St. Mary Bremen Catholic Church Weekly Bulletin (February 19, 2012)


St. Mary Catholic Church
602 Marietta Street
Bremen, Ohio 43107
Tel: 740-569-7929

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Weekly Bulletin
February 19, 2012

Bulletin Archives


St. Mary Catholic Church


Pastor:	Father Thomas Kessler
Assisting Priest:	Father John M. Reade

Office Hours:	Monday, Tuesday & Friday (9 am - 2 pm)
Phone:	740-569-7929
Parish Secretary:
email:	bremenstmary1@frontier.com

	Parish Staff


	Masses
Sunday	8:30 AM
Monday	8:15 AM
Tuesday	8:15 AM
Wednesday	8:15 AM
Thursday	8:15 AM
Friday	8:15 AM
Saturday	6:00 PM


	Collect for The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Today's Prayer Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, always pondering spiritual things, we may carry out in both word and deed that which is pleasing to you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.


	In February Pope Benedict Asks Us to Pray General: ... that all peoples may grow in harmony and peace through mutual understanding and respect. Mission: ... and that children and young people may be messengers of the Gospel and that they may be respected and preserved from all violence and exploitation.

This Week

	Saturday February 18 6 PM	Sunday February 19 8:30 AM
SACRISTAN / USHER	John and Eleanor Schmelzer	Joe Young
LECTOR	John Schmelzer	Barb VanFossen-Cook
SERVERS	Spencer Conrad Reagan Conrad	Sydnee Rogers Ethan Schmelzer
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS	Neil Boch Leo Kunkler, Sr. John Schmelzer	Karen Wolfe Cathy Wolfe Joe Young
GIFTS	Frank Schmelzer Family	Joseph Young Family

Next Week

	Saturday February 25 6 PM	Sunday February 26 8:30 AM
SACRISTAN / USHER	John and Eleanor Schmelzer	Joe Young
LECTOR	Linda Boch	Karen Wolfe
SERVERS	Rhett Sanford Johnathon Schmelzer	Cody Schmelzer Tony Schmelzer
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS	Brad Bell Pam Redding Eileen Schmelzer	Cheryl Kallimanis Irene Kunkler James Schmelzer
GIFTS	John Schmelzer Family	Dennis Kallimanis Family


