The Thursday night book club is reading Pope’s recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti, the Pope’s recent social encyclical on important contemporary issues.
This Thursday at 7 PM, we will discuss Chapter 5, “A Better Kind of Politics” (paragraphs 154-197) and be joined by Bill Cavanaugh, theologian and professor at DePaul University, whose review of the encyclical is available here, https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/radical-truths.
Category: Bulletin
Sunday Book Club: The Moviegoer
The Sunday book club is reading The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Winner of the National Book Award for fiction in 1962, it is Walker Percy’s first and most acclaimed novel.
We will meet to discuss it on Sunday, January 10 at 12:30 PM via Zoom.
Selected Homilies 2020
As our Christmas gift to you, we have selected homilies taken from transcripts of our Masses this liturgical year. They document the life of the parish and our faith journey during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The compilation is available in PDF and also formatted for your Kindle or E-reader.
Christmas Week Schedule
Monday 12/22
4-8 PM Reconciliation at the Church
Confessions will be heard in the sanctuary or the sacristy.
Wednesday 12/23
12:10 PM – Weekday Mass at the Church
12:30 – 2 PM – Church open for Private Prayer
Thursday 12/24
9 AM – 3 PM – Catholic Charities Food Pantry at the Church
5 PM – Christmas Eve Mass – at the Church & Live Streamed
There will be no Mass at Midnight.
Friday 12/25
9 AM – Christmas Morning Mass at the Church
11:15 AM – Christmas Community Mass at the Church & Live Streamed
Tickets/reservations are not required for Mass.
Social distancing and face masks are required: follow usher instructions.
Summary of Christmas Giving Appeals
We sponsor opportunities for us to give in different ways this Christmas season. It’s a busy time of year, so below is a brief summary of our Christmas giving appeals. More details about many of the programs are available below on the website.
- Toys for Individual Children
- If you would like to buy toys for a particular child, we will have the names of individual children and what they really want.
- Email [email protected] to obtain name of child and his/her wish list.
- Respond by December 8, 2020.
- Catholic Charities Toy Drive
- New toys and baby items will be collected will be brought together in a “toy store” for parents to choose which toys they think best for their children.
- Bring unwrapped toys in the rear of church (by Wed., Dec. 9), or bring to Custom House on Sat., Dec. 12
- Respond by December 12, 2020.
- Volunteer Your Time with Catholic Charities
- Two ways to participate: (1) Collect from churches and Investors Bank locations during the week of Dec 14; and/or
(2) Help distribute the toys on Dec. 17/18 (Queens) and Dec. 22 (Brooklyn) - (1) Email or call rectory to help with toy collection; (2) Sign up online to help with toy distribution
- Please respond as soon as possible.
- Two ways to participate: (1) Collect from churches and Investors Bank locations during the week of Dec 14; and/or
- Gift Cards for St. Vincent Scholars
- Gift cards for young people who are cycling out of foster care and likely not receiving any gifts for Christmas this year, and foster children who do not have access to school supplies and learning tools required for remote schooling.
- Donate online at https://stcharlesbklyn.weshareonline.org/ws/opportunities/StVincentsGiftCards or place a check in the collection box (see details below).
- Respond by December 13, 2020.
- Christmas Flower Memorials
- This Christmas season, we will decorate the church with joyousness and memorialize loved ones with flowers.
- Donate online at https://stcharlesbklyn.weshareonline.org/ChristmasFlowerMemorials or via envelope enclosed with the pastor’s Christmas letter.
- Respond by December 19, 2020.
- Christmas Gift to Parish
- We will ask for your support of our annual Christmas donation that goes to support the activities of St. Charles, and St. Charles only. A particular focus this year will be the increased costs due to the pandemic. The parish has been scrupulous in fulfilling our safety responsibilities during the pandemic, but this has been very costly and will continue longer than anticipated.
- Donate online at https://stcharlesbklyn.weshareonline.org/ParishChristmasGift or via envelope enclosed with the pastor’s Christmas letter.
- Respond by December 25, 2020.
- Christmas Gift to Catholic Charities
- Churches across our diocese take up a collection for Catholic Charities on Christmas Day. Catholic Charities has been vitally important for so many of our neighbors, particularly during the hardships of this year. We encourage you to contribute generously.
- Donate online at https://stcharlesbklyn.weshareonline.org/CatholicCharitiesChristmasGift or place a check in the collection box.
Urgent Call for Blood Donors
The New York Blood Center has issued an urgent call for healthy blood donors as blood supplies are “alarmingly low.” You can find a nearby blood donation site and schedule an appointment at https://donate.nybc.org/donor/schedules/zip. There are two upcoming blood drives close by our parish at City Tech (259 Adams Street): next Friday, Dec. 4 and on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
Christ the King – Homily (Fr. Smith)
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. It is the last Sunday of the church year, and we begin Advent next week. We will also switch gospels from Matthew to Mark. Mark will have much to offer us, but Matthew was particularly pertinent for this year. St. Matthew was a pastor of a new parish at the dawn of the church. We are a well-established one which will need to rebuild after COVID, but the challenges are strikingly similar.
Matthew has shown us the importance of forgiveness, the practicality of the Beatitudes and need for a Church structure. These issues were urgent then and now. Today’s message may not seem as immediate, but you may find a longer look worthwhile.
Continue reading “Christ the King – Homily (Fr. Smith)”