On Monday, January 15, 2018 our nation will commemorate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Masses will be celebrated at 8:00 and 11:30 AM.
There will be no confessions, and the church offices will be closed for the day.
“Ordinary Time” began for us this week. On the old calendar, the feast of the Presentation, still more than two weeks away, was the last day of the Christmas season.
Sadly, Bethlehem is hardly a place of peace on earth these days. The ancient Christian community has been largely uprooted by political strife. The Church of the Nativity stands (barely) in remarkable disrepair and disorder in Manger Square. The roof is crumbling, the major doorways are blocked, the wiring is faulty, and the worship life is disrupted by quarrels among Eastern Christians.
The church was founded by the Emperor Constantine in 325, destroyed in a Samaritan revolt in 539, and rebuilt by the Emperor Justinian. When the area came under Muslim control in 638, the holiness of the church was respected, and in return Christians allowed Muslims to pray in the south aisle, a right still upheld. Earlier in that century, invading Persians were ordered to destroy all churches, but when they saw the magi carved over the doorway of the Church of the Nativity, they spared it out of respect for their ancestors who bore gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the same city.
The Crusaders restored and redecorated the church by the twelfth century, and it is their plan that survives. Down a few stone steps is a stone grotto with a silver star marking the place of Christ’s birth: when the star was stolen in 1847 it triggered an international crisis that exploded into the Crimean War. Since 1852, the church has been shared by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian Churches. The Greeks are in charge of the grotto, but don’t enjoy the best of friendships with the Armenians. Catholics have the care of the Chapel of the Manger, and avoid the squabbles by a separate entrance to the Franciscan monastery church of St. Catherine.
Pray for peace in Bethlehem!
-Rev. James Field
Starting this month we made a small change in our weekday Mass schedule:
The noon-hour Masses are now celebrated at 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM
(the 1:15 Mass will be eliminated).
So since Tuesday, January 2, 2018, the Mass schedule for Monday to Friday is:
7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 11:30 AM, 12:30, 4:30 and 5:30 PM.
We are back to Ordinary Time and it is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. We hear about Samuel being called by the Lord, but it takes Samuel a while to know that it is the Lord calling him. In today’s Gospel, Andrew hears John the Baptist say “Behold the Lamb of God” as Jesus walks by. This causes Andrew to go to his brother, Simon Peter, and tell him that they have found the Messiah.
The good news about Jesus spreads from person to person. We hear how God them – some individually, others through another person. Each of them responds, willing to cooperate. God continues to touch our lives – what is your reaction?
On Monday, January 15, we celebrate the holiday in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. His following of Jesus and Jesus’ message brought about his death, but what he did stills shines forth like a light in the darkness. His dream is still unfinished and his message continues to remind us that there is more to be done.
I want to thank our Security personnel, the police, the MTA, the TV channels, and the woman all involved in the return of our monstrance last week. We are all shocked when a church is violated or something is stolen. When it happens in your own church, it is happening “right here.” We read: “If you see something, say something.” That is true here at St. Francis too.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
“I was in prison and you came to visit me… truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Join our Immigration Detention Visits in Elizabeth, NJ.
We have visitation dates for 2018.
For more information and to participate, please email us: migrantcenter@stfrancisnyc. org, or call 212-736-8500, Ext. 377.
Thursday, January 11th
6:30 – 8:00 PM in the Francis Room
Fr. Julian Jagudilla, O.F.M., Director of the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, will speak about the plight of immigrants and the human and societal costs of detention and deportation of undocumented persons. He will also speak of the work of the Migrant Center and the detention center visits that he has been organizing to visit detained people. Detained people have minimal contact with the outside world including family and friends and often do not have legal counsel.
The Young Adult Ministry is hosting this lecture which is open to the parish. Those interested in attending the lecture are also invited to stay for a brief training session offered at the end of the discussion for anyone interested in visiting a detention center with the Migrant Center and the Young Adult Ministry in the future. The Young Adult Ministry is committed to supporting the Migrant Center and its efforts of promoting the human dignity and welfare of immigrants and migrants in our community.
