March 15 Weekly News
Fifth Sunday of Lent
The Agony in the Garden
(Giuseppe Cesari, Italian, 1568-1640)
"In the days when Christ Jesus was in the flesh,
he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears
to the one who was able to save him from death,
and he was heard because of his reverence."
- Hebrews 5:7-8
Around the Parish
Parish Calendar
March 15-24
Friday, March 15
6-7pm...................................Confessions
7pm.........................Stations of the Cross
Saturday, March 16
7am.........................................Man Hour
Sunday, March 17
9-10.......................................CFF GIFT
5pm.........Cub and Boy Scout Meetings
Monday, March 18
7pm...................1st Eucharist Parent Mtg.
Tuesday, March 19
4-8pm.......................................Adoration
5:30-6:30pm.......................CFF Classes
6-6:50pm...........................Reconciliation
6:30-8pm..............................HSFF Class
Wednesday, March 20
6:30pm............................................OCIA
]7pm.....................Music Ministry practice
Thursday, March 21
7pm............................................AA Mtg.
Friday, March 22
3-7pm.....KofC Fish Fry/Belles Bake Sale
6-7pm..................................Confessions
7pm.......................Stations of the Cross
7pm.....Easter Food Sorting (youth room)
Saturday, March 23
7am.........................................Man Hour
Sunday, March 24
11:30am...................Easter Egg Stuffing
5pm...........Cub and Boy Scout Meetings
From Fr. John
Dear brothers and sisters,
Praised be Jesus Christ! This weekend, we have our Confirmation Mass, where 10 of our young people will receive the Sacrament from Bishop Parker. Come, Holy Spirit!
Many thanks to Rachel Bittner, our Coordinator of Youth Ministry and Confirmation, to John Enders, our Catechist, and the sponsors, parents, siblings, mentors, and friends who have prayerfully journeyed with our Confirmandi. Many thanks especially to our newly Confirmed themselves! Your perseverance and openness to the work of the Lord is a blessing to each of us, and a gift to our parish and the entire Church.
Confirmation! If we let it, I think it can be a reminder to each of us of the Holy Spirit and His presence, goodness, and power. Being in a relationship with the Holy Spirit is part of our Catholic life, and the grace of Confirmation deepens that even more.
Like all things in our Christian faith (and anything good, for that matter, spiritual or not), it’s not magic. It takes some humility and openness to really develop this relationship. The Holy Spirit is the Lord and Giver of Life who works in our souls and hearts. The Confirmation of our young people this weekend can be an invitation for us to ask for the strength and inspiration of God the Holy Spirit in a new way.
One of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit is Piety. This Gift helps us with prayer and things of God, religion, and the virtuous life. God knows that, on our best days, worship and prayer can be distracted. He also knows that it can become merely something to get through, distasteful, boring, etc., and that the temptation to just set worship and prayer aside is real. The Gift of Piety helps our minds and hearts to see the goodness of worship and prayer and the good fruit that comes of these whether we’re attentive and feeling it or not.
The good news is that we can ask for this Gift! I’d like to encourage us to do so, especially next weekend with Palm Sunday and as we enter Holy Week and Easter. Let us ask the Lord for the Gift of Piety for ourselves and for all who come to our Easter celebrations.
I’m looking forward to entering Holy Week with you, walking with the Lord in His passion, death, and Resurrection. Come Holy Spirit! Help us to worship well and help us to imitate the Love we worship with grateful, persevering hearts.
Peace,
Fr. John
Worthy of the the Call Teen Volunteer Training, 14-17 years of age.
Teens 14 or older who have not had a chance to do the training and would like to volunteer for Parish Ministries or YM Outreach Projects, etc. Please setup a Training Session by contacting Mrs. Rachel at rbittner@stmaryspylesville.org
Outreach Ministries
BELLES OF ST. MARY
SEWING DAY
We had the most beautiful day for our sewing day this week. We had more than 15 ladies attend. Other ladies delivered dresses made at home.
Dr. Linda Walsh visited. We were able to give her 230 dresses, 54 pair of eyeglasses, 34 pillow cases, and a sewing machine!! She was thrilled.
Dr. Walsh mentioned that they could use sun glasses (especially the big ones from cataract surgery), baseball caps, and canes. She will give us a full list of items they can use. She will be going on a trip to the Dominican Republic in June.
The ladies also completed 55 sewing kits, 23 jewelry kits, decorated bags for the Belle’s craft show, and sewed 16 more dresses!
What a wonderful day the Lord gave us!
Another missionary I met will be visiting the area in April. She would like to meet the sewing day ladies. It will be last minute but we will let you know the date as soon as possible.
