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Bulletin of January 29, 2012

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Diocesan Service Appeal 2012

A Message from Pastor Julian P. Harris

What a joy it is for me to address you all as brothers and sisters in Christ, for that is who we truly are by virtue of our common Baptism. Yes, we share in the harvest of His justice, His merciful grace and His promise of everlasting life. We also share in His labors of plowing and planting and sewing now so that others after us may also experience the goodness of the Lord in the future. This is what it means to be STEWARDS OF HIS GIFTS, the very theme Our Bishop of Palm Beach, the Most Reverend Gerald Barbarito, has chosen for the 2012 Diocesan Services Appeal.

The 2012 Goal for St. Thomas More Parish is : $352,000.00

Our parish is blessed of God and great among His temples. And with this greatness comes responsibility. We accept it in the Name of Jesus and with His inspiration we will do it for the sake of His Catholic Church: If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? (1 Cor 9:11)

Stewardship is not ownership, but cultivation through generosity with a mature attitude of hopefulness about the future. Our secular, Me-First Generation is driven by a false sense of entitlement, plucking up everything, leaving nothing behind: It’s all falling apart anyway so why not! With an attitude like that is it any wonder that 53% of Christians have not contributed to their church (Catholic, Protestant or Jewish) in the last month. You can see how this is antithetical to God and His Kingdom’s values of responsibility, sacrifice and willingness to bear the pain now for the joy yet to come: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Cor 9:6)

We can all afford to give. We do not have to live pay check to pay check. We do not have to withhold our tithe or offering from God’s Church in order to provide for our daily bread. We do not have to choose between God’s House and our house or mortgage. When we give to God and to the things of God, He gives back more. Jesus said: Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. (Lk 6:37-39) I am convinced that God has blessed our parish and our parishioners in accordance with His gracious will because we have all given Him a priority in our lives including our finances: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matt 6:33)

Let us begin now to pray for the success of this appeal and to seek God’s Will for our individual commitments. All registered parishioners will receive a personal appeal by mail from Bishop Barbarito along with literature about the vital Catholic ministries and services funded by the DSA 2012.

STEWARDS OF HIS GIFTS, Bishop Barbarito’s video-message, is presented at all Masses on the weekend of January 28-29, 2012. Our Ushers, Eucharistic Ministers and Masters of Ceremony will distribute pledge packets with the Parish Bulletin at the conclusion of all Masses. Pledge Weekend is February 11-12, 2012. The Ushers will collect our completed pledges in a Second Collection at all Masses. If you choose the option of mailing your pledges directly to the Diocese of Palm Beach, please be sure to note ST. THOMAS MORE CHURCH on your check or pledge form so that our parish receive credit towards our goal.

Our St. Thomas More Parish Coordinators for the DSA2012 are Rose Bertolini, Ann Claps and Vita Tocco. They are exemplary stewards of God’s gifts and have served the Church for many years in the annual Bishop’s Appeal in addition to counting and accounting for the tithes and offerings of our parishioners and visitors.

May Almighty God accept and increase our efforts to nurture and grow His Kingdom on earth so that all might share in the saving work of His Son Our Lord Jesus Christ.

— Rev. Julian P. Harris, Pastor

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A Message from our Pastor
STM FINANCE COMMITTEE Quarterly Meeting January 23, 2012

St. Thomas More Parish Finance Committee members Lerna Awit, Robert Beck, secretary, Rose Bertolini, Peter Collins, Fr. Julian Harris, pastor, and Mary Beth Kohn, excused absent, met to receive and review end-of-year Statements of Financial Position as of December 31, 2011 for STM Parish and Pre-School.

Committee members discussed the Diocesan Services Appeal (DSA) 2012 goal of $352,500. Members offered many excellent suggestions to improve financial accountability and transparency and will review all accounts directly with the STM Bookkeeper.

The Committee expresses its own independent views directly to the parishioners through the bulletin. As pastor I am grateful for each member’s contribution of talent, professional acumen and time away from families to serve as good and vigilant Stewards of the tithes and offerings of all who worship with us at St. Thomas More Parish. Parishioners are always welcomed to consult directly with any member of the STM Finance Committee on an individual appointment basis.

Tax-filing season has come and many are requesting summaries of charitable giving from the parish for use in preparing IRS tax returns. Committee members would like to remind our parishioners that contributions made to St. Thomas More using the envelope system of offertory assures full accountability for you and the parish and that pledges to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal (DSA) receive tax-letters directly from the Bishop’s office, not from the parish.

