A Word from Your Pastor November 25

Dear Parishioners:
 

As we close our Golden Jubilee this weekend, we give God thanks for a wonderful Year.  How fitting it is that we now continue with the Year of Faith.  The fruit of our life together as a Parish Family is our Faith.  Practice of our Faith and Sharing of our Faith is not just a gift to us as individuals, but it is also a gift we offer to one another.  These are difficult times in many ways, and Faith is the treasure we have that will see us through.

Now is a time to review where you have been as an individual and as a member of a family in regard to practice and sharing of Faith.  Reflect on the commitment of our forerunners in our Parish, both those who have died and those who are still among us.  Consider your own responsibility and make a commitment to be the person you are called to be as a man or woman of Faith.

We have lived our Golden Jubilee together.  Let us now continue our journey in Faith with a heart full of thanks.  Let us deepen our understanding of who we are and of the plans God has for us as a community.  This weekend, we acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Universal King, our Lord and Savior.  May we be faithful servants of so noble a Master!

The Hayes Clan gathered for Thanksgiving once again at St. Timothy Church - 35 for the Meal, plus 4 more throughout the day. It's been a tradition to gather at my place since 1988 (missing only 1992).

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

Up to now, we have concentrated our study on the Scriptures associated with Ephesus, since that was the diocese of which our Patron St. Timothy was the first Bishop.  We are now considering another Letter associated with that community, this time from one of the early bishops of the Church named Ignatius of Antioch.  Today’s installment concludes our journey through this Letter.

The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, CHAPTER XX.--PROMISE OF ANOTHER LETTER.

If Jesus Christ shall graciously permit me through your prayers, and if it be His will, I shall, in a second little work which I will write to you, make further manifest to you the nature of the dispensation of which I have begun to treat, with respect to the new man, Jesus Christ, in His faith and in His love, in His suffering and in His resurrection. Especially will I do this if the Lord make known to me that ye come together man by man in common through grace, individually, in one faith, and in Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David according to the flesh, being both the Son of man and the Son of God, so that ye obey the bishop and the presbytery with an undivided mind, breaking one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, and the antidote to prevent us from dying, but which causes that we should live for ever in Jesus Christ.

CHAPTER XXI.--CONCLUSION.

 

My soul be for yours and theirs whom, for the honor of God, ye have sent to Smyrna; whence also I write to you, giving thanks unto the Lord, and loving Polycarp even as I do you. Remember me, as Jesus Christ also remembered you. Pray ye for the Church which is in Syria, whence I am led bound to Rome, being the last of the faithful who are there, even as I have been thought worthy to be chosen to show forth the honor of God. Farewell in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ, our common hope.

In the closing chapters of the Letter St. Ignatius writes to the Ephesians, he expresses a desire to write to them again and to continue his explanations of the Faith.  As the final chapter suggests, Ignatius is on his way to Rome.  There, he experiences martyrdom, and so he never gets to write the second letter.  His witness is itself the explanation of the new man, and the meaning of the suffering, death and Resurrection of the Lord.  The Ephesians, and all the other communities who received letters from St. Ignatius, treasured the Faith he expressed.  The fact that these letters remain is a tribute to the life of this Saint and to the communities he loved so much.

As we end this effort to come to knowledge about the Ephesians through the Scriptures and the Letter of St. Ignatius, we are left with the charge to live up to the witness of our own Patron, St. Timothy, the first Bishop of Ephesus.  May we fan into flame the Faith that has been entrusted to us. 

 

To the King of Ages, the Immortal, the Invisible, the Only God,

be Honor and Glory forever and ever!

Year of Faith October 11, 2012 – November 24, 2013

October 11, began the Year of Faith.  As one way of observing this year, each week a small section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be read before the start of Mass and will be included in the Bulletin.  This is a small way of offering some food for growth in Faith throughout this year.

III. The Knowledge of God According to the Church

 36 “Our holy mother, the Church, holds and teaches that God, the first principle and last end of all things, can be known with certainty from the created world by the natural light of human reason.” (Vatican I, Dei Filius and Vatican II, Dei Verbum)Without this capacity, man would not be able to welcome God’s revelation. Man has this capacity because he is created “in the image of God.” (Genesis 1:27)

37 In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone:

Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful. (Pius XII, Humani Generis)

38 This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also “about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error.”   (Pius XII, Humani Generis)

This Week in Our History:   November 25-December 2

Note: This project was started in February 2012; we will continue it until a full year of review is completed.

1964:   The new Communion fast rules are now in effect.  The three-hour fasting from food has been reduced to one hour.

The Papal Blessings for the parish and school were obtained by Monsignor Kleinz when he visited Rome this summer.  We are grateful to him for this kindness on his part.

1965:   MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29 IS THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARISH

We had an average Sunday attendance of 1656 during the month (of October) and of this number 717 received Holy Communion each Sunday.

1966:   Remember we are no longer obliged to abstain on Friday except during Lent.

1973:   Banns of Matrimony are announced for the first time between Robert Melaragno of St. Andrew Parish and Marcella Peckham of St. Timothy Parish.

