SAINTS SIMON & JUDE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Established 1897

185 Van Sicklen Street, Brooklyn, New York 11223

Telephone: (718) 375-9600 Fax: (718) 375-6642

E-mail: rectoryssj@gmail.com / www.stssimonjude-brooklyn.org

Rev. John Maduri, Administrator Rev. Sijo George, CMI-Parochial Vicar & Rev. Gesson Agenis, Parochial Vicar

Deacon Andrew Mastrangelo, Pastoral Minister/Business Manager

Ms. Dina Wilson, Director of Faith Formation

SUNDAY MASSES : Saturday evening at 5:15pm (English)

Sunday morning at 8:30am(Italian/English), 11:00am (English)

Misa en Espanol 12:30pm

WEEKDAY MASSES: Monday – Saturday at 9:00am

HOLYDAY MASSES: 9:00am 7:30pm (Except Christmas and New Year’s Day)

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE/ PARKING LOT

DEVOTIONS: Chaplet of The Divine Mercy: Monday after the 9 am Mass

Circulo de Oracion Carismatico en Espanol- Todos los Lunes de las

7pm a las 9pm en la parte baja de la iglesia. Para mas informacion,

favor de llamar a la Sra. Teodora Aquino 347-355-5715. Miraculous Medal Novena: Tuesday after the 9 am Mass

Rosario in Italiano ogni Mercoledi alle 7:30pm (Settembre– Giugno).

St. Jude Novena: Friday after the 9 am Mass

Holy Hour / Benediction: 8:00am-9:00am every Saturday

RECONCILIATION (Confession): Saturday: 4:00pm-4:30pm

Other times by appointment.

RECTORY OFFICE HOURS: Monday to Friday: 9:30 am -4:30 pm (CLOSED for lunch from 12pm-1pm) CLOSED ON SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS

RECTORY/CHURCH STAFF: Bookkeeper / Parish Secretary: Nicole Compagnone Secretary/Housekeeper: Angelica Compagnone Receptionist: Marie Gatto Sacristan/ Maintenance: Nelson Bobe and Eraldi Leka Weekend Sacristan: Lilian Acevedo

Youth Minister: Alex Quinones Young Adult Minister: Michael Cosby

PARISH REGISTRATION: We are happy to welcome all newcomers to our parish! Join our parish family by registering at the rectory during office hours. Current parishioners who change address, phone number or are moving away are asked to contact the rectory, so we can keep our files up to date.

BAPTISM: Congratulations on the birth of your child! Parish Baptisms are on the 3rd Saturday of each month at 12:00pm. Please call for an appointment to register and make arrangements for your child’s Baptism.

OFFICE OF FAITH FORMATION: To register for religion classes grades K through 8, children’s First Communion, or Confirmation, call 718-372-0733 in the rectory lower level.

Faith Formation Secretary: Nelly Yepez (para hablar en Espanol).

ADULT RELIGIOUS EDUCATION:

Teens over 14 and Adults who are interested in becoming a Catholic or who have been baptized Catholic but never received Holy Communion or Confirmation should be part of our RCIA program. Leave your name and phone number at the Office of Faith Formation for Sara Nespoli. Catholic Adults who have received Holy Communion and desire to receive Confirmation should also leave their name and phone number at the Office of Faith Formation for Sara Nespoli.

MARRIAGE: Plan to make your wedding both a JOYFUL and a HOLY event! Couples must call for an appointment at least 6 months prior to the planned wedding date and partici-pate in the parish and diocesan marriage preparation program.

ANOINTING OF THE SICK: We celebrate this sacrament of healing grace at the 9:00am Mass on the first Saturday of each month. Please join us at that Mass if you are ill. You may also call and arrange with a priest to receive this sacrament at other times.

PASTORAL CARE OF THE SICK: Please contact the rectory if you are home-bound, and would like to receive the Holy Eucharist on a regular basis.

