The traditional novena of Masses before Christmas (“Simbang Gabi Misa de Aguinaldo”) will be celebrated in the lower church.
Friday & Saturday, December 15-16, at 6:15 PM
Sunday, December 17 at 4:30 PM
Monday-Saturday, December 18-23 at 6:15 PM
3:00 PM, Sunday, December 17th
in the Upper Church
A free will offering to support the music ministry will be taken up.
The Christmas trees, the wreaths and the poinsettias which adorn our sanctuary at Christmas are offered to honor the birth of Christ and to glorify God
We invite you to memorialize members of your family, friends or other loved ones with a donation for our Christmas decorations. Donations and the names of those received by December 14th will be included in the bulletin of December 20th.
Thank you for helping make our church beautiful for Christmas.
Friday, December 8, is the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
It is the patron feast day of the United States, and a holy day of obligation.
Our regular weekday Mass schedule will be in effect:
7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 11:30 AM; 12:15, 1:15, 4:30 and 5:30 PM.
The 4:30 and 5:30 Masses on Thursday, December 7, will also be celebrated for the Solemnity.
Join our LGBT and Young Adult ministries as we delve into the scriptures of Advent.
All are welcome.
Grab your skates and meet us at Bryant Park for some ice skating!
Monday, December 11th
at 6:00 PM (until we all feel like leaving)
in Bryant Park (located on 6th Avenue between 40th & 42nd streets0
The Young Adult ministry is once again heading out to Bryant Park for a night of skating to celebrate the Holiday season.
Not a fan of skating? Grab a hot cocoa and wander around the Winter Village Christmas shops! We will all meet up after skating for one last cocoa (or something like that…)
If you are new to the ministry, some of our coordinators will be wearing a sticker with our logo (below) so you can find us. Please introduce yourselves!
Or if you like, meet at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi before 6 PM and some of us will walk over together.
It’s free… you only have to pay to rent skates if you don’t have them.
All St. Francis of Assisi young adults and friends are welcome!
Join us!
Don’t forget to join our Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stfrancis.youngadults/
Saturday, December 2, 2017
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM;
San Damiano Hall
Facilitator: Fr. William Beaudin, O.F.M.
Enter more deeply into the season of Advent and prepare for the feast of Christmas by taking a few hours to pause, pray, and ponder the mystery of Christ’s presence in your life.
The afternoon will include two presentations by Fr. William, communal prayer, and personal quiet time. Participants are invited to conclude the day by joining the St. Francis of Assisi parish community at the 5:15 PM vigil mass for the first Sunday of Advent.
Schedule:
2:00 PM — Afternoon Prayer
2:15 PM — Presentation
3:00 PM — Quiet reflection
3:30 PM — Refreshments
3:45 PM — Presentation
4:30 PM — Evening Prayer
[5:15 PM — Optional Vigil Mass]
FEE: $25.00
The friars and staff of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi would like to wish all of our parishioners and visitors a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday that unites all people of good will in our country, from all faiths and all backgrounds, in a day dedicated to pausing to thank God for all of the blessings of creation. We thank God for the world and its abundance, for the food we eat and the family and friends we share our lives with.
Here is a prayer you might like to use as you give thanks on Thanksgiving Day:
O Gracious God, we give you thanks for your overflowing generosity to us. Thank you for the blessings of the food we eat and especially for this feast today. Thank you for our home and family and friends, especially for the presence of those gathered here. Thank you for our health, our work and our play. Please send help to those who are hungry, alone, sick and suffering war and violence. Open our hearts to your love. We ask your blessing through Christ your son. Amen
Here is our Mass schedule for the holiday:
Thursday, November 23, 2017 Mass at 11:30 AM only
Friday, November 24
Masses at 8:00 and 11:30 AM
Please note: There will be no Confessions, and the Church offices will be closed both days.
Come and listen! Enjoy original poems by members of the Adult Education Program and friends of the parish.
This free program will take place from:
6:00-8:00 PM,
Wednesday, November 29,
in the Clare Room on the first floor of the St. Francis Parish House.
Wake: Sunday, November 19, 4:00 PM, Lower Church
Wake Service: Sunday, November 19, 7:30 PM, Lower Church
Funeral Mass: Monday, November 20, 11:00 AM, Upper Church
Funeral services for Father Felix McGrath, O.F.M. will begin this Sunday evening, November 19, with a wake in the lower church starting at 4:00 PM. A Wake Service will be held at 7:30 PM. On Monday, November 20, a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the upper church starting at 11:00 AM. Provincial Minister Fr. Kevin Mullen, O.F.M. will be the principal celebrant.
Fr. Felix died on Monday, November 13, at the Riverside Premier Rehabilitation Center here in New York City following complications from recent surgery. He was 87 years of age, and a priest for 56 years.
He was born on May 14, 1930 in the Bronx where he attended Sacred Heart School and Cardinal Hayes High School. After being received into the Franciscan Order in 1954, he made frst profession of vows a year later, then studied theology in Washington, DC where he was ordained to the priesthood on February 25, 1961. His classmates included Fathers Mychal Judge, Patrick Fitzgerald, and Cassian Miles, who also lived and ministered here at St. Francis of Assisi. Following ordination, Fr. Felix ministered at St. Anthony Shrine, Boston; Immaculate Conception Church, Atlanta; and Sacred Heart Church in Rochelle Park, NJ. Next he spent fve years preaching parish missions, and then moved to St. Patrick’s Church in Bufalo, NY where he served from 1970 to 1973.
After a year of ongoing studies in Washington, he embarked on his longest ministry here at St. Francis of Assisi where he served for 43 years and became a popular confessor and preacher, loved by many people who came to him for counseling and advice. In addition, he served for many years as a weekend assistant at a church in Somerville, NJ and as Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscans of the St. Thomas More Fraternity here.
Although quiet and unassuming by nature, Fr. Felix touched many people in his years of ministry. He had great compassion for those who were suffering emotionally and spiritually, and would spend as much time with them as they needed, whether in the confessional or in the parlor. Hoping never to have to retire from ministry, Fr. Felix wanted to keep working right up to the moment the Lord would call him. His fnal illness got in the way, though, but he was ready to do what the Lord asked of him. As we hear in this week’s Gospel: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come, share your master’s joy,” we are grateful to God for Felix’s life among us and are confdent that he is, indeed, sharing the Master’s joy.
