Newsletter Committee: Merlene Fray, Karleine Graham, Beverly Gray, Kathleen Lyons, Gloria Maffettone

Outreach

All Souls

Senor de Milagos

Thanksgiving

Advent

Rev. Daniel O’Brien, SJ

ST. MARTHA’S OUTREACH: A PANDEMIC ESSENTIAL! By Gloria Maffettone

Where were you during those dire days of the Pandemic in March, April, May and June? Most likely you were locked down in your house, venturing out for a quick run to the super market or having food de-livered. Most non-essential stores and busi-nesses were also in lock-down, not so St. Martha’s Outreach. Although many of the surrounding food pantries closed we NEVER CLOSED! Working with a skeleton crew, our Outreach has remained open throughout the Pandemic.

Food deliveries from Island Harvest, Long Island Cares and generous parishioners, other churches, community members, individuals and other groups helped keep our shelves stocked so that we have been able to provide food not only for our Uniondale families, but for those families in Roosevelt, Freeport, West Hempstead, and East Meadow whose pantries were unable to fill their needs. .As the calendar drifted towards November and

Thanksgiving, Outreach volunteers began planning for the major Thanksgiving food distri-bution. Thanks to our adopted parish, St. Anne’s in Garden City, food was provided for about 300 families. This year in place of turkeys, gift cards to supermarkets were giv-en to each family to avoid the need for more volun-teers and to keep to Covid-19 guidelines. Families were given an appointed date and time to pick up

their Thanksgiving ‘baskets’, which meant that volunteers were available to distribute food on the Saturday and Sunday before Thanksgiving!

Your Outreach is always ready to assist our families, although at this time the clothes closet is unavailable to them as only volun-teers are permitted inside the Outreach offic-es. Those in need must call and make an ap-pointment to pick up food. We pray that this restriction will soon be lifted and our regular hours and services will once again be offered.

Deacon Hernst Bellevue

Outreach continued

2:00pm Service 2:00pm Service

Editor’s Note: We are republishing some of the pho-tos taken earlier in the year and used in a summer publication of the St. Martha’s Newsletter as most pa-rishioners did not get to see them.

The Thanksgiving food distribution was modified to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. Rather than carry all of the food items down to Bethany Hall, trailers were used and the bags were distributed directly to clients in the parking lot. Volunteers did work in Beth-any Hall to check in people and distribute some of the bags, and there was a crew of people working in the Social Ministry offices to help prepare additional ‘baskets’ of food.

News reports have indicated that Americans, across the country, are hurting and many are food insecure and hungry for the first time in their lives.

The Social Ministry volunteers have done an amazing job throughout the year and should be thanked by each and every member of St.Martha’s family. They are currently preparing for Christmas which involves food as well as gifts. Please select an angel from the trees in church and return a gift for someone more in need.

Photos from last spring when NY was the epicenter of the virus and most of New Yorkers were at home...some with no income and most struggling to obtain food and supplies —even those who had the financial means to purchase what was needed. St. Martha’s Social Ministry was there to help.

Paul from St. Anne’s who coordinates the efforts of that parish with St. Martha’s Out-reach.

Thanksgiving Food Distribution

English Mass—1pm

Padre Arturo

Fr. Greg Fr. Luis

EL SEÑOR DE LOS MILAGROS By Alvin Ingram (reprinted from a previous newsletter)

The Lord of Miracles (in Spanish: Señor de los Milagros), also known as “Christ of Miracles”, is an image painted of Jesus Christ that is vener-ated in Lima, Peru. The image was painted during the 17th century by an unnamed African taken, as a slave, from what is now Angola to Peru. This feast is the main Catholic cele-bration in Peru and one of the largest processions in the world.

Christ is shown enduring the pain of crucifixion. Above the cross is the Holy Spirit and God the Father. Be-low and to the right of Jesus is his mother, the Virgin Mary, with her heart pierced by a metaphorical sword of sorrow. Kneeling and weep-ing at the front of the cross is St. Mary Magdalene.

The name Señor de los Milagros originated in the 17th century during an earthquake, which destroyed most of the city leaving only that mural standing. This is considered a miraculous occur-rence by many living there. Every year in October hundreds of thousands of devotees from all races and economic backgrounds participate in a religious procession honoring the image through the streets of Lima. Boulevards are dec-orated in purple on October 18, 19 and 28 to celebrate the Lord of Miracles. Note: Alicia Cabrera has been pro-moting this devotion here at St. Martha's for many years and it has certainly grown to be one of the largest devotion within the Spanish Community. We commend Alicia for her hard work, ded-ication and efforts, bringing people

around this so popular devotion.

