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.

“So that none might be Lost.”

 

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
August 15, 2010

Covenant of the American National Catholic Church

We covenant with God and one another to be the church of Jesus Christ, living God and our neighbors

With God’s Help:

We shall come together to glorify and worship God, proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ and celebrate God’s presence among us;l

We shall teach ourselves and our children the faith of the church and shall together   follow in the ways of Christ;

We shall share our beliefs by word and example and be a welcoming and caring home community where all persons may find their faith;

We shall grow spiritually, nurture and strengthen each other, share our joys and concerns and treat each other and all people with respect, compassion,  and dignity.

We shall go where God calls us to offer faith and encouragement, extending a helping hand to all God’s people.

We shall participate in the ministries and mission of the American National Catholic Church.

    MEDITATION:

The Queen Mother

Readings:
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56

On this great feast, we praise God who has taken the sinless Virgin Mary, body and soul, into His glory. The celebration is from the ancient Church, and the reality it celebrates is embedded in our readings.

In our first, from Revelation, we find God’s temple in heaven opened and the Ark of the Covenant revealed. The most sacred item in Israel’s history, the Ark had been missing since the Temple’s destruction in 586 B.C. Thus, John reports some startling news. Even more startling is his revelation that the sacred vessel is now a woman, who is mother of the royal Son of David, the Messiah.

Of this woman, then, we sing to God as the ancient Israelites sang: “The queen stands at your right hand, arrayed in gold.” In the court of King Solomon, we glimpse Israel’s traditional arrangement: Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, takes her place at the king’s right hand (see 1 Kings 2:19).

At her Assumption, as we see in Revelation, the queen once again takes her place at the right hand of the Son of David.

Our second reading shows us why this is fitting: “in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order.” What is implicit in St. Paul’s statement is revealed in Revelation. The consummation of Christ’s work has begun, as is proper, with the Assumption of the queen-mother.

John’s Apocalypse shows also the fulfillment of our Gospel reading. There, Mary, pregnant with Jesus, retraces the steps of David as he brought the Ark to Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 6). Mary “arose and went” into the hill country, just as David “arose and went” to that region. Upon Mary’s arrival, Elizabeth is awestruck, just as David was before the Ark. The encounter causes the baby John to leap with excitement, as David leapt before the Ark. And Mary stayed in the “house of Zechariah” for “three months,” as the Ark remained in the “house of Obed-edom” for the same period.

Mary is the vessel of God’s presence, and she is queen-mother. She reigns now in splendor with Jesus in the heavenly Jerusalem. 

Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
http://www.salvationhistory.com/homily_helps/english/august_15_2010_solemnity_of_the_assumption_of_the_blessed_virgin_mary

Greetings and Peace!

Hello Everyone and Peace!

Please come and celebrate with us this Sunday, August 15th! We will be welcoming, once again our Minister General from Washington, Father Jason Lody, who will be celebrating mass with us.

ST. FRANCIS WEBSITE

For those of you who have not visited our Parish Website yet, please do so and check out the new pictures which our webmaster Geety has just uploaded!

JERSEY CITY PRIDE

The volunteers who will be representing us at this year’s Pride Day in Jersey City will be meeting to discuss the day’s events on Saturday, August 21st. Anyone who wishes to join us and help out please see either Brother Geety, Brother Anthony, Jane or Kathy for details.

HOLY GROUNDS

Our Holy Grounds Spirituality group will re-commence on Wednesday, August 25th  at 7:00pm at Eclectic Café. Please come and join the fun! 

PARISH BRUNCH

Mark on your calendars that our next parish brunch will be scheduled for August 29th after mass.

POETRY AND PASTERIES

We had the pleasure of making an acquaintance by the name of Marcia at the Asbury Park Pride festival. Marcia hosts a poetry reading called “Poetry and Pasteries”  Anyone can read their poetry (up to 5 minutes) while enjoying some delicious desserts. The next meeting will be at Café Beethoven in Chatham. The cost is $10.

Anyone who wishes to know more information can contact Marcia at marciaivans@aol.com

Enjoy the rest of the week and see you all Sunday!

OTHER LINKS:

• Register at our Parish Registry if you have not already done so.
• Missed any of our masses? visit our audio sermons section.
  

Blessings,
Most Rev. Dr. George Lucey,  DD, FCM
Presiding Bishop of the American National Catholic Church

A parish community of the American National Catholic Church Jurisdiction