Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish

235 North Front St. New Bedford,Ma 02746

MASSES for August 29th-September 6th

Saturday, September 5th-23 rd Sunday, Ordinary Time

4:00 PM + Thaddeus A. Irzyk

Req. Mona, Michele, & Mark Bisson

Sunday, September 6th-23rd Sunday, Ordinary Time

10:00 AM +Jacob & +Janina Michalski

Req. Evelyn Bourque

Monday, September 7th-Labqr Day

7:30 AM OLPH Parishioners, Living & Deceased

Tuesday, September 8th-Nativity of B. V. M.

7:30 AM + Thomas & +Rita Schemm

Wednesday, September 9th-St. Peter Claver

7:30 AM Special Intention

Thursday, September lOth--Weekday

7:30 AM Special lnte~tion

Friday, September 11th-Weekday

7:30 AM ++Obenoff Family

Saturday, September 12th-MQ6t Holy Name of Mary

7:30 AM In Thanksgiving

Req. Arminda & Cynthia Linhares

Saturday, September 12th-24th Sunday, Ordinary Time

4:00 PM +Gloria Irzyk

Req. Friends of Poland

Sunday, September 13th-24th Sunday, Ordinary Time

10:00 AM +John Gonet

Req. M/M Steven Hunt

THIS WEEK THE CHURCH CELEBRATES ...

St. Peter Claver (September 9th ), Spanish

Jesuit and Missionary. While studying at the

Order's seminary in Majorca, fellow-Jesuit

Brother Alphonsus Rodriguez encouraged Peter to go to the Indies and save "millions

of perishing souls." At his confrere's urging,

Peter received permission to transfer to

Cartagena, the principal slave market of the

New World, where a thousand slaves were

brought in by ship every month and sold.

After his ordination, Peter took a personal

vow to minister to these slaves. For the next

thirty-three years, he worked to abolish the

slave trade, while, at the same time, he

tended to the slaves' spiritual and temporal

needs. He would board the ships once they

docked at the harbor and hurry down into

the disgusting hold to offer nourishment to

the unfortunate captives and care for the

sick and dying.

He instructed the slaves in the teachings of

the Church, baptized them and administered

the other sacraments to them. Through his

efforts, 300,000,000 slaves became Catholic!

And he did not lose sight of his converts, but

followed them to the plantations where they

were sent, encouraging them in the Faith

and prevailing on their masters to treat them

humanely.

Peter died in 1654 and was canonized in

1888, along with that holy Jesuit Brother,

Alphonsus Rodriguez. In 1896, Pope Leo XIII

named Peter the Patron of Missionary Work

among all African Peoples.

The Holy Name of Mary (September 12th).

This feast was established to commemorate

the many privileges God bestowed upon our

Blessed Mother-and, through her inter­

cession, all the graces we are able to receive.

This feast originated in Spain in 1513. In

1683, the Polish King, John Sobieski, before

engaging in the Battle of Vienna with his

army, placed his troops under the protection

of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The following

year, to celebrate their victory, Pope

Innocent XI added the feast to the Church

calendar.

The Roman Martyrology speaks about the

feast in these words: "The Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary [is] a day on which the inexpressible love of the Mother of God for her Holy Child is recalled, and the eyes of the faithful are directed to the figure of the Mother of the Redeemer, for them to invoke with devotion."

+++ +++ +++

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the wonderful

volunteers who staffed last weekend's Polish

Food Sale: Nancy Kondziolka, Kathy Kalisz,

Kathy Gioiosa, Judy Parker, Fred Kalisz, and

Fran Matyi-and to the many enthusiastic

patrons who came by almost nonstop. We

sold out!!!

CHOOSE LIFE! ... "I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life, so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him and loving Him; for that means life to you and length of days." -Deuteronomy 30.19

Ezekiel 33:7-9

Thus says the loRD: You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If l tell the wicked, "O wicked one, you shall surely die," and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way; the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way; and he refuses to turn from his way; he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.

Psalm 95

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;

let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us joyfully sing psalms to him. R. Come, let us bow down in worship;

let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God,

and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. R. Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah .in the desert,

Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had see~ my works." R.

Romans 13:8-10

Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet ,"

·and w1ia~eve-r other command~t there h,:r be, are summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. " Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Alleluia, alleluia. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Car 5:19 Alleluia, alleluia.

Matthew 18: 15-20

]ESus SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact ma; be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Brothers and Sisters of Our Parish Family,

This Labor Day weekend is a good time to think about

both the dignity of work and the necessity of work.

The dignity of work is made clear to us in some of the

very first words of the Bible. God said, "Let us make

man in our image, after our likeness. " Scripture

scholars tell us that this means as co-creator. By our

work and using our talents, we participate in the

creative activity of God. So great is the dignity that

comes from work, that the unemployed, who want to

work but can't find a job, feel a great loss of self­

respect.

Originally, work was a pure joy and pleasure. Any

drudgery attached to work today is the result of original

sin. In response to Adam and Eve's disobedience, God

said, "By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to

eat." Today, one of the greatest graces is to find joy

and satisfaction in our work.

Work is necessary for our well-being-for our physical,

mental, and spiritual health-and the well-being of the

family. By working, by using the talents God has given

us, we grow to become the unique person God created

us to be.

Work is also necessary for the well-being of our

neighbor. It keeps a person from being a burden on

others while, at the same time, enabling the worker to

help the truly less fortunate.

