SAINT MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 203 Fourth St. · Aurora, Indiana 47001 · www.mystmarys.com St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Welcome in God’s Name! Through our loving and praying family may you find friendship, peace and serenity in this, God’s house. If you are a visitor interested in joining our parish or the Catholic Faith, please call our parish office for information. If you are returning after being away . . . Welcome Home! May 30 & 31, 2020 Parish Mission We, the people in the area served by St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Aurora, Indiana, called to faith and salvation in Jesus Christ in the Roman Catholic tradition, strive to live the Gospel by worshipping God in word and sacrament, learning, teaching, and sharing our faith with those in our parish and beyond by serving human needs. We commit ourselves to stewardship through the generous and responsible use of our spiritual, physical, and material resources for today’s and tomorrow’s needs. Holy Mass – Schedule Saturday 5:00 pm Sunday 8:00 am Wednesday 8:30 am Friday 8:30 am Office Hours Monday thru Friday from 9:00 AM until Noon Regular Mass & Office schedule will resume until further notice! St. Vincent de Paul Society (812) 926-1637 Pregnancy Care Center (812) 537-4357 Reverend Ben Syberg, Pastor Email: [email protected]St. Mary’s Office: (812) 926-0060 St. Lawrence’s Office: (812) 537-3992 After Hours Emergencies: (812) 537-1297 Anna Townsend, Secretary/C.R.E. – [email protected]Tony Vincent, Facilities & Maintenance Jim Waldon, Director of Music [email protected]Mollie Leibecke, Bookkeeper [email protected]St. Mary’s School – (812) 926-1558 fax (812) 926-2590 Bob Brookbank, Principal [email protected]Ann Hutchinson,School Secretary [email protected]As office hours may vary, please call ahead to find out the hours of availability. Pastoral Council Members Greg Ramsey - Chairman (812) 438-3109 [email protected]Randy Tyler – Co-chair (812) 584-3024 [email protected]Patty Lohmiller – Secretary (513) 646-8094 [email protected]Lyndsay Hays (812) 907-0312 [email protected]Kathy Simon (513) 405-6268 [email protected]Beth Hyde (812) 584-5894 [email protected]Rick Schuler (859) 512-1985 [email protected]Julie Strasemeier (812) 744-4495 [email protected]George Schewe (513) 312-7104 [email protected]Jonathon Andrews [email protected](513) 256-5758 Sara Dennis [email protected]Finance Committee Mark Neff, Chairperson [email protected](812) 926-3192 School Commission Beth Legge, Chairperson (812) 537-4525 [email protected]Homebound Ministry: Eucharistic Ministers are available to bring Holy Communion to the homebound. Mrs. Emily Beckman (812) 926-2417 Anointing of the Sick: Call anytime (812-926-0060 or 812-537- 3992) or see Fr. Ben. Given at home, nursing home, hospital or at church. Knights of Columbus (812) 584-4498 Bill Ullrich, Grand Knight [email protected]
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SAINT MARY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 203 Fourth St. · Aurora, Indiana 47001 · www.mystmarys.com
St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception
Welcome in God’s Name! Through our loving and praying family may you find friendship, peace and serenity in this, God’s house. If you are a visitor interested in joining our parish or the Catholic Faith, please call our parish office for information. If you are returning after being away . . . Welcome Home!
May 30 & 31, 2020
Parish Mission
We, the people in the area served by St. Mary of the
Immaculate Conception Parish, Aurora, Indiana, called
to faith and salvation in Jesus Christ in the Roman
Catholic tradition, strive to live the Gospel by
worshipping God in word and sacrament, learning,
teaching, and sharing our faith with those in our parish
and beyond by serving human needs. We commit
ourselves to stewardship through the generous and
responsible use of our spiritual, physical, and material
resources for today’s and tomorrow’s needs.
Holy Mass – Schedule Saturday 5:00 pm Sunday 8:00 am Wednesday 8:30 am Friday 8:30 am
Office Hours Monday thru Friday from 9:00 AM until Noon
Regular Mass & Office schedule will resume until further notice!
