Bible Study for Bright Week
  • 4/8 – 1 Corinthians 15:57 – Lord Jesus, Your resurrection makes us partakers in Your victory. Grant that we may always cherish the promise that awaits us and do all we can to attain to everlasting life with You.
  • 4/9 – John 3:16 – Holy Spirit, thank you for inspiring belief in me. Grant that I may not displace true faith and belief in my Lord and Savior, Jesus with false or trendy spirituality.
  • 4/10 – Philippians 4:13 – Jesus, Your victory is my rock and assurance. Grant that this knowledge may inspire my every action and that it strengthen my courage in proclaiming Jesus to all.
  • 4/11 – Romans 8:37 – Lord Jesus, Your victory is centered in Your Father’s love for us. Grant that my victories may be victories of love.
  • 4/12 – Romans 8:11 – Lord Jesus, I know that I too will be raised from the dead. May this promise prompt me to action today so that I will be found worthy of the everlasting kingdom.
  • 4/13 – 1 Peter 2:9 – Heavenly Father, You created nations and peoples to serve You, each in a unique and special way, with gifts flowing from culture and history. Grant that we may use our gifts for peace and see the underlying unity You call us to.
  • 4/14 – Galatians 4:7 – Lord Jesus, You have made us one with You in the family of Your Heavenly Father. I praise and thank you for making me a co-heir to the eternal kingdom.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, thank you for the victory I have in You.

Fr. Adam’s Easter Wishes

What is the Lord saying to us this Easter? He is telling us that we no longer have to fear, for there is nothing we can ever do, there is no sin too great, there is no hurt to deep that cannot be forgiven by the power of the Resurrection! He is saying to us: “I am Christ. Come all you nations, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb that was sacrificed for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light; I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand, I will raise you up” (from an Easter homily by Melito of Sardis), and I will draw you into my heart where you will live in the presence of God forever.

Come, rejoice, our Lord is risen,
Come sing out the proclamation.
Come sing of His Resurrection.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Lo, our Heav’nly King comes to us,
As a flow’r, arrayed so beauteous,
Over death He reigns victorious.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

All the pow’rs of hell are broken,
All the foes of God are fallen,
Yet us, He has not forsaken.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Three days in the tomb He lay there,
The fate of mankind He would bear,
That His life all mankind might share.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O Lord, through Thy Resurrection,
May we find from sin redemption,
And at last know Thy Salvation.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Let the Resurrection Joy lift us from loneliness and weakness and despair to strength and beauty and happiness.

Happy Easter!
Fr. Adam with wife Danuta and sons Rafal and Marek.

Co Chrystus Pan mówi nam w ten Wielkanocny czas? Chrystus mówi nam, ze nie musimy siÄ™ już lÄ™kać, gdyż nie ma takiej rzeczy, którÄ… kiedykolwiek uczynimy, nie ma tak wielkiego grzechu, nie ma tak gÅ‚Ä™bokich ran, które by nie mogÅ‚y być przebaczone mocÄ… Zmartwychwstania! On mówi nam: “To ja jestem Chrystusem. Przyjdźcie zatem, wszystkie rodziny ludzkie, wszystkie w grzechach grzÄ™znÄ…ce, a otrzymacie odpuszczenie grzechów. Ja bowiem jestem waszym odpuszczeniem, Ja – Pascha zbawienia, Ja – baranek za was ofiarowany, Ja – wasz okup, Ja – życie wasze, Ja – zmartwychwstanie wasze, Ja – Å›wiatÅ‚o wasze, Ja – zbawienie wasze, Ja – król wasz, To Ja was wiodÄ™ na wyżyny niebieskie” (z Homilii Paschalnej Melitona z Sardes), i Ja was pociÄ…gnÄ™ do Serca Swego, gdzie na wieki bÄ™dziecie żyć w obecnoÅ›ci Boga.

Wesoły nam dzień dziś nastał,
Którego z nas każdy żądał:
Tego dnia Chrystus zmartwychwstał,
Alleluja, Alleluja!

Król niebieski k`nam zawitał,
Jako śliczny kwiat. zakwitał:
Po śmierci się nam pokazał.
Alleluja, Alleluja!

Piekielne moce zwojował,
Nieprzyjaciele podeptał,
Nad nędznymi się zmiłował.
Alleluja, Alleluja!

Do trzeciego dnia tam mieszkał,
Ojce święte tam pocieszał.
Potem iść za sobą kazał.
Alleluja, Alleluja!

Przez Twe święte Zmartwychwstanie,
daj nam grzechów odpuszczenie,
a potem wieczne zbawienie!
Alleluja, alleluja!

Pozwólmy, aby Radość Zmartwychwstania wydźwignęła nas z osamotnienia, słabości i rozpaczy ku mocy, pięknu i szczęściu.
Wesołego Alleluja!

Ks. Adam z żoną Danutą oraz synami Rafałem i Markiem.