Free and Open to the Public
For Your Safety and Our Security
The New Year didn’t start very happily for us because on Tuesday morning, January 2nd, at approximately 7:20 AM, a monstrance was stolen from the altar in the lower church. The Blessed Sacrament was not in the monstrance at the time. The police were called and they are investigating the theft.
As you are probably aware, security issues have risen over the past few years. We having been working hard to enhance the security and safety of our buildings and property with video surveillance and other measures. However, incidents like this are almost impossible to prevent because we cannot patrol every inch of the property at every moment.
We have decided to try to limit access to parts of the church when they are not in use.
Effective immediately, the lower church will be open only during the following hours:
Monday to Friday: 7:30 to 8:30 AM; 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM; 4:00 to 5:30 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 3:30 to 5:30 PM
Sunday: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM and 4:00 to 5:30 PM
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will take place in the upper church Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 11:30 AM and 1:00 and 4:30 PM.
We regret having to put these measures into effect, but we are concerned about your safety as well as the security of our church and buildings. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, and remember, if you see something, say something.
—-
UPDATE: Good News!!!
The Monstrance has been returned to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi!
This recovery we owe in large part to the power of social media.
The Diocese of Brooklyn posted about a monstrance that was found on the F Train in Brooklyn. Then Arrys Ortañez who saw our post about our stolen monstrance, posted a photo of the monstrance sitting in the MTA New York City Transit lost and found office. Because of these two posts, the monstrance was recovered safe and sound. The photo was taken after Fr. Andrew Reitz, our pastor, returned to the parish with the monstrance.
Thank you to everyone who expressed concern for the stolen monstrance. We pray for the troubled person who walked out of the church with it and hope that he receives the help he needs. We believe that the monstrance was taken by someone who is in need of care and assistance.
It is appropriate that we are all concerned for the precious objects that the Church uses in our liturgical and devotional life to worship God. And yet, we must remember, that the monstrance itself is of insignificant value compared to what it holds. It is is not in gold and jewels the the Lord remains with his people, but it is in humble bread and wine of the Eucharist that the Lord of Glory chooses to manifest Himself to and remain with his people.
Peace and all good to everyone.
Reading the Scriptures…makes it clear that the Gospel is not merely about our personal relationship with God. Nor should our loving response to God be seen simply as an accumulation of small personal gestures to individuals in need, a kind of “a la carte” or a series of acts aimed solely at easing our consciences.
The Gospel is about the kingdom of God; it is about loving God who reigns in our world. To the extent that he reigns within us, the life of society will be setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. Both Christian preaching and life, then, are meant to have an impact on society. We are seeking God’s kingdom: “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Jesus’ mission is to inaugurate the kingdom of the Father; he commands his disciples to proclaim the good news that “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
The Christmas Season hasn’t ended. In fact, it offcially ends tomorrow, Monday, with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Today, we celebrate the Epiphany. The beginning of the reading from Isaiah proclaims: “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem. Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you…upon you the Lord shines.”
Although there are many places of darkness in our world, in our cities and even in our lives, the Lord shines upon us and our world. Today, we recall that Magi from the east came to find this “light”, this “king of the Jews.” Can you imagine what they must have thought when they had to go, not to a palace or a comfortable dwelling, but to a humble spot where Jesus was born? This “king” would indeed be different and we know that his message was unique and meant for all people. Our light has come! May he show us the way!
So many cold days. If you are elderly or ill or physically challenged, these are good reasons to stay home and pray at home. There is no sin involved in missing Mass under these conditions. We will have better days coming, but in the meantime, the rule is “common sense.”
You will notice that we have eliminated the 1:15 weekday Mass and moved the 12:15 to 12:30. We have watched the attendance at the noon-hour Masses and decided to combine the 12:15 and 1:15 to one Mass at 12:30. We still have seven Masses a day and we hope that the changes will be helpful.
Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
