July/August 2022 Newsletter – Alert and Open To Help

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Summer is here and it is time for all kinds of great activities: swimming, visits to parks, camping, trips away, grilling, and tending to flowers and vegetable plants.

Did you ever get in one of those situations where that summer activity gets slightly curtailed because you forgot something? You have the charcoal but forgot the matches. You want to dig out the soil around those plants but can’t find your gardening shovel, oh – and you forgot the sunscreen. In those types of situations we often run across a good samaritan, a neighbor, friend, the person on the towel next to you at the shore, even just a passer-by who notices the situation (and frustration) and offers to help. Take my matches, borrow my shovel, here’s some sunscreen…

St. Paul was addressing the Elders of the Church in Ephesus. He was planning his leaving for Jerusalem and the persecutions that lay ahead (See Acts 20 starting at verse 17). He tells them the things they will face and implores them to be strong. He gives thanks for those who saw to his needs saying Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

Faith is somewhat like our summer adventures. We all start from a place of borrowing. We borrow from and imitate our families and community. As we progress in our lives our faith becomes our own, becomes solid, we own it and take responsibility for it. We are ready for action and are living faithfully day-to-day. Occasionally though we need help, we’ve forgotten something or left something behind. We need to borrow from friends, mentors, family, the passer-by. We need help filling in the gaps in our journey toward Jesus. The key here, as Paul told the Elders, is to: be alert. We must not live on a faith that is merely borrowed or imitated, it must be our own. We need to invest the time to grow in it. We continually prepare ourselves and are alert for gaps. Let us be open to receiving help and also be willing to lend help, and be blessed.

July already and the calendar just continues to fill-up. We are so thankful for all who are partaking of, or will partake in, the Church’s and our parish’s summer events. Our newsletter highlights all of these activities. Come in for weekly liturgy this summer still at 10am and Noon on Sundays. Stay for a brief repast, and share in the salvation and fellowship of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We have a report on the Men’s Retreat, are planning for the XXVI Holy Synod of our Church, are welcoming people to a summer church music learning session, and welcome a newly baptized member of the parish. Fr. Jim shares his reading list. We pray for our country and give thanks.

All that and more in our July/August 2022 Newsletter.

June 2022 Newsletter – No Matter What

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

I have been thinking about joy, about that state of life where one is at ease no matter what, where one is confident and secure so we might be positive no matter what. No matter what…

This year’s celebration of Easter was perfectly joyful for me. This was a year where I seemed to connect really well with what the apostles and disciples must have felt when they encountered the risen Lord. In June we transition out of the Easter Season into Pentecost, the Solemnities of the Holy Trinity and Corpus Christi, and at the very end of the month into Ordinary Time carried forward by celebrating Word of God Sunday. Further joy for sure and we revel in the wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s total giving for us. But…

It has also been a weird time for me. I suppose part of it has been my allergies. For some reason my black car is always yellow by the next morning. The pollen seems the worst it has ever been. This has me feeling tired, run down. Then too, our children are getting older and are transitioning in their lives, moving to the next stage which is a happiness, but at the same time a change which is not always easy emotionally. I suppose the worst thing – I’m turning sixty this year!

Here’s where the Word of God and the action of the Holy Spirit steps in. We have a God of hope – which was confirmed on Easter – where even death no longer holds sway. Hope actually does spring eternal. With hope eternal, the Holy Spirit in us as a people, we can take hold of joy, we can have peace no matter what we face. It comes down to this: Do we place our all in the state of life where one is at ease no matter what, where one is confident and secure so we might be positive no matter what. No matter what… or do we dwell in the But what about… If we dwell in the ‘but if only’ things we face we will never find the truth of joy that is our faith. So be filled with hope and joy and believing which overcomes all things.

Welcome to our June 2022 Newsletter. At the start of the month we are busy celebrating the Church’s birth at Pentecost where we live the Kingdom life. We will then mark the Octave of Pentecost with our reflection on the mystery of the Holy Trinity closely followed by the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (our month long discipleship focus).

This summer ahead is jam packed with activities including this month’s Men’s Retreat, July’s Kurs Camp, Convo, our summer picnic, the annual Golf Tourney at the start of September and so much more.

In June we doubly focus our prayer efforts on vocations – for those in discernment, those in formation, and those called that they may respond generously. We celebrate Father’s Day and the growth in our parish’s ministries including a new Women’s Group and CarePortal.

Read about all this and more in our June 2022 Newsletter.