1978:   New Parishioners

M/M Larry McDonald                          Mrs. Alan Zink

M/M William Evans                             M/M Michael Haney
M/M John Homjak                               M/M John Ferraro
M/M James Niewahner                        Dr/M Anthony Linz
M/M Nash Tanago                               M/M John Smurr
Mrs. Lucille Klunk                               Miss Ann Brown
M/M William Schwartz                       M/M James Lambert
Mrs. Thomas Christ                             Juliana Hushak
M/M Norman Dawes                           Marilyn Bolte
Mrs. Eileen Ellis                                  M/M Donald Carroll
M/M Charles Henry                             M/M David LaVelle
M/M Arthur Kovach                            M/M Steven Buck
M/M Anthony McEwen                       M/M Thomas McMahon
Mrs. Yolanda Nelis                               M/M Michael Gillig
M/M Joseph Petrelli

Baptisms

Richard Anthony, son of M/M Richard Coffey

Erika Marie, daughter of M/M Larry McDonald
Jonas Iglesias, son of M/M John Amoss
Kristy Marie, daughter M/M Donald Schmidt
Sara Colleen, daughter of M/M Patrick Kiggins
Kathleen Ann, daughter of M/M Douglas Standley
Andrea Marie, daughter of M/M John Salimbene
Anthony Scott, son of Dr/M Anthony Linz
Lisa Marie, daughter of M/M Thomas Theado

1982:   My dear Parishioners,

  Tomorrow, Dec. 6, I must report to St. Joseph Cathedral for my new assignment.  It is with deep regret that I must leave all of you.  Though my stay in St. Timothy Parish was a brief one, it was a most happy time in my life as a priest.  I shall always cherish the memory of you and the time we shared in the life if the Church.

   I thank all of you for your affection and cooperation.  I ask pardon if I have offended anyone and I request that you remember me in your prayers as I shall remember you in mine.

  May God continue to bless you in your earthly pilgrimage and bring all of us to the Joy of His Eternal Kingdom!

                                         Affectionately, James P. Hanley

1985:    On Saturday, December 7, Sherry Presutti of St. Timothy will marry Donald Miller in St. Timothy.

1989:   Please remember in your prayers, Vienna DeSantis, who was buried this past week.

1992:   Please remember in your prayers, Terry Barnett, respected and beloved employee of the parish, who was buried this past week.

  Terry Barnett, our parish custodian for many years, passed away unexpectedly last week.  The school is currently accepting donations for the family.  This money will be given directly to the family for their use.

1991:   Congratulations to Vern and Mary Rybski who will be celebrating their 40^th wedding anniversary this Saturday.

1993:   Please remember in your prayers, Tim O’Gorman, who was buried this past week.

1995:   New Pastor

As announced by Bishop Griffin in The Catholic Times, Fr. Thomas Shonebarger is the new pastor of St. Timothy Parish.  Fr. Shonebarger will be coming to the parish on Friday of this week, December 1.  He is a fine Priest and a true shepherd of the flock.  You will have the opportunity to meet him next weekend at Mass to give him a hearty welcome to St. Timothy Parish.  May his pastorate here be a long, happy and fruitful one!

Good-Bye and Thank You.

May I take this opportunity to say good-bye, God bless you and to thank all of you for the joyous three and one-half years I have had the privilege of serving as your pastor during this, my second brief tenure.  Thank you for all of your goodness to me and to the parish.  I will remember you fondly in my thoughts and in my prayers.  May God reward you!  Thanks, also, to all who planned, prepared, and hosted the delightful Farewell Reception last Sunday.  Thanks to all who attended and all who remembered me with good wishes, cards, and gifts.  Until we meet again…

                                 Fr. James P. Hanley

2000:   Please remember in your prayers, (former Director of Religious Education) Peg Gerke, who died last week.  Her funeral was held in New Jersey on Wednesday, November 22^nd.  We will have a Memorial Mass for her on Saturday, December 2, at 11:00 a.m.  Also, please remember in your prayers, Miriam Gibian, who died this past week.  May she rest in peace.

2004:   Congratulations to Brian Wetzel and Amy Holland who will be married on Saturday, December 4^th.

2005:   The family of Msgr. James P. Hanley wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude for all the prayers and intentions surrounding his passing.

2008:    A Word from Your Pastor

 …This weekend…presents us with a new moment in the life of our Parish with the ordination of Marion Smithberger as a Deacon.  We are happy to announce that Bishop Campbell is officially assigning him to service in our Parish following his internship during his diaconal training.  Deacon Marion is preaching for the first time at two of our weekend Masses.  We congratulate him and look forward to his ministry among us.  May God Who has begun the good work in Deacon Marion bring it to fulfillment.

2011:   A Word from Your Pastor

Happy Golden Jubilee!  Happy Advent!

  We have reached a truly memorable time for our Parish.   From this weekend forward, we begin the celebration of 50 years as a community entrusted with the mission of living the Gospel together as a family.  We are called to rediscover our roots and to renew our commitment to live as witness to Jesus Christ in the world today.  We welcome Bishop Campbell and all who join us this weekend to share in our joy.