A Word from Your Pastor May 20 Ascension

Dear Parishioners:

The mystery of Time has fascinated human beings throughout the ages.  The fact that we are beings who live in Time, but are destined for Eternity, creates a kind of tension that makes life very interesting.  All of us know the experience of Time moving too slowly or too quickly for us.  The Past has a hold on us through our memories, good and bad.  The Future creates a sense of anticipation or of dread depending on how we perceive it or how we expect things to turn out for us.  The only Time that is really in our grasp – and only fleetingly – is the Present .

The “place” where all of this comes together, if we have the eyes to see it, is the Liturgy of the Church.  Here Time and Eternity meet.  They are mingled together in a way that frees us at once for the wonders of the world around us and for our Eternal Destiny.  How sad it is that so many see the Mass as just another “obligation.”  Sadder still that so many miss Mass altogether and leave it out of their sense of responsibility at all.

When we are present at Mass, we are in the very Presence of God.  We are given a living encounter with Jesus Christ, our Savior, through the Power of the Holy Spirit.  We also commune with the Saints in Glory in the very Throne room of Heaven.  Earth and Heaven are united and we are taken into the “flow” of the Relationships in the Holy Trinity.

The Solemnity of the Ascension, which we celebrate today, gives us a “look” at how this is made possible.  The Human Nature of Jesus is taken into the very heart of God.  This gives us our radical capacity to live divine life humanly.  Our Liturgy allows us to “taste” the fruit of this union of God and Man in Jesus Christ.  In the Person of Jesus, God became a human being so that all human beings may come to share in His Divinity.

Celebrating our Golden Jubilee:  Getting to know Saint Timothy’s Community of Faith.

We are looking at St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, since Ephesus was the see where St. Timothy served as Bishop.  This may offer some perspectives on the Church and the Community among whom Timothy lived and ministered.

So I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart, they have become callous and have handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of impurity to excess. That is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.  (Ephesians 4:17-24)

St. Paul calls upon the Ephesians to come to terms with the fact that they have been given a new way of living in Christ.  The City of Ephesus had a strong worship of the goddess Artemis (called Diana by the Romans).  St. Paul had been attacked there due to his efforts to convert them from this pagan practice.  Eventually, our patron Timothy was martyred toward the end of the First Century for his efforts to preach to a crowd of drunken worshippers who were reveling in the Feast of Artemis (called Katagonia).

The call to live the Christian way of life in a hostile world is addressed to us as well. We are all tempted to go with the tide of culture.  St. Paul’s challenge to the Ephesians to remember what they have learned of Christ and His ways is fitting for us too.  We are to “put away the old self . . . and be renewed in the spirit of our minds,” and to “put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Thanks to all our Altar Servers

 Last weekend we honored our St. Timothy Altar Servers and gave special acknowledgement to 8^th Graders and our graduating Senior Servers.  The Knights of Columbus hosted a reception after the 10 a.m. Mass in their honor.

We had four 8^th Grade Servers who were previously honored by Bishop Campbell at the Cathedral and the rest were presented with certificates from the Serra Club of Columbus.

The Serra Club Award Recipients honored by the Bishop March 25 were: Meghan Connors, Claire DiOrio, Patrick Foley, and Maya Steller.  They were chosen to represent all our servers due to their good example and fidelity to the responsibilities assigned to servers at St. Timothy Church.  We congratulate them and thank them and their families for their witness of commitment to the Catholic Faith and to the Mass.

8^th Graders acknowledged with certificates from the Serra Club last weekend were: Thomas Cooper, Kate Limes, Annie Maglicic, Joel Silleck, Bailey Spees and Jacob Winters.

Our graduating Seniors acknowledged by St. Timothy Parish for their service at the Altar were: Joseph Meeks, Emily Prebihalo and Anna Schnitkey.  We look forward to their continuing service at St. Timothy Church in various ways.

This Week in Our History:  May 20-27

 

1964:   The May Procession will take place this afternoon at 4:00 o’clock.  Please gather in the church for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and then join the procession to the ravine for the crowning of the Blessed Mother.  All Altar Boys are to be at the school by 3:30; school children are to report to their rooms by 3:45.

The Men’s Club has undertaken the project of preparing our east field for a baseball field for the school team.  A backstop will be erected this week and the team will be using it by the end of the week.  It is another fine and useful project of the Men’s Club for the parish and school.

Communion Breakfast for Women’s Club after 9:30 Mass, Stouffer’s Inn.  Price $2.00

1967:  Women’s Club officers who will be installed at the Communion Breakfast next Sunday are; Mrs. George Hoessly – President; Mrs. John Sullivan – President-Elect;  Mrs. Quido Rossetti – Vice-President; Mrs. Richard Tarini – Treasurer; Mrs. Hugo Della Flora - Recording Secretary; Mrs. Wm. Hoban – Corresponding Secretary.

1968:   Parish Camp – In, June 14-16 at Rocky Fork State Park.  Any family in the parish is invited.  Purpose – to have a relaxing weekend, enjoying the company of fellow parishioners. A priest will spend the weekend, saying Mass on Sunday.  Make reservations by calling Connie Barr or Kay Imber.

1971:   Parishioners are asked to keep all windows and doors closed when the air conditioner is operating.

