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Parish Office: 628 Virginia Avenue Phone: 724-775-0801 Fax: 724-774-3056 E-mail: secretary@stcecilia.comcastbiz.net Website: www.stceciliaroch.org

Paul Kuppe, O.F.M., Cap., Pastor Mark Carter, O.F.M., Cap, Parochial Vicar

Christine Patsch, Coordinator of Religious Education Religious Education Center: 724-775-2761

Danielle Simoni, Youth Minister, 724-462-5769 Jill Young, Parish Business Manager

Martha Piontek, Pastoral Care Coordinator Matthew Dorenkott, Maintenance

Cemetery Inquiries: 724-323-0033

IN RESIDENCE Michael Greb, O.F.M., Cap. McGuire Memorial James Kurtz, O.F. M., Cap. Our Lady of Peace

MUSIC MINISTRY Michael Spagnolo, Director; Jacqueline Dmitsak, Organist

SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM We are happy to welcome the newest members of our parish To schedule a bap-tism, please call the office. Parents must be active members of the parish.

SPONSORS (GODPARENTS) For Baptism or Confirmation must be a registered member for at least three months and to actively participate in the life of the Church including Sunday Mass.

SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE Arrangements should be made with a priest at least six months in advance . Pre-marriage classes, as well as meetings with the priest, are necessary. One party to be married must be a registered parishioner and practicing Catholic.

INSTRUCTIONS IN THE FAITH The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and Christian Initiation of Children (CIC) are offered for those interested in the Catholic Faith. For information, contact the Parish Office.

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMS Religious education classes (grades one through six) are Sundays with 9:15 AM Mass and class 10:30 - 11:45 a.m. Seventh and Eighth graders meet Sunday evenings from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. To contact Mrs. Patsch or to register, call 724-775-2761.

SCRIPTURE STUDY Groups meet Sundays at 10 30 AM and Thursdays from 1:30 to 2:30 PM in the Reli-gious Ed Center to study next Sunday’s Gospel. For information, contact the Parish Office.

PASTORAL CARE OF THE SICK If you or anyone you know would like to receive the Anointing of the Sick, Reconcil-iation, or Holy communion, please call the Parish Office

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS Meets the 1st Thursday of the month at 7 PM in the Rel. Ed Center

ST. ANTHONY NOVENA , Tuesdays after 8 AM Mass

“A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust”

21st Sunday Of Ordinary Time August 26, 2018

Liturgy of Eucharist Saturday 5 PM

Sunday 7:30 & 9:15 AM

Weekdays Mon. & Wed. 7 PM

Tues. Thurs. & Fri. 8 AM

OFFICE HOURS

MON - FRI: 9:00 AM - 12:00 & 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

Saturdays: Noon to 1 PM or Call the Office for an appointment

St. Cecilia Candle Intention Week of August 26, 2018

John Radcliffe By Friends & Family of St. Cecilia Parish

SAINT CECILIA PARISH August 26, 2018

Sharon Sanko, Renee Laure, Gary Heagy, Kathy Ebersberger, Sa-rah Clansy, Wanda Gaston, Walt Czartoryski, Shannan Edge, Frank Reda, Anna Groves, Victoria, Judith, & Dan Dettorre, Sr.& Jr., Mary K. Leahy, James Stenger, Catherine Hutsky, Louie Hapach, Dolly Roberto, Janet Makar, Antoinette Perrone, Diane Nazdam, Wyatt Newlin, Jo Haslett, Concetta Cantenzarite, Nancy Mignanelli, Thomas Samchuck, Clemy Ordons. Eddie Mangelli, Audrey Kohlman, Clare Fusco, Richard Cairns, Tony Ziegler, Leo Wolfe, Tom Carcaise, Cathy Kinlock, Robert Maylone, Joe Sutej, Bernie Frank, Barb Ammerman, Paschal Indovina, Leslie King, Carmella Matsook, Mary Caratelli, Leon Smith

Served by the Capuchin Franciscan Friars

Province of St. Augustine

Pray that more young men and women will respond generously to God’s call to serve the

Church.

