OFFICE of RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

28-47 43 Street, Astoria, NY 11103 Phone: (718) 278-1611

E-mail: religious.ed@stjosephastoria.org

Parish STAFF

Second Sunday of Easter (or Sunday of Divine Mercy)

April 11, 2021 Who indeed is the victor over the world

but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

— 1 John 5:5 ********************************************************************** DOUBT The desire to be able to prove the existence of a divinity has troubled humanity since human consciousness first became aware of the divine. To this very day we are fond of saying that any number of things—from sunsets to hot fudge sundaes—are “proof that there is a God.” We get so caught up in the story of “doubting Thomas” that we fail to notice that today’s Gospel gives us John’s account of Pentecost, the bestowing of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples following the Resurrection. Thomas, evidently, missed out not only on seeing the Risen Christ, but receiving the Holy Spirit as well. This is not to be taken lightly and, perhaps, makes Thomas’ disbelief a bit easier to comprehend. It also makes his professing that Jesus is his Lord and God—the only time the New Testament explicitly refers to Jesus Christ as “God”—more remarkable. *********************************************************************** READINGS FOR THE WEEK Monday: Acts 4:23-31; Ps 2:1-3, 4-9; Jn 3:1-8 Tuesday: Acts 4:32-37; Ps 93:1-2, 5; Jn 3:7b-15 Wednesday: Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:2-9; Jn 3:16-21 Thursday: Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:2, 9, 17-20; Jn 3:31-36 Friday: Acts 5:34-42; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; Jn 6:1-15 Saturday: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19; Jn 6:16-21 Sunday: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; Ps 4:2, 4, 7-9; 1 Jn 2:1-5a; Lk 24:35-48 *********************************************************************** FEAST OF FAITH The Psalms in the Liturgy The book of Psalms is a prayer book, hymnal, and anthology of verse all rolled into one. It contains one hundred fifty ancient songs—poem-prayers that express the joys and sorrows of the Hebrew people and their longing for God. The psalms are incredibly varied in tone. Some are solemn anthems of praise that once accompanied processions of great multitudes to the temple; others record the lonely cries of a faithful soul who feels abandoned by God. This ancient prayer book of the Hebrew people is our principal prayer book as well. The psalms are everywhere in the liturgy—in the antiphons and acclamations of the Mass, and most particularly in the responsorial psalm that follows the first reading. The psalm that is sung at Mass usually echoes the themes of the first reading, and sometimes even comments on it. On this Third Sunday of Lent, we listen to the Exodus account of the stubbornness of God’s people in the desert, and then the psalm comes to remind us: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Psalm 95:8). In their wonderful variety, the psalms teach us how to pray.

P I The Sick and the Homebound

William Kinahan, Isai Hernandez, Maria Carmen Rosa Those Who Have Entered into Eternal Life

Anna Dobrich, James David Shaughnessy

Saturday, April 10: Saturday within the Octave of Easter 8am: Domenick Guglielmini 5pm: Marianu & Pawla Cauchi, Cutajar & Portelli Family Anica Milovcic, Loris Rosati Sunday, April 11: Second Sunday of Easter; Sunday of Divine Mercy 7:45am: Nellie Keely 9:00am: Filippo, Rosario, Gaetana, Giacone, Alfred Krist Ana Viskovic, Rita Bani, Maria Zhuo, Rocco Shi, Maria Zheng, Maria Jiang , Maria Chen, John Zgombic 10:30am: Lissette, Jose, Joseph Molina (Special Intention) Silvia Roque 12:00pm: Louis Saraceni Monday, April 12: 12:00pm: John Zgaljardic Giuseppe Nicola Sacino & Gerarda Sacino Tuesday, April 13: 8:00am: Ruza Grgich Wednesday, April 14: 12:00pm: Alice & Fanny Harrison, Alice Loeffler Arcenio Almonte, Sergio DaSilva Thursday, April 15: 8:00am: Blazevic Family Friday, April 16: ; 12:00pm: D’Eri & D’Angella Families Marge Spellacy Saturday, April 17: 8am: Frank Giambrone (Special Intention) 5pm: Janet Pope Sullivan, Guillerlo Sanchez (1 year) Angela, Rosa, & Vincent Garofalo Sabatino & Michael Garofalo Sunday, April 18: 7:45am: Intention Available 9:00am: Alice & William Bissell, Antonio Lazaric, Mari Zhuo, Rocco Shi, Maria Zheng, Maria Jiang, Maria Chen, Mercedes Pena, John Tyler Pena 10:30am: Jose & Remigia Juarez, Josefa Aquilina, Jesus Pedro 12:00pm: Celestino Zgaljardic