Entre las imagines sagradas que venera el pueblo de Lima, ninguna hay más digna de nuestros cultos como la que representa a Cristo Crucificado y que la férrea devoción de nuestro pueblo ha bautizado como “El Señor de los Milagros” y que se venera en el Altar Mayor del Templo de las Nazarenas.

Según refieren las crónicas, la pintó un humilde esclavo angolés sobre un tosco muro de adobes, mal revestido y enlucido, en la que ahora es la pared que hace fondo al indicado Altar y con singular perfección que al presente se admira en ella, sin más arte que el natural ingenio con que Dios lo dotara.

Hoy, después de tres siglos, la figura del Cristo se conserva sin alteración, y, al contemplarla, el cristiano expe-rimenta una sensación incomparable. Al tenerla ante los ojos, el más incrédulo siente devoción y respeto, y, des-pués de orarle, lo primero que se le viene en mente, es suplicarle le conceda algún milagro.

Al contemplar y admirar la imagen, nos hace recordar al anónimo pintor de brocha gorda que en el año de 1651 la trazó en el muro de tierra del local, un inmundo corral en un suburbio de la Lima antigua. Y ese suburbio era el barrio de Pachamamilla, poblado por negros, cuyos festejos seudo-religiosos escandalizaban a la sociedad de aque-llos tiempos.

Un vecino del lugar, Andrés Antonio de León, al ver la imagen en completo abandono, conmovido empieza a hacerle la limpieza, a orarle y suplicarle que le hiciera el milagro de curarle un tumor maligno, lo que se realizó, esparciéndose la noticia por todo el vecindario.

Después del intento de borrar la imagen, el Virrey, al ponerse frente a la imagen, quedó inmensamente sorpren-dido, y, como obedeciendo una orden sobrenatural, exclamó, a grandes voces, que quedaba suspendida la orden de borrar la imagen. Al igual, el Virrey dispuso que se levantara un techo sobre el muro y ordenó se hicieran otras me-joras. Así fue el origen del Señor de los Milagros.

Encomendamos los esfuerzos departe de Alicia Cabrera, quien cada año nos invita a venerar al “Señor de los Milagros” mediante una Misa Solemne y un suculento desayuno. “Viva el Señor de los Milagros”.

All Souls Day The celebration of All Souls provides a means of celebrating the lives of those we have lost, especially those

St. Martha’s parishioners who have died during the past year. The event is coordinated by the parish Consolation Ministry and members of that group read each name as a “bell tolls.” Parishioners are encouraged to place pho-tos of deceased loved ones on the altar during the Mass.

Thanksgiving A Multi-Cultural Celebration of Thanks

Tradition holds that the first Thanksgiving in American was cele-brated by the pilgrims in Massachu-setts in 1621 to offer thanks for a successful harvest and having sur-vived the previous winter. Ameri-cans often consider this a unique national holiday. However, the real-ity is that the concept of being thankful came from Europe with the early settlers and is celebrated in various forms, with different dates and names throughout the world.

Thanksgiving 2020 was very different for most Americans as the country is currently in a surge of cases of the COVID-19 virus and the death toll around the country is

reaching levels previously unimaginable. Parishioners of St. Martha’s gath-ered, although social distanced in the pews and wearing masks, to thank God for his blessings and prayed for the pandemic to end as we enter 2021. Music was provided at the multi-cultural event by organ-ist Elisa Hanson, a small group from the Haitian Choir and a few musi-cians from both the Spanish and Haitian communities. As parishioners, we are especial-ly thankful for our multi-lingual pas-tor. Fr. Rony Fabien delivered the homily and, as he often does, spoke to those in attendance in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. Thank you Father1

More Photos on next page.

Advent

The Sunday following Thanksgiving, the Church celebrated the beginning of Advent, the four week time that Christians await the coming of the Savior. The word Advent comes from the Latin advenio, "to come to," and refers to the coming of Christ. The term ‘the coming’ includes three references: first of all, to our celebra-tion of Christ's birth at Christmas; second, to the coming of Christ in our lives through grace and the Sacrament of Holy Communion; and finally, to his second coming at the end of time. The church continues to stress the penitential and preparatory nature of Advent. Priests wear purple vestments, and the Gloria ("Glory to God") is omitted during Mass, except of the third or Gaudete Sunday where the fact that Chrismas is near is celebrated.

The Advent wreath, a custom that originated Germany consists of four candles (three purple and one pink) arranged in a circle with evergreen boughs that signify the four Sundays of lent. Each Sunday an additional candle is lit at the start of Mass.

Thanksgiving

Left: Fr. Rony blesses the Advent Wreath and Deacon Hernst lights the first candle. Above: Fr. Rony blesses parishioners at the Haitian Mass. Note the advent candles depicted on his chasuble.