Adults who received all their sacraments but still did not get the knowledge and formation along the way that they desired

are welcome to join the RCIA group. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) prepares un-baptized people, Christians from other churches and Catholics who never received either their First com-munion or Confirmation to be fully initiated into the Catholic church. Contact Fr. Mark for further info: 724-775-0801or sparkfrmcarter@yahoo.com

Diocesan Victim Assistance Hotline:

When things fall from the sky Howard Thurman, the African-American the-

ologian, educator and preacher, remembers the summer night when Haley's Comet appeared in 1910. Howard was ten years old, living in Florida:

"One night I was awakened by my mother, who asked if I would like to see the comet. I got up, dressed quickly, and went out with her to the back yard. There I saw in the heavens the awesome tail of the comet and stood transfixed. With deep anxie-ty I asked, without taking my eyes off it, 'What will happen to us when that thing falls out of the sky?' There was a long silence during which I felt the gen-tle pressure of her fingers on my shoulders; then I looked into her face and saw what I had seen on another occasion, when without knocking I had rushed into her room and found her in prayer. At last she said, 'Nothing will happen to us, Howard. God will take care of us.' In that moment something was touched and kindled in me, a quiet reassurance that has never quite deserted me. As I look back on it, what I sensed then was the fact that what stirred in me was one with what created and controlled the comet. It was this inarticulate awareness that silenced my fear and stilled my panic."

Too often we act - or react - out of fear; we re-spond to an issue out of anxi-ety or dread. Hopelessness can become a way of life: the sense that God has aban-doned us or that God doesn't exist in our lives can cripple us emotionally and spiritually. The disciples who cannot "endure" Jesus' talk about giving his "flesh to eat" leave him and return to their directionless, hopeless lives. But Peter's simple, plaintive confession articulates his faith that God is not present in the darkness of evil but in the light of goodness that seeks to shatter that darkness; the God of love who breathes life into our souls is expe-rienced not in our dread of colliding comets but in the goodness and blessed order of all creation. De-spite our own doubts, fears and misgivings, we know in the depth of our hearts that, in the end, the words of Jesus will triumph. We mourn God's ab-sence in times of pain, change and despair, but we trust that God can be rediscovered in acts of love, generosity, support and healing extended to us by others. Let us embrace the constant faith and re-solve of Simon Peter and the Twelve who remain with Jesus - faith that, even in the most difficult times, senses the light and refuses to abandon the hope of God's love.

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Aug. 26 Bus trip to St. Anthony Chapel, Pgh. Aug. 29 7 PM Meet & Greet Councils Sept. 2 9:15 AM Backpack blessing Sept. 8 9 AM Pastoral Council Sept. 8-9 Commissioning Eucharistic Ministers Sept. 11 7 PM Liturgy Committee Sept. 16 9:15 Commissioning RE Teachers Sept. 16 8 AM Meet & Greet Breakfast Sept. 25 6:30PMChristian Mothers Meeting for all Christian Mothers of parishes in our grouping Sept. 30 Marcus O’Brien Awards Dinner

GET TO KNOW YOU BREAKFAST…

September 16, Please join us as we welcome

our neighboring Parishes: Holy Family, SS. Peter & Paul, & St. Felix on Sept. 16,

from 8 am till 12:00 pm for a Breakfast Buffet. We had such a good time with our friends from our grouping that we want to do

this again.

Join us for Blessing of the Backpacks

on the weekend of September 1/2, at all Masses. Students are asked to place their school backpacks on the Altar steps before Mass. The priest will con-clude the Universal Prayer (General Intercessions) with a special prayer for all students and teachers returning to school. The prayer will also include a

blessing for students’ backpacks. A special blessing medal will be provided that day to be attached to the backpacks as a reminder of God's blessing on

our student's academic pursuits.

Would you believe, Fr. Mark and Fr. Paul celebrate their birthdays on the same date: August 9. But that date passed without too much fanfare—since there was a conspiracy of secrecy to plan a party when Fr. Paul’s brothers: Carl and Joe could be present (Carl in the picture on the left lives in Baltimore; and Joe lives near Atlanta GA.) This secret sur-

prise Birthday party occurred on Sunday, Aug. 19 when another surprise guest, Very Rev. Thomas Betz (Pix above)

showed up unannounced. Both Fr. Mark and Fr. Paul thank all the wonderful parishioners of St. Cecilia and St.