MASS INTENTIONS

SATURDAY, JULY 20

5:15 THOMAS MARTORELLO

SUNDAY, JULY 21

8:30 ANGELO ILUZZI

11:00 PEOPLE OF THE PARISH, ISABELLA

MANGOGNA, JOHN MATHIAS & MARIA

D’ANGELO 12:30 MARIA DE LOS ANGELES CERVANTES SANCHEZ

MONDAY, JULY 22

9:00 MADALENA & MARCO VERGA

TUESDAY, JULY 23

9:00 GEORGINA & ELIZABETH O’NEIL

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24

9:00 ANGELO ILUZZI

THURSDAY, JULY 25

9:00 CARMINE, FILOMENA & GIORGIO BUONO

FRIDAY, JULY 26

9:00 IN HONOR OF ST. ANNA

SATURDAY, JULY 27

9:00 MICHAEL PISCOPIA

5:15 LYDIA FERRAIOLI

SUNDAY, JULY 28

8:30 ANNA, ANTHONY, MARY & JOHN CITOLA

11:00 PEOPLE OF THE PARISH, KATIE & DOMINICK

CREA, MARGARET ERCOLANO,

PAUL RENNA & EVA MILAZZO

12:30 FR. ALEJANDRO ROQUE

IN OUR PRAYERS May the Holy Spirit bring healing comfort to all of our sick, especially:

Jeanine Ardizzone, Camille & Anthony Chiusano, Annette Puglisi, William

Tirelli, John Belezio, Denise Pizzullo, John Geraci, Antoinette Marino, Jean-

ina Caceres, John DzHon Vong, Gina Morselli, Mary Ann Barry, Susan

Fischetti, Dominic Nunziato, Linda Viscardi, Maria Sciarrino, Mary Antico,

Maria Selca Maher, Angelo D’Attoma, Joseph DiBella, Ella Spina, Carmela

Maccia, Rose Colombo, Theresa Pagani, Roza Camaj-Ivezaj, Richard

Bubello, Joseph Nucifora, Grayce Prestipino, Isabella DiNiso,

Jeanne Turzilli, Larry Lembo, Antonino Curatolo, Robert Cusimano,

Michael Fiore, Karen Giachetta, Mary Jencsik, T. Guida, Richard & Gary

Prestipino, Carol Marcinsky, Pietro Grippo, John Paul Harris, Reid Moritz,

Julia Bruzzese, Stephen DiBella, Maria Piccarelli, Dorothy Vallone Iaconis,

Jacinta Duenas-Ladd, Sal D’Aquino, Josephine Gioia, Giada Cravelli,

Frances Bowen, Evan Zitchic, Rose Galia, Isabella Grace Colucci, Diane

DiMonda, Sabrina Giangrande, Leonard Currea, Eddie Stack, Mandy

Crupi, Marie Filosa, Tara Horowitz, Rosalie O’Hara, Monica Morales,

Frank Gramegna, Marie Gatto, Frances Mancuso, Carmela Guarnieri,

Sal Lombardo, Maria Marucci, Joe Kammer, Jeanette Gemma,Alicia Vicino

Nadine Morgenbesser & Ninfa DeRossi

May God bring safely home all of our deceased family and friends:

Concettina Palazzolo & Mario Iraggi

WEEKLY MEMORIALS– JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2019

THE GIFTS OF THE BREAD AND WINE ARE DONATED IN LOVING MEMORY

SPECIAL INTENTION

THE TABERNACLE CANDLE IS DONATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF

SPECIAL INTENTION

THE ALTAR CANDLES ARE DONATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF

SPECIAL INTENTION

STS. SIMON & JUDE PURGATORIAL SOCIETY The Purgatorial Society of Sts. Simon & Jude parish for the month of

July includes the following members who were enrolled last month:

Rosemary Lentino, Adeline Minore, Carmela Argiro,

Emilia Tritito, Lisa O’Rourke, Maria Colonna,

Sargent James Michael Timmins & Salvatore Mondrone

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

OUR LADY OF GRACE CATHOLIC ACADEMY Registration is open!

