St. Francis Parish

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Parish is here for you. Sunday Mass
is at 12:00 noon at St Francis of Assisi Independent Catholic Chapel:

195 Ridgewood Avenue Glen Ridge, NJ.

Please call the parish office to arrange for the sacraments and
please join us at our weekly mass.

Pastor: Most Rev. Dr. George Lucey, DD, FCM
Associate Priests: Fr. Seamus Campbell, Fr. Jason Lody, FCM
Seminarians: Geety Reyes, Stephanie Suriano
Music Director: Mr. Anthony Bevilaqua
Minister of Communications: Mr. Robert Johnson
Parish Council: Robert Johnson, Tracey Reed, Meghan Garland,
Stephanie, Geety Reyes, William Toth, Mark Wolin, Myrtle Toth,
Anthony Bevilaqua.


“So that none might be Lost.”

MEDITATION:

The Cross as Revealing God’s Unconditional Love

But now once for all he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by his sacrifice (Heb 9:26b).

A number of years ago, a young man came to me because he was in crisis: He had been having an affair with his girlfriend and she had become pregnant. For a variety of reasons, marriage was impossible. The pregnancy would have an irrevocable impact on a series of lives, his girlfriend’s, his own, their families’, not to mention the child that would be born.

He was a sensitive person and knew that he had been irresponsible. He made no attempt to rationalize or to deflect blame from himself. He recognized that he had done wrong and that through his irresponsibility a certain innocence had been lost, trust had been betrayed, various lives had been permanently disrupted, and he would now live in a certain brokenness. This troubled him deeply.

He ended his story on a note of despair: “I was irresponsible and this has, forever, hurt some people because even God can’t unscramble an egg!” For him, it now seemed, there would always be a certain skeleton in the closet, a past ghost to haunt his happiness.

Even God can’t unscramble an egg! What a statement! And how true, except for one thing: The cross of Jesus reveals that we can live, and live happily and healthily, beyond any egg we have ever scrambled. That is the central message of the cross. How does the cross tell us this?

Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, used to say that we understand the make-up of things best when we see them lying in pieces, shattered; in the brokenness we see the underlying structure. That is also true of love and faith. We see how they are made up when we see them fractured. Jesus’ death shows us this. At the second he died, scripture says, the “curtain veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.” The curtain veil, as we know, separated the people in the temple from seeing what went on in the holy of holies, it represented the veil between God and ourselves. The cross of Jesus tears apart that veil and lets us see inside the holy of holies, the heart of God. And what do we see there? Unfathomable love, unfathomable forgiveness, a compassion and tenderness beyond understanding. In the cross, God tells us: “You can do this to me – and I will still love you!”

I remember another young man who shared with me how he once so badly betrayed all that he believed in that he decided to commit suicide. Setting out to kill himself, he decided, first, to stop in a church and say some final prayers. He entered a church and sat down. The only thing lit up in that darkened church was a crucifix on the front wall. He looked at the cross and, in a second of sheer grace, understood what it meant.

Here are his words: “I looked at the cross and I understood: I was in hell and God hadn’t stopped loving me for one second. I saw that God loves me, no matter what. I’m not proud of what I did and it will always be part of me, but I can live beyond it, and be happy, knowing God’s love and strength are always with me, even when I betray them.” Unaware that he was doing it, he was tenderly fingering a cross he was wearing around his neck as he shared this.

An elderly nun, whom I much love and respect, is fond of saying: “I’m a loved sinner!” The secret to spiritual health is to acknowledge, in the roots of our souls, both parts of that equation: We are sinners without any need to rationalize or excuse ourselves, even as we have the sure knowledge that God loves us, deeply and irrevocably, in our weakness. The cross gives us that assurance by telling us, precisely, that God doesn’t stop loving us, even for one second, irrespective of weakness.

The cross of Christ is rich reality. Among other things, it tells us how God loves and redeems us even when we are unfaithful and our lives are broken.

It is not surprising that hundreds of millions of people, young and old, wear a cross in some form. These crosses, like the meaning of the cross itself, have an infinite variety of shapes and sparkles. From delicately cut, golden ear-rings, chosen to match an expensive evening dress, to rough, crude wooden crosses slung casually over a denim shirt, the cross of Jesus is everywhere evident. We see it on hillsides, on church spires, in cemeteries, and most everywhere where anything special, love or tragedy, has happened. Rightly so. The cross is the ultimate symbol of love. It shows what love is, what love costs, and what love does for us.

Most important of all, it shows us that God never stops loving us even for a second, no matter what we do, and that we can live, and live happily, beyond any egg we have ever scrambled.


