SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME July 23, 2017

Saturday July 22

Saint Mary Magdalene

5:00pm Kathleen Donovan

r/o John Fitzsimmons

Sunday July 23

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

8:00am Anthony Zvirblys

r/o Jim & Linda Milson

9:30am People of the Parish

(Spanish) 11:00am Robert Aquino r/o Mr. & Mrs. Richard Aquino Monday July 24 Saint Sharbel Makhuluf 9:00am Dottie McLaughlin r/o Joyce Rock Tuesday July 25 Saint James

9:00am Richard Herford r/o Jim & Barbara McAloon Wednesday July 26 Saints Joachim & Anne

9:00am Joseph Molinari r/o Jim & Barbara McAloon Thursday July 27 9:00am Marielle Vitti r/o The Vitti Family Friday July 28 9:00am Fr. Theodore Hesburgh r/o Jim & Barbara McAloon Please pray for the sick: Jonathan Alava, Benjamin Boschen, Jill Dubay, Paul Schroeder, Julie Galloway, Frances Wadnik, Theresa Dziura, Al Fantuzzi, Ann Krouse, Robert Meleo, Charles Roseberry, Baby Ethan Paul, Bill Wargin, Ron Pultz, Mary Jean Spindler, Baby William Mc Creery, Alissa Zajac, Albert Schaare, Theresa Grogan George Melious, Anthony Francisco, Stephanie Danielle Lewis

COLUMBUS DAY DINNER DANCE Saturday, October 7

Knights of Columbus Council 5170 will be hosting this event. Details to follow!

WEEKLY OFFERING

WEEKLY COSTS;

Church Expenses (Including Mortgage) $9,170.00

Diocesan Assessment / Insurance 2,300.00

Total $11,500.00

Weekend of July 8 / 9 $5,390.25

Bingo Income 864.50

Other Income 1,455.00

Total $7,709.75

Weekly Surplus / (Deficit) ($3,790.25)

Weekend of July 15 / 16 $5,620.00

Bingo Income 816.00

Total $6,436.00

Weekly Surplus / (Deficit) ($5,064.00)

This Week in Our Parish…………… Sunday, July 23 7:00pm Bingo / Parish Center Tuesday, July 25 9:30am Prayer Shawl Ministry Saturday, July 29 6:00pm Rosary Dinner sponsored by the Youth Leadership Circle / Community room

REQUEST FOR THE SUMMER Fr. Guy requests, please, that during the summer months when the air conditioning is on in church and the narthex that you refrain from propping open the inner or the outer doors to the church. This allows the cool air to escape which is both inefficient and wasteful. All the doors have recently been repaired so that they no longer slam or klank, or stick. So, for the hot weather months PLEASE DO NOT PROP THE DOORS TO THE CHURCH OPEN WHEN YOU ARE ENTERING OR EXITING THE CHURCH. Thank You.

FATHER GUY’S Q&A The next meeting of Fr. Guy’s Q&A: “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Catholic Church...But Were Afraid to Ask!” will be on TUESDAY, September 5, 2017 at 7:00PM in the Community Room. After taking a break for July and August we’ll be back in September to continue our discussions. Once again, this session will be on a TUESDAY because the first Monday in September is a holiday (Labor Day). Come for a relaxed, FUN and informal 90-minute discussion about all things Catholic. Free refreshments!

INSTALLATION OF OUR 22nd PASTOR We are happy to announce that on Sunday, August 27 at the 11:00AM Mass our bishop, the Most Rev. James Checchio, will visit our parish to celebrate officially the beginning of Father Guy’s term as the 22nd Pastor of St. Joseph Church. This celebration is referred to in the Church as an “installation” (literally, putting the Pastor into his stall as leader of the parish community). The Mass will be followed by a reception in Fr. Bulla Hall in the parish center. All are invited to attend so please mark your calendar and plan to be here as we celebrate a new chapter in the life of our parish with our bishop!

SILVER & GOLD WEDDING ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

You are cordially invited to celebrate your 25th or 50th Wedding Anniversary with the Church of Metuchen. Renew your marriage vows with Bishop James F. Checchio at a special Evening Prayer Service in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen.

Sunday, September 17, 2017 at 4:00PM

Application forms may be secured by contacting the Parish Office. Forms must be signed by your priest, pastoral minister or deacon and returned to the Family Life Office by the Parish Office. Application forms will be accepted by the Family Life Office until the deadline for registration Friday, September 1. A confirmation letter with further details will be sent once your application has been processed.

CELEBRACION DE ANIVERSARIO DE BODAS DE ORO Y PLATA

Se les invita a los que celebran 25 o 50 anos de matrimonio con la iglesia de Metuchen. Renueven sus votos matrimoniales y reciban un certificado personalizado del Obispo James F. Checchio durante una ceremonia especial de oracion en la Catedral de San Francisco de Asis en Metuchen.

Domingo, 17 de Septiembre de 2017 a las 4:00PM

Puede adquirir el formulario de inscripcion en la oficina de su parroquia. El sacerdote o diacono u otro ministro de la parroquia debe firmar el formulario. Hay que enviar el forlumario complete y firmado antes de Viernes, 1 del Septiembre, 2017. Se les enviara una carta confirmando su participacion cuamdo recibamos su formulario.

The family of Dorothy (Dottie) McLaughlin wish to thank her friends and parishioners for their prayers, condolences and support during the time of their recent bereavement. The family would also like to thank all those who sent flowers, offered Masses or made contributions to Saint Joseph Church in her memory.

FROM THE PASTOR We were supposed to be visited by a Missionary from the Archdiocese of Kumasi, Ghana this weekend but at the last minute his plans changed and he was unable to come.

THANKS to the generosity of one of our parishioners the position of 8th grade Catechist for Religious Education has

been filled for the coming year. A reminder, however, if you are able to volunteer some of your time to assist as a teacher’s aide or as a substitute teacher on occasion please contact the Parish Catechetical Leader, Joyce Rock, in the Religious Education Office. This week on July 25 the Church keeps the feast of St. James the Greater, Apostle. He was a the brother of St. John and, like him, a fisherman. He led the Christian community in Jerusalem and was the first of the Apostles to suffer martyrdom being beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I to please the Jewish opponents of Christianity. Little is known of him except that by the 9th C. his relics were brought to a shrine at Compostela in Galicia in Spain. Popularity of the shrine grew until it became the greatest center of pilgrimage in western Europe. Pilgrim routes from all over Europe converged on Santiago de Compostela. To this day people from all over the world make the pilgrimage on El Camino (the Way) and stop in hostels and inns all along the route. The scallop shell became the emblem of the pilgrim and is also a symbol associated now with St. James (Santiago) himself. This week the Church also celebrates the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Ann on July 26. These two saints, married to each other, are the parents of the Blessed Mother and so they are also the grandparents of Our Lord. It was in the womb of St. Ann that the Immaculate Conception of Mary took place. The child conceived of their love was conceived without the stain of Original Sin because she was being prepared by God to be a fitting vessel for His Son. They are not mentioned in the Scriptures because the authors and Evangelists were providing a testament about the life of Jesus and not merely a family history.

But what could be more important than the parents who brought up Our Lady to be the woman she was? At the moment she consented to the Incarnation of Jesus she undertook the most important decision in human history and the fact that she said “Yes”, is, to a great extent, the work of her parents. The Holy Spirit gave her the strength to say yes but her parents’ training and upbringing gave her the wisdom to choose to say yes.

Those of you who have children must always seek to bring them up to the best of your ability; to meet challenges that, like Ann & Joachim, you have no way of even imagining. Have a Blessed Week!