Felix for their thoughtfulness and generosity.

August 27 Monday (Mt 17:22-27) Weekday 7:00 pm Mass for All Parishioners August 28 Tuesday (Mt 23:23-26) St. Augustine, Bishop & Dr. of the Church 8:00 am Deceased members of the Orsag & Montini Families By Norma Orsag August 29 Wednesday (Mt 6:17-29) The Passion of St. John the Baptist 7:00 pm William Bogacz By Capuchins August 30 Thursday (Mt 24:42-51) Weekday 8:00am Frances Dionisio By Mr. & Mrs. William Dively, Gene Dionisio & Domeica Melkto August 31 Friday (Mt 19:3-12) Weekday 8:00am Living & Deceased Members of St. Cecilia Parish September 1 Saturday (Mt 25:14-30) Weekday 5:00 pm Mass for All Parishioners September 2 Sunday (Mk 15:21-23) Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 7:30 am Mary Ann Biechler-Batten By Mark & Karen Helbling

9:15 am Michael & Ruby Ricciardi By Ed & Linda Wasko

HOW ABOUT JOINING OUR CHURCH CHOIR??

Rehearsals are Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM beginning September 5 Our choir sings every Sunday at the 9:15 Liturgy and also special ser-vices. How to join? 1. See Mike, our Director, or Jackie, our Organist after any Mass. 2 Call the Office

and leave your name and number; or 3. just show up any Wednesday, starting Sept. 5. Qualifications: If you sing “Happy Birthday” at parties, you got it made. Benefits: Research shows that participating in music

WEEK 1 WINNERS: E.J . Frank, Mary Koch, Monica Ruckert, Joanne Signore, Ed Hermick, WEEK 2: Gary Johnston, Callie Irwin, Freda Kresach, David Mamone, David Kriger, Ann Burick, Cindy Druga

28th Annual Father Marcus O’Brien Service Awards Dinner.

Join Catholic Charities as they recognize St. Cecilia Parish “Renewal” Team

(John Mamone, Dan Petrun & Gary Grimm) for their exemplary service to our parish and community on

September 30th, 2018 at 4:30pm at the Club at Shadow Lakes, 2000 Beaver Lakes Blvd., Aliquippa. The dinner will

feature guest speaker the Very Reverend Lawrence A. Di-Nardo, VE, JCL and will include mission displays by youth groups from parishes in the county. Tickets are $35 per per-

son with proceeds benefiting Catholic Charities’ Beaver County Outreach. Tickets are available at the church office.

Mass was a challenge this past Sunday for a family in a Philadelphia suburb and probably for most of us. Unsure of what might be said and what might be understood about last Tuesday’s Grand Jury Report, as a father, I felt it nec-essary to prepare the older two girls to hear certain words and try to explain, with as little fear-provoking detail as possible, what had happened. With our pastor on a previ-ously scheduled vacation, we had a visiting priest preside with the additional goal of raising funds for his mission in Latin America. Father did an admirable job in acknowl-edging the understandable anger, sadness, and pain that might be present among us, but his mission appeal was just, well, not appealing, not now. After Mass, as my wife chatted with another family, I followed my almost 2-year old around the narthex of the Church as is typically my role. Norah loves the baptismal font and pleads with me to lift her up so that she can dip in her hand. I always remind her to bless herself and depending on how deep her hand gets, ask her to bless me too. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the priest standing by himself nearby. As he started to move toward us, Norah’s arm plunged into the font and she laughed. She blessed herself, blessed me, and then walked toward Father and motioned that she wanted to bless him too. He got down on both knees and my daughter touched the top of his head with her very wet hand. With great sadness in both of our faces, we ex-changed a smile and wished each other a good day.