Easter Reflection

Yippie!!!!!!!!!
Did our team score?

“Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here.”

Yippie, alleluia, celebrate, rejoice, dance, sing, shout out, jubilate, glorify, praise, laud, revel, feast, exalt, delight, smile, rise up, laugh, cheer, make merry!

Our team has scored, we have won, and we didn’t even have to play.

One person – the God-man Jesus Christ stuck with it the entire time, He sacrificed, fought hard, laid out our strategy for success, and gave His all, His very life so that our team would win.

Jesus’ victory is the reason we celebrate today. On Good Friday He completed the course. His sacrificial death washed us in His blood. We are no longer bound to sin and death, but freed. When the Father looks at us, His children, He sees His Son Jesus in us. He loves us so much – in the very same way He loves His Son.

Today, Jesus has shown us the promise – what we will be like forever. Since we are in Him and He is in us, we know that we will be exactly like Him in the resurrection.

The VICTORY? – The power of death has been overcome. Death is no more. The devil has been crushed and he holds no power over us.

What does this victory, nearly 2,000 years ago mean for me today?

Christ’s victory means all of the following and much more:

  • We will live forever.
  • The world cannot tell us that this is it; there is nothing else.
  • We have nothing to fear.
  • We have true power and freedom.
  • We are beautiful in God’s eyes.
  • We have a path and a plan that makes our lives wonderful here on earth.
  • We have reason to celebrate.
  • We are all family – as God’s children, Jesus’ brother and sisters, and as community to each other for we have one faith and hope.

We have reason to proclaim this message: God came to save us and did redeem us. We have won because Jesus won the ultimate victory. He has risen, death is no more for us, GUARANTEED!

Bible Study for Holy Week
  • 4/1 – John 12:12-19 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in the triumphal entry.
  • 4/2 – John 13 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in a heart-wrenching scene.
  • 4/3 – John 14-16 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in His final words to the disciples.
  • 4/4 – John 17 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in a final word to His Father.
  • 4/5 – John 18-19:15 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in His arrest and trial.
  • 4/6 – John 19:16-37 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in His crucifixion, death, and burial.
  • 4/7 – John 20-21 – Fulfilling what He and the prophets said would happen in the Resurrection.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, grant that my reflection this week may awaken gratitude in my heart.

Reflection for Palm Sunday

Our Brother did this for us.
No words can express our gratitude.

“Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.”

How would we thank a brother or a sister who gave their all for us, who sacrificed everything? How would we recognize their gift, a gift so wonderful and remarkable that it gave us complete happiness, fulfillment, and a great life that lasts forever?

Our Lenten theme has focused on family. Now we are at the pinnacle of that Lenten journey. We enter Holy Week recognizing already that at the end we will walk away with a tremendous gift – a gift that our brother gave us.

Jesus said many times, “this is what I have come to do.” He came to sacrifice His life so that we would have life. He came to bear our sins in the form of a heavy cross, scourging, nails, mockery, and abandonment. This was NO ACCIDENT.

Jesus came with a plan – to show us that we have a heavenly Father who loves us so deeply that He would offer up His Son for us. He didn’t do this for show, but to create a real relationship, to break down the barriers we create to separate ourselves from Him.

St. Paul worked hard to convince the Romans of the power of what Christ had done. He said:

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Our Brother came at the right time. He came to a family that either didn’t recognize their Father, or thought they were smarter than their Father. He came to a family that didn’t recognize Him. He came to a family that bickered with their Brother, and eventually killed Him. That’s all of us. And in return…?

In return we know we will live forever, are saved, washed clean. We know we are members of God’s family.

Let’s take time this Holy Week to sit with our Brother, to keep Him company in His time of suffering, abandonment, and need. Let’s take this time to whisper a thank you next to His grave so that on Easter morning we can greet the new day – the day we received our Brother’s gift.

Bible Study for the First Week of Passiontide
  • 3/25 – Colossians 3:13 – Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to forgive as I have been forgiven, with generosity and compassion.
  • 3/26 – Philippians 1:6 – Lord Jesus, You have given me the gospel message. Grant that I may put what You have taught into practice so to fulfill what You have begun in me.
  • 3/27 – Matthew 18:21-22 – Lord Jesus, You have been merciful to me without measure. Grant that I may never keep score or count the cost of the forgiveness I offer.
  • 3/28 – Luke 6:37 – Lord Jesus, through Your grace keep me from judgment and condemnation of others for I live in hope that You will not judge me worthy of condemnation.
  • 3/29 – Matthew 6:14-16 – Father, Your Son taught us to pray to You. May I never count this prayer as words only, but may it be the standard by which I live.
  • 3/30 – Mark 11:25 – Father, grant that my prayer may be filled with love toward those who have hurt me and who I have hurt. Grant me the courage to seek out those I have wronged to make amends.
  • 3/31 – Mark 6:12 – Lord Jesus, open my ears and heart to Your message so that I may repent of my sins and find forgiveness in You.

