September 8, 2019

2pm – 4pm

The benefit will be held at Blessed Sacrament Parish, and is hosted by the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Cross Parishes Social Concerns Committee. Admission is $20.00 or a comparable gift from the wish list. There will be a buffet offered consisting of Salad, Roll, Pasta, Meatballs, Broccoli Bacon Salad, Fresh Fruit Tray, Dessert, Coffee and Water. There will also be Basket Raffles and 50/50 Raffle. Please RSVP by August 30th to 570-489-5125.

WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER WISH LIST

Gift Cards for Groceries, Gas Cards, Colts Bus Passes, Phone Cards, Gift Cards for Car Repair, Retail Gift Cards, New Car Seats, Children’s Pajamas, New Women’s Socks, New Women’s Underwear, Women’s Pajamas, Hair Care Products for Women of Color, Journals/Notebooks, Pocket Calendars, Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons, Pads, Hairbrushes/Combs, New Hair Dryers, New Towels, New Washcloths, New Bed Sheets & Pillowcases, Cookware-Pots & Pans, Utensils and Silverware, Plates, Cups, Bowls, Backpacks for Boys & Girls, School Supplies, Flash Drives, New Small Household Appliances, Laundry Detergent, Laundry Baskets, Dry and/or Canned Pet Food (Smaller Bags), and Cat Litter.

Join us at Kelley Hall at 12 Noon each Wednesday for a free community meal. The nutritious meal, prepared at St. Francis Kitchen, Scranton, is served cafeteria style. All are welcome.

CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN

will hold their monthly meeting on Sunday, September 15, 2:00 PM, Kelley Hall. All are welcome.

THE CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN WOMEN is seeking new members!

The Confraternity is one of our parish’s oldest and most dedicated ministries. Members of the Confraternity serve Holy Cross Parish by living out their call to holiness distinctively as women, who are the backbone of this spiritual and charitable organization, which is under the banner of our Blessed Mother. They share a social bond as well as a love of their parish, and the need to participate in helping it grow and prosper. While primarily a spiritual group, the Confraternity also helps organize and run a number of different events throughout the year. Members are also active in volunteering with other parish ministries. Meetings are held monthly. The Confraternity of Christian Women welcomes women of any age for prayer, community, spirituality, service and friendship.

SERVING IN FAITH WITH HOPE AND GRATITUDE

“We are able to help so many people in need because of your generosity.

As we reflect on our Catholic faith, may we open our hearts to be filled with God’s grace and mercy and so enable us to reflect in our lives the theme of this year’s Annual Appeal –

Serving in Faith with Hope and Gratitude.”

Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.l.

Bishop of Scranton

Thank you for your support of the Annual Appeal

See the Appeal at Work in Your Region…

View Parishioners and Clergy in Six Unique Videos –

Visit AnnualAppeal.org!

Gifts to the Appeal support Diocesan ministries and will not be used to defray legal fees or fund the Survivors Compensation Program.

Our Annual Appeal begins in September. New in 2019:

• More direct support to parishes for Social Justice Grants and New Faith Formation Grants

• Increased support for Catholic Social Services

• Opportunity to designate your Appeal gift to the ministry of your choice

• Unique videos featuring parishioners and clergy showing the Appeal at work in your region Gifts to the 2018 Appeal touched thousands of lives:

• 4,143 Families served in Catholic Social Services Food and Clothing Pantries

• 104 Retired & Ill Priests Received Care

• 12 Seminarians receiving tuition and living expenses

• 44 Parishes using Social Justice Grants to serve countless families

• 118 Parishes receiving support in all aspects of Parish Life

• 16,555 Nights of shelter and Support

• 15,000 Children in Religious Education and 4,500 in Catholic Schools.

Share your blessings. Give to the Appeal. Gifts to the Appeal support Diocesan ministries and will not be used to defray legal fees or fund the Survivors Compensation Program.

We are grateful to have had the pleasure of sharing these past weeks with Michael Boris, a seminarian preparing for priestly ministry to, for and with the People of God of the Diocese of Scranton.

Blessed Charles de Foucauld said, “As soon as I believed that there was a God, I understood that I could do nothing other than to live for him,”

The process of discernment, study and spiritual formation, responding to God’s invitation to priestly ministry, is filled with joys and challenges. Michael, in his openness to sharing his many talents as well as receiving the faith and example of the good people of Holy Cross and Blessed Sacrament Parishes, has given witness to his desire to “live for God.”

We ask Almighty God to bless and to deepen that desire as Michael moves forward in prayer and preparation. We pray this prayer for vocations for Michael and all those discerning a call to priestly ministry.

PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS

God our Father, You made each of us to use our gifts in the Body of Christ. we ask that You inspire young people whom you call to priesthood and consecrated life to courageously follow Your will.

