St. Francis de Sales Church

MASS SCHEDULE

Sundays 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30 AM

Monday—Friday 8:30 AM (except Wednesday)

First Fridays during school year 8:30 and 10:00 AM

Saturday 8:30 AM Saturday Vigil 5:00 PM

Holy Day Vigil 5:00 PM Holy Days 6:30 and 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM

Confessions are Saturday at 4:30 PM and anytime by request.

Summer Weekend Mass Schedule Mid-June and including Labor Day:

Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 7:00, 9:00, 11:00 AM

“Do not wish to be anything but what you are,

and try to be that perfectly.”

— St. Francis de Sales

Page 2 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

Scripture readings for next week: FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Acts of the Apostles 13:14,43 –52 Revelation 7:9, 14B–17

John 10:27-30

Adult Choir Nancy Brown 610.358.3112 Adult Education/RCIA Sr. Betty Kirk 610.459.0554

Marion Bennett 610.459.0554 Altar Society Phil D'Orazio 610.459.0635 PREP/CCD Sr. Betty Kirk 610.459.0554 Church Environment Barbara Jones 610.566.4149 CYO Paula Bonsall 610.517.6136 Eucharistic Ministers Tracy Boyle 610.566.8453 Finance Committee Fr. Okon 610.459.2203 Home & School Assn. Adrienne DelVacchio 610.494.5620 HOPE Cathy Hawes 610.627.0874 Ladies' Club Belle Miller 610.513.2920 Lectors Joanne Sunick 610.459.1996 Liturgy Committee Sr. Betty Kirk 610.459.0554 Parish Council Paul Quinn 610.565.7250 Web Master Arlene Petragnani 610.558.0588 Welcome Committee R. DiFebo 610.459.8971 Women's Prayer Group Sr. Betty Kirk 610.459.0554

Refer and Reflect

Directory of Parish Organizations

RECTORY 610.459.2203 35 New Road, Box 97, Lenni, PA 19052

Reverend Alan J. Okon, Pastor Deacon Paul A. Quinn

Sr. Betty Kirk 610.459.0554 Parish Services Director

Mrs. Marie McGonigal 610.459.2203 Administrative Assistant

Tammy McDonald 610.459.2203 Communications Secretary

Art Kahn, Business Manager

CONVENT 610.459.2501 28 New Road, Aston, PA 19014

SCHOOL 610.459.0799 39 New Road, Aston, PA 19014

Mrs. Maryrose Hall, Principal

OUR WEEKLY OFFERING

April 3rd, 2016

Sunday Collection = $6,307.00

E-Giving = $2,461.00

Total Sunday = $8,768..00

Parish Improvement = $786.00

Total Easter Collection =$33,976.00

Thank You for your kindness and

generosity!

Page 3 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

APRIL 10th, 2016

SATURDAY April 9 8:30 AM Communion Service 5:00 PM William Joseph Dorsch SUNDAY April 10 7:00 AM Christine Hanna 8:30 AM Dec’d Members of Barron & Fernandez Families 10:00 AM Mary E. Hare 11:30 AM Patricia Reusche

MONDAY April 11 8:30 AM Michael Daly TUESDAY April 12 8:30 AM Dorothy Lautrial WEDNESDAY April 13 8:30 AM Communion Service THURSDAY April 14 8:30 AM Clara & Alex Farah FRIDAY April 15 8:30 AM Pat Kelly SATURDAY April 16 8:30 AM John A. Rinehart 5:00 PM Dr. Lawrence A. “Larry” Herbst SUNDAY April 17 7:00 AM William Mescante 8:30 AM Sam Weikel 10:00 AM Kristen Lee Cammarota 11:30 AM Carl Cook

