October 13, 2024
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
The month of October is filled with many religious and civic holidays (as published in our bulletins). The Season of Fall is upon us. The days continue to shorten. The darkness is longer, and the daylight is shorter. The foliage begins to change color. The warm air yields to a crisp chill. The crops are harvested, and the bounty is distributed. When coming to and from the parish remember the many Halloween events that happen along Broadway during October. Traffic can be surprisingly dense these days, making us tardy for Mass or not attending at all.
The most important, long-lasting, and meaningful practice, despite all that is happening in our world and lives, is to instill a love for the Mass in your children is to love it yourself. If you sing the songs, pray the prayers, and listen to the readings, your children will notice and imitate you. The reason for our attendance at Mass? The Third Commandment says to make every Sunday holy. That means Sunday Mass is a minimum requirement. The more we do to make Sunday special, the better.
Our first Family Mass is being hosted by the Sixth Grade on Sunday, October 20 at 9:00 a.m. This is not a “kiddie Mass” with balloons. Rather it engages the whole family and helps us all, and in a special way the children, to experience the liturgy more enjoyably and engagingly. Religious Education students welcome the community, proclaim the Scripture readings, read the Prayer of the Faithful and the announcements, bring up the Offertory gifts, and assist in taking up the collections. And of course, we have our children as altar servers! Refreshments will be served immediately after in the Weaver Parish Hall. Bring the whole family, including grandparents, our greatest cheerleaders!
My apologies for the three-week absence from Livestream. (It had NOTHING to do with my article published in the September 22nd bulletin about returning to Mass). I am grateful to all those involved, especially Brian and Chris from Livestream for their invaluable information and support along with Jonathan Adair who assisted us. Our IT person and another gentleman FINALLY fixed the problem. Deo gratia!
On this Columbus Day Weekend, we conclude our series of “Mass on the Grass”. Join us for a cup of coffee and tea AFTER the 9:00 & 11:00 a.m. Masses. It was an overall success. If you have any ideas on how we can make further improvements/enhancements in 2025, please email them to me your ideas.
K.T.F
Fr. Tim
October 6, 2024
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
People asked me, “Father, how was your vacation?” My vacation was nice. At times, it was busy and at other times it was relaxing. When busy, it was due to postponed projects or returning for a funeral. Projects and funerals have deadlines. It amazes me that parishes are hit with many deadlines at the end of August and the beginning of September.
Deadlines are important dates and times when a project must be completed; a time or day by which something must be done; the latest times for finishing something; the last day, hour, or minute that something will be accepted.
There are deadlines for publishing bulletins, filing taxes, registering for voting, putting out the recyclables/trash, applying for college, filing registration and inspection stickers, rolling over CD’s, the Christmas catalogues There are also deadlines for filing paperwork for the archdiocese. This includes the Annual Trustees’ Meeting Minutes, the 2024-2025 Budget, the Annual Sacramental Report, the 2025 Cardinal’s Appeal Stewardship Report, and the 2024 Christmas Message which will be included in your next bi-monthly Offertory packets. Most of these are due at the end of this September. Meeting deadlines requires many strategies and great organizational skills, but the best strategies and skill-sets is prayer.
There was another critical deadline, hiring our newly appointed DRE, Edward Escobar Ed.D. This deadline was given top priority over all the above-mentioned deadlines. It was met during the first week of Religious Education Classes. A copy of Dr. Escobar’s Acceptance Letter has been inserted in this weekend’s bulletin. He joins us with great humility, enthusiasm, and experience. How blessed am I to have him as the DRE and a member of our staff! He is deeply in love with his faith. He is also passionate about our youth and how they are being formed in the Faith. These two qualities will strengthen and grow our Faith Formation program here at The Magdalene. Welcome aboard, Dr. Escobar! I have deadlines for my Christmas labels and of my Annual Christmas Letter. As we know, there is a good feeling, a sigh of great relief when we meet our deadlines, only to cross them off our “To-do List” and prepare for the next DEADLINE!
Meet My Deadline
Lord, as I pray to meet this crucial deadline
Help me to remember
That You were never in a hurry
And never lost Your inner peace
Even under pressure greater
Than I shall ever know.
I feel the strain of meeting this deadline
And crumble under frustration.
Only You can supply
The deepest needs of tired bodies
Jaded spirits and frayed nerves.
Give me Your calm
And refresh me in my weariness
Give me the grace to persevere.
Amen.
Fr. Tim
September 29, 2024
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Some of the fastest-spreading phrases popping up in serious conversations are slogans such as, “I’m spiritual, not religious” (ISNR) and “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) also known as “spiritual but not affiliated” (SBNA). It’s not surprising. Everybody wants to be spiritual, from Hollywood celebrities to sports figures and those who wish to be Godparents at Baptisms and sponsors at Confirmations.