Later that evening while reflecting on my daughter’s blessing of the Missionary, I guess I always thought it was Christ, through the Church, that needed to save our families from the sin and evil of this world. But maybe it’s Christ, through our families, that will save our Church. Perhaps it can be the love we model as parents that guide shepherds as to how they are to care for their flocks. Perhaps it is in a two-year old’s blessing that we remember the purity in which we are to lead.

TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

PRAY ALSO FOR SAFETY OF OUR TROOPS SSG David J. Ribar, In Army;

& Ryan Whipple in the Air Force

PSP Goal $69,232.00

Collected $42,193.50

Balance Due $27,038.50

SS Peter & Paul St. Cecilia Holy Family St. Felix

Sat. 6:00 pm

Sat. 5:00pm

Sat. 4:30pm

Sat. 4:00pm

Sun. 7:30 am, 9:15 am

11:00 am, 12:30 pm Weekday

Mon. –Thurs. 7:30 am

Sun. 7:30 am, 9:15 am

Weekday

Mon. &Wed. 7pm Tues. Thurs & Fri.

@ 8am

Sun. 9:00am

11:30 am Weekday 8:00 am

Sun. 11:00 am

Weekday 9:00 am

Sunday Collection Budgeted August 19 $5,280.00 $7,000.00

St. Felix Church, 450 13th St., Freedom, Pa. 15043

Holy Family Church, 521 7th Ave. New Brighton, Pa. 15066

SS.Peter & Paul, 200 3rd Ave. Beaver, Pa. 15009

Baptism is a major event. To under-stand the serious responsibilities of both parents and godparents, there will be Pre-Baptism Sessions on Sept. 9, Oct. 14, Nov. 4, & Dec. 2, at 2 PM in the Religious Ed Center. To register for one session, or for more

info, please call Gary or Tina Grimm at 724-495-2385.

MASS INTENTION DATES AVAILABLE

The new Mass Schedule for our Group-ing will be announced on Sept. 8. So, Mass Dates will be available from now until Dec. 31. You can reserve Mass dates to re-member your loved ones by coming to the Parish Office between 10 and 3 PM

PROTECTING GOD’S CHILDREN WORKSHOPS There is now an online choice for taking this class. To register for this class go to www.virtus.org and click on “Registration”, fill out the registration info and then choose the session you want to view.

ITALIAN LESSONS

Beginners, intermediate, advanced, Italian for tour-ists and private lessons will be taught by Marco Fiorante, mother tongue Italian teacher. Courses cover: conversational skills, grammar and vocabu-lary, cultural information and pronunciation. Course duration is 10 weeks and will begin on Saturday, September 17. Call 724-777-8647 or email fiorante.marco@live.it for more information.

Registration for our Reli-gious Education sessions has begun. Forms will be sent by e-mail and will also be avail-able on the parish website shortly. We will begin on Sunday, September 16th with the Commissioning of teach-ers and aides at the 9:15 Lit-urgy. Following Mass we will gather for the Get to Know You Breakfast in the Social Hall. The students can

meet the teachers and see their classrooms. Class time remains at 10:30 - 11:45 until we hear the final deci-sion on the new Mass schedules. If you are registering for the first time or if you have not yet received registration form, please contact the Religious Education Office at (724) 775-2761. Thank You.

CECILIA CINEMA SEPT. 6, THURS. 6:30 PM

NIGHT MOVIE: LITTLE BOY

When auto mechanic James Busbee (Michael Ra-paport) is sent to fight the Japanese during World War II, he leaves behind his wife (Emily Watson) and two sons, London (David Henrie) and Pepper (Jakob Salva ). Pepper feels his father's absence most keen-ly, and can't wait for him to return home. An en-counter with a magician (Ben Chaplin) and advice from a priest (Tom Wilkinson) convince Pepper that the power to bring his dad back safely may be within himself and his ac ons. (Rated: PG-13)

Thurs. Sept. 6th, 6:30pm in Social Hall. You're invited to attend this FREE family friendly event. Popcorn, water, and hot

drinks provided.

910046 CONTACT: Jill Young 724-775-0801 ST CECILIA PARISH 628 VIRGINIA AVENUE ROCHESTER, PA 15074 MESSAGES: PLEASE DO NOT STAPLE BULLETINS. THANK YOU.