APRIL 10th, 2016 Between seasons they change. I am not refer-ring to wheat or willow trees, but to the characters and plots of episodic TV shows. Pick your favorite. Note how the last episode of the TV season leaves you hanging for a long time wondering how this or that situation will resolve itself. That is, unless it was the final episode. So we said goodbye to pop-ular shows like “The Sopranos”, “The Wire” and more recently to “Downton Abbey.” All hits with audiences. Today’s gospel is really an extra series of “small episodes” added on to all that went before in the life of Jesus and that of the early Church. But un-like a TV series, we are not left hanging. Written last, John’s gospel itself is a spiritual reflection on the story told by the three earlier gospels. We have an incident here that strongly proves Jesus is truly alive: He cooks a seaside breakfast for His apostles! The captivating part of the story is what follows the meal: the dialogue between Jesus and Pe-ter. It balances out the bitterness of Peter’s triple denial with three declarations of love in answer to Jesus’ questions. That question of Jesus–”Do you love Me?”–echoes down the centuries to become one for us to answer also. No one of us can flee from it any more than St. Peter could. The Lord has the inher-ent right to ask it of each of us more times than three. Why? Because every sin we commit at its root is a denial of love for Christ. The sin may be slight or serious, “lower” or “upper case” if you prefer, but it still is a denial. By it we declare that this, that, or the other thing matters more to us than God’s will. That is more than an error in judg-ment. It is like saying “I don’t know the man!” as Peter did that first Holy Thursday night. So do not wonder why we pray our “Lord, have mercy” at the start of every Mass. During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, the whole concept of God’s mercy is a timely topic for our reflection. And appreciation. None of us take de-light in being sinners, but we can do so as forgiven sinners. There is a world of difference between the two. God’s mercy is the reason. So many people in the world are walking around every day shouldering guilt. Even if that guilt is only imaginary, it still fosters a kind of paralysis in their mindset. The relief is no further away than the nearest confessional. There we meet, in the unworthy person of the priest, the living Jesus with His sacred scarred hands ready to embrace us once we say we’re sorry. At the start of this Jubilee Year of Mercy last December, I recall seeing a photo of a reconcilia-tion Room in some unnamed church with the door open. The caption read: “The one holy door most of us will open.” How true! Before this year is out, will you open the one at your church?

Reflection by, Rev. Leonard N. Peterson

ALMSGIVING

If you are able to purchase an extra Food Gift

Card please consider giving it to Sister Betty

who, in turn, will send it to

parishioners in need.

Page 4 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

Chosen Fathers: A Retreat for Fathers of Chil-dren with Disabilities: Saturday, April 30, 2016 at St. Charles Seminary. The Office for Life and Family and the Office for Persons with Disabili-ties will host a retreat for fathers and grandfa-thers of children with disabilities. The retreat will be led by Doug Keck, a Chosen Father, who is the president of EWTN and an award winning TV/Radio host. To register online go to www.opdarchphilly.org . For more infor-mation call 215-587-3530 or email mcullinan@archphila.org .

World Youth Day Scholarship Opportunity:

Help a youth from our parish travel to World

Youth Day this Summer. An opportunity has been

offered to a youth from our parish to attend this

amazing event with other Catholic youth/youth

adults around the world. In order to make this

happen, we are asking for your support. The

Charitable Exchange, the company offering this

opportunity, is offering to match any donations

dollar for dollar. Please be assured that 100% of

all contributions are being used for this oppor-

tunity. The TCE supports many charitable organ-

izations that you may be familiar with. Please go

to: http:\\www.charitableexchange.org and look

for Phila. Parishes and proceed to make your

contribution. Please help our parish participate

in this wonderful opportunity.

SFDS Science Fair

Congratulations to all of our SFDS Delaware

County District Science Fair Winners!!!

First Place—Michael DelVacchio

First Place—Claire Campbell

Second Place—Katelynn Judge

Second Place Emma Bonsall

Honorable mention—John Smith, Erin Kur-

kon, Robert Smith, and Victoria Salvadore.

Special congratulations to Michael DelVac-

chio, Claire Campbell who also were awarded

the Dow Chemical Merit Award.

Good luck to those students who qualified to

compete in the Regional Delaware Valley Sci-

ence Fair and will represent SFDS;

Claire Campbell, Michael Delvacchio, Katelyn

Judge and Emma Bonsall.

Congratulations Sr. Betty!!!

Special congratulations to Sr. Betty Kirk, OSF who

was one of three honorees at the 17th Annual Neu-

mann University Scholarship Gala.

On Saturday, April 2, 2016 Sr. Betty received Neu-

mann University’s Presidential Humanitarian Award.

“This award is given an individual whose life reflects

a commitment to serve humanity and empower the

underserved in our society; devotion to religious and

family values; dedication to excellence; value for phi-

lanthropy and giving back; willingness to take risks

in the pursuit of vision; and a demonstrated value for

education and a positive intellectual life.

Sr. Betty was born in Philadelphia, the oldest of five

children. She attended St. Stephen Elementary

School and Little Flower High School. Inspired by

the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, she joined

the Order in 1956 and professed her final vows in

1959.

After teaching for 2 years at St. Anthony School in

Trenton, Sr. Betty taught at SFDS School from 1961-

63. She was then transferred to St. Hubert Catholic

High School where she spent 13 years. While teach-

ing there, she earned a B.A. in English from Villano-

va University and an M.A. in Education from St. Jo-

seph University. Following her time at St. Hubert

High School she served in leadership positions with-

in her Congregation for 16 years. In 1991, she re-

turned to SFDS Parish as a Parish Services Director.

