THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD JANUARY 5, 2020

Saturday, January 4

5:00 PM Sharon Fennell

Sunday, January 5

9:00 AM Lexi Faye

10:30 AM Donald Jennings

12:00 PM Healing of Charito Reyes

Daily Mass January 6-10 @ 9:00 AM

Monday Mary Purcell

Tuesday Andre Perrins

Wednesday Int. of Purita Reyes

Thursday Tom Harrington

Friday Int. of Becky Smora

Saturday, January 11

5:00 PM James Bucantis

Sunday, January 12

9:00 AM Alma Koontz

10:30 AM William Grabler

12:00 PM Luis Alberto Ortiz Jr.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

First Reading: Isiah 60:1-6 The prophet cheers the returned exiles with a vision of a restored city which will become a beacon of light for all nations.

Second Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3.5-6 This reading expresses the theological meaning of today’s feast: God invites Jew and Gentile to share on an equal footing the benefits of the salvation brought by Christ.

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 Three Gentiles came from a far country to pay homage to the Christ-child, while the Jewish leaders rejected him.

COLLECTION BREAKDOWN Due to early bulletin deadlines, we are unable to report the

collection information as usual.

Our continued thanks to all of our parishioners who respond each week to the needs of our parish and who make their weekly

offering a part of their budget. Your contributions, both monetary and in service, are important to our parish.

Many thanks as well to ALL to your generous response to our

Christmas Collection.

May God Bless you for your generosity.

PRIEST’S MASS SCHEDULE

JANUARY 5:00 PM 9:00 AM 10:30 AM 12:00 PM

Jan 4-5 Fr. Tim Fr. Kieran Fr. Kieran Fr. Michal

Jan 11-12 Fr. Michal Fr. Michal Fr. Tim Fr. Tim

Jan 18-19 Fr. Tim Fr. Ed Fr. Michal Fr. Ed

Jan 25-26 Fr. Michal Fr. Michal Fr. Tim Fr. Tim

BAPTISM PREPARATION CLASS meets 2nd Saturday monthly

Jan 11 @ 10:00 am Contact the parish office

or visit our website.

For anyone seeking

• Baptism • First Eucharist • • Confirmation •

Next meeting, January 14th at 7:00 PM in the Rectory Matrimony & Holy Orders: The Sacraments of Service

and Communion

Please pray for all those who have decided to follow the journey of our faith.

The community of Good Shepherd joyfully welcomes our

Newly Baptized:

Owen Thomas Mountford Son of Andrew & Kathleen

Kacen Mack Noviskey Son of Joshua Noviskey & Angela DeSena

OnLine Giving

As we approach the end of the year, we want to remind donors to print out their annual financial donations for tax purposes. (NOTE: only

those financial donations made thru the OnLine Giving Program are recorded here and available to be printed off)

May God continue to Bless our Parish Family in the New Year.

A warm Thank You to all of our parishioners for the many cards, goodies and gifts we received for Christmas this year. We are honored that you remembered us and wish to ex-press our sincere appreciation for your thoughtfulness and your generosity. ~ Fr. Tim and Fr. Michal

SANCTUARY FLOWERS Christmas poinsettias were donated by

Annie and Bogdan Bienko Our sincere gratitude for their generosity

ANNUAL TEDDY BEAR DRIVE

Thank you to all who gave

so generously!

On Thursday, January 2nd, eight overstuffed

large bags were delivered to the children at St.

Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson.

Pictured with Father Michal is

his Sister, Brother-in-Law and Neph-

ew John from Poland who

brought Baby Jesus to the

manger at the 4:00 PM Christmas

Eve Mass.

PARISH MEMBERSHIP Good Shepherd RC Church invites everyone to fully par-ticipate in every aspect of our spiritual and social life. Eve-ry family is requested to register; forms are available in the parish office and on our website. Registration is required for the reception of the Sacraments. Only active, regis-tered members can receive sponsor forms for bap-tism or confirmation. Please contact the Parish Office if you need additional information.

SICK OR HOMEBOUND OR HOSPITAL VISITATION

If you or a loved one are sick or homebound and for any rea-son are not able to attend Mass, or are in the hospital, please call the parish office, 973-786-6631 and we will arrange for the Eucharist to be brought to you. We would love to serve you.

OFFERTORY PROCESSION If you would like to participate in the Offertory of the Mass and bring the gifts to the altar, please arrive early and notify one of the ushers.