Because of what is becoming more clearly understood

as a politically-motivated shutdown of our economy for

the past six months, millions of Americans are without

work today. Especially hard hit are those countless

small businesses, whose owners have both lost what

they have spent their entire lives building up and the

opportunity to provide jobs for their communities.

On this Labor Day, let us recognize the dignity and the

necessity of work; let us thank God for the talents He

has given us to work; and let us pray that we find joy

and satisfaction in our work as co-creators with God.

Finally, let us pray for those who are without jobs, that

they may find work that will sustain their families,

nurture their children, and secure their future.

Peace and Blessings,

Father Conrad

~ .. , /J, IH. 7'J,-,,-, I~~ .i_

~ L/co~ ns~~ September 6, 2020

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Ez 33:7-9

If .. . you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but

they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you

shall save your life. EZEKIEL 33:9

It's None of My Business

This statement might sound like we are respecting the independence of others. It is

none of our business how they live their lives, how they behave in society, how they worship God. We mind our own business; they mind theirs. After all, are we our brother's or sister's keepers?

Today's readings challenge this attitude. Ezekiel is told that he must proclaim God's will to the Israelites. If he reneges in his calling and someone dies in guilt, Ezekiel will be held responsible for that death. However, if the wicked refuse to hear this message, their death in guilt will be their own doing, for one must freely accept God's word. In the Gospel, Jesus outlines a way for his disciples to lead sinners back to the community. Both Ezekiel and the disciples have responsibilities to those who are not living faithfully. They both take steps to call them back. In this sense, they act as their brother's or sister's keeper. However,

Rom 13:8-10 Mt 18:15-20

they do not meddle in the other's business. The sinner must freely decide to return. God does not force repentance.

This might be a hard message. Who wants to step up and point out another's error in leaving the Church? However, ifwe are really concerned, we will do what we can to bring them back. We might not proclaim like the prophet or the disciples did. But the way we live our lives should show them the true value in being a faithful follower of Jesus.

-Sr. Dianne Bergant, CSA

r···· .. FOR R~/l; .................................................. !

* Is your life an example of the values of your faith?

* Pray for those whom you love, who have left the practice of the faith.

. . ........................................................................................................

• • .... • ......... .... ........... ........... • ...................... • ........... © 2020 Liguori Publications• Liguori, MO 63057-9999 ...................... •. •·· • ................................................ •

.········· ········· ·· ·· ················································································································································· ... ........... .... .

In the story of Noah, God destroyed most of the world. Did that really happen? How should we think about the world's end?

M ost biblical scholars generally consider the Noah story to be a tale of God's new covenant with the people. Life here is temporary, but

life with God is eternal. The story of the Flood was probably based on some historical event that was recounted in oral traditions for centuries before the story of Noah was written.

The National Geographic Society, in researching that region, discovered that the Mediterranean Sea broke through a natural dam more than 7,500 years ago, filling a freshwater lake with seawater and creating the Black Sea. This natural catastrophe could be the basis for the story of Noah and the Ark. Catastrophic world events such as war, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes remind us repeatedly how fragile and temporary our lives are.

The biblical truth of the Noah story and of Jesus' account of the end of the world tell us that God is our beginning and our end. The world will end, but

God will not end. God's love for us will also never end. There is a spiritual transformation that will happen both at the end of lives on earth and at the end of time. We can be certain that, in the end, sin and death will be no more and God's love will reign forever.

-Fr. Paul J. Coury, CSsR

Sundaybulletin@Liguori.org

......... . -. ..... ...... ---~ ... ~ ......................................................................... . A WORD FROM Pope rtancis, It is vital that the Church today go out to proclaim the Gospel to all, in all places, on all occasions, without delay, reluctance, or fear. We do so in obedience to the Lord's missionary mandate, certain of his presence among us until the end of the world.

-ADDRESS TO UNITED BIBLE SOCIETIES, OCTOBER 5, 2017

Monday SEPTEMBER 7

Weekday 1 Cor 5:1-8

Lk 6:6-11

Tuesday SEPTEMBER 8

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28- 30

Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23

Wednesday SEPTEMBER 9

St. Peter Claver, Priest

1 Cor 7:25-31

Lk 6:20-26

Thursday SEPTEMBER 10

Weekday 1 Cor 8:16-7, 11-13

Lk 6:27- 38

Friday SEPTEMBER 11

Weekday 1 Cor 9:16-19, 226-27

Lk 6:39-42

Saturday SEPTEMBER 12

Weekday 1 Cor 10:14- 22

Lk 6:43- 49

Sunday SEPTEMBER 13

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Sir 27:30- 28:7

Rom 14:7-9

Mt 18:21-35

© 2020 Liguori Publications, Liguori, MO 63057-9999. Printed in USA. Imprimatur: "In accordance with CIC 827, permission to publish was granted on March 2, 2020, by the ! L • • Most Reverend Mark S. Rivituso, Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of St. Louis. Permission to publish is an indication that nothing contrary to Church teaching is contained in this ~ 1gyor1 work. It does not imply any endorsement of the opinions expressed in the publication; nor is any liability assumed by this permission.• No part of this work may be used in any form without the prior wri tten permission of Liguori Publicatio ns. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 PUBUCA'.ITONS Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All Rights Reserved. To order Liguori Sunday Bulletins, call 800-325-9521, or visit Liguori.org. A Redemptorist Ministry