Pray the week: Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of freedom from sin.

Reflection for Passion Sunday

Mom, Dad, tell him to stop bugging me!
Can’t you get along?

“He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

On Monday morning, October 2, 2006, a gunman entered a one-room Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. In front of twenty-five horrified pupils, thirty-two-year-old Charles Roberts ordered the boys and the teacher to leave. After tying the legs of the ten remaining girls, Roberts opened fire on all of them, killing five and leaving the others critically wounded. He then shot himself as police stormed the building. His motivation? “I’m angry at God for taking my little daughter,” he told the children before the massacre.

The story captured the attention of broadcast and print media in the United States and around the world. By Tuesday morning some fifty-television crews had clogged the small village of Nickel Mines, staying for five days until the killer and the killed were buried.

The blood was barely dry on the schoolhouse floor when Amish parents brought words of forgiveness to the family of the one who had slain their children. The outside world was incredulous that such forgiveness could be offered so quickly for such a heinous crime.

Three weeks after the shooting, “Amish forgiveness” had appeared in 2,900 news stories worldwide and on 534,000 web sites.

Fresh from the funerals where they had buried their own children, grieving Amish families accounted for half of the seventy-five people who attended the killer’s burial. Roberts’ widow was deeply moved by their presence as Amish families greeted her and her three children. The forgiveness went beyond talk and graveside presence: the Amish also supported a fund for the shooter’s family.

Today we are presented with the gift of forgiveness. As the family of God we are offered this wonderful gift, this chance, and not just once, but over and over. Jesus did become the source of salvation to all who obey Him, and the words we must obey, as the family of God, are to forgive. We are to forgive as the Amish did.

Next week the crowds will greet Jesus with adulation, and we will strike the cross with our sins. We will then hear Jesus say clearly: “Father forgive them…” for no sin is so great that it cannot be overcome by His love. Let us stand in awe – and always remember that regardless the burden, God’s heart is open to us.

Holy Week and Easter in Schenectady

A Friend needs you!

Someone’s in trouble and He needs you!

Imagine if a family member were to call and say, “I’m going through something, could you visit with me? It would really help. Please.” That’s exactly what happens during Holy Week. Jesus is facing the toughest week of His ministry on earth. He’s put it all out there, has told it like it is, and He’s being hunted down.

From the heights of adulation on Palm Sunday, to His last meal on Maundy Thursday, His agonizing death and burial on Good Friday, and His time in the tomb, He needs you to sit with Him, to reassure Him of your love and support. Most of His apostles have run off, the crowds are gone. You are the only family He has left. Our Lenten theme has centered on family. Jesus created us as Church, not to be an organization, but to be real family to Him and each other. We all need to step up in His time of need, so please come. He needs you this week.

Then, on Easter Sunday, come back. He wants you to celebrate with Him. Find the stone rolled away, the tomb empty, and your heart filled. Don’t just look for an Easter church… Find the gift of salvation, love, community, family, the Word of God, and freedom with your Christian family at Holy Name of Jesus!

Holy Week and Easter service schedule

Sunday, April 1st: Palm Sunday

  • Blessing and Distribution of Palms, Worship Service, 9:30am.

Thursday, April 5th: Maundy Thursday

  • Reception of Holy Oils and Chrism, Holy Mass, Procession and Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and Stripping of the Altars, 7pm.
  • Private Devotion, 8:30 – 9pm.

Friday, April 6th: Good Friday

  • Church opens for private devotion, Noon.
  • Stations of the Cross, 1pm.
  • Bitter Lamentations, 2pm.
  • Opening of the Tomb, 3pm.
  • Liturgy of the Presanctified, 7pm.

Saturday, April 7th: Holy Saturday

  • Blessing of fire, holy water, renewal of baptismal promises, reading of the Exhortations, blessing of Easter foods/baskets, 4pm.

Sunday, April 8th: Solemnity of the Resurrection/Easter Sunday

  • Finding of the empty tomb, Resurrection procession, Holy Mass, 9:30am.
  • Easter Gathering/ÅšwiÄ™conka, 11am.

On behalf of Fr. Adam, the Parish Committee and with the deepest confidence in your love and support as members of the Christian family, I invite you to join us as we walk with and support our Lord through Holy Week and celebrate with Him at His resurrection.

— Deacon Jim

Basket Social – 4 weeks away!

Our amazing, wonderful, ever popular Basket Social is just 4 weeks away.

Our annual Basket Social will be held on Sunday, April 15th at the VFW Hall at 1309 Fifth Avenue in Schenectady. Doors open at noon. Besides our usual wide array of baskets, there will be door prizes, homemade afghans, and our traditional Polish kitchen serving all your favorites. Homemade desserts too…

Baket social, raffle, door prize, Polish food, Schenectady, Albany, Troy