According to a study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2012, the number of Americans who did not identify with any religion had increased from 15% in 2007 to 20% in 2012, and this number continues to grow. 18% of the US public and a third of adults under the age of 30 are reportedly unaffiliated with any religion but identify as being spiritual in some way. Of these religiously unaffiliated Americans, 37% classify themselves as spiritual but not religious, while 68% say they do believe in God, and 58% feel a deep connection to the Earth. In 2017, Pew estimated that 27% of the population is spiritual but not religious.
Historically, the words religious and spiritual have been used synonymously to describe all the various aspects of the concept of religion, but in contemporary usage, spirituality has often become associated with the interior life of the individual, emphasizing the wellbeing of the “mind-body-spirit”, while religion refers to organizational or communal dimensions.
The spiritual person has an immediate and spontaneous experience of the divine or some higher power. He is a spiritual person who does not subscribe to a set of beliefs handed to him by existing religious traditions nor engage in the ritual life of any institution. The religious person respects the authority of its leader, believes in doctrines, reads scripture, observes traditions, and participates in rituals. At the heart of the distinction between religion and spirituality, there lies the presumption that to think and act within an existing tradition—to practice religion—risks making one less spiritual.
For Catholics, we are to accept the truths taught by the church and to attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Days. These practices may require effort and sacrifice. As St. Augustine taught, the word religion derives etymologically from the Latin re-ligare = re (again) + ligare (connect). It means “to reconnect.” Thus Catholicism, as a religion, reconnects us to God. The communion that God desires us to share with Him in heaven, He wills to begin here on earth in the Church.
KTF
Fr. Tim
September 22, 2024
Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Have you seen “Back to School” signs posted on the TV, the Internet, and in stores?
Have you seen “Back to Church” signs posted on the TV, the Internet, and the front lawns of churches?
As The Magdalene begins a new pastoral year, I encourage parishioners to transition from watching Masses Livestream to attending Masses in person. This transition is a wonderful time for parishioners to reconnect and be reunited with their faith community. All too often people would comment, “I watch mass on TV”. Watching mass on TV has its place, especially for homebound parishioners and parishioners confined to medical and healthcare institutions. Yes, the pandemic is over, however, COVID-19 remains.
Catholics are called to gather each Sunday in community for the celebration of the Mass. The Mass consists of the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We listen to God’s word, and we receive Holy Communion. Both are equally important. It is nice to gather around the altar of the Lord each week and break bread. Think about how wonderful it is to have the entire family gather for the holidays. When one family member is missing at the table, his/her absence is felt. Please make every effort to return to Church. Jesus misses you and so do your fellow parishioners. While greeting parishioners at the end of mass, a few comment, “Fr. Tim, I do not see Mr. Jones, Mrs. Smith, the man who used to sit in the third pew, or the parishioner who used to attend Mass his/her aide. Is he/she still with us?”
The transition from summer to fall is a wonderful time for parishioners to reconnect after scattered summer schedules. We begin September with new activities/ministries—Brown Bag Sunday and the Health Awareness Committee. We continue with our Mass on the Grass. Brunch Sunday resumes on the first Sunday of each month beginning October 6, and the Faith Formation Program will move in a different direction with Family Masses. In November, the COTM will host the River Town Clergy Thanksgiving Services. Additional events/programs are on the horizon in 2025.
Using the bulletin, website, email, and Flock Notes (please sign up), allows the parish to maintain a connection and keep you informed of the happenings occurring here in The Magdalene.
Imagine when your children are not back at school. Guess who comes knocking at your door?
Imagine when you are not back in God’s house. Guess who may come knocking at your door?
Fr. Tim
September 15, 2024
Dear Parishioners & Friends,
At times, events and celebrations slip by us, as on Sunday, September 8. On this date, there was a Feast and an observance. The Feast was Mary’s Birthday, and the observance was National Grandparents Day.
Birthday celebrations bring happiness to family and friends. Next to the birth of Jesus (December 25) and John the Baptist (June 24), Mary’s birth (September 8) offers joy to the world. The church has celebrated Mary’s birth since at least the sixth century. A September birth was chosen because the Easter Church begins its liturgical year with September. The September 8 date helps determine the date for the feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 (nine months earlier). Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s birth. According to Tradition, the names of Mary’s parents are Ann and Joachim, Jesus’ maternal grandparents. The love of these two human beings has joined with God in His creative work albeit they remain obscure.