NEW YEAR’S TRADITION BLESSING OF HOMES Source: Catholic Customs & Traditions by Greg Dues

One popular religious tradition since the Middle Ages has been associated with the Feast of the Epiphany: the blessing of homes with holy water and incense. The ritual calls for a priest or parent to mark, with ‘blessed chalk’,

the inside of the main door with the initials of the Magi and a code of the current year connected with crosses: 20 C M B 20

Another explanation of the initials (C-M-B) is that they are the first letters of the blessing: Christus mansionem benedicat (Latin for “May Christ bless the house”). This weekend, on the Feast of the Epiphany, we will ‘bless chalk’ and have it available after all Masses for you to take with you to bless the entrance

door of your own home.

WE ALSO WISH TO THANK OUR MANY... Eucharistic Ministers

Lectors Altar Servers

Ushers Choirs

Ministers of Hospitality Faith Formation Catechists and Aides

Committees and Volunteers all who selflessly serve our Church in so many ways

throughout the year.

If we left anybody out, please forgive us; you know who you are and more importantly, God knows who you are

and from God’s big heart we thank you.

FAITH FORMATION NOTES

Thank you to the following Faith Formation students who participated in the Christmas Eve 4:00pm Mass with the First Reading, Gos-pel narration and Prayers of the Faithful: Eli, Joey, Colin, Maci, Carmine, Reagan, Louis, Chloe, Max, Sofie, Chase and Juliana. The stu-dents prepared for the special Mass and it showed. Appreciation also to Traci Smith, who captured the joy and celebration of the Christmas Eve Mass, with photography. (Please visit the website for more photos.)

Gospel Reading Mt 2:1-12 The Magi seek out Jesus and do him homage.

Family Connection

The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is thought by some to be rooted in the gift giving of the Magi. In many cultures, gifts are not ex-changed at Christmas, but rather on the feast of the Epiphany. Whenever you exchange your Christmas gifts, take some time to reflect on this tradition of gift giving at Christmas. Think of the best gift you have re-ceived. What was it? What made it special? Was it the gift itself, the thought that went into it, or the person who gave it to you?

The gifts of the Magi—gold, frankin-cense, and myrrh—have come to be understood as symbols of Christ’s royalty, divinity, and eventual suffer-ing and death. They are special be-cause in giving them, the Magi acknowledge who Jesus was to be: our Savior. We pray that we will acknowledge Jesus as Savior in all that we do and say. (Loyola Press)

Thank you to our

First Com-municants

for partici-pating in

the lighting of the Advent

wreath on the last Sunday. They are

from (L to R) Dylan, Cecylia,

Grace and Caleb.

On Christmas Eve at the 4pm Mass, Fr. Michal spoke to the children about important

gifts at Christmas. He had three

wrapped gifts and asked the children to help him open. They were the

gift of self, the gift of family and

the most important gift, the

baby Jesus.

MINISTRY SCHEDULE

Please remember to sign the book in the atrium. The Baptism of the Lord

January 11-12 5:00pm 9:00am 10:30am NOON

Eucharistic Ministers

Kurt Dericks Fred Finnan Irene Finnan Joy Harrington Christine McCormick

Melissa Lewis

Hildegard Schleyer Carole D’Esposito Kathy Pope Alice Giliberti Betty Gates Steve Trentanelli Andy Grinthal

JoAnne Scheidt Donna Fett Margaret Kurnides Salvatore LoIacono

Eunice Howley Robert Gallagher

Melodie Novak Carmen DaSilva

Lectors

John Ursin

Tom Beverly

Confirmation Class Lector

John Hurley

Joe Novak

Altar Servers

Madeline Ridge Allyson Neill Caitlyn Neill

Connor Kovach James Bongiorno Garret Butler

Joseph Kurnides Brendan Smith Shane Smith

Joseph Licata

Addyson Ortiz

On Sunday, January 5th at the 9:00am and 10:30am Masses we will host the Pope John XXIII Regional High School Choir which will lead us in singing and celebrating the Epiphany of the Lord. Hospitality will be offered after these two Masses.

HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTION

Please join His Holiness, Pope Francis, who has chosen the following intention to be prayed for dur-ing the month of January. Evangelization: We pray that Christians, followers of other religions, and all people of goodwill may promote peace and justice in the world.

MARCH OF LIFE 2020 FRIDAY, JANUARY 24TH

This year Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Branchville NJ will be running two buses:

The first trip to Washington D.C. will leave the day before and will be providing a special opportunity for families to have an overnight trip which provides the opportunity to at-tend the Youth Rally for Life and the Mass for Life with nu-merous Cardinals, Bishops and hundreds of priests joined by contemporary Christian musicians and youth evangelists giv-ing witness talks before the March.

The second bus will be our traditional one-day trip to the March for Life, leaving in the early morning of the march.

For more information please contact Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish Office at (973) 948-3185x1.

Holy Days of Obligation

Wednesday, January 1 The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Thursday, May 21 Ascension of Jesus Saturday, August 15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sunday, November 1 All Saint’s Day

Monday, December 9 The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friday, December 25 Christmas