St. Vincent de Paul Society (812) 926-1637 Pregnancy Care Center (812) 537-4357
*Aloisia Mattl, *Louis Hill, Jr., *Vernon Myers; *Jodi Jerger, *Travis Miller, *Becky Meyer Clark, *Christina Nelms, Gary Manford, Tim Heller, Neil Selley, Caroline Seaver, *Brenda Murr, ,*Marilyn “Jane” Borth, Hayle Brashears, Jared Hodgkins, Stefanie Veale, Nate Groh, Michael Renner, Larry Hagan, McKayla Schmits, Kelly, Gary Wainscott, Ruth Kern, Colton Mattingly, Agnes Kelnhofer, Tinker Walston, Ron Brunner, Payton Maurice, Kate Grossmann, Joan Fuch, Karen Kistner, Mark Chase, Velinda Seaver, Rose Donk, B&L Dunseth, Jessica McKittrick, Kristie Bockhorst Gilb,*Candi Elsen, Barb MCMurray, Chris Strautman, *Mary Leyendecker, Rebecca Oelker, Debbie Walker Russell, Dottie Fedroff, Judy, Brenda O’Neal, Liz Day, *John P. Hinrichs, Pam Dean.
Please remember our Troops, Doctors, Nurses, First Responders and their families in your prayers.
St. Mary’s Parish Collection Information May 23 & 24, 2020
Weekly Collection 10,556.00 (Envelopes –39; Online Giving – 15) School 0.00 SVDP 255.00 Right to Life 20.00 ALSO, please consider our online giving. Just go to the parish website www.mystmarys.com and click the blue box “online giving” to register. Thank you. COUNTERS: Since church is closed for the time being, there is NO need for you to come on Mondays. Stay safe and we will keep you posted. Thank you.
SAVE THE DATE!!! FIRST COMMUNION IS ON JUNE 20th , SATURDAY HERE
June 2nd Tuesday 9:00am Mass @ St. Lawrence parking Lot 5:00-7:00pm Confessions at St. Lawrence rectory porch June 3rd Wednesday 9:00am Mass @ St. Lawrence Parking Lot June 4th Thursday 9:00am Mass @ St. Lawrence parking Lot 5:00-7:00pm Confessions at St. Lawrence rectory porch June 5th Friday 9:00am Mass St. Lawrence parking lot 8:00am-5:00pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament @ St. Lawrence Church; contact the office you want to take an hour June 6th Saturday 4:00pm Vigil Mass @ St. Lawrence parking lot June 7st Sunday 9:00am Mass @ St. Lawrence parking lot Look for updates on our website @ www.mystmarys.com or on St. Mary’s Facebook page
St. Mary’s Church is NOW OPEN for visitation!
Monday thru Saturday from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm
Sunday from 8:00 am until noon
Due to contruction, temporary access will be by the Sacristy door (Back)
(By: Benjamin Popson, Seminarian for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis)
Do not be duped. Hell exists and it is far from empty. While it should never be our chief focus, one cannot preach the Gospel without preaching about the imminent danger of Hell. Afterall, the Gospels beat this point like a dead horse in terms of sheep and goats and wailing and grinding of teeth. We have wrapped up the Easter Season and now follow in the Apostles’ footsteps to preach the Good News. But we cannot bear witness to the Gospel through holy Christian lives without loving God and understanding His love for us. Since God’s love entails the existence of Hell, and the fear of Hell aids our love for God, it is important to understand Hell rather than to foolishly doubt its existence or to mercilessly flaunt it as a scare-tactic. Hell exists because God is love. If God is love and love entails respecting others’ free choice, then God must honor the desires of those who choose not to live with Him forever in Heaven. Afterall, God does not force anyone to enjoy Heaven or endure Hell. He has already planned for us all to join Him in Heaven (Ephesians 1:4), but we must show in our lives on earth whether or not we accept His saving grace. Who would choose to go to Hell rather than Heaven? Anyone who has ever committed a mortal sin—which by definition is a free choice to commit a grave sin, fully knowledgeable that it is wrong, thereby damning oneself unless he repents in the Sacrament of Penance.