Morning Prayer

Bremen St. Mary:	Monday - Friday @ 8 AM
St. Bernadette:	Monday @ 8:45 AM

St. Mary Parish -- Celebrating God's Gifts


*Why Observe Lent Faithfully?*

	There are plenty of good reasons to take Lent seriously. Some people talk about this season as a kind of #spiritual spring cleaning." A little austerity never hurt any one. So fasting and abstaining - which aren't really very big efforts any more - won't do any harm. Giving up candy or sugar in your coffee is not a bad idea. A very small dose of a fitness course, to make up for the New Year's resolutions that you didn't keep, might be just the thing. A generation ago religious leaders (that usually meant priests back then) would sometimes say, "Forget about giving things up for Lent. What are you going to DO for Lent?" But one of the nice things about being Catholic is that, in choices like that, we don't need to decide "either / or"; we are better off with "both / and": DO something and GIVE UP something. That combination has been around since the time of Jesus, who spoke (in the Sermon on the Mount, no less) about PRAYER, FASTING, and ALMSGIVING as the great works of religious living. He wasn't talking about Lent or even about Christian living. Jesus just presumed that God's devotees would be doing prayer, fasting, and almsgiving; these are THINGS ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PLEASE GOD WOULD DO. THE NEW THING that Jesus talked about was that when we do these things it should be IN A GOD-FOCUSED WAY - instead of doing them for the attention and respect we would get if we could get people to notice us doing them. The Church invented Lent as A TIME FOR RENEWING THE PRACTICES OF THE GODLY LIFE in preparation for the celebration of EASTER. And Easter is THE DAY FOR BAPTIZING and FOR BEING RENEWED IN our own birth to new life in BAPTISM. So Easter is the day for being born again, and Lent is the season for rediscovering what it means to come alive in the Lord. Just as the Church gets us ready for a good celebration of the Lord's resurrection EACH SUNDAY by inviting us to die to ourselves on THE PREVIOUS FRIDAY, so she also has a Good Friday to prepare for Easter Sunday, and also forty days of Lent to prepare for a fifty day season of Easter. Catholics have been doing something extra for Lent for a very long time. Saint Benedict (480-547), the father of Western monasticism, tells his monks in his "little Rule written for beginners" about keeping Lent. The life of a monk ought always to be a Lenten observance. However, since such virtue is that of few, we advise that during these days of Lent he GUARD HIS LIFE WITH ALL PURITY and at the same time WASH AWAY DURING THESE HOLY DAYS ALL THE SHORTCOMINGS OF OTHER TIMES. This will then be worthily done, if we restrain ourselves from all vices. Let us devote ourselves to tearful PRAYERS, to READING and COMPUNCTION OF HEART, and to ABSTINENCE. ~ The Rule of Benedict, Chapter 49, On the Keeping of Lent And in chapter 48, Benedict also says something about spiritual reading during Lent. During the Lenten season let them be employed in reading from morning until the third hour ... . During these days of Lent let all receive books from the library, and let them read them through in order. These books are to be given out at the beginning of the Lenten season. ~ The Rule of Benedict, Chapter 48, Of the Daily Work Saint Benedict knew that the Lenten preparation for the Easter renewal of Baptism had to be shaped by THE SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION OF SELF-SACRIFICE (done in the company of other Christians) and had to be informed by A RENEWED AWARENESS OF THE SPIRITUAL TEACHING of the Scriptures and the Fathers. Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving - together they are a good idea. Printed below are some suggestions for Lenten practices I found in the weekly newspaper, *THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER. See if some of them might not fit you. ~ Father Kessler* FASTING Fast with one full meal, no snacks, one day a week. Skip meat an extra day (or two) a week. Give up alcoholic beverages. Give up coffee (or reduce to one cup a day). Give up all desserts. Give up all unnecessary shopping. Fast from music in the car. PRAYER Begin (or begin again) the daily Rosary. Meditate for 10 minutes a day. (Daily meditations can be found at Catholic.net.) Choose one extra devotion per week during Lent: Stations of the Cross, Eucharistic adoration or a weekday Mass. ALMSGIVING/CHARITY Visit a nursing home with your children. Forgive someone and patch things up in a visit, or, if necessary, by phone or letter. Give up gossip, judging or profanity. Say a kind word to everyone you meet. Pay a significant compliment to each of your children every day. Visit an elderly friend or relative. Save up a significant amount of money for a deserving charity or apostolate. FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Do chores without complaining. Restrict your TV, Internet or music time. Restrict your phone time. Send a letter or picture to a grandmother, aunt or godparent. Make a new friend outside your “crowd.” Be a friend to a shy person. Give up that bad place, person or thing. Choose a favorite toy, book or piece of clothing and put it away until Easter.

Marriage Tip From ForYourMarriage.Org

"Your offenses; your sins I remember no more." (Is 43:25) "Child, your sins are forgiven." (Mk 2:5) We humans hold grudges - but that is not the way of God. Let go of an annoyance or fault of your beloved today. Don't bring it up again - at least for a week.