The two other honorees were Mrs. Donna Crilley Far-

rell and Fr. Bill Atkinson, OSA.

Sister Betty Kirk, OSF and her brother Fr. Bill Kirk

who is stationed at Our Lady of Calvary Parish,

Philadelphia.

Page 5 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

SFDS Acme & Giant Gift Cards

The Gift Card Program will remain in place, as we transition to a new Catholic School Education model. Cards are available after the Vigil and Sun-day Masses and at the Rectory during the week. If no one is selling cards, please stop in the Sacristy and Mr. Bradley will help with your card re-quest. This program will continue to support the needs of our parish.

Thank you for your support.

Ladies Club News

The ladies club next meeting will be held on MONDAY May 2nd, 2016 at 7 ;00 p . m.,

in the Father Walsh Center. All Ladies are Welcome to attend..

The Ladies are busy creating beautiful baskets for the Basket Bonanza and acquiring prizes for the Annul June Tombola. If you are interested in donating a prize, please call Tammy McDonald @ 610-818-8223 or drop it off at the rectory. We greatly appreciate your support and generosity.

One Can One Meal

If you are able to donate any of the following

food items, please bring them to the FWC, to

which ever mass you attend, on the weekend of

April 16th & 17th, 2016. The items will be given

to the Mother Katherine Drexel Center in Ches-

ter. The items are:

Canned Stew Spaghetti Sauce Boxed Pasta

Large Cans of Soup Spam Boxes of Cereal

Cans of Tuna Fish Canned Chili

Thank You for your support of this request.

Ladies Club

BASKET BONANZAFormerly known as the Penny Party

MONDAY, APRIL 11th, 2016

Doors Open @ 6:00 pm.

Admission:$5.00 per person

(Children under 7 Free)

Bonanza Tickets: $25.00 for 100

*Over 75 New & Beautiful Baskets to Win!*

Tickets are drawn starting at 7pm.

You get to place your 100 tickets in any of the

coordinating Basket Bonanza Raffles.

***

Food, Grab Bags & Tombola Tickets are all

available for purchase that night.

Intermission Cake & Coffee still Free!

No more coins necessary, but may be used!

First Communicants On May 7, 2016, our second grade parishioners will

receive their First Holy Communion. This weekend,

we will have a name card for each of them in a basket

placed in front of the altar. Please consider taking

one of these names and praying for him/her. If you

would like to send the child a note or card, please

address the envelope to the child, c/o Sister Betty.

You can drop the card in the Collection Basket or at

the Rectory any time before May 7th. It is a blessing

for the parents to know that you are praying for their

child and the children love to hear from the parishion-

ers. Thank you.

Brothers of Borromeo

Conference Saturday, June 4th

9:00AM – 2:30PM

$25 per person

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Open to all 6th – 8th grade men.

Bulldog Classic Golf Outing

The SFDS Home and School Association is

hosting it’s annual Bulldog Classic Golf Outing

on May 9, 2016 at Rock Manner Golf Course in

Wilmington, DE. Tickets are $120.00 each and

include a light lunch, golf, cart, and dinner.

Contact the H & S Association at home-

andschool@sfdschurch.org to register or for

more information.

Page 6 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

Life Lines

Crisis Pregnancy Hotline 610.626.4006

Pro-Life Union of Delaware County

610.789.LIFE

www.prolifedelco.org

A Baby’s Breath

484.580.6436

24hr hotline

484.571.5540

www.ababysbreath.org

Mother’s Home

610.583.HOME

www.mothershome.org

Delaware County Pregnancy Center

www.dcpchester.org

Rachel’s Vineyard Ministries

1.877.HOPE4ME

(Post-abortion healing)

www.rachelsvineyard.org

A Pastoral Response to Mental Illness:

This workshop will be offered on April 16,

2016 from 9:30 am to noon at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center. The presenters will be Deacon

Robert Hall, MD and Sr. Kathleen Schipani. Par-ish Contacts for the Office for Persons with Disa-bilities, clergy and other parish leaders are en-couraged to attend. For more information or to RSVP go to www.opdarchphilly.org ; or call 215-

587-3530.

Retreat for Girls Malvern Retreat House is holding a retreat for girls in 3rd through 8th grade on Sunday, May 15 from 1pm to 4pm. The retreat theme of "Just As You Are" will celebrate the dignity and beau-ty of being created as a daughter of a loving and merciful God. The retreat will be directed by Jeannine Peters, who has a background in adoption advocacy, education and faith for-mation. The cost is $20 per student and in-cludes snacks. Please visit malvernretreat.com or call 610-644-0400 for more information.

