FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
ST. NICHOLAS PARISH From the Pastor’s Desk Next weekend we will be celebrating First Eucharist with our young people in the parish. This celebration will take place at the 11:30 Mass. Be prepared for a large crowd at that mass. If you regularly attend the 11:30 mass on Sunday you may consider an alternate time next Sunday. Unless of course you do not mind the crowd and the little extra time involved with this celebration. In that case you are more than welcome. In the meantime, we will keep our First Communicants in our thoughts and prayers. It is a joy and a privilege to celebrate the Sacraments of the Church. I know that our young people are excited to receive their First Holy Communion. They are eager and open to the Lord. They truly seek and desire to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ. They are impressionable and are at a crucial time in their lives when it comes to their faith development. They are in need of guidance in the faith. This is of particular importance for parents to keep in mind and understand. Our young children sincerely desire to grow closer to our Lord. At the time of their Baptism their parents are reminded that they are the primary teachers of their children in the ways of faith. Our children want to know Jesus and to grow in our Catholic Faith. Parents have to be ready to share their faith with their children. When parents are sincere and devout in knowing and living the Catholic Faith they have a great impact on the faith of their children. The opposite is also true; if the practice of the faith is not important for the parents it will not be important to the children. There is no getting around this very basic fact of life. For this very reason I cannot stress it enough for parents to practice their faith and to bring their children to Church. It is extremely disheartening for every priest/pastor not to see the children who have just received their First Holy Communion in church over the following weeks. It is a fact that most of our children are dependent on their parents to get them to church on Sunday. It takes a little bit of effort to set Sunday Mass as a priority and plan to get there. This simple sacrifice must be made for the sake of our children’s faith life. It is sad to think that the single greatest obstacle for the faith life of our children happens to be their parent’s lack of commitment to the practice of the faith! Please consider the larger picture and bring your children to Jesus. The power of his presence found in the Eucharist will sustain them in faith throughout their lives. Certain lessons in life are learned early. For me one of those lessons had to do with the virtues; especially the theological virtues of faith, hope and love. The greatest of these virtues is love. I remember hearing that the hardest work we will ever do in life is living the virtue of love. The simple reason for this is that God is Love and we live in a sinful world. The virtue of love is the very work of God. We hear in the Gospel of St. John (3:16) “God so love the world that he sent his only begotten son…” God reveals to us that this great act of love is also sacrificial. Jesus, by his very life, reveals the truth about love in this world: it requires a sacrifice. Considering this reality, we also know that the virtue of faith is very similar to the virtue of love. Growth in the virtue of faith is hard work. Like love, faith only grows when it is challenged. In a manner of speaking this is also sacrificial in nature. Love and faith do not grow unless they are challenged. A sacrifice of some sort is required. We see this explicitly in
the face of great challenges. However, we rarely take notice that at times these virtues are being challenged in very subtle and simple ways. It is a curious thing to hear people make the claim that their Christian faith is important and yet cannot overcome a lack of interest when it comes to practicing the faith. Many claim that their faith is very important to them yet they often fail to make the smallest sacrifice in practicing their faith much less a small effort to grow in faith. It is true that many of our children are learning that Sunday mass is just one option among others for Sunday mornings. It is never considered as a simple obligation necessary for growth in faith. Many of our children are signed up, by their parents, for sporting activities on Sunday mornings. The Sunday Celebration of the Eucharist is presented as only important if you believe it is important. For some, the weakest temptation that is too difficult to overcome for avoiding Sunday Mass is the desire to sleep-in on Sunday mornings. The inability to overcome the smallest temptations to abandon the practice of the faith has the negative effect of crippling one’s personal growth in faith. A weakened faith will falter in the future. It will not be there when needed. This is also the case for the virtue of love. If love does not overcome the little challenges that are faced everyday it will not grow. A loving relationship requires attentiveness in the small things. One must overcome the little temptations of selfishness. Little acts of selfishness always damage a loving relationship. Love is hard work and requires attentiveness to the small things. If one gets lazy or indifferent in a loving relationship it will diminish. Over a long period of time this relationship