Saint Joseph Parish: $1,212.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $100.00 from the second collection (plate); $25.00 from the Dues envelopes; $55.00 from the loose. Thank you.

Saint Vincent DePaul Parish: $1,088.00 from the Sunday envelopes; $143.00 from the second collection (plate); $115.00 from the loose. Thank you.

SOME FINANCIAL NEWS
Every parish in the Diocese is required to subsidize its Catholic elementary school.
What does it mean to “subsidize” the school?
It means to make up the shortfall between income and expenses.
“Income” — by which we mean primarily tuition, plus fundraisers, plus a few other relatively minor income sources — never comes anywhere close to paying what it costs to run a school.
So the “parish subsidy” is the amount required to close the gap.
Some of the larger parishes in the Diocese have their own parochial school — in which case the individual parish itself is required to subsidize its own parochial school.
Most parishes are co-responsible for “regional” schools. A regional school is a school that is the joint responsibility of two or more parishes.
Trinity Academy is a regional school. It is the joint responsibility of fifteen parishes: five in Shenandoah; one in Lost Creek; one in Ringtown; two in Girardville; two in Ashland; one in Gordon; three in Frackville.
The pastors and the principal of Trinity Academy are responsible for making up the budget and for determining what portion of the shortfall will be the responsibility of the parishes.
The Chancery then decides how to divide the shortfall (now known as “subsidy”) among the parishes. It is fortunate that the Chancery does this because, if the pastors had to do it, there could be bloodshed. Every pastor worth his salt always believes that his own parish is being charged too much and that neighboring parishes are being charged too little. This is how it always seemed to me in Pottsville and I am determined that this is how it shall continue to seem to me in Girardville.
With that in mind, I hereby inform my parishioners of the parish subsidy amounts for the new fiscal year, together with the amounts for the fiscal year that just closed.

BOTTOM LINE: Both of our parishes need more money if we are going to keep our heads above water. Please be generous when you see the collection basket come around.

TRIDENTINE MASS
Please note that the 11:30 am Mass at St. Joseph Church on Sunday, 26 July, will be celebrated “according to the extraordinary rite”.
If you do not know what this means, then we suggest that you attend in order to find out.
What it means is this: Mass will be celebrated as it was always celebrated in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church prior to the introduction of the revised rite in 1965.
It is possible, after experiencing it, that you will say that you prefer it. It is also possible, after experiencing it, that you will say that you do not prefer it.
The point is that you would do well to experience it and to do so more than once.

Personal note: I entered the seminary in 1961. I was 23 years old. At that time, I presumed that, if I ever got to be ordained a priest, I would be celebrating “the Tridentine Mass” for the rest of my life. It never occurred to me that any other “way” of saying Mass would ever come about. Little did I know that, during my time in the seminary (1961-66), the Church would experience a monumental upheaval in the area of liturgy — and in other areas as well.
By the time I was ordained, the “way” of saying Mass had changed dramatically.
Today, the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church embraces (a) those who resist the “new way” and want the “old way” exclusively; (b) those who resist the “old way” and want the “new way” exclusively; (c) those who think the two “ways” should simply co-exist and compete as they (more or less) do today; (d) those who think that the “old way” should never have been abandoned but should have been gently revised with certain elements of the “new way”.
I align myself with (d). By doing so, I think I’m in pretty good company, because it is clear that Pope Benedict is of the same mind. He said as much in a letter he wrote to Dr. Heinz Lothar-Barth in 2003. (This was prior to his election as Pope.)

“But I think in the future the Roman Church will have to have only a single rite; the existence of two rites presents administrative difficulties for bishops and priests. The Roman Rite of the future ought to be a single rite, celebrated in Latin or the language of the people, but entirely based on the tradition of the old rite; it might integrate some new elements that have proven themselves, some prefaces, longer readings - more choices than before, but not too many - an Oratio fidelium (Prayer of the Faithful), this could mean a litany of prayers of intercession after the Oremus before the offertory, which is its primitive place.”

A man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument of the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

Pope Paul VI

There is hope for a decent life only so long as the sexual act is definitely related to the conception of precious life.

Mohandas Gandhi

Moreover, it is a characteristic common to all perversions that in them reproduction is put aside as an aim. This is actually the criterion by which we judge whether a sexual activity is perverse-- if it departs from reproduction as its aim and pursues the attainment of gratification independently.

Sigmund Freud

Contraception makes a prostitute out of the wife and an adulterer out of the husband.

St. Augustine of Hippo

This is quite a distinguished and varied assortment of persons, if you notice.
• You have one Italian Catholic from the 19th / 20th century --- a Pope.
• You have one Indian Hindu from the 19th / 20th century --- a philosopher and mystic.
• You have one German Jew from the 19th / 20th century --- a psychiatrist and an agnostic.
• You have one North African Catholic from the 4th / 5th century --- a philosopher / bishop.
All of them are on the same wave length when it comes to artificial contraception.
These men are not fools; they are not stupid.
They know that artificial contraception is a violation of NATURAL LAW.
Regardless of how many persons you know who tell you otherwise, I want you to know — and I want you to know it with absolute certainty — that it is mortally sinful to use the anovulant pill or to use condoms or to use the contraceptive patch or any other form of artificial conception prevention and that this applies whether you are married or single, Catholic or non-Catholic.
I tell you this for the umpteenth time, so that you will repent and go to confession and humbly admit that you are guilty and accept forgiveness, so that you will not go to hell, but will go to heaven.
If anyone tells me that this sort of information does not belong in the parish bulletin, I say to him, with all due respect, that he should go fly a kite — or something like that!