2016 Extraordinary Jubilee

Year of Mercy

Archdiocesan Pilgrimage

All are Welcome to participate

Holy Mary, Queen & Mother of Mercy

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immac-

ulate

Conception, Washington, DC

Program begins at noon and includes confes-

sions, procession and crowning of the Blessed

Virgin Mary, the holy Rosary, and concludes

with a Solemn Mass at 3:00 PM. Archbishop

Charles Chaput, O.F.M., Cap., Celebrant and

Homilist.

Contact the parish office for more information.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

St Francis de Sales has reserved a bus for

this Pilgrimage, which will depart from in front

of the Church at 8:30 a.m. Since seating is lim-

ited, reservations will be on a first come, first

serve basis. The cost of the bus is $30.00 per

person and the driver has offered to stop for

dinner (possibly at the “Maryland House”) on

the way home from the Basilica, which would

be a separate cost from the bus. The bus has

a rest room and WIFI, if needed. Please con-

tact the Rectory to reserve your seat(s) via

email: sfdsrectory@aol.com or by calling

(610)459-2203.

MOTHERS’ HOME 2016 SPRING FUNDRAISERS

Mothers’ Home will hold our 5th annual Bowl-A-

Thon on Saturday, April 30, 2016 at Sproul Lanes,

745 S. Sproul Road, Springfield. Lanes are open

from 3:00PM-5:00PM and 6:00PM-8:00PM. Cost is

$150 per lane which includes shoe rental; 2 hours

of bowling; private lane; 2 pizzas and soda. There

will be arts and crafts for children during the 3PM

s e s s i o n .

A 50-50 will be held during both time

slots. Sponsor event or reserve lanes at

www.mothershome.myevent.com or send a check

to Mothers’ Home at 51 N. Mac Dade Blvd., Darby,

PA 19023. Attn: Bowl-A-Thon. Or Call 610-

6220632.

Page 7 - 105 St. Francis de Sales

Parish Office Hours

The Parish Office is open for business Mon-

day through Friday 8:30AM to 4:30PM.

Weeknights and Saturdays are by appoint-

ment only. Please refer elsewhere in the

bulletin for holiday hours.

Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick

and Holy Communion

Please call the Parish Office at 610.459.2203 to

schedule an appointment for the Anointing of

the Sick. Every effort will be made to celebrate

the Sacrament of the Sick within 48 hours of it

being requested. Please call the Parish Office

to request a visit from an Extra Ordinary

Minister of Holy Communion to receive the Holy

Eucharist on Sunday mornings.

Funeral Arrangements

We are very sorry for the loss of your loved one.

To make funeral arrangements, please first

meet with your Funeral Director to discuss your

wishes and their availability. The Funeral

Director will contact our Parish Office to

coordinate the date and time of the funeral.

Once the funeral has been scheduled, Fr. Okon

will call you to schedule a time to meet and plan

the Liturgy.

Parish Registration Welcome to our family of St. Francis de Sales.

We are happy to welcome new members in to

our community. We invite you to be a vital part

of our family and hope you will support your

parish with your prayers, your presence and

your talents. Please contact the Parish Office at

610.459.2203 to make arrangements for

registration. If you move out of our parish, or

have changed your phone number, please

contact the Parish Office so we can update our

data base.

Sacrament of Baptism Congratulations on the birth of your child. The

Sacrament of Baptism is normally administered

after the 11:30 AM Mass on Sunday. Pre-Jordan

class for the parents is required prior to the

scheduling of the Baptism. Parents can attend

the class before the baby is born. Pre-Jordan

class is held on the second Tuesday of each

month at 7:00 PM. Please contact the Parish

Office at 610.459.2203 to register for the Pre-

Jordan class. To schedule a Baptism, please

have already obtained the certificates of

eligibility and then contact the Parish Office at

least two weeks in advance.

Certificates of Eligibility Congratulations on being asked to be a sponsor

at either a Baptism or a Confirmation. You have

been asked to be a witness to, and role model of,

your Catholic faith. A sponsor is a Roman

Catholic who has received the Sacraments of

Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation, is an

active registered member of his or her parish, at

least 16 years of age, and if married is in a

Sacramental Marriage. Please contact the

Parish Office at 610.459.2203 to request a

certificate.

Sacrament of Reconciliation The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated

each Saturday afternoon from 4:30 to 5:00, or by

appointment.