Thank you for your prayers and donations,
Sue Pardo & the sewing day ladies
PREVENTION AND RECOVERY MINISTRY
Prevention and Recovery Ministry
Oregon is poised to step back from its first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law with a new measure that would reinstate criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of some drugs.
The law, which took effect in 2021, decriminalized possession and personal use of all drugs, including small amounts of heroin, methamphetamine, LSD, oxycodone and others. The measure would restore penalties for possessing illicit drugs including cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine.
Possession of marijuana, which has been legalized for medical and recreational use in the state, would not be affected. The legislation would implement jail sentences of up to six months for possessing small amounts, and police could also confiscate drugs and stop their use in parks and on sidewalks.
The legislators are moving to change the law now because Oregon is experiencing one of the largest spikes in drug overdose deaths, and a 2023 audit report said the state has the second-highest rate of substance use disorder in the nation while also ranking 50th for treatment access.
Researchers say it’s too soon to determine whether the decriminalization measure contributed to the increase in overdoses. Opponents of recriminalization say it reverts to a failed, decades-old approach of arresting people for possessing and using even small amounts of drugs. They worry that it will disproportionally impact people affected by drug addiction and focuses too much on punitive measures rather than treatment.
Here's the link: Oregon may revive penalties for drug possession. What will the change do? (msn.com)
OUR DAILY BREAD
Our most recent distribution of casserole pans was held on March 9th and 10th.
The recipes can be accessed via the link below.
The recipes can be accessed via the link below.
The frozen casseroles will need to be returned to the Parish freezer by March 17th.
If you have any questions, please contact Bob at crhoopert@zoominternet.net.
Easter Food Project
March 15 & 16
We will use the Youth Room for sorting (March 15th at 7:00pm) and distributing (March 16th at 8:30am).
All our volunteers must have completed either the Virtus or the Worthy of the Call training. If you were on our list for Thanksgiving and Christmas, you don’t need to do anything now. For any new volunteers, please submit your name to Bob at crhoopert@zoominternet.net now. If Barbara Sadler can’t verify that you’ve been trained, you will not be included in our list of volunteers and you will not be able to help sort or distribute the groceries.
St. Mary’s will continue to provide vouchers to each of the families that have been assigned to us by Mason-Dixon Community Services. The vouchers are funded by the special collections that St. Mary’s takes up for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. The vouchers will be redeemable at the local Saubel’s store in Whiteford.
RESPECT LIFE
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! St. Patrick was kidnapped from Britain when he was about 14 years old. The pirates brought him to Ireland, a pagan country at the time, where he was enslaved until he was about 20 years old. During his captivity, he persevered in prayer. A dream from God led to St. Patrick’s escape back to Britain and his family. A vision led him to the priesthood and back to Ireland. Using the shamrock to explain the Trinity, St. Patrick preached the Gospel for 40 years, converting Ireland to Catholicism, until he died March 17, 461. Prayers led to action. What actions can we take to help “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven?”
Pennsylvania: Stop House Bill 1888 Personal Reproductive Liberty. Please contact your representatives and urge them to oppose this legislation. Find your representative at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourleg islator/. Contact them regularly to express opposition to this proposed amendment.
Maryland: The most important vote in the General Election is the vote AGAINST amending the Maryland Constitution. This amendment is about redefining the concepts of male/female, parent/child/family and the very foundation God created for us. Protect your family. Protect your rights. Go to HealthNotHarmMD.org to learn more and donate. To volunteer, email Deborah Brocato at HealthNotHarmMD@gmail.com.
Pregnancy Help:
Gabriel Network (gabrielnetwork.org or 301- 637-3223)
Option Line (optionline.org or 800-712-4357)
Choose Hope Women’s Center (choosehopetoday.org, 443-356-0086).
Post-abortive healing
Project Rachel:
email - ProjectRachel@archbalt.org, call – 410-625-8491 or text – 410-299-9345.
SAVE THE DATE!
BLUEGRASS COFFEE HOUSE
MAY 18, 7-10PM
With Ron Plummer and His Pickin’Pals!
Doors open at 6:30pm.
Admission is $8.00 per person.
If you bring a non-perishable donation from each person for the Food Pantry admission will be $5.00 per person. Admission includes a bottomless cup of coffee/lemonade/ iced tea/or water and a dessert. Other concession foods will be for sale.
Parish Picnic
June 2, 2024
Noon-4pm
The Community Events Group of the Pastoral Council has selected June 2nd, 2024, for St. Mary's Parish Picnic. Volunteers will be needed to make the Picnic a success.