1972:   Regarding the Future of Our School:  …many parishes, as a result of the Court’s rejection of state aid to parents of non-public (school) children, are having general meetings of the entire parish to discuss the future of their school…Here at St. Timothy, our Board of Education and Board of Finance have studied the situation and…see no need to change the policies we established several months ago.  They are:  1) We shall have all eight grades and plan to continue that policy indefinitely.  2) Our tuition will be:  first child; $20 book fee plus $200; second child, $20 book fee plus $155; third child $20 book fee plus $128.  We repeat:  no child in the parish should be deprived of a Catholic education for financial reasons only.  The Pastor will be happy to make individual arrangements.  3) Our school is one we can all be proud of.  We wish that more parents would realize this and make the sacrifice to enable their children to attend it.

1973:   Congratulations to Lou Fabro for the National Award he received for his column in the Catholic Times!  Maybe he can help the Pastor liven up and boil down those parish newsletters.

1975:   Our congratulations to Tom Theado and Kathy Gardner who were married here on Saturday

1976:   Friday, May 28, No School. A free day, declared by the Pastor, to celebrate Confirmation and sundry other events, and because we’ve had no other one this year, and just on general principals to show his power.

1977:    We hereby publish the Banns of Matrimony for Mary Patricia Morris of Corpus Christi Church, Piedmont, California and David A. Boulware of St. Timothy Parish.

1980:   Special Garage Sale Item.  Advertised to St. Timothy parishioners first—Church pews removed during remodeling, solid oak.  Each pew seats 8 (2 sections seating 4) appraised at $160 each.  Call Ellen Bigg.

1982:   Volume 28 of the Encyclopedia Americana has been returned to the school library, but it does not belong there.   If your home set is missing volume 28, please call Kathy Spicer at school.

Senior citizens, retirees, and those not employed outside the home are invited to a meeting tomorrow at 1:00 in the Parish Rectory.  The (April 28^th) meeting indicated that there are many parishioners interested in daytime activities on a parish level.  Come tomorrow and be a part of  the planning of many spiritual and recreational activities.  (Beginnings of the Vintage Club.)

1983:   On Saturday May 28 Bernadette Dziengelewski and Mark Lima, both of St. Timothy, will be married at St. Timothy Church.

 

Monday, May 23, 12:00 noon, Vintage Club First Birthday celebration, rectory

1985:   Something new to help the hungry is our weekly canned food collection.  Watch for the grocery cart parked in the vestibule each week as a reminder to us that any time is a good time to share with those in need.  Simply deposit food in the cart whenever you can.  It will be distributed to food pantries around town by the St. Vincent de Paul Society.

1987:   The 12:00 Mass on May 31^st will feature a guest homilist to honor Father Walter on the occasion of his 25^th Anniversary as a priest.  Father will be in the cafeteria after all the Masses that weekend so that parishioners can stop by for refreshments and to wish him happy anniversary.  The 12:00 Mass will be somewhat lengthy – so be forewarned.  Also, please note the “reserved” signs on some of the pews that day to save space for Father’s family.

1990:   Please remember in your prayers Laurin Barr who was buried last week.

1993:   Fifty years of service in the diocese of Columbus will be celebrated by Msgr. Michael Andrew Nugent, retired and living at St. Timothy.  Msgr. Nugent will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at noon in St. Timothy Church this Sunday.  An open house reception will follow in the cafeteria for friends and members of our parish and other parishes to congratulate him on this happy occasion.  Our prayers, best wishes and gratitude go out to him at this very happy time in his life.

Jim Silcott has resigned as principal of St. Timothy School so that he may accept an offer by the University of Dayton to complete his graduate work for a doctorate in education administration.  The final recommendations of the search committee were submitted to Father Hanley, and he has hired Sister Jacqueline Baum, O. P.  Sister Jacqueline is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs and comes to this new position with a degree in school administration and a wealth of successful experience in the position of elementary school principal.  We look forward to her arrival in the parish and pray that she enjoys a productive career at St. Timothy.  We are certain that she will be liked by the parents, students, staff and the entire parish.

1995:   Please remember in your prayers Mary Hall, a member of the parish who died this past week.

2002:   Congratulations to Lisa Sergio and Matthew Middletown, who will be married on Saturday, June 1 at 5:30 pm in Ohio Dominican Chapel.

2007:    Congratulations to Devon Jenny and Michael Seal who will be married next Saturday at St. Timothy.

2009:   Congratulations to Kristen Jenny and Mike Babjak who will be married on Saturday at St. Timothy.

2010:   To Our St. Timothy Family.  From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank you for all of your support, well wishes, prayers, comfort and generosity regarding the recent loss of our loving husband and dad.  We would also like to give special thanks for all those who helped in the preparation of Joe’s funeral celebrating his life.  The love that radiates from Christ through His Church has been overwhelmingly evident in your embraces and kind words and we will be forever grateful.

                                             Love, the DeVictor Family, Trish, Nate, Katie and Alex

 2011:   A Word from Your Pastor.  If you are reading this, then it is likely we have missed a predicted end of the world…We have lasted to serve another day.  One of my Seminary professors spoke about this reality many years ago.  People are always wondering if we are living in the “End Times”.  The simple truth is we are living in the “End Times” and have been doing so since the moment of the Resurrection of Jesus.  The Resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of the end of the world.  The Easter Season continues.