www.ForYourMarriage.ORG

	*St. Vincent Clothing Drive* The Bremen St. Mary St. Vincent de Paul Society is sponsoring a clothing drive to benefit the St. Francis Center in Vinton County. Bring clothing donations to the parish hall today and they will be sorted and delivered to McArthur.
	*Happy Hearts* The Happy Hearts women's club will meet for lunch at noon on Thursday, February 23, at the Liberty Bell. After lunch will be a meeting for members to plan for the ecumenical breakfast to be held in late March. All ladies of St. Mary Parish are invited.
	*Ash Wednesday* Ash Wednesday is February 22. Ashes will be imposed during: St. Bernadette at 8:15 AM and at 6 PM Masses and St. Mary at noon and at 7:30 PM Masses
	*What are You going to do for Lent?* It's time now to make up your mind about Lent, which starts this week. Are you going to do anything about it? Like pray or fast or give alms? You could just get some ashes on Ash Wednesday and some palm on Palm Sunday and lie low in the meantime. Or you could look into what the pope has to say about self-denial in his Lenten message (go to the Vatican web site); decide what weekday you'll attend Mass each week; come to stations on Fridays; read the Bible for fifteen minutes each day; You could even think about doing several of the above!
	*Lenten Fast and Abstinence* During Lent, Catholics in the United States abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent. Catholics 14 and older are bound by the law of abstinence; fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday - which means eating only one full meal on those days. One or two smaller meals may be taken on those days, but may not total one full meal; no food may be eaten between meals. All adults are bound by the law of fast until they are 59. Pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.
	*Way of the Cross* On all the Fridays of Lent at 7 PM St. Mary and St. Bernadette parishes will both pray the Way of the Cross, followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. You could join in! And bring your kids!
	*Rice Bowl* This year's theme for Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl, "For I Was Hungry," reminds us that when we serve our brothers and sisters in need, we also serve Jesus. This Lent, we answer the call to serve the "least of our brothers and sisters through Catholic Relief Services' Operation Rice Bowl. Since 1975 Operation Rice Bowl has offered Catholics in the United States a way to connect with our brothers and sisters around the world. This Lenten season, CRS invites Catholics to pray with their families and faith communities; fast in solidarity with those who hunger; learn about our global community and the challenges of poverty overseas; and give sacrificial contributions to those in need. Additional materials can be obtained through the diocesan Office for Social Concerns at (614) 241-2540. You may visit the Operation Rice Bowl website at orb.crs.org. This week's reflection and education is on the Catholic Relief Services' agriculture programs in Madagascar and around the world help farmers in the poorest communities improve their harvests using environmentally sensitive techniques that help preserve the land for future generations. To learn more about what is being done, visit: http://orb.crs.org/country-page/madagascar.
	*Catholic Times* Thank you to new and returning readers of our diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Times. Contact the parish office if you missed the special collection and learn how to sign-up for the upcoming year for a minimum donation of only $17 (parish rate). Bishop Campbell urges all Catholic households in the diocese to receive and read the Catholic Times.
	*St. Gabriel Radio* St. Gabriel Catholic Radio is on AM 820. Enjoy solid Catholic programming (including Bishop Campbell, Tuesdays at 5 pm) that will help in your journey to know, love, and serve the Lord.
	*Couples Winter Retreat "Heart and Soul"* On February 24 and 25, treat your beloved to a winter get-a-way amongst the wooded countryside of Licking County. Enjoy, from Friday evening to Saturday evening (following a candlelight dinner), quiet time together in the warmth of our retreat house. Share, as well, with other couples in presentations by Deacon Jim and Mary Sturgeon to feed your hearts and souls. $120 per couple. RSVP to Sts. Peter and Paul Retreat Center, Newark, at 740-928-4246 or email us at info@stspeterandpaulretreatcenter.org. Visit there website at www.stspeterandpaulretreatcenter.org