Please watch for future announcements. Lots of fun activities are being planned!!
NEWS
FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE
Knott Scholarship Fund
The Knott Scholarship Funds have been providing merit based, full-tuition scholarships for academically talented Catholic elementary and secondary school students for 41 years. Awarded in the 4th grade for grades 5 through 8, or 8th grade for grades 9 through 12, scholarships are awarded to Catholic students in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who wish to attend a Catholic school.
Applications are available beginning in January and are due in March for awards for the following year. For more information, please visit www.knottscholar.org Knott College Scholarships are also available for the three Catholic universities in Maryland.
Please visit its website for more information www.knottscholar.org
Burial of Cremated Remains
Perhaps you have a loved one's cremated remains that you desire to provide the Corporal Work of Mercy of burying the dead. The Archdiocese of Baltimore provides a final resting place for those who are cremated but not buried at the time of cremation.
This includes cremains of the recently deceased, but also urns of grandparents or great grandparents that may not have been buried and subsequently were misplaced and forgotten over years and decades. Each November, the Ministry of the 14th Station of the Cross buries the urns containing the deceased in sacred ground at Holy Cross Cemetery for a minimal fee of $350 for the burial. Urns are placed in one vault. The deceased may rest in peace while families gain peace of mind, as they know where their family member is perpetually buried. Contact Fr. Patrick Carrion, Office of Cemetery Management, 410-547-5375 or pcarrion@archbalt.org.
Sacraments, Funerals, and Contact Information
Urgent for all Liturgical Ministers. There are calendars placed in the vestibule of the church for sign-ups for the month of April, most importantly Holy Week. Please sign up when you are available. Any questions please contact Sharon Alasandro. (443-243-6317).
St. Mary's Food Pantry
Blessing of Expectant Parents, Saturday & Sunday, January 7&8, All Masses
Food Pantry, Saturday, February 18, 10-11 AM. Snow date is Saturday, February 25.
Happy Feast of Corpus Christi! This weekend, after the 10am Mass, we’re having a Eucharistic Procession around the church. We’ll walk, singing praise and adoration to the Lord as we do, and we’ll stop four times to offer Benediction to the world around us.
May Crowning of Mary, Sunday, May 7 after 10:00 Mass
Food Pantry, Saturday, June 17, 10 AM
A.A. is Coming Back to St. Mary's!
On Thursday, November 9th, at 7pm (and each Thursday after!) we will welcome back to St. Mary's a regular meeting of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Starting on 11/9, the Pylesville 12&12 will meet every Thursday at 7pm in the Church Hall. It is an open discussion meeting available to anyone interested in AA's program of recovery from alcoholism. Non-alcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.
Weddings and Funerals
Masses for weddings and funerals are arranged through the parish office. Contact the parish staff for further guidance.
Other Sacraments
Contact the Parish Office to arrange for Baptisms and the Sacrament of the Sick (Anointing).
Volunteering for the Parish - Virtus Training
Volunteers are the backbone of the parish and we welcome new volunteers with open arms. However, in the world today we must do everything we can to protect all people of all ages, the church and also yourself. Therefore, all adult volunteers are required to go through Virtus training. Volunteers age 14-17 are required to complete Worthy of the Call, and information can be found in the Youth Ministry section above.
If you are ready and willing to give of your time and talent to be a part of one or more of our many ministries, please contact Barbara Sadler, Extension 22 or bsadler@stmaryspylesville.org for the information and guidance of the required Virtus training. The training will provide insight for the protection of all age groups and the responsibilities. DON’T WORRY!! It is an easy procedure.
Flocknote Help: Problems receiving St. Mary's newsletter emails? Contact Flocknote help@flocknote.com or reach out to Fr. John (jRapisarda@stmaryspylesville.org)
Contact Information
Parish Office: 410 879-4015
410 838-7471
410 452-5166
www.stmaryspylesville.org
1021 St. Mary's Road
Pylesville, MD 21132
Email Addresses for Parish Staff
Pastor,
Fr. John Rapisarda
Rapisarda@stmaryspylesville.org
Deacon Phil Seneschal
pseneschal@aol.com
Deacon Brian Olsen
BrianOlsen@archbalt.org
Administrative Assistant
Diana Weidner
dweidner@stmaryspylesville.org
Business Manager
Barbara Sadler
bsadler@stmaryspylesville.org
Coordinator of Religious Education Karen Dietz kdietz@stmaryspylesville.org
Youth Ministry/Confirmation
Rachel Bittner rbittner@stmaryspylesville.org
Submission Deadline: Thursday 12 noon