MASS SCHEDULE

Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM

Sunday 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM

Holy Day Vigil 7:00 PM

8:00 AM

Weekdays 8:00 AM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday

HOLY CROSS DIRECTORY

Rev. William C. McGuirk

Pastor & Trust Administrator

Email: Wmcguirk@dioceseofgreensburg.org

Pastoral Council: Gerald Andrews, Bob Kimmick,

Anthony & Sharon Rizzardi, Debbie Schotting,

Kay Sofranko, Joe Sostarich, Rose Yoder

Faith Formation: Brian Lohr

Finance Council: Joseph Adamoski, Mark Frick,

Georgie Gamberoni, Sally Hurrianko, Dennis McManus

Ministry of Care: Facilitator Joan Jones

Prayer Chain: Pat Cassa

Parish Staff Choir Director: Carol Sostarich

Organists: Linda Eismont, Carol Kalich, Mimi McManus

Sacristan: Eleanor Hamrock

Business Manager: Sara Thomas

Women’s Guild: President: Eleanor Hamrock

Health Ministry Coordinator/Parish Nurse: Melanie Orndoff

Knights of Columbus: Charles Stack Meeting 2nd Wednesday at 7:30 PM

Confession Saturday 4:00 PM

Marriages Call the parish office at least 6 months in advance.

Baptisms Contact the parish office.

Anointing of the Sick Call the parish office.

Parish Office Hours Monday-Friday 9:00 AM—4:00 PM

facebook.com/hcyoungwood

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Water & Soft Drink Donations

16 oz. bottled water, 12 oz. cans Pepsi products and

iced tea. Donations may be dropped off in the

stairwell near the parking lot.

Basket Raffle

To donate a basket for this year’s festival, you can

bring them already made up or bring a basket full of

goodies. Please contact Eleanor 724-925-7792.

Dessert Booth

Donations of cakes, cookies & pies, call Kay at

724-925-7408.

Cash Drawing

Tickets for the cash drawing at this year’s festival

will be mailed out.

Dime Pitch

Glasses with your favorite sports team logos, car-

toon characters, vacation destinations, etc., for the

dime pitch may be dropped off in the church hall.

New Festival Workers

Call Carol Kalich about clearances, 724-925-2752.

Stewardship 7/9/17

Offertory $4,099 Loose Collection $182 Monthly Inflation $85 Children’s Collection $13 Total $4,379 Candles $110 Ascension $10 Peter’s Pence $10 Budget: $6,600 Over/Under -$2,221

Sincere thanks for your financial stewardship to Holy Cross Parish.

Due to HIPPA Law, Westmoreland

Hospital can no longer tell pastors who is

ill. Families must call the office. If you

are admitted to the hospital and wish to

have a Catholic Chaplain visit you, you

must let them know.

Any personal injury on church property,

please make sure you call the office or

speak to the priest.

The Sanctuary Candle

If you wish to reserve this candle,

which is the large red candle near the

Tabernacle, in honor of a loved one

(birthday, anniversary, etc.) or in

memory of a loved one, please call

the parish office.

Is God Whispering to You?

Explore singing in a

church setting and see if it

is what God wants for you.

Come join us for an introductory

singing workshop on Wednesday,

July 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the church.

For info or to accept the invitation. contact Penne Steiger at

724-600-5189 or Carol Kalich at

724-925-2752.

Altar Flowers

If you would like to purchase

flowers for the altar, please call the

parish office.

MAGNIFICAT BREAKFAST

The Greensburg Chapter of Magnificat-A Ministry to

Catholic Women, is holding a breakfast at the Ramada

Hotel and Convention Center, Rt. 30 East, Greensburg, on

Saturday, July 29 from 9 a.m.-12 noon. Guest speaker will

be Fr. Bill Kiel, who will give the personal testimony of his

change of vocation from school teacher to priest and his

life-changing trip to Medjugorje. Cost is $20/student rate $15. To register,

please call Brenda by July 21 at 724-836-2094 or visit

www.magnificatgreensburg.com to download a registration form. Please note

that there is no online registration.

Diocese Sponsors Drug Education & Prayer Service Evenings A series of seven Summer Diocesan Drug Education and Prayer Service

Evenings have been scheduled in response to Bishop Edward C. Malesic’s pas-

toral letter on the drug abuse crisis. Sessions begin at 7 p.m. and are open to the

public. There will be an educational presentation about the opioid epidemic in

the region, a questions-and-answer session and a prayer service led by Bishop

Malesic on Thursday, Aug. 3, at Our Lady of Grace Parish, Greensburg. You

can read the pastoral letter at www.dioceseofgreensburg.org.

The Bereavement Support Group at St. Vincent Basilica Parish in La-

trobe will meet on Monday, July 17 at 7 p.m. in the Parish Center Conference

Room. Anyone dealing with the death of a loved one is invited to attend and

new faces are always welcome. The group meets on the 3rd Monday of each

month and there is no cost to attend. Contact Teri Pomerleau for directions or

more information at 724-539-8629, ext. 15 or teri.pomerleau@stvincent.edu.

The Rosary Altar Society of St. Paul Parish, Greensburg will hold its annual

Trash ’n Treasure Sale on Saturday, July 15 (9 a.m.-7 p.m.), and Sunday, July 16

(10 a.m.-2 p.m.). There will be a $4 “Bag Sale” on Monday, July 17, 9 a.m.-1

p.m. Jewelry and “Big Items” will be ½ off original sticker price. For more infor-

mation, please contact the Church Office at 724-834-6880.