- Fr. Ron Rolheiser




Greetings and Peace!


It was wonderful seeing so many of you at Mass last Sunday for our celebration of All Saints Day. I know our celebration helped me to remember that we are all called to sainthood, and are given each other to help us on the way to salvation. Each of us as members of our parish community are gifts to the other to aid us on our way to holiness. Let’s continue to pray with each other through all he seasons of our life.


Please join us at 10:30 this Sunday, November 8h for a brief Paris Council meeting. The short agenda inclueds:
Discussion of parish participation in Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas liturgies;
Establishment of committees for the governance of the parish;
Follow up from our last meeting.

PLEASE JOIN US THIS SUNDAY FOR OUR PARISH CELEBRATION OF THE CONFIRMATION OF ALBERTO MARTIN AND JOHN VINCENT! We have prayed with John and Alberto over the past several months as they prepared for the reception of the sacrament. I have met with them on Sundays before Mass and can attest to their deep desire to grow in their relationship with God. They are example of eh holiness we are called to. I feel so privileged that as our parish community we have the opportunity to share in the rich sacramental life of the Church. Every time we participate in the administration of the sacraments as a parish community we are reminded of our own commitment to grow in our relationship with God. So, join me in giving thanks to God for Alberto and John’s decision to affirm their baptismal commitment with us during the sacrament of Confirmation.



THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

Catechism of the Catholic Church



1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.89 For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."90

I. CONFIRMATION IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION

1286 In the Old Testament the prophets announced that the Spirit of the Lord would rest on the hoped-for Messiah for his saving mission.91 The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus at his baptism by John was the sign that this was he who was to come, the Messiah, the Son of God.92 He was conceived of the Holy Spirit; his whole life and his whole mission are carried out in total communion with the Holy Spirit whom the Father gives him "without measure."93

1287 This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah's, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people.94 On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit,95 a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost.96 Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim "the mighty works of God," and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age.97 Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.98

1288 "From that time on the apostles, in fulfillment of Christ's will, imparted to the newly baptized by the laying on of hands the gift of the Spirit that completes the grace of Baptism. For this reason in the Letter to the Hebrews the doctrine concerning Baptism and the laying on of hands is listed among the first elements of Christian instruction. The imposition of hands is rightly recognized by the Catholic tradition as the origin of the sacrament of Confirmation, which in a certain way perpetuates the grace of Pentecost in the Church."99

1289 Very early, the better to signify the gift of the Holy Spirit, an anointing with perfumed oil (chrism) was added to the laying on of hands. This anointing highlights the name "Christian," which means "anointed" and derives from that of Christ himself whom God "anointed with the Holy Spirit."100 This rite of anointing has continued ever since, in both East and West. For this reason the Eastern Churches call this sacrament Chrismation, anointing with chrism, or myron which means "chrism." In the West, the term Confirmation suggests that this sacrament both confirms and strengthens baptismal grace.



Please mark your calenders for Deacon Matthew Bailey's ordination on December 19 in Conn. Matthew will be the first priest ordained in our new jurisdiction!



General Intercessions


Jesus recognized the goodness of the poor widow.
We turn now to God, asking him to recognize the needs of our community
and answer our prayers.

Our response is: Hear our prayer. (Please repeat)

For John and Alberto, and their families gathered here to renew with us their commitment to Christ (pause)
Come Holy Spirit and enkindle in hem the fire of your love.

For the recovery of Doug's mom from her recent surgery (pause)
May the Lord heal her. Lord in your mercy:

For those whose work is hard and unrewarding, and who seldom
receive recognition; (pause)
may they be blessed by the Lord who sees their true worth.
Lord, in your mercy:

For this community gathered here in faith: (pause)
that we will be generous with ourselves and our resources, so that seeing
our good works, people may glorify the Father in heaven.
Lord, in your mercy:

For all missionaries and aid workers. (pause)
May their hearts be open to listen to the real needs of God's people in
every part of the world. Lord, in your mercy:

That we may recognize the goodness of those around us even in
their small acts of kindness and generosity. Lord, in your mercy:

God our Father,
you accepted the complete gift of your Son,
who offered himself once and for all.
Grant all our petitions in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN.


Blessings,
Most Rev. Dr. George Lucey, DD, FCM
Protectorate of the Tridentine Catholic Church in Cameroon



Independent Catholic Community of Saint Francis of Assisi Mission visit our website (www.stfrancisnj.org)
A parish community of the Roman-Byzantine Catholic Jurisdiction