The Committee joins me in thanking all of our parishioners and guests for their generous and loyal spiritual, financial and volunteer support and in asking God to bless all of you with joy, prosperity and good health.

Rev. Julian P. Harris, Pastor

Blessing Of Throats February 3rd - Feast Of Saint Blase

Parishioners: individual throat blessings will be offered after each Mass on This Friday:

  • 6:30 am
  • 8:30 am
  • 5:30 pm

This year we will use candles from the Cathedral of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik.
Provided by Father Vargas and his pilgrams of the Italy group.


Lent Season Begins on February 22nd. Don't Forget these important dates!
Stations of the Cross   Divine Mercy
and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
 

Classical Devotion the Fridays of Lent at Saint Thomas More Parish Church at 6:15 pm.

Prayer prepares the heart for Easter.

  Come and join us in the extremely spiritually fulfilling opportunity and experience of reciting the Divine Mercy Chaplet during the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament on Wednesday evenings during Lent after the 5:30 pm Mass.

Saint Joseph's Feast

Saturdaym March 17, 2012

St. Thomas More Catholic Church is celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph on March 17, 2012 at 11:00 am. There will be a Solemn Mass followed by a procession and a fair in the preschool/faith formation courtyard.

More information coming soon....


Parish Life Go to top



Man as God Made Him
Click here to download form

Fish Fry 2012

Events of St. Thomas More Go to top

Sanctuary Lamp

+DEE CHOP+
as we mark her birthday on February 23rd
by her sister Virginia and Bernie Laut.


Ash Wednesday

February 22, 2012

Masses will be celebrated at 6:30 am, 8:30 am, 10:30 am, as well as 12:00 noon, 5:30 and 8:00 PM (Spanish Mass).

Ashes will be distributed after each Mass.


Prayer Requests

We at St. Thomas More believe in the extraordinary power that prayers be grant to the followers of our Glorious Lord. If you or a loved one are experiencing difficulty in life, bring it before our most Holy Savior in prayer and petition. Please fill out this slip and return it to the Parish Office so that we can aid you in your most difficult trials and bringing your requests before our Savior.

Click here to download form


Major Excepts from....
"MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI"
FOR THE CELEBRAT ION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE —1 JANUARY 2012
EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE
The beginning of a new year, God’s gift to humanity, prompts me to extend to all, with great confidence and affection, my heartfelt good wishes that this time now before us may be marked concretely by justice and peace...

I would like therefore to devote this message for the XLV World Day of Peace to the theme of education: Educating Young People in Justice and Peace, in the conviction that the young, with their enthusiasm and idealism, can offer new hope to the world. My Message is also addressed to parents, families and all those involved in the area of education and formation, as well as to leaders in the various spheres of religious, social, political, economic and cultural life and in the media. Attentiveness to young people and their concerns, the ability to listen to them and appreciate them, is not merely something expedient; it represents a primary duty for society as a whole, for the sake of building a future of justice and peace.

It is a matter of communicating to young people an appreciation for the positive value of life and of awakening in them a desire to spend their lives in the service of the Good. This is a task which engages each of us personally.

The concerns expressed in recent times by many young people around the world demonstrate that they desire to look to the future with solid hope. At the present time, they are experiencing apprehension about many things: they want to receive an education which prepares them more fully to deal with the real world, they see how difficult it is to form a family and to find stable employment; they wonder if they can really contribute to political, cultural and economic life in order to build a society with a more human and fraternal face.

It is important that this unease and its underlying idealism receive due attention at every level of society. The Church looks to young people with hope and confidence; she encourages them to seek truth, to defend the common good, to be open to the world around them and willing to see new things (Is 42:9; 48:6)...

Where does true education in peace and justice take place? First of all, in the family, since parents are the first educators. The family is the primary cell of society; it is in the family that children learn the human and Christian values which enable them to have a constructive and peaceful coexistence. It is in the family that they learn solidarity between the generations, respect for rules, forgiveness and how to welcome others. The family is the first school in which we are trained in justice and peace.

