Saint Mary’s Church - Stony Hill Roman Catholic Church www.stmaryswatchung.org stmaryswatchung 225 Mountain Boulevard Watchung, NJ 07069 Parish Office: (908) 756-6524 Email: [email protected]Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament immediately following Mass on Wednesday and Friday mornings * * * * * While we cannot gather to celebrate Mass together at this time, we will conclude Mass each Wednesday and Friday morning with a few moments of Adoration. Join us “virtually” via Facebook (livestream) or our parish website (recorded). May 3, 2020 May 17, 2020
A warm welcome is extended to all who come to St. Mary’s-Stony Hill to join together in this community of worship and praise to Almighty God. We are grateful to our faithful parishioners and welcome our neighbors and guests who visit us occasionally. We want you to know that you are always welcome! All parishioners should be registered with the parish office. Please notify the parish office if you change your address or move out of the parish. Certificates of eligibility to sponsor at Baptism or Confirmation will be given only to registered parishioners who are active and practicing Catholics.
Parish Directory:
We offer religious education for children of registered parishioners who attend public school grades Pre-K thru 8. Preparation for the Sacraments of First Penance, First Holy Communion and Confirmation is also provided for students who attend Catholic schools. The Confirmation Program is a two-year preparation program. Students may not enroll into 8th grade, unless they complete our 7th grade program or attend a Catholic school. Please check our website or contact the Office of Religious Education at 908-756-6524 ext.16 for more information.
Religious Education
Msgr. Benwell is celebrating
Mass daily. Mass is celebrated privately, but livestreamed on our parish Facebook page. The recording is then posted on our parish website (select
“home” then “Recorded Mass”) to view.
Mass will be livestreamed as follows:
Monday—Friday at 8:00 am Saturday at 4:00 pm Sunday at 10:00 am
Contact Us: While the parish office is closed to the
public, we are still here to answer your needs. You may reach us by phone or by email: Call 908-756-6524 ext. 10 and leave a
Thank you for your generous response to this month’s food collection. We filled three cars with frozen meals for SHIP and groceries for the Food Bank Network — and the food still kept coming! A special thank you to Mary Ann Pangi for organizing this food collection (safely in our parish parking lot), and to our “drivers” Tony Pangi, Larry Latore and Irene Rynar (who made the “special delivery”). Thanks also to all our pa-rishioners who showed up safely in face masks and maintained appropriate social distance while showing such wonderful l support!
Remember In Prayer
We offer our sincere sympathy to the family of Thomas Quelly, who was recently called home to the Father. May his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in God’s peace.
2020-21 Religious Education Program
Contact our Director of Religious Education, Cathy Cooney at [email protected] or 908-756-6524 ext 16 for information about our program and information about registration.
Thank you for your continued contributions to our
parish. Your financial support, especially at this
time, is so greatly appreciated.
While we may no longer celebrate Mass together pub-licly, we will not publish a weekly collection number in the bulletin. Instead, we will publish the amount collect-ed at the end of the month which will include both WeShare (online donations) and donations dropped off/mailed to the parish office.
Thank you and God bless you!
The Ascension of the Lord
Sunday, May 24, 2020 The Ascension of Our Lord celebrates the day that Jesus Christ, in the presence of His apostles, ascended bodily into Heaven. The Ascension occurs on the 40th day after Easter Sunday, which would have been celebrated on Thursday, May 20th this year. Please note that for this year only, the bishops of New Jersey have transferred the observance of the holy day of The Ascension of the Lord to Sunday, May 24th. During the pandemic, dispensation has already been granted from the obligation of the faithful to participate in Mass on Sundays and Holydays. As always, we invite you to celebrate in the beauty and goodness of observing Mass as per our “regular” Mass schedule (which during this time is livestreamed on Facebook, then posted on our parish website).
Obituary for Reverend James Carroll
Rev. James Carroll, of the Archdiocese of Newark and a resident St Joseph's in Totowa, left this world on May 4, 2020 at the age of 89, and was interred in Holy Name Cemetery in Jersey City. Father Carroll grew up in Sacred Heart Parish in Bloomfield, attended Immaculate Conception Seminary and was ordained in 1956. He was a priest at Saint John the Baptist in Fairview for many years, and after retirement resided with the People of Hope Community in Warren, NJ. Parishes he ministered to over the years include St Paul of the Cross, JC, Queen of Angels, Newark, Holy Spirit/OL Help of Christians, EO, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Maplewood, St Charles Borromeo, Newark and St Matthew, Ridgefield. Father was predeceased by his brother, Jack, and sisters, Eileen Walsh and Catherine Carroll. He leaves behind many nieces, nephews, grand and great grand family members. Due to Covid19, a Memorial Service will be held later in the year. Anyone wanting to be notified of these arrangements can email [email protected].
(See next page for reflection.)
Your Sacrificial Offering
Monday Mornings 11:30 AM
Coffee Time with
Msgr Benwell
Grab a cup of coffee and join us on Zoom
Register via the parish website or contact Darrin at [email protected]
Remember in Prayer: Father James Carroll (1930 - 2020)
Reflection by Deacon Peter D’Angelo
If you ever happened to stop by St. Mary’s on a weekday you may have heard the gentle strums of a guitar wafting from the second floor of the parish center. If it was a particularly nice day, the guitar sounds may have come from the prayer gardens. If you listened carefully, you may even have heard the soft voice of a man singing.
If you ventured closer to see who this man was, you may have been surprised to see that it was none other than Father Carroll -- our “weekend” assistant here at St. Mary’s from 2005 to 2016. While he helped celebrate the Sunday liturgies, and could regularly be found at our Seniors Group meetings, he did so much more than that... He was always around, always available always there for you to talk to, to confess to or just to wave to. You rarely saw him without his collar for he believed that once ordained a priest, you are always a priest.