National Grandparents Day is not a public holiday. It was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter and designated the first Sunday in September after Labor Day. It is time to pause and appreciate the older generations of our families and their contributions on many levels. Grandparents offer strength, information, wisdom, and guidance. They leave memories that will forever shape their grandchildren’s lives. (NB: On July 26, the Memorial of Sts. Ann and Joachim, the church celebrates the “feast of grandparents”.)
Most grandchildren have two sets of grandparents: paternal (father’s parents) and maternal (mother’s parents). I never had two sets of grandparents. I only had my maternal grandparents who lived next door. They were a tremendous help to my mom and most influential in my rearing. When mom fell short, grandma was THERE—sometimes behind the scenes and other times front and center always serving as the Matriarch. While on vacation, I asked a priest friend, with two sets of grandparents, who was his ‘favorite’ grandmother. He said, one gave me chicklets the other gave me hard candy.
Recently, I was involved in pastoral encounters with three COTM grandparents. These grandparents have been registered parishioners for over 4 decades, are weekly Mass attendees in “their pews” and offer their time, talent, and treasure. They maintain the family registry. I am extremely grateful for the role they play in their families (and the multi-tasking) and pray their legacy will continue here at COTM with their children and their children’s children. Their ‘grandness’ comes from their faithfulness, example, and understanding, which I hope will never end.
KTF (Keep The Faith) and KFT (Keep Family Traditions)
September 8, 2024
Dear Parents and Children,
As the end of summer ends, a new school will soon begin with new teachers, school buildings/classrooms, friends, and schedules. During this time of change, I encourage you to read The Book of Proverbs. Proverbs were written as an instruction for young people, to guide them as they mature. It stressed education, selfdiscipline, prudence, honesty, and good moral character – all lead to wisdom. When you think of wisdom, you might recall athletes, musicians, inventors, coaches, teachers, parents, grandparents, and mentors. They all are bright and work hard to see what is not obvious but what will make the world better, safer, friendly, easier, healthier, more productive, more fulfilling, and more beautiful. But let’s also think of your teachers, who are also wise. They can see the obvious and want to share their wisdom with you.
It’s been decades since I attended elementary, junior, and senior high schools, college, and seminary. Besides teaching me the appropriate subject material, my teachers also taught me wisdom. Here is a sample: My kindergarten teacher taught this jingle: “When you cough and when you sneeze, use your handkerchief if you please.” (a gentleman/lady never leaves home without a handkerchief in his/her pocket/pocketbook); my fourth-grade teacher taught me good manners/conduct, the “pleases” and the difference between “can” and “may”; my sixth-grade teacher always told us to “keep our noses clean” (he was not related to my kindergarten teacher); my seventh-grade science teacher always gave second chances when receiving a poor grade (oh, that extra credit), you had a chance to add a 1 before the ‘goose egg’/zero and a zero after the first goose egg; my eighth and ninth grade English teacher demanded excellence and discipline; my business teacher and Home Economics teachers taught me humility when I had 99.4 GPA and did not receive 100, my tenth-grade English teacher, who was also my eleventh-grade psychology teacher and drama teacher, taught acceptance and inclusion; and my high school guidance counselor passed on her great listening ability and self-confidence (we remain friends to this day).
Parents, I offer you “The Parent’s Prayer When Children are Leaving Home” (modified): Gracious God, you blessed me with the gift of my children and entrusted me with their care. Surround them with good people and watch over them each day. And let them know that I will always be near whenever they need me. Heal any hurts we may harbor with each other and forgive our failings as we learn to be in a new kind of relationship with each other. And when the sight of their empty room pierces my heart with sadness, may I find comfort in knowing that my children are your children, too, filled with your grace and sheltered by your love. AMEN
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!
Fr. Tim
August 31, 2024
Dear Parishioners,
Tomorrow, September 2, is Labor Day in the US.
On this Labor Day, we give thanks to God for the employed. Moreover, we pray for the unemployed. Although men and women are gainfully employed, a pink slip could be on the horizon tomorrow for many Americans adding to July’s unemployment rate of 4.3%.
On this Labor Day, we pause and reflect on how our work contributes to the good of society. Whatever a person’s occupation, it is to be valued.
On this Labor Day, we give thanks for those who teach, make bread, harvest fruits and vegetables, legislate on our behalf, take our orders, mow our lawns, take care of our children, dig ditches, resolve computer problems, wear uniforms, clean house and office buildings, perform on stage, and transport us via plane, bus, train, Uber. Remember…we need lawyers to defend us, police to protect us, role models to guide us, nurses and doctors to heal us, and religious to save our souls. Perhaps some men and women are unhappy in their jobs and feel that they are not “successful”. Our “success” can be found in our work if we invite Jesus to be part of it.
