This weekend we will celebrate two important saints in the life of the Church of New York: St. Patrick, our patron saint, and St. Joseph, the husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus.

These two feasts underscore the fact that the Church of New York is essentially a church of immigrants.

St. Patrick is one of the patron saints of Ireland, and when the Irish Catholics immigrated to the United States in the 19th century they brought with them their devotion to this great 5th century saint.  Patrick immigrated to Ireland from his home in Britain and is credited with bringing Christianity to that country.  When New York’s first cathedral was dedicated in 1815, old St. Patrick’s on Mott Street, the diocese was placed under the patronage of St. Patrick.  To this day St. Patrick’s day is a huge celebration for our city.  St. Patrick’s feast day is March 17th.  Below is the famous prayer called the “Breastplate of St. Patrick.”

The second feast we celebrate this time of year is the Feast of St. Joseph on March 19th.  Joseph barely needs an introduction.  He was immensely important in welcoming the Son of God into the world and protecting His mother Mary.  Joseph is remembered for his strength, obedience, faith and his simplicity.  Joseph is the silent saint.  In the gospels we never hear Joseph speak.  All we know about him is that he was a carpenter who was engaged to Mary.  When Mary was found to be pregnant he trusted the angel’s message and married her despite the fact that the child wasn’t his.  Joseph’s life wasn’t always easy.  He had to migrate to Egypt to protect his family, and then live in fear that enemies of Jesus might still seek the child’s life.  And yet Joseph lived a simple life:  he was a husband, a father, and a worker.  His life resembles the lives most of us live: quite, normal lives striving to do the will of God.  Maybe it is for this reason that he was named the patron saint of the universal Church.  In many catholic countries, St. Joseph’s day is also celebrated as “Father’s day.”  In New York, devotion to this great saint was brought from Europe by the mass waves of immigrants from Italy in the late 19th and early 20th century.

May St. Patrick and St. Joseph, whose devotions were carried to the new world in the hearts of immigrants fleeing from poverty and oppression pray for immigrants today who come to our shores seeking refuge and opportunity.  And may these great saints, who were immigrants themselves, pray for us that those of us who are established here may welcome with open hearts the newly arrived immigrants in our midst.

Here is the famous Breastplate of St. Patrick, a prayer attributed to the Saint who lived in the 5th century.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

Goal for St. Francis Church (#068): $98,500

Donations as of March 10: $15,270

Number of Donors: 41

Average Donation: $372.44

Catholic Education either through Catholic Schools or Parish Religious Education Programs has always been a priority for the church. The Archdiocese of New York provides training and ongoing education for those involved with the education of our young people. The Cardinal’s Appeal supports this important mission of the church.

Please send your gift to The Cardinal’s Appeal, 1011 First Avenue, NY, NY 10022.

And please indicate that your parish is the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, Manhattan.

On this, the Third Sunday of Lent, we hear the Gospel of Jesus as he encounters a Samaritan woman at a well. It is an interesting dialogue in addition to the fact that Jesus, a Jew, is talking in public to a woman who is a Samaritan. This is also interesting because he is talking with her at a time of the day when women normally do not go to the well for water; they go in the morning. After the conversation, she returns to the village and tells about her encounter with “this man.” This causes many to come to believe in Jesus. Nothing can stop Jesus from fulfilling his mission from bringing good news to the various kinds of people that he encounters in the places where he travels. Nothing can stop him.

What about us as we continue the mission of Jesus?

We recently had a situation in our Adult Education building that made it necessary to make an unexpected decision. Several of the large windows in the building began to show their age by becoming dislodged from their casings. Some even fell out. Although we could fix them temporarily, it would only be a matter of time when something else might happen. Therefore, we decided to replace all 33 windows in the building since they had all been installed at the same time years ago. New windows are currently being installed, thanks to the promptness of the window company. Of course, this is an unexpected expense. The total cost is $33,000. We have some emergency funds available, but we could use help in paying for this expense. A few extra dollars in the collection or an outright gift (online is a possibility) would be greatly appreciated. These old buildings have served us well over the years, but they need our constant attention. Thank you for helping us with this situation.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

It may seem odd to hear the Gospel of the Transfiguration of Jesus during Lent. Wouldn’t it fit better after Easter? An answer is found a few verses after our Gospel selection. Jesus tells the disciples that he will suffer (Mt. 17:12). The vision of Jesus’ glory shared by Peter, James, and John was meant to help them not to become discouraged by Jesus’ death on the cross. Some of the details in the Gospel can help us understand how Lent leads to Easter. First, we hear about Jesus’ appearance, that “his face shone like the sun” (Mt. 17:2). If the disciples didn’t believe that Jesus was the Son of God before, they surely did now. For us this can be a reminder that God is with us during this season of Lent, helping our faith to grow.

Next, the three disciples see Moses and Elijah, symbols of the Old Testament. Peter wants them to stay, but the voice of God interrupts and tells them that now they should listen to Jesus. The Gospel tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus throughout Lent. Do I grumble about Lent, seeing it is as another set of laws to be obeyed? Perhaps I’m forgetting that Lent is not about how much I do for God, but a time to reflect on what God has done for me. The last line of the Gospel has Jesus telling the three not to tell anyone about their vision until after his resurrection. Maybe the disciples were tempted to brag that they were better than the other followers of Jesus. This reminds us that the sacrifices of Lent don’t just make us look holy; they lead us to the new life of Easter.

