St. Sebastian - 913

Church of Saint Sebastian February 24, 2019 - Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

From Father Jordan, O.P.

My Dear Ones,

May the grace of Our Lord remain always with us!

Last week the Priests’ Sacristy received a little bit of a face lift. A new floor, similar to the floor Monsignor Darcy put down in the Work Sacristy, was installed. This installation was necessary because a major part of the sub flooring was giving way and it was becoming increasingly dangerous to walk on parts of the floor. The floor cost $1,600.00. As soon as all of the parts arrive, work will begin on the doors of the Church. This is necessary because it is becoming increasingly difficult to lock, and sometimes unlock, the doors. Also, the door frames are coming away from many of the windows. Replacing the broken or missing parts of the doors and securing the windows in their correct place will cost $4,650.00. Finally, following your many suggestions, an alarm system is being placed in the Church. Your generosity in the Monthly Maintenance Second Collection next Sunday will help greatly to defray these unexpected capital costs. Kristen Gold and Bob Short are doing a wonderful job stepping into their role as Co-Coordinators of the Reli-gious Education Program. Bob is addressing a number of different points with the Confirmation students, and Kristen is in high gear for First Penance and First Communion. Kristen communicates weekly with the parents of her students keeping them up to date with all that is taking place. I am visiting all of the classes on a regular basis, and I am impressed with what I see taking place. We are blessed to have dedicated teachers who work very hard to connect with our students. Religious Education is one of my top priorities. I recently received some feedback that the Confirmation Classes are at an inconvenient time. Some folks have mentioned to me that the upper grades used to meet on a Sunday Evening. Could you tell me more about this? Is this time (6 – 7:30) a better time? Would there be more students in the program if this time change would be made?

The Parish Council and I will be discussing how to go forward in searching for a new Coordinator of Religious Education. The manner in which we shape this position and accomplish the search will have a great effect of upon our Parish, how we continue to form our children and develop our program to address the developing needs of our younger parishioners. Please pray that we may be guided in our discussion about this important position. The Parish and Finance Councils and the Trustees of the Parish will meet this coming Thursday, February 28. At our meeting, we will discuss how our parish will partici-pate in the Diocesan Capital Campaign, Grateful for God’s Providence. I am very hopeful that we will be able to participate in this campaign in a way that is most beneficial to both the Parish and the Diocese. In the midst of all of these fiscal matters, there is the spiritual life of the Parish. In today’s Liturgy Tool Box, I have written to you about the approaching season of Lent and our liturgical life. I am very excited to share with you the wonderful Lenten Entrance Antiphon Father Michael O’Connor, O.P. has written for Saint Sebastian. I find the antiphon very sing able, very beautiful, and respectful of the Lenten Season while not being dreary. The text, “If today you hear the voice of God, harden not your hearts!” captures the heart of our Lenten journey.

Until we meet at the altar… O Mary, conceived without

sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!

In the Lord,

Fr. Jordan, OP

Making sure you get the date you want and a concern

There are pages upon pages in the Mass Intention Book that have no intentions. There is so much for which we need to pray, and there is no better prayer than the Mass! I urge you to call the Rectory with your list of Masses for the year. We all know the dates that are milestones in our lives as they repeat each year.

Call now and secure the dates you want well in ad-vance! The requested stipend is $25 per intention.

Church of Saint Sebastian February 24, 2019 - Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Sebastian - 913

SAVE THE DATE: March 9-10, 2019

Having the Best Lent Ever

When: Saturday and Sunday, March 9 & 10: Attend any of the weekend Masses as Father Matthew unveils the plan for the Best Lent Ever!

What else? Following the 11:00 am Mass there will be Eucharistic Adoration; plan to spend some time with the Blessed Sacrament in quiet adoration.

At 3:00 pm there will be a special session for children, while Father Matthew addresses adults.

4:00 pm: Closing Vespers and Benediction with preaching that ties the day together.

5:00 pm: Pasta with Padres – enjoy a homemade spaghetti dinner prepared and served by the Padres!

$5 per person; $10 family. (Sign Up Sheets can be found in the vestibule of the Church)

Getting Ready for Lent

It is hard to believe that in just 2 weeks we will begin the Season of Lent: the Church’s annual retreat, and the time to prepare for Easter through the great works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Many of our hallmark practices will be present this Lent:

Daily Mass at 7:00 am and 5:30 pm Stations of the Cross following the 5:30 pm

Mass on Friday A special dramatic presentation of the Stations

followed by a fish – fry – dinner Sandwiches for Emmanuel House Toiletries for the Diocesan Refugee and Im-

migration Project

There are two things I would like to suggest as a parish wide Lenten practice; one offering a time for some extra prayer; the other, a wee bit of penance:

The conclusion of the 11:00 am Mass each Sunday would begin a time for Eucharistic Adoration; and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament would be held at 4:30 pm each Sunday.

During Lent, I would like to suggest that the bulletins not be given out until the end of Mass. Why? Good as we are, the temptation is just too great not to read them during Mass: let’s give the Lord our complete attention for an hour. Please let me know what you think.