May 2022 Newsletter – Unconditionally Loved

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

We have a God of unconditional love. In John 3:16 quoted above we recall that verse which many of us memorized early in life, or at least we recognize it from sporting events. It may be the greatest verse in the Bible! It tells us about a God who loves us unconditionally. You see, our great God loves us so much, that He was willing to send His only begotten Son to die for us so that our sins be washed away. He gave His all to destroy the barrier that separates us from Him and each other. He loves us so much that He showed us what was to come, that thing we celebrate every Easter, the resurrection of the dead – when we will all appear as Jesus did – in glorified bodies. We also recall that God loves us so much that He did not create any complicated rules, or hoops to jump through, to get to Him. He only asks one thing – faith: To believe in the Lord Jesus by confessing our sins and making Him the Lord of our lives. Then living in His Kingdom community.

We make things complex in this world because it is difficult to grasp the full meaning of what it is to love unconditionally. We place conditions on love. We read in realities in our relationships that are not really present. We need to stop that. The little word ‘so’ in John 3:16 means that God loves us mightily! He loves us with an unconditional love that is not based upon circumstances, wants, or as part of any deal. God’s love is not based upon what we do, what we can do, or what we have done in our life. He only desires that we actively love as He does. Perhaps in a very special and unique way we connect with that aspect of God during the month of May for we reflect on the unconditional way in which Mary offered herself to God’s service and the way our mothers gave of themselves unconditionally for us. God’s mighty unconditional love is what we must both cherish and give; love without reason or excuse. So let us love in God’s way.

Welcome to our May 2022 Newsletter. At the start of the month we are a little less than half-way in our celebration of the Easter Season and our remembrance of the new life we have in the Kingdom, in the resurrected Christ. By the end of the month we will be preparing for the celebration of the Church’s birth at Pentecost where we live the Kingdom life.

The summer ahead is jam packed with activities highlighted herein. There is the Men’s Retreat, the Kurs Camp, Convo, the annual Golf Tourney, and so much more. May itself is filled with the great celebrations of Good Shepherd Sunday, Mother’s Day, May Marian devotions every Wednesday, and the Solemnity of the Ascension on its proper day – the Thursday that is forty days after Easter. We are exceptionally thankful for everyone’s Basket Social support, SwiÄ™conka (Easter) Basket support, and all who worked so hard to make Holy Week and the Triduum deeply prayerful and Easter incredibly celebratory.

All this and more in our May 2022 Newsletter.

Supporting Ukrainian Relief Efforts

As part of the Polish National Catholic Church’s efforts to support the Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, we first and foremost encourage prayer for the people of Ukraine and for peace in the world. We ask prayers especially for the wounded, the dying, and all the victims of this horrible war, as well as for the Ukrainians seeking to defend their liberty and freedom. 

We are also taking up a collection to provided needed supplies and housing. These funds will be sent to our sister Church, the Polish Catholic Church (Kościół Polskokatolicki) which has been giving support and caring for Ukrainian refugees that have come across the border into Poland. A number of parishes in the southern portion of Poland have been providing relief to refugees as well as delivering aid to the border.

You may send a check made out to Holy Name of Jesus noted as “Ukrainian Assistance.” Our address is 1040 Pearl St., Schenectady, NY 12303, You may also use the form below to donate via credit card.

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March 2022 Newsletter – Remodeling

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being [remodeled] day by day.

Have you ever remodeled your home? Maybe you have rebuilt a car or truck? Maybe you changed the way things are done at work – improved them. In any event, consider what is involved in a remodel or re-do. My wife and I are in the process of updating our home. We watched HGTV and saw lots of nice things we might like to do. Finally we pulled the trigger and embarked on the remodel. Oh my… Well, it is nothing like HGTV. It will not happen in a weekend or in a sixty-minute episode. At each turn there is something unexpected, something one might consider frustrating. That, and the cost, the necessary investment. You like that vanity and sink – it will be eight to twelve weeks. We got the bathroom tile in, but now need to shave down your door. The moulding is disintegrating – you will need new moulding. It goes on.

Here we are in Lent. Here we are in this season of spiritual remodeling. Some parts of us may need a major redo, other parts, just a nice touch of paint. Nonetheless, we all need a remodel, a re-do in some measure. As we enter Lent we might view it like an episode of the other HGTV – Holy Grace TV. We think we can get it done quickly, but then reality sets in. It takes grace and work. Some of what we undertake is going to take time. Some of what we attack is going to require far more. Perhaps we need to bring in a consultant (a spiritual director, Holy Scripture, a good and proper Christian study book…). As with any work we need to do, we must begin by taking account of what we are willing to invest. Our investment: What things we can sacrifice to make more time for our Lenten re-do (prayer, charity, holy reading, sacrifice, diligence). Once we set to work we must fully expect the frustrations that will come along the way. It will not be easy, but wait till you see the result! Let us then enter our Lenten re-do, our internal renewal without delay.