On this Labor Day, I reflect on the number of jobs I have held since the age of 14 to the present day. They include cleaning up sawdust and emptying fat barrels in a Jewish meat market, working tray line positions, washing patients’ trays and cleaning pots, pans, stoves and ovens at the now defunct United Hospital, catering for the affluent and serving as a clerk at General Foods during the summer months while in high school, cooking at a sleepaway camp in MA and working at Sears and at a leather goods store during the Christmas season while in college; cashiering and stocking shelves at Grand Union in Greenwich and serving as a substitute teacher at my local high school while in between jobs, holding different managerial positions with reputable foodservice companies upon college graduation, working as the lead cook at a summer day camp in Westchester before entering the Seminary and currently….employed by the Archdiocese of NY. Work was never an option; it is a necessity.
What does the Church say about work? The encyclical Rerum Noverum, issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1892, addressed the working-class conditions and the relationship between capital and labor. Rerum Noverum was issued in response to the class conflicts that arose due to industrialism and capitalism. Pope Leo emphasized many topics, including the plight of the urban poor, dignity in the workplace, and fair and safe working conditions for the laborers advocating for the formation of unions.
On the feast of Saint Joseph, the Worker (May 1), Pope Francis spoke about societies that put company profits above human dignity or even human life. “What point have we come to?” he asked. He noted that Jesus was a worker and lamented companies that put much more attention on profits than the dignity of labor.
132 years later, after the publication of Rerum Noverum, work remains a challenge on many levels.
On this Labor Day and each day that I begin my work, I thank God for the jobs that I held and the work ethic that I have maintained (despite the working conditions and pay). I look forward to retirement at the age of 75! Until then… Work, work, work!
St. Joseph, the patron of workers, pray for us!
Fr. Tim
August 25, 2024
Dear Parishioners:
This weekend is Mission Cooperative Sunday assigned by the Society of the Propagation of the Faith. The society was organized in Lyon, France to raise money for the missions in Louisiana, U.S. In 1922, the headquarters of the society was moved from France, where it had been under the control of a French council of laymen, to Rome, where Pope Pius XI reorganized it and made it the chief fund-raising and distribution agency for all Roman Catholic missions.
Please join me in welcoming Fr. Thomas C. Joseph, a chaplain at the White Plains Hospital. Fr. Joseph will preach on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aitape, Papua New Guinea. In 2022, there were 167,747 Catholics; 32 parishes, 1 mission, 16 priests, 51 religious, and 1 seminarian. A Second Collection will be taken up after all the Masses in support of the Diocese of Aitape. Please be generous as your means permit.
Next month you will find an additional envelope temporarily labeled “Maintenance” in your September-October envelope packet. When the Parish had the “improvement fund” envelope in the past, the money was used to fund improvements to various components of the buildings and grounds and to fund items that might be needed to enhance the Religious Education program. It could also be used for upgrading holiday displays, replacing kitchen items, and other items that may not be able to be covered by the day-to-day expenses.
At the Parish Council Meeting in May, it was recommended by the chairs of the Finance Committee and Building and Grounds Committee, to re-instate the monthly “Maintenance Collection at the beginning of a new fiscal year in September. I accepted their recommendation for the good of the parish. The
Maintenance Collection is designed to subsidize the costs of basic repairs to our beautiful Church and its surrounding grounds (more on this in the September 8 bulletin). To date the COTM has spent $30,000 on various minor projects; one of which was repairing a leaky portion of the roof over the Religious Education Program’s annex to the Church.
Each month the Archdiocese has a Second Collection. In order not to have multiple second collections each month, the date for this collection will fluxate. We will communicate our established dates with DP Murphy, our envelope company. The first Maintenance Collection will be Sunday, September 15.
K.T.F.
Fr. Tim
August 18, 2024
Dear Parishioners:
The National Eucharist Revival ended on Sunday, July 21, 2024. Whether you watched some of it or all of it, the fruit from this 5-day revival is to be united once again around the source and summit of our faith and to grow in greater appreciation of the Eucharistic, the most cherished gift of our Faith. This “growth” can be obtained in many ways, including the intellectual component. Printed below is a list of recommended books for your reading pleasure.
• Jesus Has Left the Light On For You: Stop in and pay Him a Visit!
Whatever kind of friend you are looking for, Jesus is that friend! He is always available for your visit, day or night!
• Watch One Hour With Me
This publication enriches our understanding of the Holy Hour by explaining what it is and its benefits. Gives suggestions on how to make one.
• Fount of Love: Eucharistic Reflections
Contains 50 short, easy-to-read meditations, each presenting an original gift of love.