Fear of Hell is a first step in loving God. St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Doctor of the Church, outlines three general ways that we love God: fear of Hell, desire for Heaven, and love of God for His own sake. Each assumes the way before it: one cannot desire Heaven until he first fears Hell, and one cannot love God for His sake until he first fears Hell and desires Heaven. When you were a young child, you probably obeyed your parents because you didn’t want to get punished. Then at some point, you may have obeyed them because they bribed you with ice cream. Hopefully you eventually learned that you didn’t need a reason to obey your parents. You love them. That’s enough. Our relationship with God is similar. We have to start somewhere (i.e. fearing Hell), but we should by no means stop there. God deserves infinitely more than that.
Any topic in our faith is too dense to fully cover in a bulletin column. However, this topic is especially difficult because it is so scarcely talked about and so reluctantly received. I hope that these brief considerations help your understanding of Hell, but most especially of God’s love for you. It is true: if you die without repenting of a mortal sin, you will go to Hell; God cannot force you to love Him. But realize that He has given us grace upon grace so that we can turn away from sin and embrace His love and mercy; He lived thirty-three years, was tortured, and died to save us from sin. And on the feast of Pentecost, Jesus established a visible Church so that this font of grace would be available to us until the end of the world through Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, Penance, and Extreme Unction. Thanks be to God!
“Even the weakest and most vulnerable, the sick, the old, the unborn and the poor, are masterpieces of God’s
creation, made in his own image, destined to live forever, and deserving of the utmost reverence and respect.”
PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY: St. Mary's Prayer Shawl Ministry has been active despite the shutdowns caused by the virus. The ministry is carried out by devoted parishioners who make the shawls in their
own homes, and we have several on hand. If you know of someone who faces ongoing or serious illness, please contact Anna in the parish office. We will do our best to get prayer shawls to those who need them. May God bless those involved in this ministry and those who wear the shawls as they pray for God's comfort and care.
Married couples go home from a Worldwide Marriage
Encounter Weekend more in love with each other than ever! Want to find out more? Future Marriage Encounter Weekends will be at Mount Saint Francis Centre for Spirituality, New Albany, from 14-16 August 2020, and at Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House, Indianapolis, from 6-8 November 2020. Visit www.wwme.org for further information.
Quote from the husband of a couple who made a Marriage Encounter Weekend: “We have been married 33 years, and I didn’t realize how much my wife still loves me.”
Volunteer Help Needed At St. Mary’s!
Currently we have construction going on in church. They are repairing the ceiling in the back of church and putting up drywall. Tony will need help over the next few weeks with painting and cleaning, so that we can once again celebrate mass together in church! If you have some time, please call Tony Vincent @ 812-532-0014 or email him @ [email protected]. Please leave your name and number and Tony will call you back. Thank you for volunteering.
Plan for Reopening of Churches and Resuming the Celebration of Public Sunday and
Weekday Masses and the other Sacraments in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Update (05/14/2020): Archbishop Thompson and his staff are continuing to explore and evaluate all the possible ways the public celebration of Mass may resume in the many different parts of the
archdiocese. Because the conditions and local restrictions vary in different parts of the archdiocese and because of the complexities of navigating all of the requirements of opening our churches and restarting public liturgical celebrations, all of the faithful are asked to only follow the timeline of and to attend the
services at their home parish for the next month/until June 15th. This will enable parishes to more accurately assess the numbers of attendees and to communicate effectively with them before their arrival. So, while parishes may resume the public celebration of Mass at slightly different times, all
parishioners are asked to only go to their home parishes for the next month.
CURRENTLY THERE IS CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN OUR CHURCH: REPAIRS, PAINTING AND
CLEANING!
St. Mary’s outdoor Mass will be on a weekend, June 20th @ 4:00 pm. please check our website for new updates!
Let's meet soon.
A Prayer for the Week: Creator God, through the Holy Spirit you create a new people chosen to speak, forgive, and give peace in the name of Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit, help us to bless the world with your love. Amen.
