled to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in 2009 at St. Joseph Parish, Pottsville. With the closing of that parish, they asked if they could still be kept on track to receive Confirmation in 2009. Fr. Connolly made arrangements with Fr. Stone, so that this could happen.
We give thanks to God for the lives and for the faith of these four excellent young men.
We invoke God’s blessings on them now that they have completed their initiation into the Body of Christ, which is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
May they edify the Church by the beauty of their lives.

SOMEONE TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF to make an assertion about something that Fr. Connolly is alleged to have done. The assertion was made in a public forum, viz. Thunder Enlightning, which is the name given to the anonymous “call-it-in-and-get-it-off-your-chest” feature carried by the Pottsville Republican. Thunder Enlightning is oftentimes (I did not say “always”) a refuge for persons who are one or two sandwiches short of a picnic.
I have given some thought as to whether I should dignify the vile assertion by responding to it in the parish bulletin. On the one hand, I say, “Let it go. It’s better for your spiritual life if you just ignore it.” On the other hand, I say, “But if I just let it go, there will be persons who will believe it and that would not be good for my pastoral relationship with the members of St. Joseph Parish (Girardville). I had better set the record straight.”
The person who called in said that Fr. Connolly attended a secret meeting during which he voted to close St. Joseph Parish (Girardville).
Let me respond to this as follows: I, Edward B. Connolly, want it to be known that this assertion is absolutely and totally false. The assertion consists of two parts, viz. (a) that I attended a secret meeting and (b) that I voted to close St. Joseph Parish (Girardville).
In regard to (a): I do not know what the caller means by “secret meeting”. I have attended a great many meetings of Synod regional committees. These meetings are “closed” in the sense that they are not public meetings. They are open only to the duly appointed members of the committees. However, the fact that these committees hold meetings is not a secret. Moreover, all of the proceedings of these meetings are sent on to the Pastoral Council and, eventually, to the Bishop of Allentown. The Bishop, working through his Vicar for the Synod and his Deans, asks the members of the committees to be discreet in talking about what is said at the meetings. This is due to the fact that all of the proposals that emanate from the committees are nothing more than proposals. The Bishop and only the Bishop makes final decisions. This is well known to all those who participate in the Synod. This is the way it is and, quite frankly, this is the way it should be. One reason I am a happy camper in the Catholic Church is this: I believe in the hierarchical structure of the Church and I believe in the authority of the bishop. So, as for the assertion that I attended a “secret meeting”, I deny it. I attended some closed meetings, as did a great many other members of the Synod.
In regard to (b): I deny this absolutely and without qualification of any sort. I did not vote to close St. Joseph Parish (Girardville). In fact, I had made it abundantly clear to all of the members of the regional committee that I would not be voting to close (or to recommend the closing of) either St. Joseph Parish or St. Vincent dePaul Parish. Anyone who says that I did otherwise will have to answer to God for publicly slandering a priest

DRIVING NORTH ON 61 THIS PAST WEEK, I noticed a church sign that carried a message that made me gasp. It was posted outside the Lighthouse Assembly of God Church in Schuylkill Haven.
Generally speaking, I find that AOG churches are big on enthusiasm but light on theology.
Here is what the sign said:

This is nonsensical. It is a total misreading and misapplication of Scripture.
Jesus did not give His keys to “those who do His work”.
There are many persons who “do His work”. There is only one person who has the keys. Who is that one person? At the present time, it is Joseph Ratzinger, known in his key-holding capacity as Pope Benedict XVI.
The one who has the keys is Peter — and those who succeed Peter.
To hold the Petrine office is to have the keys.
There is only one place in the Gospels where the word “keys” appears.
That one place is Matthew 16,19, which reads as follows:

The person speaking is JESUS. The person to whom Jesus is speaking is SIMON PETER.
The Old Testament background to this conferral of the keys upon Peter is Isaiah 22,22, which reads as follows:

