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.”

 

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 6, 2010

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:

You Must Feel Good to Become Good

Many years ago my schoolmate Paddy was engaged to marry Kay when she was discovered to have cancer and to have only about a one -year life expectancy. She told him that he could call it all off. He replied that if he had loved her in good health he would love her in bad, and the wedding went on as scheduled. Sixteen sickness filled years and four children later, I was visiting when Kay entered her last illness. During my visits to her I was struck by her lack of concern about herself. Her only thought was for the happiness and welfare of her husband and children when she was gone. One Thursday night I said Mass in her hospital room with her husband and children looking across at me from the other side of her bed. When I held up the bread of the Eucharist and said "This is my body which is given for you," it was her emaciated body that I saw in front of me. She died the next day but she left me with a new understanding of Corpus Christi, the body of Christ, the feast we celebrate today.

The night before Jesus died he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples. I began to understand more what happened to Jesus, and what he was doing for us and telling us, when I saw what happened to Kay. She had been taken and blessed. She had been taken into life by God and into marriage by Paddy. Then she was broken, but the more she was broken the more her nobility and beauty appeared. Eventually, she was given over to death. No, she gave herself over for her family, for others.

This too is what Jesus did. He himself was taken from among his people. He was called by God in his conception and blessed to be the Messiah, the son of God. But this blessing did not exempt him from what is human. Rather, it immersed him in it all the more. He enjoyed and suffered the whole gamut of human emotions. His joy was real at meeting his friends. His sorrow was equally real when he was betrayed. He was given over for us by Judas, by his apostles, by the people, and by the Father. But he rose from it all and when asked to authenticate himself all he did was show his human wounds.

The Corpus Christi can never be seen as remote from human woundedness. When we bring our own woundedness, like the woundedness of Kay, into the presence of Christ we have Eucharist. Unfortunately many people see religion, and particularly prayer, as a way of escaping woundedness and pain. For Jesus pain was a reality to be faced and he faced it in his passion. He asked us to celebrate Eucharist, "Do this in memory of me." to remember him as the one who went through suffering to glory.

Meditation is a Eucharistic way of prayer in the sense that it is a way of sitting before God in thanksgiving and in acceptance. As one is present to the prayer word, one is present totally to God's will. One is present and available to be taken, blessed, broken and given by the Lord, at the time and in the manner that he alone decides.

Gospel Reflections by Father Gerry Pierse, C.Ss.R.
Taken from Sundays into Silence - A Pathway to Life. Copyright © 1998 by Claretian Publications

Greetings and Peace!

This week, due to our participation in the Asbury Park Gay Pride festival, we are holding a special mass at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 5th at the rectory (22 Mellon Ave, West Orange). Anyone who is planning on attending the festival on Sunday, June 6th and wishes to participate in mass on Saturday is surely welcome to.

All the volunteers participating in the Asbury Park Gay Pride festival had a very productive meeting at the rectory this past Tuesday. Everything is set, and we all hope to share with as many people there who we are, what we are all about, and that anyone searching for a home to worship the Lord would certainly find a welcoming spirit in our parish. Once again, our parishioners Jane and Kathy have gone above and beyond, along with Luis, in spearheading our participation in the festival. So an immense thank you to them once again, along with all other volunteers who will be helping out on Sunday. 
   
June 14th, Monday - MUSIC REHEARSAL

The music ministry welcomes all who wish to lend a helping hand with the music we all enjoy as part of our Sunday mass. We would like to eventually form a choir, or at least add a few cantors and instrumentalists to the roster to join brothers Geety and Anthony in the music ministry.  We are holding an open rehearsal on June 14th at 7:30pm in the St. Francis Chapel. We will be singing through hymns and psalms for the up-coming mass, as well as sharing ideas of future possibilities for the music ministry . Anyone who would like to participate is welcome.

June 23rd, Wednesday - HOLY GROUNDS

As you are aware, our first spirituality gathering “Holy Grounds” at Eclectic Café was an enjoyable success. 10 of us were in attendance, and it was a wonderful experience getting to know one another and sharing our spiritual journeys. So in keeping with the spirit, we are scheduling our next meeting for Wednesday, June 23rd. Please join us for a wonderful time, wonderful conversation, and a wonderful cup of  java!

 
We are having a poll whether we should have a monthly healing mass on Wednesdays.  If you haven't cast your votes yet, please click this link.

Have a great week and we’ll see you all on Sunday!

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