The following students from the Family Faith Program after finishing their preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation in the spring, were finally confirmed by our pastor Father Smith on September 12. Please pray for them that they will always be willing to bear witness to the Catholic Faith.
ROSE “ELIZABETH” ARMSTRONG
LILLIANNA “JOAN” INOSANTO
JACK “JOSEPH” KEANE
MADELINE “MARY” MCAULIFFE
NICHOLAS “THOMAS” NAPOLI
EMMA “JAMES” SKILLMAN
GABRIEL “IGNATIUS” TRAMONTANA
Please join us for our Community Mass for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday, September 13 at 11:15 AM EDT. It will be a public Mass celebrated in the church and also streamed online.
Instructions to view the Mass are available here. You can also watch the video via YouTube Live in the window here.
Stay on after Mass for our quarterly leadership meeting. In person and Zoom attendees will be able to speak and participate.
Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Claude Vignon, 1629, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tours
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Romans 14:7-8
September 13, 2020
Paul has given the Romans many important insights into the meaning of Christ and his church. We must however keep in mind that he is as much interested in giving the Romans an insight into himself. He wants their help in several enterprises and his reputation is justifiably complicated. He has proved that he is neither a lawless person nor one seeking to eliminate Judaism. Indeed, he has shown both those born Jews and those born Gentiles that he has their best interest at heart. The Christians of Rome at very least know that their view of the new life offered by Jesus has been immeasurably deepened. Yet, there may be some suspicion about how Paul will behave when he gets to Rome. Will he become involved in their daily church life and what will that mean? They have reason to be concerned.
Although the Acts of the Apostles will not be written for several decades the incidents that it relates will have been known. The Romans would probably have known that Paul and Peter had a major disagreement in Antioch and that the Church was very much disturbed indeed divided by it. This was so serious that it required a council of the leaders in Jerusalem to address it. We find a description of this in Acts 15 but more interestingly Paul’s version in Gal 2 especially 2:11-15. The matter remains unclear, but Peter seems to have been trying to create harmony and that his was disturbed by Paul.The Roman church was hard to hide and had already experienced persecution. They did not want to expose themselves again to this kind of conflict. Paul today is telling them how he would approach their situation. Continue reading “24th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Bringing Truth from the Head to the Heart”
Please download the worship aid to participate in Friday’s evening prayer at 5 PM:
Instructions on how to join are available here.
The traditional 9/11 memorial service that many of us have attended on the Promenade in years past will not be held this year, but members of the Brooklyn Heights Clergy Association will be present on the Promenade at Montague Street and ribbons and prayer cards will be distributed to honor those lost that day 19 years ago. More details are below:
Friday, September 11 between 8:30-10:00am and 5:30-7:00pm
Brooklyn Heights Promenade at Montague Street
So many events this year have invited us to rethink life and community in the wake of the current global pandemic and racial uprisings — that includes gathering to remember those we lost 19 years ago to a horrific terrorist attack. While health concerns prevent us from holding a traditional service this year our 9-11 memorial will be no less meaningful. Please join the Brooklyn Heights Clergy Association any time between 8:30-10 am and 5:30-7 pm to leave a written tribute on the Promenade at Montague Street. In our sacred distant way, we will honor those we lost and we will remember.
Ribbons and prayer blank cards will be distributed at the corner of Montague Street and the Promenade during the following times: 8:30am-10:00am & 5:30pm-7:00pm
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-730437.
Transcript:
The selection of the Gospel today comes from a section of Matthew that is referred to as the fourth of the great sermons, and it is about church order. And at the heart of what Matthew is presenting is that the church order is build not on cutting anyone out, but it is built on reconciliation, and the heart of reconciliation is the ministry of love.
But if you look at the two readings – the first reading by the prophet Ezekiel, and the second, the gospel we heard, the gospel of Matthew – we find that there is a certain starkness to it. The first reading, Ezekiel, is made responsible for the behavior of others. In the third reading, there is the sense that if the person doesn’t listen after efforts have been made to make that person aware of the need for reconciliation, they should be then cut off.
Continue reading “23rd Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily (Msgr. LoPinto)”1. Leadership Meeting – The Parish Pastoral Council invites any interested parishioners to the fall parish leadership meeting. It will take place in the church immediately following the 11:15 AM Mass on September 13. You can also attend via Zoom.
We will discuss plans for next year and would love to hear your input on what areas the parish should focus on, suggestions for new things you would like to try, and/or old things you would like to resume.
As a safety measure, we ask that you try to sit towards the front of the church for Mass that day so we can hear one another during the after Mass discussion without having to move around. Thank you.
2. Book Club Meeting at 12:30 PM in Rectory Garden – The Sunday book club will have its annual preparation meeting to select the books that will be read next year. The meeting will be held in the rectory garden (31 Sidney Place) at 12:30 PM on Sunday, September 13.
New members and suggestions for new books welcome. The Sunday book club meets once a month following the 11:15 a.m. Sunday Mass.
