News - September 2016 RSS Feed

2016 Archdiocese of New York Men's Conference It will take place on Saturday, October 29 at the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook, featuring Hall of Fame Baseball Player Mike Piazza and Al Kelly, Planner for Super Bowl XLVIII and the Papal Visit to NYC. Closing Mass with Timothy Cardinal Dolan. COST: $50. Registration begins at 11AM. Conference includes lunch, and there will be an opportunity for confession during the day. Group reservations are available, so please contact the rectory at 718-892-3232 if you are interested in attending as a bus will be going to it from here..

The PROVIDENT LOAN SOCIETY of New York is now giving out FREE packages of school supplies through the end of September at all of their borough branches. Supplies include a calculator, pen and pencil, eraser, ruler, and pencil case. All parents have to do is walk into a branch, sign up for the mailing list, and receive their free back-to-school package.

The Archdiocese of New York Has Its Own Off-Broadway Theatre: This is the second season for the newly renovated The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, 18 Bleecker St., NY, a forum to highlight the true, the good, and the beautiful as they have been expressed throughout the ages. The Sheen Center aspires to present the heights and depths of human expression in thought and culture. This weekend, you will receive a brochure featuring their Fall/Winter Program of events, two of which are: Today, Sunday, September 25 at 3PM, the Center will present How The Nuns of New York Tamed The Gangs of New York, an explosive new play that celebrates the 200-year legacy of the Sisters of Charity of New York. Tickets are $20. On Saturday, October 8 at 10AM, Timothy Cardinal Dolan will present a FREE talk on the Saints of New York, a discussion about the large number of men and women recognized by the Church as saints, who have called New York City their home, as well as others currently being considered for canonization. There are MANY other exciting programs available. See the brochure for more details and for tickets, visit www.SheenCenter.org or call 212-925-2812.

The observance, September 15 - October 15, recognizes the contributions made to and the important presence of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States and celebrates their heritage and culture. About one-third of all Catholics in the United States are Latinos. Hispanics make up more than HALF of the Catholic population in the Archdiocese of New York and over 60% of St. Helena's parishioners. They have a profound and positive influence on our country through their strong commitment to family, faith, hard work, and service.

St. Helena Parish is growing. We are currently being served by three Piarist priests and three Piarist seminarians and a lot of lay volunteers, but we are missing a vital member of the parish ministry team - a deacon. If you would like more information about becoming a deacon, please contact the parish rectory. A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups,or "orders," of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops, presbyters and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ,who came "to serve and not to be served." The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church. All ordained ministers in the Church are called to functions of Word, Sacrament,and Charity, but bishops, presbyters and deacons exercise these functions in various ways. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament,deacons baptize,lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services As ministers of Charity, deacons are leaders in identifying the needs of others, then marshaling the Church's resources to meet those needs. Deacons are also dedicated to eliminating the injustices or inequities that cause such needs. But no matter what specific functions a deacon performs, they flow from his sacramental identity. In other words, it is not only WHAT a deacon does,but WHO a deacon is,that is important. When the diaconate was restored as a permanent order in the hierarchy, the Second Vatican Council declared that could be opened to “mature married men,"later clarified to mean men over the age of 35. This is in keeping with the ancient tradition of the Church, in which married men were ordained into ministry. Also in keeping with ancient practice is the expectation that while a married man may be ordained, an ordained man, if his wife should die, may not marry again without special permission. There are many reasons for you to consider becoming a deacon. First, bring it to prayer and see if the lord might be calling you, and then contact the rectory for more information about this exciting program.

If you have a degree in business or accounting or have experience running a business or managing money, etc., then we would like you to consider joining the Parish Finance Council. If you are interested, please call the rectory at 718-892-3233.

The St. Helena School/Monsignor Scanlan High School Hall of Fame Awards Dinner will be held at Monsignor Scanlan High School on Saturday, October 22 from 5-9PM. The dinner will recognize the contributions of: Dave Smith ’60, Ann Pavelka Smith ’62, Michael Mullen ’55, Thomas Renaghan ’56, Sr. Eileen Clifford, O.P., and Br. Joseph Maura, FMS. Even if you cannot attend, you may purchase a journal ad or a sponsorship for this event. For more information, call 718-430-0100 X58 or X13

Last Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon. While many stories of courage and grace have been shared about those events, a new story has emerged that most people probably haven’t heard before – and it involves the Bible. Photographer Joel Meyerowitz was taking pictures of the wreckage in New York City when a fireman came running to him with an incredible find: a page from the Bible melted into a piece of heart-shaped steel. It wasn’t just any page of the Bible, it part of the Sermon on the Mount. And while most of the page was marred, right in the middle one of the only parts still clearly readable was Christ’s radical teaching on retaliation. “Ye have heard that it hath been said,” the page said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” This really touched Meyerowitz. “Of all the pages of the Bible it would be open to,” he said, “that was remarkable.” In 2010, Meyerowitz donated the incredible artifact to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.

