5th Sunday of Easter
My friend and fellow pastor, Father Paul, noticed unsightly, overgrown trees near his parish church. He asked the maintenance crew to cut back the growth, which they happily did, telling him the trees would be much healthier and even fuller after a good pruning. A few days later, Father Paul received a letter from an irate man in the neighborhood who wrote, “Jesus would never prune trees like that. He loves trees, unlike you.” I suspect that the neighbor was not familiar with this week’s Gospel in which Jesus says of His Father, “He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to make it bear more fruit” (John 15:2) I don’t mean to pick too much on that fellow. He was perhaps ignorant of arboriculture. But I’d wager his main confusion was the pruning and removing quality of God’s love. That confusion afflicts us all to some degree, doesn’t it? It is just so darn easy to react negatively when God cuts something out of our lives and assume it’s not His work at all. In the moment, all we see is the loss, and not the loving desire for future flourishing. The cross is the great pruning of Christ’s body. Jesus’ rising is the brand-new growth. It is God’s promise to us that all the painful pruning in life is leading us somewhere beautiful. What has been cut back or out in your life? A friend, an opportunity, a sense of certainty, a job, health, a relationship? This week, offer those dry branches to the one who lovingly prunes us in order to make our lives burst with verdant growth. — Father John Muir
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This will be a short letter this week. I tend to keep my personal affairs private (unless I use it in a homily which I do a lot) in particular when it comes to my health. However, I did not want any to be concerned if my absence is noticed, particularly if it ends up being longer than I anticipate. I am undergoing surgery on Monday to correct some digestive issues I have been having. The surgery itself should not be too complicated, however, I will be in the hospital for a day or two (no I am not saying which one for as much as you might mean well, I am not looking for visitors – thank you anyway) and then will be recovering for a week at my mom’s house or at least I hope it will only be a week. The full recovery time is a month or two, but the doctor feels as long as I don’t push myself too hard, I can and will return next weekend. Know that you all will be in my prayers for whatever length of time I am away from the parish and I will be in contact with Sue in the office to keep aware of all that is going on so if you have questions for me you can give them to her to pass them on to me. Keep me in your prayers please, though I know I am in God’s hands and will be fine and back in the parish before any of you notice that I was gone.
God Bless you and have a wonderful week, Fr. Michael
This Saturday, April 27th there will be First Penance & First Holy Communion practice beginning at 10 am in Church.
Also, the Confirmation class will be attending their Retreat at the Archdiocesan Retreat Center in Kearny. They must be there for check-in by 10 am.
SCRIPTURAL REFLECTIONS ON STEWARDSHIP
“Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.”
Regarding our Catholic faith, do you “walk the talk?” Do your actions reflect what it means to be a good disciple? Are you an active participant at Sunday Mass? Are you joyful when participating in parish ministry? Do you give gratefully and generously with your financial support to your parish and other Church needs? If not, it’s not too late to start!
PRAYER REQUESTS
That God will relieve their suffering and restore them to health. Please pray for Please pray for: Kellie Salata, Kelly Chinchar, Jessica, Daniel Breslin, Stanley, Helen Traina, Joseph Marrone, Bill Marshall, Anthony, Michael, Joseph, Jessica Esopo, William, Steve, Audra, Bernadette, James Weiss, Baby Ford, Rosemary Malangone, Elizabeth Malangone, Sue West, Danny, Colleen Emery, Richard, Joan Russo, Christina Martin, Mornia Evans, Valerie Valverde, Diana McGuckin, Pat Peterson, Manny Scarangella.
Please consider sponsoring our Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, and the oil for the Sanctuary Lamp.
The gift of Bread & Wine for the month of April has been given in memory of Kyle P. Jashembowski by Linda J. Sylvestri.
The Sanctuary Lamp for the first two weeks of April has been given in memory of Lucia DiNardo & Giuseppe Manieri. The second two weeks have been given in memory of Michael, Pietro & Elena Manieri by Maria & Nicola Totaro.
Easter and Holy Week at our parish this year was a tremendous celebration because of the efforts of so many people. The lectors, Eucharistic ministers and ministers of hospitality did a great job to make the liturgy much more meaningful. All those who helped did a fine job decorating and preparing our church for our Easter celebration. So, a big THANK YOU from all of us at Immaculate Conception for what you do to make our celebrations so spiritually significant.
We appreciate and are very thankful to all our parishioners and friends who continuously support our church. God bless us all.
To all our Lectors and Catechists or Religious Education Teachers, thank you very much. God bless you all!
Thanks to Rose and Lenny Sunga for the orchids and to the Sanzari Family for the altar flowers and to all who help and support our church.
Opportunities for Parish Support
There are several ways you can help support our parish and honor loved ones at the same time. As you may have noticed on the first Sunday of every month in our bulletin, we thank the donors of our Altar Gifts. You can donate the Bread & Wine, Altar Flowers, or the Sanctuary Lamp in a two-week block for $50 in someone’s memory. We have blocks open for this year. We also need to purchase a new Easter candle each year (the tall candle on the altar) for $300-$400 which can also be donated in someone’s memory. You do not have to fund the entire amount, anything you wish to donate towards the purchase of our Easter candle is appreciated. We also have masses available for your intentions. If you wish to honor someone in any of these ways, please call the rectory.
Prayer for our Nation
God our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for your glory and dwell among your people. Send your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing your will. Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, patroness of our land, grant us the courage to reject the “culture of death.” Lead us into a new millennium of life. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Praying the ROSARY
The Rosary is a meditation, a time to recall and think about the life of Jesus as seen and experienced by Mary. As the model of faith, Mary’s life sets a pattern that we strive to follow: saying ‘yes’ to God’s will in our lives and sharing His love and message with others. The Mysteries of the Rosary form a mini lesson of faith, using the highlights and significant moments of the life of Jesus. Like paging through a family scrapbook, we see in brief the events of salvation history that are the core of our belief and the hope of our eternal life.
OUR ADVERTISERS OF THE WEEK
WE NEED BULLETIN ADVERTISERS!!
We would like to thank all the advertisers who have supported us throughout the past year. Our parish benefits greatly from the ads you see in the bulletin. The revenue pays for the printing which is an important means of communication for the parish. If we do not have enough advertisers, the cost of our bulletin goes up. We thank the local businesses that advertise with us especially in these tough economic times. We have some spaces on the back of our bulletin that need filling so if you would like to advertise your business as well as benefit your church, please contact John Patrick Publishing at 1-800-333-3166.
Please support our advertisers at the back cover of bulletin.
***CALENDAR IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE***