The Parish Family of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The Parish Family of
Our Lady of Perpetual Help
as the Mother Church of Polonia in the
Greater New Bedford Area
235 North Front Street, New Bedford,
Massachusetts 02746
Phone: 508-992-9378
Fax: 508-993-4881
www.olphchurchnb.org
Conventual Franciscan Friars:
Father Conrad Salach, O.F.M. Conv., Pastor fracms@yahoo.com
Masses:
Saturday (Lord's Day Vigil) ..........................4:00 PM
Sunday Bi-Lingual English-Polish.............. 10:00 AM
Monday-Saturday ..........................................7:30 AM
Holy Day ........................................Please consult the bulletin
Devotions:
Rosary: Weekdays after Mass; Lord's Day before Mass
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament:
First Fridays after Mass
Divine Mercy Novena:
Good Friday to Easter Saturday
OLPH Triduum: June 24, 25, 26
Parish Registration: If you are new to the area, we welcome you to join
our Parish Family. Please introduce yourself after Mass or at the rectory.
Baptism: Kindly consult with the Pastor at least a month in advance.
Baptism Preparation Class is required.
Reconciliation: Confessions are heard before Saturday morning and
Saturday evening Masses and at other times upon request.
Marriage: Kindly consult with the Pastor one year before your planned
wedding date.
Anointing of the Sick: Kindly advise Father Conrad of your impending
operation or current hospital stay, so that you can receive this sacrament
of healing.
Ministry to Parishioners Confined to Home: Housebound
parishioners are urged to notify Father Conrad of your desire to receive
the sacraments.
PARISH MISSION STATEMENT: As a Parish Family, we strive to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ and emulate Him through
His teachings. We honor Mary our Mother and promote a strong community through service and ministry. We extend our
hands and open our hearts to embrace all people in unity, young and old, wishing to join us in worshipping together as a Parish
Family in the spirit of Franciscan Joy, Peace and Love.
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP
OUR CHRISTMAS MASSES will be celebrated
at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve and 10 a.m.
Christmas Day. The choir will lead the
congregation in koledy and carols at 3:40 as
a prelude to Christmas Eve Mass.
YOU, TOO, CAN TAKE PRIDE in decorating
the church for Christmas! The Christmas Tree
Set-Up Team will begin setting up and
lighting up the trees in our sanctuary after
the 10 o’clock Mass next Sunday, December
20th. The finished product is always so
beautiful and a joy for us to admire, but it
really does require a lot of parishioners
working together to make it happen. Can we
count on you to help?
OUR ANNUAL OPLATEK DINNER for
parishioners and friends will be served in the
parish social hall on Sunday, January 2nd,
after Mass. The menu will consist of roast
stuffed pork with all the trimmings. We are
happy that we are able to hold the price of
tickets to $15 again this year. To reserve
your tickets, call Eileen Szymanski at 508992-4740.
OPLATKI are available in the main vestibule
and at the side entrance of the church, as
well as at the rectory. The suggested offering
is $3 per package of five wafers.
AGING RELIGIOUS NEED YOUR HELP. In
the United States today, there are more than
33,000 senior Catholic sisters, brothers, and
religious order priests. These religious worked
tirelessly in our Catholic schools, hospitals,
parishes, and Catholic agencies, usually for
little to no pay. As a result, many religious
communities lack adequate savings for
retirement and eldercare. Your gift to today’s
collection for the Retirement Fund for
Religious helps provide medications, nursing
care, and more. Please be generous.
A GREAT BIG “THANK YOU” to all the
wonderful volunteers who worked together
many hours over several days to make pierogi
for our Pre-Christmas Polish Food Sale. I
hesitate to list names for fear of omitting
one, but you and I -- and, most importantly,
God -- know who you are! May God bless
you.
NEW BEDFORD, MA.
AND “THANK YOU” as well to Fred Kalisz,
Kathy Kalisz, and Joe Sobolewski who staffed
the Polish food sale this Saturday.
OUR 2015 “GIVING TREE” was surrounded
with a heartwarming number
of gifts. Your kindness and
generosity will help make
Christmas morning happy and
memorable for many poor
children in the Greater New
Bedford area. Catholic Social Services will be
back one last time, if needed, to pick up any
late donations. May God reward each one for
your goodness.
CHOOSE LIFE!...AN ADVENT PRAYER
God of Life,
We rejoice in the promise of Your coming.
You have sent Your Son, born in Bethlehem.
He is the Prince of Peace, and the One
In whose Name all oppression shall cease.
May we welcome His coming each day
And prepare for His coming at the end of time.
May we build a culture that welcomes Him
By welcoming every child, born and unborn.
We pray in the name of the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
FOOD FOR THE POOR representative, Father
David Diebel, asked me to thank our OLPH
Parish Family for welcoming him so warmly
last weekend. In his message at Mass, Father
shared just a smidgeon of the real-life daily
trials suffered by so many of our sisters and
brothers in many South- and Central-American
countries.
If you are still undecided, please read the
flyer that was in your pew last weekend
(additional flyers are at the church entrances)
and prayerfully consider how you will
respond. It isn’t every day that we are asked
to help the poor by providing a goat, a piglet,
or baby chicks. But we have that opportunity
today.
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
December 13, 2015
A MESSAGE FROM FATHER CONRAD
Sisters and Brothers of Our Parish Family,
Today is “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in
Latin. The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from
the words of St. Paul: “The Lord is near.” This joyful spirit
is signified by the rose-colored candle of our Advent
wreath.
Sat.- Dec. 12 - Third Sunday of Advent
4:00 PM
+Alvin Bodzioch
Req. Friends of Poland
Sun.- Dec. 13 - Third Sunday of Advent
10:00 AM
OLPH Parishioners
Living & Deceased
Mon.- Dec. 14 - St. John of the Cross
7:30 AM
+Regina & +Josef Tomon
Tues.- Dec. 15 - Advent Weekday
7:30 AM
+Angela & +Chester Kowalczyk
Wed.- Dec. 16 - Advent Weeday
7:30 AM
In Thanksgiving for Blessings
Req. M/M Mieckowski
Thurs.- Dec. 17 - Late Advent Weekday
7:30 AM
For Son’s Recovery from
Alcoholism
Req. Parents
Fri. - Dec. 18 - Late Advent Weekday
7:30 AM
+Bill Arabasz
Req. Wife, Helen
Sat.- Dec. 19 - Late Advent Weekday
7:30 AM
+Walter Palys
Req. Allen & Gail Ponichtera
Sat.- Dec. 19 - Fourth Sunday of Advent
4:00 PM
+Julia Salach
Req. Son & Daughter
Sun.- Dec.20 - Fourth Sunday of Advent
10:00 AM
OLPH Parishioners
Living & Deceased
The second Part of Advent always begins on December
17th, so that will be Thursday of this week. For the final
eight days before Christmas, there is a bit of a change in
the readings at daily Mass: the first readings are still from
the prophecies, but the gospels are from the infancy
narratives of Saints Matthew and Luke. We read the
stories of faithful men and women who prepared the way
for our salvation. We enter into the story of how Jesus’ life
began. These stories are filled with hints of what His life
will mean for us.
This week we prepare by experiencing the joy—feeling a
part of the waiting world that rejoices--because our
longing has prepared us to believe that the reign of God is
close at hand. We can pray: “Prepare our hearts, Lord
God, and remove any sadness that prevents us from
experiencing the joy and hope that Christ’s presence will
bestow.
Each morning this week, we can choose to light that third
inner candle of joy, using the words of our Blessed
Mother: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
So as we go through our day to day life this week, we can
experience the difference our faith brings to it. The grace
we ask for will be given to us. In spite of the sin we will
encounter—in our own hearts and in our experience of
the sin of the world--we can feel the joy of the words:
“You are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His
people from their sins.” (Matthew 1.21)
The Light shining into the dark shadows of our lives, and
showing us patterns of sinfulness, invites us to experience
God’s mercy and healing. Perhaps we will choose to
celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation this week--and
walk by that Light in joy.
Our celebration of the coming of our Savior in history is
opening are hearts and minds to experience His coming
to us today—and preparing us to await His coming in
glory. “Come, Lord Jesus. Come and visit your people. We
await your coming. Come, O Lord.”
Peace and Blessings,
Father Conrad