Don’t miss out on scholarship opportunities.

To learn about the benefits of a Catholic education, please call:

Principal Kelly Wolf at 718-375-2081

385 Avenue W-Brooklyn, 11223

Olgbk.org

___________________________________________________

STS. SIMON & JUDE CHURCH GLASSES As you all know, on September 1, 2019 Sts. Simon & Jude

Church and Most Precious Blood Church will officially

merge and become one parish. Just a few years ago Sts.

Simon & Jude Church celebrated its 50th Anniversary of

the new Church building (October 28, 1966-2016). In

honor of the celebration specially engraved commemora-

tive drinking glasses were made. We still have some of the

glasses available. If anyone is interested in purchasing a

special Sts. Simon & Jude Church Glass please call or

pass by the rectory during office hours. Glasses are $5

each and a beautiful keepsake.

SPECIAL 2ND COLLECTION

JULY 27 & 28 TO HELP

DIVINE MERCY-ST. JOHN PAUL II CHURCH

IN HAVANA, CUBA A special second collection will be taken up after Communion

next weekend, July 27th & 28th for Divine Mercy-St. John Paul

II Church in Havana Cuba. Divine Mercy-St. John Paul II Church

in Havana is the second Catholic Church to be consecrated since

1960 in Cuba. Located in the east side of the city, it will be a cen-

ter of evangelization in a neighborhood with people thirsty for

God’s Word. Currently, the church is at the final phase of con-

struction, with only the floor and 40 (10 foot long) pews needed

for completion. We are asking for help with donations to finish

the construction of the Church.

In addition to the second collection in church, there will also be

an opportunity for memorialization of a loved one on the pews .

For those who would like to memorialize a loved one’s name on

the pews, plaques are $500 per pew. If you would like to memori-

alize a pew, please call the rectory and speak to our Cuban born

Seminarian Ernesto Alonso, who is organizing this beautiful

fundraiser. Thank you for your generosity and support!

2019 MASS BOOK (JULY-DECEMBER 2019)

The second half of our Mass book has officially opened! Please

note that we will be accepting Mass intentions from July-

December 2019. Masses are $15 each and can be reserved

through the rectory office. The 11:00am Mass will be our weekly

multi intention Mass. Please be aware of the new Mass schedule

that will be start the first weekend in July 2019.

SATURDAY

5:15pm Mass in English

SUNDAY

8:30am Mass in Italian & English

11:00am Mass in English

12:30am Mass in Spanish

ANNUAL BOXES OF ENVELOPES The boxes are in! The Annual boxes of weekly envelopes will be

displayed in the back of the Church starting this weekend. You

are invited to pick up your envelopes after Mass. Please note that

the boxes are arranged in alphabetical order for your conven-

ience . Also, the boxes are smaller due to the fact that the enve-

lopes only go from July to December. As of January of next year

we will be using a new company, so in December you will re-

ceive another new box. For more information call the rectory

during office hours.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA ROSARY RALLY A special thank you to Sr. Rita and Sr. Angela, daughters of

Mary Mother of Mercy, for organizing the beautiful Rosary

Rally in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. The Rosary Rally will

continue every month until the feast day celebration on October

13th.

All are invited to a special Rosary Recitation at Sts. Simon &

Jude Church in honor of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

“Lets’ continue to pray for peace in the world and the purifica-

tion of the Catholic Church” 20 decades of the Rosary will be

recited. All are called, all are welcome!

AUGUST 19 at 3:00pm

ROSARIES FOR LIFE AT ST. A’S

All are welcome to join parishioners at St. Athanasius Church as

they pray for life. Powerful prayers to end abortion and to heal

hearts. The rosary is prayed every Saturday at 9:30am at St.

Athanasius Church.