Welcome to our March 2022 Newsletter. It is packed full of info on the season of Lent and all of the great opportunities we have to increase prayer, devotion, almsgiving (charity), and scriptural study. We need folks to go to the National Mission and Evangelism workshop and we should all participate in our Seniorate Lenten Retreat. 

The BASKET SOCIAL is back. Read further on our Discipleship focus on the Holy Eucharist, get your Polish Easter Baskets, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for The Ukraine. All this and more in our March 2022 Newsletter.

Lenten Schedule for 2022

Please join us throughout Lent for Holy Mass and Devotions. These are all opportunities, beyond Sundays, to focus time on prayer.

  • Ash Wednesday – Holy Mass and Distribution of Ashes at Noon and 7pm.
  • Lenten Sundays – Holy Mass at 10am and Noon every Sunday.
  • Daily Holy Mass, Monday through Friday at Noon.
  • Stations of the Cross every Friday at 3pm.
  • Bitter Lamentations / Gorzkie Å»ale every Sunday at 3pm.

January 2022 Newsletter – Fullness of Life

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

Our celebration of the Christmas, the coming of God among us, His incarnate Being in our midst, is so important it must be celebrated for more than a few days. This season marks God’s chosen moment in which the story of salvation takes a major step forward. So, we must celebrate and set to ongoing work. The story of salvation is a continuous saga. It began with creation, God called us into being so we might belong to Him. The world rejected that call and turned away from God by sin. God would not give up! Salvation is not a once and done offer, and God would not rest until we were His as we hear in our Eucharistic Prayer based on the Canon of St. Basil the Great: “You did not abandon us to the power of death… You came to our help… Again and again You called us into covenant with You… You taught us to hope for salvation… In the fullness of time You sent Your only Son to be our Savior.” 

Jesus’ incarnation is the moment we were drawn permanently close to God in our humble humanity. God took what was broken and deformed and made it holy and beautiful by His unity in human flesh. Flesh that was cursed and apart from God now became one with God. St. Paul is saying something really amazing in Colossians 2:9. He summarizes in ten words the whole mystery of faith – that Jesus is God among us in our flesh. That changes everything. It makes us all capable of being washed free of the worldly choice of sin and one with God, heirs to heaven. All flesh was hallowed in Jesus, each person’s dignity certain. All flesh is given the opportunity to be one with Him if we choose so in faith. Furthermore, Jesus, before His crucifixion, provided for the permanent presence in His flesh and blood which is for His faithful to this very day: Take, eat and drink. This is My body. This is My blood. The totality of Christ is ours for the taking. In it are closer to His divinity and strengthened for our work.

We are in the story of salvation and we have work to do in our evangelism until His return. So, open the door, invite, He awaits.

Welcome to our January 2022 Newsletter and Happy New Year. In the Newsletter we explore the year ahead as we focus on Being a Eucharistic People. We have our upcoming annual meeting and election of parish officers (time to get involved). We give thanks for so many blessings brought about through your charity and our common work. It is time to prep for the SouperBowl of Caring (the soup pot is out). We reflect on the past year – our Centenary – and we celebrate. Check out the Newsletter for all that and more – including Music Scholarship Sunday and the Return of the BASKET SOCIAL – hurray!!!

This and so much more within our January 2021 Newsletter.

December 2021 Newsletter – God’s Kept Promise

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

We might say that 2021 has been the “Year of Delivery Woes.” The mail, shipping issues, misdirected packages, oops, we had to change the delivery date are all things we heard. They may have caused us some frustration. Did you know that there is one area of delivery that has worked perfectly? No, it is not a matchup between FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL – it is the assured delivery of God’s promises.

Look at the verse from 2 Corinthians 1:20 above. It says that ALL THE PROMISES OF GOD have their YES in Jesus. Jesus is indeed the delivery fulfiller. Throughout human history God made promises. He would deliver His people from sin and death. He would bring peace and healing. He would turn people’s stoney/hard personalities into heart centered personalities – they would be people of love. He would show His people the way to true joy – a joy that overcomes circumstances, a joy that is more than momentary happiness. The promises of God have been fulfilled and ratified in Christ. He is the living incarnate “Yes” and “Amen” to God’s promises. The Greek word Ναί translated Yes means strong affirmation; yes.

Jesus therefore delivers on all of the promises of God. There is no delay, there is no unexpected trouble in receiving those promises. He is always on-time and nothing is ever missing or in the way. Throughout Advent we will focus on thirty of God’s promises under the headings of hope, peace, joy, and love. We will see how Jesus has and is delivering His Father’s promises in both our personal and communal lives. God holds promises for us. Come, see how He is intervening to draw us closer to the realization that His promises are real promises for us as a community of faith. Scripture calls us to answer amen to Jesus’ YES. So let us do so this Advent in church. Let our Amen echo our yes to His YES.