SAVE THE DATE: March 30, 2019:

Sacramental Family Retreat

This retreat day, for families as well as the candi-date for the Sacrament is a very important part of the formation process for First Confession, First

Communion, and Confirmation. Please be sure

this date is marked in your calendar.

The rules for fast and abstinence are:

Every person between 14 and 59 years of age is to abstain from meat (and items made with meat) on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence: i.e.: two small meals, with nothing solid in between meals, and one main meal. Those over the age of 59 or with serious health conditions are not obliged to the law of fast and abstinence.

Church of Saint Sebastian Founded October 15, 1915

St. Sebastian - 913

Won’t You Join Us?

Sunday 2/24 Religious Education 10:00 am Classrooms

Monday 2/25 Religious Education 4:00 pm Classrooms

2/25 CGS 4:15 pm Atrium

Wednesday 2/27 Uncovering the Truth 7:00 pm Fr. Randall Room

First Friday 3/1 Adoration 4:00 pm Church

Confessions 4:30 -5:15 pm Church

First Friday Mass 5:30 pm Church

Monthly Maintenance Collection Weekend of March 2 & 3

This monthly collection helps to defray a portion of the cost for continued maintenance and much needed repairs to our parish buildings and facilities. As we are all aware, the aging of our physical plant brings about much needed upkeep in order that we may be just and true stewards of the beauty that has been given us at Saint Sebastian. There is a great deal of deferred maintenance in our buildings that needs to be addressed.

Please consider increasing your usual gift to the important collection. Thank you for helping Saint Sebastian to be a true “Stewardship Parish”.

House Blessing

It is an old and pious custom in our Church to bless our homes This blessing asks for the safety and holiness of those who live in the house. As the priest blesses each room with holy water, he prays for those who live there. He “chalks” the main door with 20+C+M+B 19. The initials CMB stand for the names of the wisemen Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. These initials may also mean “Christus mansionem benedicat”, may Christ bless this house. If you would like to have your home blessed, please contact Father Jordan at the Rectory.

BISHOP HENDRECKEN OPEN HOUSE Bishop Hendricken High School will hold an Open House on Sunday March 10th from noon to 3:00 pm. Information on the academics, college place-ment, athletic, and extracurricular activities will be available. The entrance exam for prospective 8th, 9th, or 10th grade students will be held on Saturday April 6th at 8:30 am. For more information please call the admissions office at 739-3450 ext. 162.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR OF “LEFT TO TELL,” IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA,

RWANDAN GENOCIDE SURVIVOR, BRINGS MESSAGE OF FORGIVENESS,

HEALING & HOPE

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to experience Immaculee’s powerful journey through remarkable personal testimony -- witness to the life-saving power of faith and the Rosary, as she huddled with seven other women in a cramped bathroom for 91 days while killers lurked just outside the door. Immaculee’s Promise: “no one will leave this retreat the same as when they came.” RETREAT at St. Patrick Church, 244 Smith Street,

Providence on Friday, APRIL 12, at 5-9 PM & Saturday, April 13,

9 AM-Noon Tickets: Individual $57; For one plus a guest:

$76 For More Information: email: Annette Micek

annette@immaculee.com Local Contact: Ana Sanchez 401.660.8025; Maria Jose Carranza Da Silva: 978.333.3311

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Welcome In my own name and on behalf of the People of

Saint Sebastian’s, welcome to our Parish! If you

are visiting, coming back to the Church and

Mass after some time away, or looking for a

Parish, you are most welcome here at Saint

Sebastian’s.

Join in praying for the Bishops of the World as they meet with Pope Francis.

NOVENA PRAYER FOR ST. JOSEPH’S INTERCESSION

Oh, St. Joseph, whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the throne of God, I place in you all my interest and desires.

Oh St. Joseph, do assist me by your powerful intercession, and obtain for me from your divine Son all spiritual blessings, though Jesus Christ, our Lord. So that, having engaged here below your heavenly power, I may offer my thanksgiv-ing and homage to the most loving of Fathers.

Oh, St. Joseph, I never wear contemplating you, and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not ap-proach while He reposes near your heart. Press Him close in my name, and kiss His fine head for me and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls,, pray for me.

Amen.

Parish Finances: 2/17/2019

Mass Contributions $ 3,421.00 Online Parish Giving $ 600.00 Total Donations $ 4,021.00

Total Parish Expenses $ 6,502.00

Shortfall of Funds $ 2,481.00

We sincerely thank you for your continued support!