	*RCIA* Please keep PRAYING for the RCIA participants who are preparing to BE BAPTIZED, CONFIRMED, AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION at the Easter Vigil. And pray for those already baptized in another ecclesial communion who will PROFESS THEIR CATHOLIC FAITH, BE CONFIRMED, AND RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION, also at the Easter Vigil. Additionally pray for their children who will be entering the Church and for several others who are at various stages of preparation for entry into the Church later.
	*Cum Christo* Contact Susan Eyerman at (740) 503-1939 to learn more about *THE CURSILLO METHOD OF PIETY, STUDY, ACTION AND GROUP REUNION. Participate in a special WEEKEND OF CHRISTIAN LEARNING* The March 22-25 men's weekend and the April 26-29 women's weekend are accepting applications.
	*2012 Columbus Catholic Men's Conference* The 15^th annual Columbus Catholic Men's Conference, *CALL TO ACTION: BE THE NEW MAN IN CHRIST*, featuring Richard Lane, Scott Hahn, Father Schalk, Msgr. Morris, Father Dosch, and Bishop Campbell, will be held Saturday, March 3, at the Lausche Building at the Ohio State Expo Center in Columbus. For questions, email julienap@columbus.rr.com. Men interested in carpooling may phone Jim Schmelzer at (740) 215-3894 for details.
	*Marriage Preparation (Pre-CANA)* Engaged couples need to attend this event on Saturday, March 10, at St. Mark Catholic Church, from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Breakfast and lunch are provided; dress is casual. Cost is $70 per couple. To register, call Tim and Annie Deitz (740) 687-5610.
	*2012 Natural Family Planning Workshops* St. Thomas More Newman Center (on the OSU campus, Columbus) will host a diocesan *SPRING NFP WORKSHOP* beginning on March 10. The registration fee of $65 @ couple includes instructional materials; financial assistance is available. To register, contact the Marriage and Family Life Office at 614-241-2560 or FLOMailbox@colsdioc.org.
	*2012 Columbus Catholic Women's Conference* This year's conference, *CLOTHED WITH STRENGTH AND DIGNITY, BECOMING A WORTHY WOMAN OF GOD, will take place on Saturday, February 25, at the Ohio State Expo Center Lausche Building in Columbus. Speakers include: Leah Darrow from America's Next Top Model; Gloria Anderson, author of The Heart of Jesus from the Domestic Church*; Jenn Giroux of Human Life International; and Yvonne Florczak Seeman, founder of Love from Above. Visit www.columbuscatholicwomen.com for details.
	*Josephinum's 7^th Annual Irish Fest* The Pontifical College Josephinum welcomes you to its seventh annual Irish Fest on Saturday, February 25, from 5 PM to 11 PM. This celebration of Irish culture and heritage will be preceded by Mass at 4:30 PM in the seminary's main chapel, followed by an evening of traditional Irish music, food and dance. 100% of the proceeds assist seminarians with medical bills, books and office supplies, computers, and travel home for family emergencies. Tickets may be purchased at the door and are $20 for adults and $5 for youth. Children under 11 are free. Pre-sale tickets ($15 adults; $5 youth) may be purchased until Friday, February 24. Call (614) 885-5585 to purchase tickets or visit the lobby of the Josephinum on weekdays. Parking is free.
	*Pilgrimages* Father Michael Dosch OP, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Columbus, invites you to join him on a pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes from June 25 to July 6, 2012. Contact Fr. Michael at Michael.dosch@juno.com or the Lourdes Pilgrimage Office at lourdespilgrimageoffice@comcast.net or (877) 276-7279. This is an opportunity for pilgrims to experience the international Church as a family while embracing the messages of these two great Marian shrines which are places of solidarity, humility, love and compassion. Father Justin Reis, former pastor of St. Bernadette, will lead a pilgrimage to Rome, Florence, and Assisi from October 21-30. This pilgrimage marks the Year of Faith declared by Pope Benedict to mark the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. For information call Fr. Reis at (614)889-2221 x 113 or email jjreis@rrohio.com.
	*The Bishop Teaches On St. Gabriel Radio* Listen to Bishop Campbell on ST. GABRIEL CATHOLIC RADIO 1580 am for weekly reflections from 5 to 5:15 PM on Tuesdays. Streaming audio is available at www.stgabrielradio.com.
	*Bulletin Deadline* BULLETIN NOTICES must be sent to the appropriate office by 9 AM on the Friday that is ONE WEEK PRIOR TO THE SUNDAY you wish a notice to appear. If the notice is FOR ST. BERNADETTE PARISH ONLY, send it to Kathy at saintb@stbparish.org. If the notice is FOR THE BREMEN PARISH or FOR BOTH PARISHES, send it to the secretary at bremenstmary1@frontier.com. MASS ANNOUNCEMENTS (when these are really necessary) must be given to the parish office by 9 AM on Friday.
*"Out of gratitude we share our income for the works of God."*


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Collect for The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time