He gave counsel, advice and spiritual direction to countless souls and would normally “hold court” in the Narthex. If you ever had the opportunity to speak with him one-on-one you know that he was quite different from his public persona. He had a child-like demeanor about him and a quirky sense of humor but – inevitably – he always directed the conversation back to God and faith.
Few things mattered to Father Carroll in this world: he loved to read, loved music and most importantly his devotion to his ministry as priest and shepherd of the Lord. In the end, that’s really all he needed; everything else was just fluff. He vehemently disdained material things and any gifts that he may have received were immediately regifted -- usually to someone else in greater need. This include a brand-new pair of shoes that the parish gifted him for his 80th birthday!
It's almost ironic that the last spiritual home of such a humble, quiet, man of meager means would be here with us at St. Mary's. He found himself in one of the most affluent areas of the state – if not the country. The stark contrast must have amazed him, antagonized him and bewildered him all at the same time. Surrounded by million-dollar homes and expensive cars, here he was: a pilgrim, an itinerant, living day-by-day on the good
graces of whatever family would take him in. He drove around in hand-me-down automobiles. Even his meals were spartan, typically just a peanut butter sandwich.
Last Monday night, May 4th, the good Lord finally called Father Carroll back home. This was a journey that he had looked forward to his entire life. In fact, he spent every waking moment of every day in prayerful preparation to ensure that he – and all the souls entrusted to him – make it to our final home. The Father’s house! The place where Jesus himself has prepared a room for each of us. As a priest and man of fervent faith, he understood this world is not our final destiny. This world is fleeting – Father Carroll was definitely not of this world.
This was his mission in life: the salvation of souls. Your soul, my soul and his soul. Sure, his homilies were sometimes odd, uncomfortable and sometimes hard to follow, but they all contained the same basic message, the same fundamental warning: don’t be lured and fooled by the material trappings of this world. This is not our final destination. This is not the paradise that God the Father intended for us at the dawn of creation. Our final resting place is with God the Father and all the angels and saints.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Father Carroll is at home with the Father, right now, enjoying the heavenly fruits of his hard work here in the vineyard. Heck, he may even have his guitar out and could be serenading Jesus at this very moment in paradise!
Rest in peace, good and faithful servant and enjoy the eternal rewards of a job well done.
May 17, 2020
St. Mary-Stony Hill Parish
TABERNACLE CANDLE BURNING
May 16 - May 22
For Father James Carroll.
Agapito Aquino Joseph M. Angeleri Carmen Antonelle Josephine Balko Eloy Bello Rose Bello Buono David Bestwick Anda Braun Diane Brown Andrea Callejas Genna Camiolo Brian Carpenter Lorena D’Amato Calvin David Sophie Fiegenbaum Vivian Flower Gregory Frisoli Denise Gilmartin Barbara Giordano Jennifer Gonzalez Robert Gonzalez Andrew Greiwe Anthony Gottlick Shannon Hardy Eric Hartman Laura Hinkley John Hunton Carol Jacob
Chet Janusz Federico Jarantilla Anthony Leone Veronica March Cornell Marino Kesla Marie Martinez Daniel McCaffrey Grace Mitchell Brenda Mittenhuber Carolyn Monday Clare Murphy John Oborne Donna Palardy Joanne Quense Walter Quense Rolando Severino Karen Shanahan Rose Simone Frank Skopowski Bessie Sullivan Marie Summa Emma Szanicz Pat Turner Maryellen Wilson ...and all those who are sick or suffering.
MONDAY, May 18
Easter Weekday • Saint John I Acts 16:11-15/Jn. 15:26-16:4a
8:00 a.m. Ernest Meyers, Jr.
TUESDAY, May 19
Easter Weekday Acts 16:22-34/Jn. 16:5-11
8:00 a.m. Linda Gagliardotto
WEDNESDAY, May 20
Easter Weekday Saint Bernardine of Siena Acts 17:15, 22-18:1/Jn. 16:12-15
8:00 a.m. Keith Kuzmenko
THURSDAY, May 21
Easter Weekday • Saint Christopher Magallanes
Acts 18:1-8/Jn. 16:16-20
8:00 a.m. George & Peter Lutz Andrew Gage
FRIDAY, May 22
Easter Weekday • Saint Rita of Cascia Acts 18:9-18/Jn. 16:20-23
8:00 a.m. Mary Maroney
SATURDAY, May 23
Easter Weekday Acts 18:23-28/Jn. 16:23b-28
4:00 p.m. Pat Connolley, Vincent Scarano
SUNDAY, May 24
The Ascension of Our Lord Acts 1:1-11/Eph. 1:17-23/Mt. 28:16-20
10:00 a.m Henry Homza, Carol Quatrella
Virginia Rachko and For the People of the Parish
From today’s readings...
Let us pray for the sick:
Let us pray for those in the military:
May God bless you for your service.
L. Cpl. Joseph Butrico, USMC Corp. Michael F. Hogan, USM Edward Paul Louis, USA Eric Marsjanik, USN Eric Merkle, USAF Chaplain Robert Monagle, USAF Sgt. Patrick Noll USMC Pvt. Jonathan Sims, Natlonal Guard
Morgan Slaninko, USN Capt. Daniel Szurick, USMC Major John Voorhees, USA Lt. Taylor Wing, US Army
“ … you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. ” - Jn. 14:20
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
Let all the earth cry out to God with joy. (PS 66)