Welcome to our December 2021 Newsletter. So much going on. We have Daily Holy Mass, Rorate Holy Mass, Christmas Wafers/OpÅ‚atek available, our Parish Vigil / Wigilia Dinner on December 12th, the greening of the church on December 19th, and of course our full schedule for the Christmas Season (as we celebrate for forty days). The Holy Masses of Christmas include 4pm for families with children, Midnight Holy Mass / Pasterka – at Midnight (yes, for real), and Christmas Day at 10am. That and so much more within our December 2021 Newsletter.

November 2021 Newsletter – Weirdness With A Point

“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

In our Catholic tradition we consider Advent to be a time of fasting, prayer, and penitence. To modern ears that seems weird. Isn’t the whole Advent season about getting ready for Christmas? After all, this isn’t Lent.

Liturgically, Advent may look penitential (at least in some parishes priests use violet vestments). In our parish we use blue vestments, a valid liturgical color in our Church. This more clearly distinguishes Advent from Lent. We focus on the expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and on our own expectation of Christmas, Jesus’ first coming. We also use Advent to focus on the end of the world, Jesus’ triumphant return. Thus the need for readiness. Advent is indeed a period of devout and expectant preparation, getting ready, and does have a penitential character. We all need to take ongoing sanctification (becoming more Christ-like) seriously and both Advent and Lent call this to mind in a very focused way. As Lent is a preparation for the awesome celebration of the Resurrection, so Advent is preparation for the celebration of Jesus’ birth and return.

We are to spend Advent reflecting on the areas of our spiritual and material lives where we fall short in living up to the standards Jesus set for us; working diligently so we are ready for the Bridegroom’s return. We should not loose the opportunity of Advent, but rather take advantage of it. Throughout Advent, like in Lent, we should be focused on prayer, scriptural reading, works of charity, all part of personal growth as we await Jesus return. We should take time to fast and pray so that Jesus might find us ready to meet Him each day and upon His return.

This Advent we focus on the Promises of God, promises that are guaranteed. We will take steps together to grow in Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Come to church on November 28th for your free book and let us prepare together.

Welcome to our November 2021 Newsletter. Much to read and consider including our schedule for the month, our entry into Advent at the end of the month (free gift included), the return of daily Holy Mass to the parish life, parish history documented, the month of All Souls, our clothing and food drives assisting those in need locally, our discipleship lesson, a prayer for Thanksgiving, a short report out on the clergy conference, and a retrospective on our centennial celebration. That and much more awaits you.

Check out all this and more in our November 2021 Newsletter.

October 2021 Newsletter – Answered Longing

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

This month, in our years long discipleship study and journey, we are asked to pray both Psalm 42 and 121. Both of these Psalms pose longing and a response to longing. In each, the psalmist realizes that their hope is in God, that help comes from God. The introductory verse to Psalm 42 above is answered: Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. I can meet God by placing my hope in Him and trusting in Him. Our God is a saving God, not a punishing god. Can you imaging being as desirous as a deer in search of clear, cool, running water. The animal, parched with thirst happens upon that exact stream of water and is overjoyed in finding it and drinks deeply. So it is in our heart’s inner desire and need for God. Desire for God may seem more pronounced in difficult times, when we need extreme help for extreme troubles, but truthfully, that longing is always there. Our souls desire unity with God, for He is their source. They want Him for He is their refreshment. The cool, clear, running water of His grace is their answer, and we all seek to drink deeply of that grace. So, how do we do it. How do we find that water and drink of it? How do we meet God? We start by following Jesus’ gospel path. We do the things He said we must do. We live out the beatitudes and the rules from the Sermon on the Mount. We serve and sacrifice. To be a disciple means we live and love our Master’s instruction. Hard, yes. Impossible, no. From there we live in community. We live and worship as one family. This is the God designed, Jesus taught, Holy Spirit infused way we are to go. The cool, clear, running water of grace is found by those who do exactly this. As we follow Jesus’ gospel path He infuses us, through the Holy Spirit, with His grace. We receive actual help from on-high. As we live and worship as family we open the door to grace to others and support each other with that strength from on-high. We lift each other to that fountain of grace and in doing so our longing is answered.

Welcome to our October 2021 Newsletter. This month’s newsletter is filled with information about important events in the life of the parish: our centennial celebration; blessing of pets; healing; the rosary; family; the upcoming observance of All Souls; our discipleship focus on St. Teresa of Avila; and Ten Biblical Reminders for encouragement. We also pause to remember three beloved men who passed into eternal life.

Please come out to join us as we pray mightily, receive the sacraments, learn from the Word, and celebrate.

Check out all this and more in our October 2021 Newsletter.