Dr. Edward Sri, the video presenter of our summer Bible Study Class on Mary in the Scriptures, will be speaking on Relativism at Cathedral High School on Tuesday, Sept. 20 from 5:30 - 6:30PM.

Sean Gregory, Class of '90 and the son of SHS graduates, appeared this past Monday on ABC's "$100,000 Pyramid" game show where he won $50,000. Gregory is the chief sports writer for TIME Magazine, and he has covered sports extensively over the last decade. He has penned profiles on athletes ranging from LeBron James, Novak Djokovic, Usain Bolt and Eli Manning, and explored issue like football's concussion crisis, and the treatment of young baseball players in the Dominican Republic. Sean has covered the the last four Olympic Games, and filed dispatches from Super Bowls, the NBA Finals, and the World Series for TIME. Sean enjoys firing lots of shots in pickup basketball games. .

Join Timothy Cardinal Dolan on an upcoming pilgrimage to Mary’s Shrine in the United States – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October 15. We will be making a special Year of Mercy pilgrimage there, and I am sure it will be a day of great spiritual value. We will have an opportunity to tour this magnificent church, where Fr. David was ordained, pass through the Holy Door, go to confession, and celebrate Mass. Buses are departing from several locations throughout the Archdiocese of New York. For more information and to register, please visit www.archny.org/mercy.

Many religions use holy water for cleansing, protection, and blessing. It is sanctified by a priest or similar position in a church and is only holy water if it is sanctified. Holy means to be sanctified, so by sanctifying it yourself, it is not necessarily holy. You may come to the rectory or the sacristy to obtain Blessed Holy Water.

Homeschoolers can earn up to 60 college credits online at Angelicum Academy. Enroll now at angelicum.net or call 410-282-6172. Credits accepted by NYU.

NYC is reducing penalties and interest for many violations issued by City agencies for a one-time 90-day period from Sept. 12 - Dec. 12. To take advantage of this opportunity to reduce the amount you owe the city, visit nyc.gov/forgivingfines

North Carolina artist Chas Fagan’s posthumous painting of Mother Teresa was chosen as the official portrait for her September 4 canonization. The painting was commissioned by the Knights of Columbus as a gift to the Missionaries of Charity. “Everyone’s face shows their history,” Fagan said in an interview from Rome. “Mother Teresa’s is a face that has seen a lot of daylight and work, and that’s completely reflected in her actual likeness, but what contrasts with that harsher physical visage is the warmth of her eyes and expression, that inner glow. That’s what makes it such an appealing face.” His painting was used as the basis for the large tapestry unfurled from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint. The original painting is now on display at the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Conn. Knights officials said the portrait will end up in one of the Missionaries of Charity houses in Rome. The Knights printed the official canonization Mass program and 1 million holy cards with the Fagan painting on the front and a quote from Mother Teresa on the back: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. God still loves the world and sends you and me to be His love, His compassion to the poor.”

Call 1-888-364-4723 to receive a free starter kit of mosquito dunks, or email your name and mailing address to [email protected]. To eliminate mosquito breeding sites, the State is distributing 100,000 starter kits of mosquito dunks (larvicide tablets) to residents and business owners to use in water in containers that cannot be emptied on their property and to municipalities to support the initiation of local mosquito control days. Each dunk (or tablet) lasts 30 days. Aedes mosquitoes breed in containers with clean water. New Yorkers are encouraged to do their part by turning over empty flower pots to prevent water collection. Place mosquito dunks in any container that can collect water that cannot be permantly emptied or moved such as bird baths, fountains, and remove sources of standing water of all sizes, such as old tires, children's toys, plastic containers and even clogged gutters – especially after it rains. For a free 2-pack of larvicide for private residence use, New Yorkers can call the Zika Information Line at 1-888-364-4723 or email their name and mailing address to [email protected]. For more information on using this larvicide, see Guidance when using Mosquito Dunks® (larvicide).