News - October 2019 RSS Feed

Once again, we will be collecting food for the St. Anthony Soup Kitchen Thanksgiving Dinner, which will take place on Saturday, November 23. They can use rice, beans, canned food items, tomato sauce, tuna, oil, pasta. and anything else you may wish to contribute. Items can be brought to St. Helena School or to the rectory or put in the special box in the back of the church. Please bring in your items by Friday, Nov. 22 for delivery to St. Anthony's on Saturday morning. As always, thank you for your generosity.

Luncheon Dance celebrating 25 years of the presence of the Idente Missionaries at Santa Maria Parish on Sat., Nov. 16 at NOON at Maestro's Caterers, 1703 Bronxdale Ave. Tickets are $55 per person. Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving on Sun., Nov. 17 at Noon.

Tickets are available in the rectory. Tickets are $3 each, 2 for $5, or 10 for $20. Eight prizes, including a $1,000 cash first prize and a $900 Philip Lim Leather Satchel second prize. Drawing will take place on Sun., Dec. 1. Please support St. Helena, as we have many major upcoming capital improvement expenses.

What is Purgatory? During this month of November, we will pray often for the poor souls in purgatory. For too many people purgatory is seen as a place located somewhere between heaven and hell. However, the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship but are still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031). Such purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, “nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven” (Rev. 21:27) and, while we may die with our mortal sins forgiven, there can still be many impurities in us, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. When we die, we undergo what is called the particular, or individual, judgment. Scripture says that “it is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). We are judged instantly and receive our reward, for good or ill. We know at once what our final destiny will be. At the end of time, when Jesus returns, there will come the general judgment to which the Bible refers, for example, in Matthew 25:31-32: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” In this general judgment all our sins will be publicly revealed (Luke 12:2–5). St. Augustine said in The City of God that “temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment.” It is between the particular and general judgments, then, that the soul is purified of the remaining consequences of sin: “I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper” (Luke 12:59). Praying for the dead is an ancient Church practice. Graffiti in the catacombs, where Christians fled during the persecutions of the first three centuries, recorded prayers for the dead. Indeed, some of the earliest Christian writings outside the New Testament, like the Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity (both written during the second century), refer to the Christian practice of praying for the dead. St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine asked her son, in the fourth century, to remember her soul in his Masses. Such prayers would have been offered only if Christians believed in purgatory, even if they did not use that name for it. A study of the history of doctrines indicates that Christians in the first centuries were up in arms  if anyone suggested the least change in beliefs. They were extremely conservative people who tested a doctrine’s truth by asking, Was this believed by our ancestors? Was it handed on from the apostles? Surely belief in purgatory would be considered a great change, if it had not been believed from the beginning. Some people claim that the Bible speaks only of heaven and hell, but they are wrong. Scripture speaks plainly of a third condition, commonly called the limbo of the Fathers, where the just who had died before the redemption were waiting for heaven to be opened to them. After his death and before his resurrection, Christ visited those experiencing the limbo of the Fathers and preached to them the good news that heaven would now be opened to them (1 Pet. 3:19). These people thus were not in heaven, but neither were they experiencing the torments of hell. Thus, Scripture teaches that purgatory exists, even if it doesn’t use that word. Christ refers to the sinner who “will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” (Matt. 12:32), suggesting that one can be freed after death of the consequences of one’s sins. Similarly, Paul tells us that, when we are judged, each man’s work will be tried. And what happens if a righteous man’s work fails the test? “He will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Cor 3:15). Now this loss, this penalty, can’t refer to consignment to hell, since no one is saved there; and heaven can’t be meant, since there is no suffering (“fire”) there. The Catholic doctrine of purgatory alone explains this passage. Then, of course, there is the Bible’s approval of prayers for the dead: “In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the dead to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin” (2 Macc. 12:43–45). Prayers are not needed by those in heaven, and no one can help those in hell. This verse so clearly illustrates the existence of purgatory that, at the time of the Reformation, Protestants had to cut the books of the Maccabees out of their Bibles in order to avoid accepting the doctrine. Prayers for the dead and the consequent doctrine of purgatory have been part of the true religion since before the time of Christ. Not only can we show it was practiced by the Jews of the time of the Maccabees, but it has even been retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified. It was not the Catholic Church that added the doctrine of purgatory. Rather, the Protestant churches rejected a doctrine that had always been believed by Jews and Christians. Catholic theology takes seriously the notion that “nothing unclean shall enter heaven.” From this it is inferred that a less than cleansed soul isn’t fit for heaven. It needs to be cleansed or “purged” of its remaining imperfections. Sanctification is thus not an option, something that may or may not happen before one gets into heaven. It is an absolute requirement, as Hebrews 12:14 states that we must strive “for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Medical Office Has Three Part-time Positions. Throgs Neck Medical Service, 3795 E. Tremont Ave. WILL TRAIN three people for: Medical Data Entry, Medical Billing & Coding, and Patient Info & Demographics. Looking for people with a high school diploma or equivalent with basic familiarities with computers and have keyboarding skills. Must be patient friendly and enthusiastic to work. For more info, call Moghen at 516-498-9448.

Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John is the title of our new Bible Study Class, which will begin on Tues., Nov. 5 at either 1PM or 7:30PM in the Green Building as well as on Sun., Nov.10 at 11:30AM. Following Christ takes more than simply believing in him or doing what he asks of us. Jesus wants you to be more than just a believer — He wants you to be his disciple and friend. Follow Me: Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of John is your guide to a personal encounter with Christ. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus seeks after us. He comes to meet us and beckons us to follow him. He calls us to be his disciples, to trust him, to open ourselves to his merciful love, and to love others as he has loved us. Follow Me invites you to experience the joy of a renewed friendship with Christ. For those people who want the workbook, the cost is $20.

Consecrate Yourself to the Blessed Virgin Mary. His Eminence Cardinal Dolan is offering an opportunity to bring to our archdiocesan family something of a spiritual conversion, a light within the darkness of these troubled times. You are invited to consecrate yourself to the Blessed Virgin Mary on Sunday, Dec. 8, The Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Taking our heavy hearts to Mary, our mother, can bring comfort and consolation to all of us in these days ahead. There is a free copy of the consecration book 33 Days to Morning Glory available in the rectory. The consecration book maps out everything you need to know. The preparation for this consecration, which will take place at every Mass on December 8, will begin on Tues., Nov. 5. Please take a book and use it with your family.

The Catholic Charities Junior Board introduces young professionals (ages 21-40) to the wide array of programs and works of Catholic Charities through volunteer opportunities, social gatherings, faith-based events, and philanthropic support. Come learn more about the Junior Board at our biannual meeting on Wed., Oct. 16 at 6:30PM at the Catholic Charities Offices on the 20th floor of the Catholic Car., 1011 1st Ave. Join us after the meeting for drinks in Cardinal Dolan’s reception space: the Dillon Room (the Cardinal will not be there, but we will have lots of wine!). You can also join us for Mass at 5:30 PM in St. John the Evangelist, located on the first floor of the Catholic Charities HQ.

Test For Admission Into Catholic High Schools (TACHS) on Fri., Nov. 8 at established test sites in the Bronx. You may register via the internet at www.tachsinfo.com or by calling 866-618-2247. Exam fee is $65. Deadline for internet and telephone registration is October 21.

Blessed John Henry Newman Symposium at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers on Nov. 1-2 with Fr. Ian Ker, the world’s leading living authority on the life and thought of Cardinal Newman. Register online at www.dunwoodie.edu/newmansymposiumrsvp

Alive In You is the ultimate 6-day Catholic summer youth experience for teens as they service people in need. Registration is now open. Visit [email protected]