BRIDGE TO LIFE With locations in Flushing and Astoria, Bridge to Life offers

guidance and material assistance for women who find them-

selves with unplanned pregnancies. For more information

call:718-463-1810 or visit www.thebridgetolife.org

RACHEL’S HELPERS If you are suffering from a past abortion, Rachel’s Helpers are

here to help you through our “Forgiven and Set Free” Program.

For more information call: 347-702-2352.

PLEASE DO NOT GO ON PAST YOUR SERVANT

There are many things that can be said and written about the faith of Abraham. One of the things that we glean from to-

day’s first reading from the Book of Genesis is that Abraham is also attentive. He is attentive to the needs of others and

also attentive to the reality of the presence of God.

In this Sunday’s reading from Genesis we note Moses’ attention to the needs of the three men who are on a journey. He

shows charity and basic human concern for the needs of these men. Even moreso, he recognizes the visitation of the Lord

to be found in these men. Perhaps they are even angels of God! We see here that Abraham had a careful disposition. He

lived his life in such a way that he could discern the presence of God not only in mystical experience but even more im-

portantly in the day-to-day situations and relationships that he encountered. Moses reminds us that if our faith is going to

be strong and truly permeate how we live then we too must also be attentive to the many visitations of the Lord in our

lives. Otherwise they may simply pass us by.

There are many reasons why we are inattentive but today’s Gospel reading on the familiar story of Martha and Mary in

the company of Jesus lays out perhaps the most significant issue in our own time aside from the sadness of sin. We can

only imagine how Martha is running around like the proverbial chicken without a head on her shoulders doing all the

household tasks as Mary is simply sitting at the feet of Jesus. It must be noted that in no way is our Lord diminishing

Martha’s service and work. She, just like Abraham in the first reading, has someone visiting her and her sister’s home in

the person of Jesus and also like Abraham takes interest and concern in His well-being and comfort. It is a reflection of

her charity and human kindness. Notice though the difference in Abraham and Martha’s demeanor and attitude. Abraham

is enjoying the encounters with the three men and is at ease and even exhibits enthusiasm in serving them. Martha’s de-

meanor is one of frenzied hurriedness and some mild annoyance. Martha has done nothing wrong but she nevertheless has

obviously not been as attentive to the presence and voice of the Lord as had been Abraham and Mary. Abraham recog-

nized the presence of the divine in the three men as Mary recognized the presence of the divine in Jesus. Martha was too

busy to recognize that gift of divine presence in her midst. It was indeed going past her.

This brings us to a real problem in our own time where there are so many people who face constant distraction, noise, a

chicken without a head business, along with what St John appropriately called “the life of empty show.” Even the most

faithful of people can easily become distracted from the presence of the divine in our midst.

There is no easy or one size fits all solution to this reality. Each of us in our own lifestyle and vocation must set out to

discover the way to be more aware of the presence of God in our lives whether it be through mystical experience or

through simple encounters with other people or the various situations we find ourselves in in our daily walk. The message

of today’s Sacred Scriptures is clear. God is in our midst. God does speak to us. God does reveal Himself to us. God is not

hidden. The challenge of today’s Sacred Scriptures is to recognize this reality but even moreso to be attentive to the di-

vine as were Abraham and Martha. They chose the better half. Like St. Julian of Norwich they learned that the faith life is

a balance between contemplation and compassion towards others. The Sacred Scriptures invite us to strive for that same

balance so that we do not miss the many visitations of the Lord and the gifts He bestows upon those who welcome Him.

Fr. John Maduri,

Administrator

BIBLE STUDY INTRODUCTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

OVERVIEW

For a while now, I have wanted to do a “Bible Study” series of

reflections on different parts of the Bible. As I sat and prayed

with this the Gospel of John kept coming to mind, and so that

is where we are going to begin!

Reading Scripture is such an important part of the life of a

Christian, yet so often we as Catholics overlook it. We hear

three readings a week at Mass, and get the overarching picture

of salvation through them, which is a really great start, but we

are called to more. Scripture is truly God’s word, and as St.

