Saint Casimir Parish

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Jan. 2019

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MINISTRY OF PRAISE
 

FEBRUARY, 2019
 
St. Casimir Parish
Almighty God,
grant that with the help of St. Casimir’s intercession
we may serve you in holiness and justice.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE FOLLOWING INTENTIONS

  • That generous welcome and help be given to the victims of human trafficking, of enforced prostitution, and of violence.                                                                                               (February Papal intention)
     

    •

  • That the Church’s preaching and teaching will win many to the authority of the Gospel.
     

  • That attacks on religious liberty be ended and the right to practice religion in freedom be protected.
     

  • That our parish community live as the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
     

  • That civil rulers will work to eliminate the structural causes of poverty and to develop programs to integrate the poor into the greater community.
     

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  • That God bless Father Bacevice and the Pastoral and Finance Councils in their efforts to secure the future of St. Casimir Parish.
     

  • That all parishioners recognize their responsibility to St. Casimir Parish’s future through financial support, commitment to parish activities, sharing ideas, and most importantly prayer.
     

  • That those engaged in business will serve the common good by making the goods of the world accessible to all.
     

  • That those who are afflicted, especially the poor, refugees, and marginalized, may find welcome and comfort in our communities.
     

  • That those who pray be validated in their belief of its power.

WHAT’S HAPPENING            AT ST. CASIMIR PARISH?

  • February   1st     First Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 8:00 - 9:00am in Church.

  • February 13th     Eucharistic Adoration, 6:00 - 7:00pm in Church
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  • February 17th     Parish celebration of Lithuanian Independence Day 10:00am
     

 
SAINTS FOR JANUARY

SEVEN FOUNDERS OF
THE ORDER OF SERVITES

 (13th century)

 
 February 17th

 

“Lord, fill us with the love which inspired the seven holy brothers to honor the mother of God with special devotion and to lead your people to you.”                                                                                           (Opening Prayer, Proper of Saints, Feb. 17)

     The thirteenth century was a time of introspection in the Church. It was a restless time, and a time of change. There was an awareness that reform and change were needed. Florence, Italy was a city torn by political and religious strife. Morals were low and religion seemed meaningless. In 1240 seven noblemen of Florence mutually decided to withdraw from the city to a solitary place for prayer and direct service of God. Since two of the men were still married and two were widowers, their initial concern was providing for their dependents. 

     They hoped to lead a life of solitude in penance and prayer, but they soon found themselves disturbed by constant visitors from Florence. They withdrew to more deserted areas, but after several years and at the wish of their bishop, six of them were ordained priests. The new community took a form of religious life like the Mendicants (friars who survived by begging for alms): Franciscans, Dominicans, Carmelites, and Augustinians. They called themselves the Servants of Mary (Servites). Their numbers increased, and they began to engage in the active ministries of teaching, preaching and a parochial-like ministry. All seven remained very active throughout their lives.

     Members of the community came to the United States from Austria in 1852 and settled in New York, and later in Philadelphia. As they had done in Europe, community members combined monastic life and active ministry. 

Sources: IN HIS LIKENESS, Rev. Charles E. Yost; SAINT OF THE DAY, Leonard Foley, O.F.M., Editor.

 

THOUGHTS FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Hope
 

#2657 The Holy Spirit, who instructs us to celebrate the liturgy in expectation of Christ’s return, teaches us to pray in hope. Conversely, the prayer of the Church and personal prayer nourish hope in us. The psalms especially, with their concrete and varied language, teach us to fix our hope in God: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” As St. Paul prayed: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

 REFLECTION

In Ascent of Mount Carmel, St. John of the Cross wrote:

“Oh that someone might show us how to understand, practice, and experience what this counsel is which our Savior gives us concerning the denial of ourselves, so that spiritual persons might see in how different a way they should conduct themselves upon this road than that which many of them think proper…Oh that someone would tell how far Our Lord desires this self-denial to be carried!”

“Receive one child”
(Sister Ruth Burrows, O.C.D., a Carmelite nun in Norfolk, England)

     Our hearts should always be asking, “What more, Lord? What do you want of me?  Show me anything that is preventing your love having full scope in me. Show me. Help me to see the showing. Help me to hear the answer to the question: ‘what more?’”

    What our Lord asks, what he realized was so bitterly hard for the human heart, was “conversion”: our accepting to turn around, to be uncoiled from the self-possession, self-centeredness, and self-orientation that is our native condition, to become God-possessed, God-centered, God-directed. It is what he means by becoming a little one, a child, who alone is capable of receiving the kingdom, of knowing the mysteries of the kingdom.

     This re-making is God’s exclusive work. But we must accept his work, we must allow his divine hand to take hold of us and wrench us into true shape. And we resist with all our might. He knows that only when we are thus re-shaped can we be truly happy. Our misery springs from our self-centeredness. Joy and freedom are in God’s possession.  “Ah, if only you knew what is for your peace! (Lk 19:42).

     Let us then open our hearts to God that his Spirit may take possession of us and the dream of God become a reality in our lives, the dream of our vocation—God alone.

Source: MAGNIFICAT. Feb. 2014, Vol. 15, No. 12, pp. 355-356.