ZITS
In case you are culturally deprived and don’t read the comics, allow me to acquaint you with “Zits”. “Zits” is a comic strip starring Jeremy Duncan. Jeremy is perpetually 15 years old, although he might have turned 16 by now, because I notice he has a learner’s permit. His parents are Walt and Connie. They manifest that fruit of the Holy Spirit known as “long suffering”. Actually, they deserve a lot of credit for the restraint they exercise. Despite many provocations, they have never killed Jeremy, although the thought has occurred, especially to Connie.
Jeremy’s best friends (guys) are Hector and Pierce. His girlfriend is Sara Toomey. I don’t have Sara’s parents’ phone number. I wish I did. If I had it, I would caution them about Sara spending too much unsupervised time with Jeremy.
I am taking the liberty of running this particular cartoon as an encouragement to parents who suspect that their son is thinking about getting a tattoo or a piercing. Someone might wonder if it is “morally permissible” to tie a child up and hang him in a closet upside down in order to prevent him from getting a tattoo or a piercing. I am happy to give an authoritative answer to this question: YES, IT IS MORALLY PERMISSIBLE. Some would even say it is praiseworthy.
But what about his constitutional rights not to be tied up and confined to a closet? That, of course, is a legal question, not a moral question. It is more appropriate to ask a lawyer about this rather than a priest. However, to save you the trouble, I am happy to give an authoritative answer to this question as well: A CHILD WHO WANTS TO GET A TATTOO OR A PIERCING AUTOMATICALLY FORFEITS ALL RIGHTS TO LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS AS GUARANTEED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, at least until he changes his mind. However, he still must be provided with food, drink and opportunities to use the bathroom. Madison, Hamilton and Jay concur on this interpretation — cf. Federalist Papers #86.
One more question: When do parents lose their God-given right to prevent a child from getting a tattoo or a piercing?
Answer: Unfortunately, the time eventually comes when even the best parents must “let go” and let the child do foolish things, especially if he has proven himself to be a boy of little brain and inclined to such foolishness. So, if your child is 89 years old or older and still wants to get a tattoo or a piercing, don’t fight it anymore. Just let him go. Until then, keep fighting the good fight and don’t give in.

INFIDEL

This past week I saw the above inscription on the rear window of a vehicle parked on a street in Girardville, viz. the English word “infidel” followed by the Arabic word “kafir”, which means (approximately) the same thing, i.e. “infidel”. KAFIR (infidel) is a pejorative term applied by some Muslims to Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and other non-Muslims.
The owner of the vehicle is making a bold statement. By proudly proclaiming in public: (a) that he is not a Muslim and (b) that he is contemptuous of any scorn that might come his way for the fact that he is not a Muslim. By carrying this inscription on his vehicle, he has made the choice to live at least somewhat dangerously. He is inviting a vigorous reaction from those members of the Muslim faith who — how shall we say? — take their religion very VERY seriously. He might want to think twice about this. I don’t see too much point in taunting radical jihadists. Not being Christians, they are not familiar with the Sermon on the Mount or, if familiar with it, are not accepters of it. This being the case, they are probably not keen on turning the other cheek. Verbum sat sapienti!

NOBODY EVER CALLED HIM MIKE!
Most boys and men whose name is “Michael” get called “Mike” somewhere along the line. Some are called “Mikey” when they are small and some of these remain “Mikey” to their mothers even when they are not so small! Some “Michaels” morph into “Micks” or “Mickeys”, especially if they are very Irish. In my experience with “Michaels”, most of them are “Michael” for formal and “Mike” for informal.
I think of this when I think of the late MICHAEL JACKSON. I never heard anyone refer to him as “Mike” or “Mike Jackson”. I wonder why.
I guess it’s because he was always perceived as a child — and wanted to be so perceived.
It is strange that a grown man would aspire to be seen as a young boy. It is usually young boys who aspire to be seen as grown men!
But everything about Michael Jackson was backwards: black, he preferred to be seen as white; grown-up, he preferred to be seen as child; male, he preferred to be seen as female or, at least, as androgyne; adult, he preferred the company of boys.
I am determined to say nothing negative about him now. The time for negative commentary is over. “De mortuis nil nisi bonum” is the classic admonition. Translation: “About the dead, nothing except good.” With that in mind, I shall say something good: It made me smile to see him moonwalk. I wish I could moonwalk. Probably not in this lifetime!
Other than that, all I care to say about Michael Jackson is this:

Have mercy on Michael Jackson, O Lord, have mercy on him. According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, have mercy on him, O Lord. For the sake of Jesus, Your Servant and Son, have mercy on Michael Jackson, O Lord.