[Parish of Saint Monica] Parish of St. Monica e-Newsletter 6/17

[Fr. Jon Thomas]

Pastoral message from Fr. Jon

This past Sunday, a few hundred parishioners returned to Mass for the first
time in three months.  The feast was appropriate: Corpus Christi, or the
Body and Blood of Christ.

The feast was appropriate not only because it marked for most the first
time in three months that they received the Body of Christ.  It was also
appropriate because of the "crisis within the crisis" that we've been
facing.  Police brutality, racism, rioting and looting, even the pandemic
itself, have divided our society even more, if that's possible!  Let's not
forget the meaning of the word "Communion."  St. Paul teaches, "There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither
male nor female; *for you are all one in Christ Jesus*" (Galatians 3:28;
emphasis added).

Guess what?  He really means it!  Our Catholic faith is not yet another way
that society divides itself into categories.  On the contrary, our Catholic
faith explicitly calls us to work for human unity.  At every Mass, we pray
to "advance the peace and salvation of all the world" (Eucharistic Prayer
III).

For those of us attending Mass again, let's really pray those words.  The
Eucharist empowers us to commit fully, to act boldly, to live joyfully the
message of peace and unity through God, who will "gather to [himself] all
[his] children, scattered throughout the world" (EP III).

For those of you who chose to stay home out of caution, WOND 1400 is still
airing Mass on Sundays at 7 AM.  Let the parish staff if there is anything
we can do to keep you connected to the parish and, most importantly, to
Jesus.

*Fr. Jon*
Pastor

The latest news

Mass reservations

You can reserve your pew for this weekend's Masses online at
www.accatholic.org/reserve.  Those without Internet access can call the
parish office.

Our Lady Star of the Sea School Virtual Graduation

Star of the Sea School's virtual graduation last Friday had a lot of cool
surprises.  Check it out and salute our graduates:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7gqkZCCCM&feature=youtu.be

New Web site

After nearly five years, the parish Web site has received a facelift.  Take
a look: www.accatholic.org.

Spams and scams

The Internet is filled with "spams and scams."  If you're using the
Internet, you need to educate yourself about them.  Otherwise, you are
exposing yourself to danger without protection.  A *classic *scam is an
email claiming to be from a trusted contact who needs money for an
emergency.  They ask you to send the money by purchasing gift cards (often
easily available at your local gas station or convenience store).  Several
scams have targeted parish ministry leaders in the last few years.  They
ask for iTunes gift cards.  How anyone could have an emergency need for
iTunes gift cards is beyond me, but some parishioners have fallen for the
scam.  To be clear, these scammers have not hacked anything.  They send
their emails from other accounts (recently, hotmail.com), not accatholic.org.
They get the emails of our ministry leaders from the bulletins posted on
our Web site.  If your email had ever been posted in the bulletin (e.g., as
a ministry contact), you probably received these scams.  We are not posting
bulletins on the new Web site and email addresses elsewhere on the site are
encoded.  Feel free to forward scam emails to office at accatholic.org.  If
you sent money to a scammer, always file a police report and contact Apple
(if indeed you sent iTunes cards).  I have heard a report of someone
getting their money back, so it's worth a try!

To learn more, visit these links from the Federal Trade Commission and
Apple:

   -
   https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams
   - https://support.apple.com/itunes-gift-card-scams


House of Charity

The pandemic has disturbed a lot of our routine.  During winter/Lent, the
parish conducts the annual House of Charity campaign to raise funds for
Catholic services throughout South Jersey.  Unfortunately, public Masses
stopped before we could follow through with the campaign announcements.
Obviously, the need for social services has increased.  You can still
pledge to House of Charity 2020.  Remember, a pledge is a promise to
contribute a stated amount over the course of the whole year.  You don't,
and probably shouldn't, give your total gift at once.  Thanks to many
conscientious parishioners, we're at about one-third of our goal: *$47,964*
out of a goal of *$150,000.*


*To pledge, contact Mary Ellen Maguire <maguire.maryellen at olssac.org> or
visit the House of Charity page
<https://www.camdendiocese.org/hoc/ways-to-give/> on the diocese's Web
site.*

Shrine Photo Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the Home Shrine Photo Contest.  The top
three winners receive gift certificates to *Ducktown Tavern, kindly donated
by Johnny X*.  Their winning photos are posted on the Web site.

*(1) Carla Tosh *- 7 votes
*(2) Jimmy & Nancy Morgan* - 6 votes
*(3) Phyllis Juliano* - 5 votes

You may see the winning photos and the other participating photos on the
parish Web site:

http://accatholic.org/news/

Spiritual Resources

*Prayer Hotline*

The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal invite parishioners and others to
leave prayer intentions on their voicemail.  The phone number for St.
Michael's Convent is (609) 343-1545.

*Free Books*

Call the office or email Fr. Jon to request a copy (jthomas at accatholic.org).
Provide your mailing address.  The following titles are available:

   - Song of Silence: The Journey of Saint Jeanne Jugan
   - Poor in Spirit: The Spirituality of Jeanne Jugan
   - Sayings of Jeanne Jugan
   - Be A Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be
   - Perfectly Yourself: Discovering God's Dream for You
   - Why We're Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope and Love

*Online Bible Study*

Fr. Jon's Tuesday night Bible study is continuing online.  Follow at your
convenience at accatholic.org/online.  We started the Second Book of Kings
tonight.  Learn about the great prophet Elijah and his successor Elisha.

*Fr. Jon's English Mass on WOND 1400*

Airs on Sundays at 7 AM

*Other Resources on our Web Site*

On the parish Web site, you can also find a guide for following Sunday Mass
from home (in English and Spanish) plus special prayers for "spiritual
Communion" and for our needs during the pandemic.

Staying in Touch

*Web site* - www.accatholic.org
*English Facebook page* - facebook.com/accatholic
*Spanish Facebook page* -
https://www.facebook.com/Parroquia-Santa-M%C3%B3nica-102170761264036
*Parish Office* - 609-345-1878 - due to the stay-at-home order affecting
parish staff, please allow more time for response


-- 
Fr. Jon Thomas
Pastor, Parish of Saint Monica
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