Holy Cross Youth Seven Springs Family Fun Day!!

Join us July 30th at 10 a.m. for Mass on the mountain. If you can't make it to Mass, we will get our all-day activity bracelets at 11 a.m. and then enjoy the day! Cost will be $10 for active youth members and $38 for friends and parents. Please contact Bob Chappell @ 724-516-7636 or RChappell@dioceseofgreensburg.org

to reserve your spot.

Sacred Steps

Sacramental Celebrations

At Holy Cross

Viola Wetmore, mother

of parishioner Sharon

Achtziger, recently passed

away.

Please keep her and her

family in your prayers.

Pre-register for NFP Instruction

The next Natural Family Planning CM-BBT Method instruction is set for

Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 at 6 p.m. at the Catholic Charities office in Greens-

burg.

Please call at least one week prior to instruction. To pre-register or for

more information, call Mary Ann Newhouse at Catholic Charities at 724-

837-1840, ext. 1658. Participants are required to attend only one session.

The instruction, continued support and follow-up are provided by a medi-

cally certified CM-BBT professional.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 16, 2017 “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest” Psalm 65

MASS INTENTIONS

Sat: Jul 15

5:00PM+

Sun: Jul 16

8:00AM+

10:00AM+

Mon: Jul 17

8:00AM+

Tue: Jul 18

8:00AM+

Wed: Jul 19

8:00AM+

Thu: Jul 20

8:00AM+

Fri: Jul 21

8:00AM Sat: Jul 22

5:00PM+

Sun: Jul 23

8:00AM+

10:00AM+

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Vigil)

Daniel Genard, Sr. (B)

(Family/Children)

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mary Lishego

(Linda Eismont)

Living & Deceased Holy Cross Members

Weekday

Mary & Lewis Capretti

(Tish & Bill Capretti)

Weekday

Stella Morgan

(Louella Free)

Weekday Mr. & Mrs John Backes (Granddaughter Louella)

Weekday Kari Stinebiser (A) (Karen & Paul Hochendoner)

St. Lawrence No Mass

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Vigil)

Genevieve Forsythe (Joe & Margie Altschaffl)

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fred Brown

(Eleanor Hamrock)

Living & Deceased Holy Cross Members

.UNDERSTANDING THE WORD

Writing to the people in exile, the prophet known as Sec-

ond Isaiah encourages hopefulness, using nature as his inspi-

ration. Just as rain and snow fulfill their goal—that of mak-

ing the earth fertile—so too will God’s word be fulfilled. Set

within an invitation to a banquet (Isaiah 55:1), Second Isaiah

charges the people to “see the Lord” by forsaking wicked-

ness and turning to God, who is merciful (Isaiah 55:6-7).

The prophet attempts to explain the mysterious nature of

God (Isaiah 55:8) by appealing to the efficacy of natural

phenomena. In our Gospel, Jesus will also appeal to nature

to explain the kingdom of heaven.

The wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23), so Paul can

rightly acknowledge that “creation awaits with eager expec-

tation the revelation of the children of God” (Romans 8:19),

because creation also experiences death. Paul does not ac-

cuse creation of sin. Rather, he recognizes that the cosmic

dimensions of salvation are meant not only for humanity,

“who are led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14), but also for all of

creation. However, this redemption is yet to be complete, so

“all creation is groaning in labor pains even until

now” (Romans 8:22). Charged with hope, we are to “wait

with endurance” (Romans 8:25) the fullness of redemption.

The thread of nature is woven throughout our three read-

ings. In the first, nature is a metaphor for God’s faithfulness.

In Romans, creation shares in the same hope of redemption

with humanity. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the par-

able of the sower and the seed to describe receptivity to his

word. While the explanation of the parable (vv. 18-23) likely

belongs to the early church and not Jesus, both parable and

explanation focus on who can or cannot receive understand-

ing. When asked why he speaks in parables to those gath-

ered, Jesus answers, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of

the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you” (v. 11). The

quote from Isaiah (vv. 14-15) is used to explain why some

accept Jesus’ proclamation and others do not. “They have

closed their eyes” (v. 15). Like the seed that fell on unfavor-

able places and could not grow, so also some people were

destined not to accept Jesus. The explanation of the parable

(vv. 18-23) addresses the question of the early church: Why

have so many not believed? Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.

The inner word: What’s in Your Heart? Imagine That!

esus taught in parables, often from the

natural world. Our sacraments use things that

come to us from the natural realm, too. All can

lead us to imagine God’s reign among us.

How do I till the soil of my heart to let

God’s seed grow within me?

What keeps my heart hardened to the ways

in which God invites growth and life?

REFLECTING ON THE WORD

Discover what a sign or symbol’s use in everyday life can reveal

about its use in sacramental life.

Are we open to hear what God is saying to us in the events of

life and how we respond to them, or have we become as hard as

the ground that cannot receive the seed? Do we labor to understand

God when we are asked to change familiar attitudes or ways of

living? Do we allow the rain of God’s reign to fall upon us in ways

that soften us so that the seed of God’s will can sow mercy, bibli-

cal justice, and reconciliation in us and our world?

Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co., Inc.