We are living in a world where families, and life itself, are constantly threatened and not infrequently fragmented. Working conditions which are often incompatible with family responsibilities, worries about the future, the frenetic pace of life, the need to move frequently to ensure an adequate livelihood, to say nothing of mere survival – all this makes it hard to ensure that children receive one of the most precious of treasures: the presence of their parents. This presence makes it possible to share more deeply in the journey of life and thus to pass on experiences and convictions gained with the passing of the years, experiences and convictions can only be communicated by spending time together. I would urge parents not to grow disheartened! May they encourage children by the example of their lives to put their hope before all else in God, the one source of authentic justice and peace...

May young people be taught to savour the joy which comes from the daily exercise of charity and compassion towards others and from taking an active part in the building of a more humane and fraternal society...

Young people too need to have the courage to live by the same high standards that they set for others. Theirs is a great responsibility: may they find the strength to make good and wise use of their freedom. They too are responsible for their education, including their education in justice and peace...

Freedom is a precious value, but a fragile one; it can be misunderstood and misused. Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of educating is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own self. With such a relativistic horizon, therefore, real education is not possible without the light of the truth; sooner or later, every person is in fact condemned to doubting the goodness of his or her own life and the relationships of which it consists, the validity of his or her commitment to build with others something in common...

The right use of freedom, then, is central to the promotion of justice and peace, which require respect for oneself and others, including those whose way of being and living differs greatly from one’s own. This attitude engenders the elements without which peace and justice remain merely words without content: mutual trust, the capacity to hold constructive dialogue, the possibility of forgiveness, which one constantly wishes to receive but finds hard to bestow, mutual charity, compassion towards the weakest, as well as readiness to make sacrifices…

Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. We Christians believe that Christ is our true peace: in him, by his Cross, God has reconciled the world to himself and has broken down the walls of division that separated us from one another (cf. Eph 2:14-18); in him, there is but one family, reconciled in love...

Dear young people, you are a precious gift for society. Do not yield to discouragement in the face of difficulties and do not abandon yourselves to false solutions which often seem the easiest way to overcome problems. Do not be afraid to make a commitment, to face hard work and sacrifice, to choose the paths that demand fidelity and constancy, humility and dedication. Be confident in your youth and its profound desires for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love! Live fully this time in your life so rich and so full of enthusiasm.

Realize that you yourselves are an example and an inspiration to adults, even more so to the extent that you seek to overcome injustice and corruption and strive to build a better future. Be aware of your potential; never become self-centred but work for a brighter future for all. You are never alone. The Church has confidence in you, follows you, encourages you and wishes to offer you the most precious gift she has: the opportunity to raise your eyes to God, to encounter Jesus Christ, who is himself justice and peace...


Formation Life Go to top


Remember

St. Thomas More Catholic Church
in you last will & testament.


Sunday morning breakfast

Chancellors of St. Thomas More Host our Sunday morning breakfast on Feb. 5th! Stop by and enjoy a delicious meal in the wonderful company of our Parish Community!

After the 8:30 am, 10:30 am, and 12:15 mass!


Ministry Life Go to top

Sanctuary Flowers

Offered in Honor
+THOMAS RYAN+

By his loving wife Jane and the entire family. God blesses the man who efars The Lord and walks in His ways with a true helpmate. The Book of SIRACH says: Blessed is the husband of a really good wife; the number of his days will be doubled. How accurate is the Word of God in Thomas and Jane!


Car Raffle Winner
    February 4th & 5th Ushers & Lay Cistercian
    February 11th & 12th Widows & Widowers & Al-Anon
    February 18th St. Vincent de Paul Society & Preschool

Your Contributions And Tax Returns For 2011
"Registered Parishioners at St. Thomas More may request in writing and receive by mail a STATEMENT of your annual contributions for use in preparing your Tax Returns.

[You will receive a separate Statement directly from the Bishop’s Office for your contributions/pledges to the Annual Appeal (DSA 2011)]

Please complete the request form below and place it in the Offertory at Mass or drop it by the Parish Office by mail or in person. To maintain the confidentiality of your financial information, your requests must be received in writing and returned to you by mail."

Click here for download the form

Living Stations of The Cross

You have seen and prayed the STM Living Stations of the Cross. Now you can participate in this emotional & spiritual aspect of Holy Week.

Performance Dates will be as follows:
March 28th, March 30th, & April 6th at 6:00 pm

First Rehearsal meeting on Tuesday January 31st at the STM Center. Come sign up and give of your efforts, time & talents to this years Living Stations of the Cross ministry.


Bulletin Contact info
Please contact Stephanie Binner churchmedia@stmbb.org


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