Send workers into Your great harvest so that the Gospel is preached, the poor are served with love, the suffering are comforted, and Your people are strengthened by the sacraments. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A FEW WORDS FROM MICHAEL BORIS

Michael Boris
5400 Roland Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21210

Holy Cross Annual Chicken Bar-B-Q – Sunday, August 4, 2019. Chicken Bar-B-Q organizational meeting Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 PM, Kelley Hall.

Blessed Sacrament Annual Family Festival – Friday, August 16; Saturday, August 17; Sunday, August 18— Bingo. Volunteers are needed – come join in the fun and help in putting together a successful event! Meeting: Tuesday, May 14, 6:30 PM Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall.

SOCIAL CONCERNS COMMITTEE

Meeting: Monday, September 16, 6:30 PM at Blessed Sacrament Parish Hall.

The committee extends its gratitude to all who helped in any way to make the “Fresh Start-New Beginnings” event a success. Cash raised: $563.00. Gift cards contributed $185.00. Plus a truck load of items helpful in supporting the mission of the Women’s Resource Center. Special thanks to Peg Ruddy, Executive Director for her attendance and participation. Katy Windels, Coordinator for Service and Social Justice for the Diocese of Scranton, was present and shared her support.

All are most welcome to join us for our next meeting on September 16.

Catholic Social Services of The Diocese of Scranton offers compassionate counseling in a safe, comfortable environment where your privacy is always respected. Counseling is about self-discovery and can be used for personal growth or when distressing conditions exist and you need a bit of extra support… help is available. Anyone who struggles with anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life transitions or a variety of emotional or psychological conditions is welcome. For more information or to make an appointment, call 570-207-2283.

Unexpected Pregnancy

An unexpected pregnancy may cause one to panic and feel their entire world is falling apart. Pregnancy counseling is available to every pregnant woman regardless of age, race, religion, or marital status. Supportive counseling is also offered to anyone affected by the pregnancy. For assistance or more information call Catholic Social Services at 800-982-4310.

DRUG AND ALCOHOL COUNSELING

Are you or someone you know struggling with problems related to Drugs or Alcohol? For over 80 years Catholic Social Services has helped individuals and families deal with substance abuse. For more information please call Catholic Social Services at 570-829-3489.

In order to hear the voice of God, one has to have silence in one’s soul and to keep silence; not a gloomy silence, but an interior silence, that is to say, recollection in God. One can speak a great deal without breaking silence and, on the contrary, one can speak little and be constantly breaking silence.

……..St. Faustina Kowalska

Meditation is the mother of the love of God, and contemplation is the daughter of the love of God. Contemplation is nothing other than taking delight in the goodness of him whom we have learned to know in meditation, and whom we have learned to love by means of this knowledge.

………..St. Francis De Sales

Let us put our hope in Jesus, the name of salvation given to men and women of every language and race. Confessing his name, let us walk trustfully toward the future, certain that we will not be disappointed if we trust in the most holy name of Jesus. - St. John Paul II

Every moment of prayer, especially before our Lord in the tabernacle, is a positive gain. The time we spend in having our daily audience with God is the most precious part of the whole day.

……….Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Prayer is nothing else than union with God. In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax molded into one; they cannot anymore be separated. It is a very wonderful thing, this union of God with his insignificant creature, a happiness passing all understanding.

……..St. John Vianney

Our Lady of the Rosary

Mary, Mother of Christ, tech us to pray your rosary as it should be prayed. For these ordinary beads strung on threads hold within themselves all the mysteries of our holy faith and all the main ways of prayer. Mary, Queen of the Rosary, open to us its holy secrets. Let it be our door to the heart of your son, his Father, and the Holy Spirit. ………….Catherine Doherty

"May is a month which the piety of the faithful has long dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. This is the month during which Christians, in their churches and their homes, offer the Virgin Mother more fervent and loving acts of homage and veneration; and it is the month is which a greater abundance of God’s merciful gifts comes down to us from our Mother’s throne."

……..Pope Paul VI

Meditation is the mother of the love of God, and contemplation is the daughter of the love of God. Contemplation is nothing other than taking delight in the goodness of him whom we have learned to know in meditation, and whom we have learned to love by means of this knowledge. ……..St. Francis De Sales

Parents who are sitting in the choir loft with their children, are asked NOT to sit in the first row due to safety issues. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated.

Know a Marriage That Needs Help?  Throw them a lifeline and tell them about Retrouvaille, an international program that helps couples who are experiencing marital difficulties. This program is for all couples, at any stage of marriage that needs help to communicate with each other in a more attentive and loving manner. The next program in the Scranton Diocese begins Feb. 26-Feb. 28, 2016, at The Ramada Inn, Clarks Summit, PA. Please call 800-470-2230 for more information or to register or visit the website at www.helpourmarriage.org.