Jerome, the famous biblical scholar who translated the Bible

into Latin, once said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of

Christ”. To disregard Scripture is to pass up on a fountain of

wisdom and peace, given to us by God. The Lord wants to

speak to every single one of our hearts, and when we go with-

out studying his Word, we miss out on an important opportu-

nity to listen to what he has to say.

These reflections are not meant to replace reading the Scrip-

ture passages they highlight. They are not “Sparknotes” to read

instead of the actual material in hopes that it will help give a

passing knowledge. Though I do hope to teach from what I

have learned through my studies and school and personal

study and reflection, my words cannot take the place of God’s

word. These weekly reflections are meant to be supplementary

material. As you take your bulletin home each week, take a

few moments to go sit and read the chapter or chapters that

they are about, and use these reflections however you would

like from there.

When we go to read Scripture, it is important to invoke the

Holy Spirit to come into our hearts and help us reflect. The

authors of Sacred Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit to

write, and it is the same Spirit we call upon to guide our read-

ing. When we are reading a passage for prayer or for study, we

do so several times, with a different emphasis each time.

There’s an ancient form of praying the Scripture’s referred to

as lectio divina which I have written about before. Read the

passage three times with a short break in between for reflec-

tion. The first time, simply read to understand what is taking

place. The second time, ask God what he is trying to say to

you specifically in the passage. Is there a character that you

feel close to or relate to? Is there a word or phrase that is

standing out? Why? And finally, the third time you read, ask

the question “What is God asking me to do?” and make a plan

to do it. At the end, take a couple deep breaths and invite God

into your heart and try to relax your mind and rest in his pres-

ence. This form of prayer is very powerful, and I have seen it

transform lives.

Next week, we will begin our Bible Study with the first Chap-

ter of John’s Gospel. Growing up, this Gospel has always

been one of my favorite parts of the Bible to read. All of the

Gospels are important because they tell the story of Jesus’

life, death, and resurrection, but John’s is especially unique

for several reasons: It was written years after the other three,

and written by John the beloved Apostle or those very close to

him. It more fully exposes Jesus’ divinity. It shows more

clearly the epic struggle of good versus evil that takes place. It

also paints an intimate picture of Jesus’ life with the Apostles.

John’s Gospel is split into two halves, commonly referred to

as “the Book of Signs” which tells about many of the miracles

that Jesus worked, and “the Book of Glory” which tells about

Jesus victory over sin and death. It is, in a word, epic.

The Gospel of John is a beautiful book that reveals God’s

heart to us in many ways, and I am looking forward to diving

deeper into it with you all next week!

Jonah Soucy

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

MONDAY, JULY 22 9:00am:Mass (CHU)

9:30am: Chaplet of the Divine Mercy (CHU)

7:00pm: Circulo de Oracion (LC)

TUESDAY, JULY 23 9:00am Mass (CHU)

9:30am: Miraculous Medal Novena (CHU)

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24

9:00am: Mass (CHU)

12:00pm-3:00pm: Golden Age Club (LC)

7:30pm: Spanish Choir Rehearsal (CHU)

THURSDAY, JULY 25

9:00am: Mass (CHU)

9:30am: Legion of Mary (LC)

7:00pm: Youth Group (LC)

7:30pm: AA Meeting (OFF)

FRIDAY, JULY 26 9:00am: Mass (CHU)

9:30am: St. Jude Novena (CHU)

7:00pm: Reunion de Servidores (LC)

SATURDAY, JULY 27 8:00am: Holy Hour (CHU)

9:00am: Mass

4:00pm: Confession (CHU)

5:15pm: Mass (CHU)

7:00pm: Circulo Vigil Prayer for Men (LC)

8:00pm: AA Meeting (OFF)

SUNDAY, JULY 28

8:00am: Rosario Italiano

8:30am: Mass (CHU)

11:00am: Mass (CHU)

12:30pm: Spanish Mass (CHU)