• Gate of Heaven: The Holy Eucharist
Amidst the confusion and abuses rampant today, this booklet clarifies and strengthens devotion to the greatest mystery of the Church on earth, the Real Presence.
• Preparation for Confession and Communion
Part I contains a brief, clear explanation of confession, an examination of conscience, and the act of contrition along with other confession prayers. Part II briefly explains the Mass, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, how to prepare for Communion, and its effects on the soul.
• Eucharist and Covenant in John’s Last Supper Account
For centuries a dilemma has existed because St. John whose gospel alone mentions Jesus’ promise of the Eucharist and who wrote far more extensively about the Last Supper than did any other Gospel writers, apparently does not mention the fulfillment of the promise by the institution. Why this puzzling omission?
• Rekindling Eucharistic Amazement
Eloquent and moving excerpts from St. Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia. This pamphlet renews the reader’s sense of awe and wonder at Jesus’ gift of Himself to us.
Fr. Tim
PS: Eucharist Adoration will resume on Saturday, September 7, from 4:25 to 4:55 pm.
August 11, 2024
Dear Parishioners:
Thursday, August 15 is The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a holy day of obligation. The Catholic Church designate certain holy days throughout the year as days of obligation, where the faithful are required to participate in Mass. It’s important to note that holy days of obligation can vary by country. Since the Blessed Virgin Mary is the patroness of the Americas, many of our holy days of obligation evolve around her life.
All the feast days of Mary mark the great mysteries of her life and her part in the work of Salvation. The central mystery of her life and person is her Divine Motherhood, celebrated both at Christmas and a week later, January 1, on the feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The Immaculate Conception, December 8, marks the preparation for that Motherhood, so that she had the fullness of grace from the first moment of her existence, completely untouched by sin.
The Assumption is a very old feast of the Church and has been celebrated universally since the 6 th century. The Assumption was originally celebrated in the East, where it is known as the Feast of the Domitian, a word which means the “the falling asleep.” Tradition variously places Mary’s death at Jerusalem or at Ephesus, where John was living.
The Assumption completes God’s work in her since it was not fitting that the flesh that had given life to God Himself should ever undergo corruption. The Assumption is God’s crowning of His work as Mary ends her earthly life and enters Eternity. The feast turns our eyes in that direction, where we will follow when our earthly life is over. The feast days of the church look to the present and to the future and gives us an insight to our own relationship with God.
The Assumption looks to Eternity and gives us hope that we too will follow Our Lady when or earthly pilgrimage is ended.
The Collect/Opening Prayer, at Mass on the Assumption, reads: “All powerful and ever-living God, You raised the sinless Virgin Mary, Mother of Your Son body and soul, to the glory Heaven. May we see Heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory.”
In 1950, in the Apostolic Constitution, “Munificentissimus Deus,” Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Assumption of Mary a dogma (teaching) of the Catholic Church in these words:”the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into Heaven.”
Blessings,
Fr. Tim
August 4, 2024
Dear Parishioners:
This Tuesday we celebrate the Transfiurgation of the Lord. All three Synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8); Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9: 28- 36). With remarkable agreement, all three place the event shortly after Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus’ first prediction of his passion and death. Peter’s eagerness to erect tents or booths on the spot suggests it occurred during the Jewish weeklong fall Feast of Booths. Christ gave his three apostles a personal vision of his divinity. As a result, He wants his disciples to see him as the source and the summit of everything in their lives.
In his book To Praise, To Bless, To Preach, Dominican Father Peter John Cameron and my former Homiletics Professor at Saint Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) comments: “We need the light of Christ, which is the intimate love of friendship in order to add and to reverence that reflection. That is what the Transfiguration is all about: seeing Christ as light so as to be able to see everything in our life in the light of Christ. Once we see Jesus like this, we gain a new way of seeing ourselves.”
The revelation on the mountaintop is clearly intended to “open the disciples’ eyes.” Where do we need to open our eyes and envision a world where the colors of equality, the splendor of peace, the brilliance of truth, the light of hope, and the majestic songs of reconciliation are valued? Where is the light of Christ for the world today amidst war, violence, crime, high unemployment, division, sickness, and death? “The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ’s glorious coming… But is also recalls that it is through many persecutions that we must enter the Kingdom of God.” (CCC #556) Therefore, let us ask ourselves what would our world look like transfigured, transformed by God’s love and His saving light. Imagine it!
TRANSFIGURE US, O LORD –Bob Hurd
Transfigure us, O Lord.
Break the chains that bind us;
Speak your healing word,
And where you lead we’ll follow.
Transfigure us, O Lord.
Fr. Tim