MASS SCHEDULE

There will be a mass at 3pm on Sunday, April 11th for the Sunday of Divine Mercy.

Segundo Domingo de Pascua (Domingo de la Divina Misericordia)

11 de abril de 2021 ¿Quién es el que vence al mundo?

Sólo el que cree que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios.

— 1 Juan 5:5 ************************************************************************ LA DUDA El deseo de ser capaz de demostrar la existencia de una divinidad tiene a la humanidad con problemas desde que por primera vez se hizo consciente de lo divino. Hasta el día de hoy nos gusta decir que un sinnúmero de cosas, desde puestas de sol hasta los helados de crema de chocolate, son “pruebas de que hay Dios”. Estamos tan atrapados en la historia de “Tomás el incrédulo” que no nos damos cuenta de que el Evangelio de hoy nos ofrece el relato de Juan acerca de Pentecostés, el descenso del Espíritu Santo sobre los discípulos después de la Resurrección. Tomás, evidentemente, se perdió no solo de ver a Cristo resucitado, sino también de recibir el Espíritu Santo. Esto no se debe tomar a la ligera y, quizás, hace que la incredulidad de Tomás sea un poco más fácil de comprender. También hace que su profesión de fe en que Jesús es su Señor y su Dios —la única vez que en el Nuevo Testamento hay una referencia explícita a Jesucristo como “Dios”— sea más notable. ************************************************************************ FIESTA DE LA FE Las lecturas La primera lectura, excepto durante la Pascua, siempre se toma del Antiguo Testamento. Durante los cincuenta días de la Pascua, la primera lectura se toma del libro de Los Hechos de los Apóstoles. Esto tiene como fin el poner de “relieve la unidad de ambos Testamentos y de la historia de la salvación” (IGMR 57). Así pues, no está permitido, bajo ninguna circunstancia, cambiar los textos bíblicos, incluyendo el Salmo Responsorial, por textos no bíblicos. La vinculación entre la primera lectura y el Evangelio es vital, pues ambas tienen el mismo tema de fondo. La segunda lectura, por su parte, sigue su propio ritmo, más no por eso está desvinculada o debe desvincularse de la primera lectura y del Evangelio. Puesto que se trata de la Palabra de Dios, la proclamación de ambas lecturas, así como el canto del Salmo Responsorial, debe hacerse desde el ambón. La proclamación corresponde a ministros laicos, pues este ministerio no es de quien preside, sino de quienes celebran junto con él, el pueblo de Dios. No obstante, el Evangelio sí es de oficio presidencial y ha de proclamarse por el diácono o el presbítero. ************************************************************************ TRANSFORMACIÓN Sólo el amor que se hace don puede transformar nuestro planeta.

—Papa san Juan XXIII GENEROSIDAD La generosidad no consiste en dar mucho, sino en dar a tiempo.

—Anónimo

Food Pantry Our Food Pantry is open every Thursday from 8:00 to 10:00am, to assist any parishioner that is in need of food. To register please bring a NYC Benefit card. Please Note: The Secure Food Deposit Box… Located in the front lobby of our church on the Rectory side. Please deposit all dry food (pasta, rice, beans, cans and bottles) there. This will assist us in securing that your food donations go directly to the needy. Please do not donate expired food.

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