The Person speaking is the LORD GOD. The person about whom the Lord God is speaking is HILKIAH, the new majordomo (akin to prime minister) of the house of David.
It is utterly absurd to make the unqualified assertion that those who do the work of Jesus are ipso facto the ones who are entrusted with the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is really (when you come to think of it) a hellish situation. I say “hellish” because the dominant feature of Hell is chaos. When you belong to a church where everyone is pope or when you belong to a nation where everyone is a prime minister, you have a preview of Hell. There are two kinds of Christians: the catholic and the chaotic.
We respectfully and urgently call all members of the Lighthouse Assembly of God to re-examine their theological premises and to come back to the Church which Jesus founded, viz. the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
We are easy to identify. We are the people who are under obedience to the one who has the keys.

JOHN CLEM KISTLER,
a member of Saint Vincent dePaul Parish, died on Thursday, 23 April.
Born on 17 October 1919, he was 89 years old.
He is one of the six children (three sons and three daughters) of the late John and Mary (Savage) Kistler.
His five siblings are: Anna Kistler Hubert; Alberta Kistler DeRubbo (deceased); Albert Kistler (deceased); Agnes Kistler Coughlin; Jerome E. Kistler.
John was baptized in St. George Church, Shenandoah.
There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Vincent dePaul Church on Wednesday, 29 April, at 11:00 am. There will be a viewing in the church for one hour prior to the Mass.
The interment will take place in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery, Shenandoah Heights.
We pray that John will share in the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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

1. Clear guidelines with reasonable consequences from a unified front; cutting slack but also holding boys accountable for their actions.
2. Reasonable explanations for the criteria, guidelines and decisions made by parents.
3. Avoiding hyper-analysis of boys' emotions and states of mind: avoiding "taking their temperature" too often.
4. Unconditional love with an emphasis on character and effort more than outcome: Encourage boys to live up to their potential while having reasonable expectations. To love them regardless of whether they make it into Harvard or become a star quarterback.
5. Authenticity, faith and fidelity should be reflected in parents’ lifestyles.
6. Qualities of a dad: Manliness, temperance, making significant time for family, putting aside work, and being a reliable source of guidance.
7. Qualities of a mom: Emotional stability, selflessness, loving service and extreme patience.

With thanks to Fr. Michael Sliney.

If anyone would like to have the article from which this summary is taken, feel free to ask me. I can email it to you.

KATHERINE EVANKOVICH BOGDEN,
a member of Saint Vincent dePaul Parish, died on Divine Mercy Sunday, 19 April.
Born on 8 November 1920, she was 88 years old.
She is one of the six children (two sons and four daughters) of the late Paul and Anna (Blozusky) Evankovich.
Her five siblings are: John Evankovich (deceased); Michael Evankovich (deceased); Helen Evankovich Cheddar (deceased); Anna Evankovich (deceased); Josephine Evankovich Zdiera.
Katherine and her twin sister, Anna, were baptized in St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church, Maizeville, on 8 November 1920 by Father John Fekula. Katherine’s godparents were Theodore Krolick and Katherine Katchmanic.
Katherine had a twin sister whose name was Anna. She was baptized along with Katherine. Anna’s godparents were Michael Naspinsky and Anna Rabbitz. Anna died on 10 December 1920.
Katherine was married to Anthony J. Bogden Sr. on 9 February 1947 in St. Vincent dePaul Church, Girardville, in the presence of Fr. Michael Daumantas. The witnesses were Lawrence Ryan and Helen Bogden.
Anthony died in 2004. Katherine and he had been married for 57 years!
Anthony and Katherine have two children: Anthony J. Bogden Jr. and Bernadette Bogden.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for Katherine at St. Vincent dePaul Church on Wednesday, 22 April, at 11:00 am.
The interment took place in the parish cemetery in Englewood, Butler Township.
We give thanks to God for the life of Katherine. We pray that she will come to see God face to face and will be raised up from the dead on the last day.

Eternal rest grant unto Katherine, 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.