will ultimately lack love, faith and hope. Few things are more depressing than to hear that a once faithful, loving couple have found themselves in a hopeless relationship. In reality when there is the absence of the virtues of faith and love there is the presence of hopelessness. The absence of faith and love is a desperate situation: a hopeless situation. If this is true in our everyday relationships it is also true about our relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. It is virtually impossible to live the Christian life in joy without hope. We do not experience the virtue of hope without the virtues of faith and love. The first hurdle we face in our Christian life is the good habit of doing the simple things with faithfully and lovingly. We must faithfully commit to the basics. Every coach will tell you that if you have not committed and mastered the basics there is little hope that you will ever love or play a sport well much less rise to greatness. They will also tell you that when things go wrong you will have to go back and review the basics. For the Catholic, there are basics that need faithful commitment and mastering. They are essential for growth in the Christian life and the path to greatness: holiness. One unfortunate thing is that when life goes wrong for many Catholics there is rarely a thought that one should get back to basics. In fact many just abandon the faith altogether. The most basic is our faith in and love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Our faith and love is a response to the love and faithfulness Jesus has for us. In our response to Him we have a path to follow that consists of the essentials of our faith. These essentials are: prayer, both private and communal, the most important communal prayer is the Celebration of the Eucharist; reading/ refection, especially those materials that will expand our knowledge of the faith as well as help us in our spiritual life; and the Sacraments. These are the basics
APRIL 24, 2016 that we must be committed to and master. They are not unreasonable. This is especially true with the sacraments that have been given to us by Jesus for our salvation. The Sacraments are encounters with Christ. They are filled with the abundant grace and mercy of God. We cannot live our Catholic Christian life without the Sacraments especially the Eucharist. If this is not understood it may be a signal that it is time to renew our commitment and mastery of the basics. It is time to trust and to be faithful to the essentials. This will lead to a greater love for the Lord and ultimately our reason for hope. Have a great week. Father Ralko
MOTHER’S DAY SIGNATURE AD Honor your mother (living or deceased) by placing her name in the Mother’s Day ad in the Zanesville Times Recorder for only $3.00. Sign up after any Mass the weekends of April 23-24 and April 30May 1. Our Lady of Consolation Shrine, Carey, Ohio will offer a Mass for victims of cancer, their families, friends and caregivers on Friday, May 6th at 7:00 pm. We welcome all to come and pray together. Following Mass, visitors are invited to participate in special prayers for healing.
Church Support April 17, 2016 OFFERTORY Diocesan Tax Fenwick Subsidy Rosecrans subsidy Available for Parish Operations Parish Operating Expenses Religious Education Expenses Other Income Weekly deficit May God bless you for supporting your parish
$12,745.00 $ (650.00) $(3,060.00) ($290.00) $8,745.00 $(8,200.00) $(800.00) $2,300.00 $2,045.00
This week we pray Week I of the Liturgy of the hours.
Neighbor Helping Neighbor - Sunday, April 24th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. High School Students will be available to help with spring projects and minor home repair. In the past our students have washed fences, painted, washed windows, and cleaned garages. If you have a job for our students, call Patty 453-5173. We will be happy to put you on the list. A Young Men's Retreat: (Faith, Character, Leadership) SATURDAY, APRIL 30 - SUNDAY MAY 1, 2016 YOUNG MEN AGES 13-18 ARE INVITED! ALL MALE OVERNIGHT CAMPING ADVENTURE Muskingum Valley Scout Reservation (MVSR) Cost is $15.00 per person. (Scholarships available upon request) Keynote Speaker: Paul Thompson/Music by Dr. Kevin Colopy Hosted by: Edward Mulholland, Jim Gable and Ron Westerheide Students meet at St. Nicholas Teen Center on Saturday afternoon and travel to Coshocton where they will attend Mass followed by an outdoor adventure. Students will prepare and cook their own meals over the campfire, hear motivating talks and great music, and make new friends. Contact Patty for more information (740) 453-5173 Make checks payable to St. Nicholas Youth Ministry Pre-Registration and Permission Slips Required.
THE ANNUAL JUBILEE OF ANNIVERSARIES MASS Attention all married couples celebrating their 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, 50th, 55th, 60th Anniversary and every year thereafter: The Annual Jubilee of Anniversaries Mass will be held on Sunday, June 26, 2016 at St. Andrew Parish, 1899 McCoy Road, Upper Arlington, at 2:30 PM. Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frederick F. Campbell followed by an informal reception in your honor. Registration forms are available from the parish office. You may also register online at http://familylife.colsdioc.org or by calling 614-241-2560. Reservations for you and guests are necessary and must be received by Friday, June 10, 2016.