Mass Intentions

Saturday, February 23, Vigil: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

5:00 pm FOR THE INTENTIONS OF BRIAN SOMICH - Living

Sunday, February 24, Seventh Sunday in Ord. Time

9:00 am PRO POPULO

11:00 am FRANCIS AND HELEN McCORMICK, requested by their children and grandchildren

Monday, February 25, Ferial Day

7:00 am: IN THANKSGIVING FOR THE EUCHARIST

Tuesday, February 26, Ferial Day

7:00 am MICHAEL HARTNAGLE - deceased

7:30 am Novena Prayers - Our Lady of Perpetual Help

Wednesday, February 27,Ferial Day

7:00 am FOR THE HEALING OF FR. LUKE FLETCHER, CFR

Thursday, February 28, Ferial Day

7:00 am LYNETTE KIELY - living, birthday remembrance

First Friday, March 1, Ferial Day

7:00 am JOHN FRANCIS Kelly - deceased 4:00 pm Adoration 5:30 pm DODIE McCARRON, requested by Martha Rogers

Saturday, March 2, Ferial Day

9:00 am LILY ZHUKAVETS - deceased Saturday, March 2, Vigil: Eighth Sunday in Ord. Time

5:00 pm PRO POPULO

Sunday, March 3, Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

9:00 am JOHN BIANCHERI, requested by Arlene Corrigan

11:00 am JADWIGO CHITKA

The Church of Saint Sebastian

Rev. Jordan Kelly, O. P., Pastor Trustees: Charles Rogers, Catherine Taylor

Finance Committee: Charles Brusso, Ann Carnevale, Grace Dugan

Parish Council: Sarah Garcia-Mata, Mary Hill, Jamie Hill,

Janice Opalenski, Patricia Recupero, Ellen Reinhardt, Fred Reinhardt,

Rob Whelan

Church of Saint Sebastian Founded October 15, 1915

Church of Saint Sebastian Founded October 15, 1915

Prayers for the Sick: Prayers are asked for our friends, family, fellow parishioners, and especially for Helga Schrott, Robert Davis, Bee B., Fr. Luke Fletcher CFR, Ray Graham, Frank Dumont, and Elie Saroufim. If you would like someone included in the Prayers for the Sick, please call the Church Rectory.

Liturgy Tool Box

The Sights, Sounds and Smells of the Season

Every season has its own particular feeling. The wonderful aroma of a pumpkin pie can make us think of Thanksgiving; twinkling lights remind us of Christmas; and the blast of trumpets may lead us to think of Easter Sunday. Each of these holidays are marked by the way we celebrate them in the Liturgy. Could you imagine Christmas without singing Silent Night; or seeing poinsettias? Or, celebrating Thanksgiving and not hearing “We Gather Together”, and seeing the results of a food drive? As you think of these celebrations and their particular sensate memories, what about Lent?

As Lent draws near, I am thinking about “what I will give up”; preparing for all the up and down of Stations of the Cross; and waiting to hear some of my favorite music.

Lent is a season that invites to use the pillars of a good liturgical music program in a very particular way.1 How do we achieve a sound, as well as a particular ambiance, that expresses the common meaning: we are in the Sea-son Lent? Let’s try to answer this through the lens of our senses: Sight: During Lent we remove those things that will

distract us from our common journey into the desert with Christ: flowers are reserved to Feast Days; fewer candles are used during Mass, and the candles used are “unbleached”; and, the color purple reminds us of this time of penance.

Smell: With the exception of Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, during Lent the sweet aroma of incense is generally absent from our liturgical celebrations; the unbleached candles have a stronger fragrance of “beeswax” than the bleached candles we use throughout the year; and the scent of flowers is absent from the Church.

Touch: We feel the touch of the ashes upon our heads, and our fasting may lead us to feel a tinge of hunger. Also, we may experience ourselves touching the kneelers a bit more as kneel in penance and adoration.

Taste: This sense is most likely very metaphorical: everything about Lent leaves us wanting to taste more of the delights of our Christian lives.

Hearing: Lent calls us to hear the Lord’s call to repent and believe, in the Good News. Musically, the Liturgy takes on a simpler, quiet, reflective sound: we sing the same Entrance Antiphon each week2; the Alleluia is replaced by “Glory and Praise to You...”; loud

Today’s beautiful altar flowers are given in memory of Francis and Helen McCormick by their children and grandchildren.

outbursts from the organ are silent until Easter; and there is added silence during the Liturgy.

Developing a “feel” for Lent: may God bless and complete our efforts!

1 4 Pillars of a good liturgical music program: beautiful, artistic and not utilitarian; faithful; ritualists. 2 Father Michael O’Connor, OP, has composed a beautiful antiphon just for Saint Sebastian’s.

MAGNIFICAT® Breakfast "Our Lady of Divine Providence"

An International Women's Ministry, will hold its next breakfast, Saturday, March 30, 2019 from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon, Providence Marriot, One Orms Street in

Providence, RI

Guest Speaker: Monsignor John J. Darcy, JC.L.

Monsignor Darcy has served in many capacities throughout the Diocese of Providence. He was

appointed Chancellor and then Vicar General in 2004 by the late Bishop Mulvee. He is presently pastor of

St. Margaret’s in Rumford, RI.

We are privileged to have this special guest share with us his call to priesthood and personal journey the last

four decades.

Join us for a spirit-filled morning. Please bring along a friend. Cost: $30 per person

For further information and reservation contact Linda Gatta (401) 864-7731