Photos of the Easter Vigil at the Church of St. Francis
At 8:00 PM on Saturday, April 15, 2017 the Church of St. Francis of Assisi gathered in darkness to begin the great Vigil of Easter. The celebration begin with the kindling of the Easter fire and the blessing of the new Paschal candle, while the church burst out in song to celebrate our salvation through Christ victory over death. It was a beautiful celebration filled with music, scripture, celebration and was crowned with the celebration of the sacraments for 18 new fully initiated members of the Church.
Gallery Notice : Images have either not been selected or couldn't be found
St. Francis welcomes 18 newly initiated Catholics
At the Easter Vigil, the Church of St. Francis of Assisi welcomed 18 newly initiated Catholics into our Catholic faith. Our seven elect were baptized and eleven other adults joined them in the celebration of Confirmation. Our pastor Fr. Andrew Reitz, OFM baptized and confirmed our candidates after their preparation through our RCIA ministry.
It is a great joy to see our church grow with these newest members of the body of Christ.
Click here to see photos of our Easter Vigil and the celebration of the sacraments.
Divine Mercy Celebration
The St. Benedict the Moor Fraternity of the Secular Franciscans invites everyone to acelebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy next Sunday, April 23, from 2:45 to 4:30 PM atthe lower church.
The celebration will start with the recitation of the concluding Novena prayer. At 3:00 PM, the modern musical version of the Chaplet will be played.
You can then attend the regular Sunday Mass in the upper church at 5:00 or 6:15 PM.
For inquiries,please call Vicky Vinuya at 347-653-8133.
Second Sunday of Easter: X-treme Christians
You may notice that Acts of the Apostles is the source of the first reading during the Easter season. This book describes how Christianity grew from a handful of disciples to a major religion. Today’s reading about an ideal Christian community is meant to show ordinary believers how to be extraordinary, using three examples I call power, property, and prayer.
Power means the “signs and wonders” (Acts 2:43) performed by the disciples through the power of the Holy Spirit. This should be named last, because it takes a lot of faith to heal the sick. “Of course, we can visit the sick and comfort the dying. Just leave it up to God to cure anyone,” you might say. If you had the same faith as the apostles, you just might be able to cure the sick. Or you might study to become a doctor and cure them with medical skills. As long as you acknowledge that God gave you the brains and the talent to become a doctor, you are doing God’s work.
By property, I mean sharing what you have with those in need. Many disciples were moved to sell their goods and share them with the poor, and word of that must have spread. If you are not called to sell all your goods and become a monk or a nun, you can still tithe to your church or the poor. You can donate time as well, perhaps tutoring disadvantaged kids, helping build or repair houses in poor areas, or bringing meals to shut-ins. The point is that followers of Christ are not just individual do-gooders. They are a community of believers who care about each other and also care about the non-believers who need help of any kind.
So where did these first disciples get the faith to cure the sick and the love to help the needy? The answer is the third example – prayer. Twice in the first reading we hear how “they devoted themselves . . . to the breaking of the bread” (Acts 2:42, 46). Breaking bread was their name for the Eucharist. They also went to the temple to pray, because at that time most disciples were Jewish Christians. As they heard the Hebrew scriptures, they saw how God’s promises were fulfilled in Christ. Later, they added reading from the letters of Paul and preaching about Jesus’ works and teachings. All of these practices helped unite them to Christ and to each other.
-Tom Schmidt
Stewardship: Caring for God’s Creation – Gaudium Evangelii: Chapter 1
“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours…The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration. In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers. It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a center of constant missionary outreach.”
The Pastor’s Corner
Most Sundays, the rst reading for Mass is taken from the Old Testament, but during the Easter season it is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. In these readings we hear of some of the happenings in the early church. We hear of great numbers being converted and baptized.
We hear of the enthusiasm and the great mutual charity that people showed, and their detachment from their possessions.
Today’s Gospel brings us back to earth as we hear Thomas wanting proof that Jesus’ disciples had experienced the risen Lord. It is a human story because wouldn’t we act the same if we were in the same circumstances. Jesus does not deny Thomas this oppor- tunity to have a stronger faith and appears again. “My Lord and my God” is his response. This is a good response for us as we celebrate the Easter season.
Much planning and work is put into our celebrations of the Triduum: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. Congratulations on a job well done go to our Liturgy Team: Fr. Timothy Shreenan, Meredith Augustin, Edward Trochim- czuk, and Joe Nuzzi, as well as the musicians, liturgical ministers, the decorators, and all the volunteers who made everything go smoothly.
I also want to say “well done” and thank you to the Friars who celebrated the Sacrament of Reconciliation for hours before Easter. Even though we have fewer Friars to hear confessions, we were able to take care of the lines of people who waited each day for their turn to confess.