We hear the account of the Transfiguration on this Second Sunday of Lent. What a remarkable experience this must have been for those closest to Jesus! No wonder they didn’t want it to end. Although this scene on Mount Tabor is unique, experiences on mountains happen today. Recently, I went on retreat with 45 of our Young Adults to Mt. Alvernia Retreat Center in Wappingers Falls, NY. It was on a mountain and wonderful transfigurations/transformation took place there. Whenever I have been to the city of Assisi, Italy, built on the side of a mountain, something happens there. At these times we are pulled away from our daily lives and the separation helps us experience God more clearly. We want to stay there, but we can’t remain on the mountain. If you haven’t experience this,look for an opportunity – it will transform you.

Our RCIA Elect and Candidates for full communion in the church are in their final weeks before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. Let us keep them in prayer because this is an important time in their lives. What would you be like if, as an adult, you were getting ready to be Baptized, receive Holy Communion for the first time and be Confirmed? This can be a time for us to be renewed and recommitted to our faith.

Next Saturday, March 18, is our Wills Seminar. It is free and will be held after the 4 PM Mass. This can be a great help to you, especially if you have been putting off doing something about these important decisions. You will be at peace after you take care of these issues and it will be a great help to your family.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

The second reading this Sunday is not easy to follow, especially when some of Paul’s sentences are more like paragraphs. But you will notice that he makes several important connections: between sin and death, between Adam and Jesus, and between obedience and disobedience.

Sin, he says, is the cause of death. Of course, everyone is subject to death at some point, even if they haven’t sinned. A less serious sin can be a little “death” when it makes us feel that we are not as close to God as we could be. And sins that we might think are not a big deal, like smoking, can lead to serious health problems.

The connection between Adam and Jesus is not so obvious. Adam was the first to bring sin and death into the world. Jesus is the first to bring forgiveness by his death on the cross. The main difference between them is that Adam disobeyed God, while Jesus was obedient to his Father. Adam reminds me of a child who knows what he is supposed to do, but thinks that he can do the opposite and get away with it.

In the Gospel, Satan can be thought of as trying to get Jesus to do things the easy way. When he tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread, he shows Jesus an easy way to feed the people. But Jesus takes a better way, when he feeds us with himself in the Eucharist. The devil says Jesus can throw himself off the temple as a dramatic way to attract followers; Jesus lets himself hang from the cross to draw people to himself. Satan promises the kingdoms of the world if Jesus will only worship him.  But Jesus chose to be crowned with thorns and receive his kingdom when he rose fromthe dead.

-Tom Schmidt

“At the end, we will find ourselves face to face with the infinite beauty of God and be able to read with admiration and happiness the mystery of the universe, which with us will share in unending plentitude. Even now we are journeying towards the sabbath of eternity, the new Jerusalem, towards our common home in heaven.

Jesus says, ‘I make all things new.’ Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place and have something to give those poor men and women who will have been liberated once and for all…

In the meantime, we come together to take charge of this home which has been entrusted to us, knowing that all the good which exists here will be taken up into the heavenly feast.”

The First Sunday of Lent: The Gospel tells of Jesus in the desert and the temptations that he has to deal with. At the conclusion of the third temptation, Matthew’s Gospel says: “The Lord your God shall you worship; Him alone shall you serve.” There are so many temptations that pull us away from God. As temptations, at first they may seem to be something to pursue, but we quickly (and at times not so quickly) learn that we have wasted our time and are headed in the wrong direction. The beginning of Lent asks us to look at our own temptations and recognize how strong and deceptive they are. Lent gives us time to deal with them so that we can control them rather than they control us.

I hope that the Lenten booklets that were distributed at Mass last Sunday will be daily source of inspiration as you travel through this season. If you would like something else to accompany you throughout this season, there are more Lenten books on the Book Tables in the lobby of the Parish House.

Best wishes and blessings to our Catechumens who will become our Elect at the Cathedral this Sunday afternoon. Cardinal Dolan will preside at the Liturgy when all of the catechumens in the Archdiocese of New York will move ahead in their journey to the Easter sacraments. Our prayers are with you.

-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.

The Church of St. Francis of Assisi will observe
Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 20.

Masses will be celebrated at 8:00, 11:00 AM, 4:30 and 5:30 PM.

No confessions will be scheduled; the church offices, switchboard and St. Francis Adult Education Center will be closed for the day.

“Mary, the Mother who cared for Jesus, now cares with maternal affection and pain for this wounded world. Just as her pierced heart mourned the death of Jesus, so now she grieves for the sufferings of the crucified poor and for the creatures of this world laid waste by human power.

Completely transfigured, she now lives with Jesus, and all creatures sing of her fairness. She is the Woman, ‘clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.’ Carried up into heaven, she is the Mother and Queen of all creation. In her glorified body, together with the Risen Christ, part of creation has reached the fullness of its beauty. She treasures the entire life of Jesus in her heart and now understands the meaning of all things. Hence,we can ask her to enable us to look at this world with eyes of wisdom.