JOIN JOE PAPROCKI Popular Catholic author, Joe Paprocki, will be in Columbus on April 28 from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.at St. Elizabeth Church to talk about his new book: A Church on the Move: How to Get Mission and Mercy in Motion (Loyola Press). Don't miss this opportunity to hear Joe offer a number of exciting, practical, realistic, and doable strategies for transforming the way the average parish thinks, functions, worships, forms people in faith, and engages the world so that we can truly become a church on the move where people encounter the transforming grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this presentation, Joe will specifically focus on how a church on the move forms people in faith. The event is open to all and is FREE! Please email
[email protected] to register to call 614-221-4633, Ext. 1341 If you are unable to attend the evening presentation, the Diocesan Association of Religious Educators is sponsoring Joe from 10-12 noon on April 28 also at St. Elizabeth. If interested in this time frame, please contact Tina Bowie at
[email protected] by April 22, 2016. A lunch will be provided at no cost, but registration is needed. MARRIAGE IS A SACRAMENT What exactly does that mean? You'll learn a new way to find the Lord in your home at a Worldwide Marriage Encounter weekend. The next two weekends are August 5-7 and November 11-13, both in central Ohio. For more information or to register, contact Paul & Marilou Clouse at 614-834-6880 or visit our website at www.wwmecolumbus.org
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER LITURGICAL MINISTERS SCHEDULE It is your responsibility to find a substitute if needed. May 1, 2016 Sixth Sunday of Easter Saturday, April 30 @ 5:15 p.m. Lector: Keena Hansel, Sharon Coen Server: Bill Altier, Rex Hankinson Eucharistic Minister – Coord: Charlotte Snider Eucharistic Minister - Wash Vessel: Janis Maziar, Judy Hamilton Eucharistic Minister: Dan Snider, Ted Lacy, Susie Altier, Sandy Black Sunday, May 1 @7:30 a.m. Lector: Susan Thompson, Sue Hillis Server: David Eppley, Mason Harmon Eucharistic Minister- Coord: Corinne Musselman Eucharistic Minister - Wash Vessel: Mike Musselman, Diana Dunn Eucharistic Minister: Marvin Paul Sunday, May 1 @ 9:30 a.m. Lector: Peggy Hill, Diane Hoffer Server: Nicholas Hoffer, Judi Peterson Eucharistic Minister - Coord: Jane Durant Eucharistic Minister - Wash Vessel: Tom A. Durant, Rosalyn Headington Eucharistic Minister: Paul Ritchey, Molly Ritchey, Alan Burns, Vicki Burns Sunday, May 1 @ 11:30 a.m. Lector: Tom C. Pitcock, Roger Jones Server: Will Bernath, Justin Ewart, Luke Pratt Eucharistic Minister - Coord: Jeff Shawger Eucharistic Minister - Wash Vessel: Gerald Tiberio, Rose Jones Eucharistic Minister: Larry Taylor, Claire Tiberio, Mary Lou Staker, Jim McKee
Our thoughts and prayers remain with those serving our country at this time and with their loved ones at home. We pray for a safe homecoming and that the world may one day be at peace. PLEASE REMEMBER ST. NICHOLAS PARISH IN YOUR WILL. CALL THE PARISH OFFICE AT 453-0597 FOR MORE DETAILS.
Please join us each Monday at St. Nicholas Church at 2:00 P.M. as we gather to pray the Rosary asking Our Lady’s Intercession for the many needs of our nation, community, and parish.
What’s Happening in Our Parish MONDAY, April 25, St. Mark 8:00 a.m., Mass: Paul Richard Greten, Church 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Sign Language Class, Parish Office 7:00 p.m., Catholic Divorce Survival Guide, Parish Office
TUESDAY, April 26 8:00 a.m., Mass: David Toole, anniversary, Church
WEDNESDAY, April 27 8:10 a.m., School Mass: Jerry Davis, anniversary, Church
THURSDAY, April 28, Sts. Peter Chanel & Louis Grignion de Montfort 8:00 a.m., Mass: Daniel Kline, Church
FRIDAY, April 29, St. Catherine of Siena 8:00 a.m., Mass: John “Bunk” Baker, birthday, Church
SATURDAY, April 30, St. Pius V 4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Confessions, Church
Sixth Sunday of Easter SATURDAY, April 30 5:15 a.m. Mass: Wayne & Don Freiermuth, Church SUNDAY, May 1 7:30 a.m., Mass: St. Nicholas Parishioners, Church 9:30 a.m., Mass: Roger Eppley, anniversary, Church 9:45 a.m. Religious Education, School 11:30 a.m., First Communion Mass: Harold Roessler, Church
Readings for Week of April 25, 2016 Mon. . . . . . . . Tues. . . . . . . . Wed . . . . . . . . Thurs. . . . . . . . Fri. . . . . . . . . . Sat. . . . . . . . . . Sun . . . . . . . .
1 Pt 5:5b-14 Acts 14:19-28 Acts 15:1-6 Acts 15:7-21 Acts 15:22-31 Acts 16:1-10 Acts 15:1-2, 2229
Mk 16:15-20 Jn 14:27-31a Jn 15:1-8 Jn 15:9-11 Jn 15:12-17 Jn 15:18-21 Jn 14:23-29