Thank you to all of you for your generosity in the Easter week collections. This is a great help. May Easter blessings come to you abundantly during this Easter season!
Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
The Triduum at St. Francis of Assisi
+
The Triduum:
During the Sacred Triduum, beginning with the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the Church enters into a retreat-like meditation on the death and resurrection of Christ. Ideally, all unnecessary work and preparation should be done before this begins.
Holy Thursday • April 13
Masses: 8:00 AM and 12:15 PM
Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Washing of the Feet and Procession to the Repository: 6:00 PM
Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Korean): 8:00 PM
Confessions: 7:30 to 8:30 AM; 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Good Friday • April 14
The Seven Last Words of Christ: 12:00 Noon
Solemn Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion: 3:00 pm
The Stations of the Cross: 6:00 PM
Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion (Korean): 8:00 PM
Confessions: 8:00 to 11:00 AM ONLY
Holy Saturday • April 15
There will be no confessions on Holy Saturday; the Church will remain closed until 4:00 pm.
The Great Vigil of Easter (Korean): 5:00 PM
The Great Vigil of Easter (English): 8:00 pm
–>Doors will open for the English Vigil at 7:30 PM.
Easter Sunday • April 16
Masses: 8:00, 9:15 (Korean), 9:30 (Lower Church), 11:00 am,12:30, 5:00 & 6:15 PM
There will be no confessions on Easter Sunday.
Easter Monday • April 17
Masses: 8:00 & 11:00 am; 4:30 & 5:30 PM
There will be no confessions and the Church offices will be closed.
+
Easter Flower Donations
During the Easter season, the sanctuary is filled with plants and flowers to celebrate the glory of Christ’s resurrection. We are grateful to those who have donated towards the cost of these decorations.
IN MEMORY OF:
Carlina Apolinaris Acevedo
Cyril, Twalib, Viola Agnes & Family
James Edward Ahearn
Francisco Castro Astacio
Margarita N. Atua
JJ Baldwin
Leo & Emily Bauer
Ursula Beckle & Family
Hans Behn
Yolande Blot-Medard
Jonathan Boyer
Genara Hernandez Castro
Domingo Chua I & II
Linda Davis
Marguerite Dume
Edel Family
Augustin Faustin
Cecilia Astorga Ferraro
Members of the Genes, Herrera, Gonzalez
& Rolando Families
James & Eileen Geoghegan
Matthew Geoghegan
Patricia Geoghegan
Margareth Georges
Joan Dorothy Gilbride
Thomas Aquinas Gilbride
Carol Giovanniello
Arthur & Sofie Graham
J. Lloyd Grant
Mary Grimes
Rev. Edmond Hawley
Fei Fei Huang
Nicole Hudson
R. Isaacs
Jane R. & Charles Janiak
Lina Joseph
R. Knowles
M. Knowles & Friend
Mitchel J. Krask
Leo Kwiatkowski
Sr. Jo Laurienzo, S.N.D.
Lydia & Charles Lawrence
Angela, Keith & the Lee Family
Maria Lucero
Madonna Family
Padre Santiago Mallen, CSSR
Amelia Diaz Manaog
Eduardo & Bienvenida Marte
Alice D. McCormack
Bernice F. McCray
McGee & Schneider Families
Bernabe V. Mendoza
Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr.
Juan Moreno
Carol O’Brien
Robert O’Connell
Hudicourt Pierre
Robert & Frances Pouzar
The Preville Family
Lester & Ann Regula
Maggie Rittler
Eric A. Rivera
Gerchow & Candida Rose
May & Wilfred Simmons
Joseph & Dirk Simmons
Jessie Q. Sotto
Gabriel Ernesto Tarud Hazbun
Vivian Tarud Maria
Michelle Tarud Orozco
Christopher Temple
Ruth & Larry Thorne
Ronald Townes
Vera Traad Name
Cezar Augusto Umadac
Cesar, Aniceta & Rosario Villaruel
Monique Hurbon Wilson
For the Special Intentions of:
Adrienne Augustin
Theresa Doherty
Michael & Providencia Gilbride
Jessica Lee
Ruby Martin
Helga Roth
Daniel Tartaglia
Marie Y. Thomas
Orlando White
Christina Yu
The Paschal Candle has been given
by Kate Puangco for the intentions of the Puangco family.
Recent News & Events
-
Sunday Bulletin - June 29, 2025 June 26,2025 -
Sunday Bulletin - June 22, 2025 June 19,2025
-
-
You're Invited to Our Summer Parish Picnic! June 16,2025 -
United in Love: Pre-Pride Festive Mass June 15,2025 -
Sunday Bulletin - June 15, 2025 June 11,2025