Parafia p.w. Narodzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny
ST. MARY’S POLISH PARISH
21 Wesley St., Sydney, NS, B1N 2M5
Tel.: 564-4847; Fax: 564-2260
www.StMarysPolishParish.ca
Preparing for our 100th anniversary (2013).
Witamy wszystkich! Welcome to all!
We are pleased to share our faith and rich traditions with the whole community.

PROBOSZCZ/PASTOR:  Father Paul Murphy 564-4355
MSZY/MASSES: Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. including Novena to Our Lady of Częstochowa

SPOWIEDŹ:  Godzina do uzgodnienia z księdzem.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION: Anytime upon request to the priest.

SAKRAMENT CHRZTU ŚWIĘTEGO:  Prosimy o kontakt z księdzem conajmniej na 1 miesiąc przed planowaną datę.
SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM: Please contact the priest at least one month in advance.

SAKRAMENT MAŁZEŃSTWA:   Zapowiedzi powinny być ogłoszone conajmniej na 6 miesięcy przed planowaną datę.
SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY: Intentions must be announced at least six months in advance.

 ______________________________________________________________________________

Trzydziesta pierwsza Niedziela zwykŀa/31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

TODAY’S MASS INTENTION is for Michael Ardelli offered by Shirley & family. Eternal rest grant onto him O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. Wieczny odpoczynek racz Mu dać Panie, a swiatłość wiekuista niechaj Mu świeci na wieki wieków. Amen.

TODAY’S RESPONSORIAL PSALM: “Miłuję Ciebie, Panie, mocy moja” (“I love you, O Lord, my strength.”) Pronunciation: “Me-wu-y-e-w/ ch-e-bee-e/ Pa-nee-e/ mo-ts-i/ mo-y-a.”

______________________________________________________________________________

NASTĘPNY TYDZIEŃ/THE WEEK AHEAD:

Wednesday, November 7, 4:00 p.m.: Mass followed by Novena to Our Lady of Częstochowa (Please note time change) For Zygmunt Sokol offered by Helena & family.

Sunday, November 11, 9:30 a.m.  The Mass intention will be for Julia Nowak offered by the family.
Lector: Paul Tynski
Eucharistic Minister: Janet Hawthorne
Altar Servers: Carolyn Kiley & Marjorie Ardelli

The Vigil Candle for this week is for Michael & Anna Kiec offered by Richard & Jean Annette White.

Collection receipts for Sunday, October 28: $1229.05 (broken down as follows: $652.55 weekly contributions, $40.00 monthly supplementary contributions, $84.50 candles, $250.00 fuel, $202.00 building fund).  Not included in the above total are the following:  $140.00 Cemetery Upkeep, $5.00 Evangelization of Nations. Sincere thanks for your support of St. Mary’s Polish Parish, a cherished community of faith and a sacred, historic place! Dziękujemy bardzo!

MASS CARDS: Please call Paul Tynski (562-1716)

“IMIENINY” (NAME DAYS) FOR THE COMING WEEK. Help to maintain a longstanding Polish Catholic tradition by acknowledging relatives, friends, and colleagues who are celebrating their “name day,” corresponding with the feast day of a saint of the same name.  Where there is more than one saint of the same name who has been assigned a day, your “name day” is the one closest to your birthday. It is customary in the Polish tradition to acknowledge the name day of a relative or friend:
November 4: Karol
November 5: Dalemir, Elżbieta, Florian
November 6: Feliks, Leonard
November 7: Antoni, Florentyn
November 8: Dymitr, Klaudiusz, Wiktor
November 9: Genowefa, Teodor
November 10: Andrzej, Lena, Leon, Stefan
November 11: Anastazja, Bartłomiej, Maciej, Marcin, Teodor

______________________________________________________________________________

OGŁOSZENIA/ANNOUNCEMENTS

CHANGE IN WEDNESDAY MASS TIME FOR THE WINTER MONTHS: 4 p.m.: Beginning this past week, our Wednesday evening Mass is at 4 p.m. Novena to Our Lady of Czestochowa follows as usual. Father Paul has effected this change out of consideration for people who may find it difficult to drive in the dark, especially in inclement winter conditions.

LIGHT LUNCH AFTER MASS TODAY DOWNSTAIRS: Everyone is welcome!

VIGIL CANDLE: The Vigil Candle is still available for the weeks of Nov. 25/Dec. 3. Please call Paul Tynski (562-1716)

NEW FUEL PROVIDER:  The Interim Finance Committee investigated various fuel providers and was able to find savings with a new provider, Sydco. The latter has also purchased advertising in our bulletin. (Please note that there is now additional advertising space available with our larger-format bulletin.) Also, thank you to all parishioners for your kind and generous donations to cover our fuel costs!

CLEAN-UP WORK AT THE POLISH VILLAGE HALL: On Wednesday, November 7, at 10 a.m. a clean-up/minor-repair blitz will take place at the Polish Village Hall. The help of any Society members who are not working that day, and anyone else who could lend a hand, would be tremendously appreciated!

A SPECIAL PROJECT IN OUR PARISH: OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (shoebox appeal): Operation Christmas Child provides an opportunity for people of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands-on project of Samaritan's Purse that focuses on the true meaning of Christmas - Jesus Christ - God's greatest gift. There are special shoeboxes and a pamphlet with information pertinent to what the boxes should contain at the back of the church.  Also, a small donation of $7 for shipping purposes is requested to be put in the envelope attached to the booklet, and placed inside on the top of the box. If you wish to participate, please take one of the shoeboxes, fill it, and return it to the church on or before Sunday, November 18th.  Parishioner Suzanne Campbell will pick up the boxes and deliver them to the depot in Glace Bay. Please help to make an economically disadvantaged child enjoy Christmas. These boxes are being shipped to Haiti, Sierra Leone, the Ivory Coast, and Senegal, to mention a few. Suzanne can be reached at 270-2859.

AS WE APPROACH REMEMBRANCE DAY, we invite you to visit and reflect on the framed tribute list at the back of the church honouring the members of St. Mary’s Polish Parish who served Canada in international wars. Next Sunday (Remembrance Day) in our Prayers of the Faithful, we will pray for them and we will also pray for all who made the ultimate sacrifice.

ST. MARY’S POLISH PARISH MASS FOR SHUT-INS: We would be very grateful if as many parishioners as possible could set aside part of the evening of Tuesday, November 20, for the recording of the Mass for shut-ins. We will be meeting at the CTV Sydney television studio (George St.) at 6 p.m. Father Paul has requested that those of us who have traditional Polish attire or St. Michael’s suits should please wear these for this Mass.

RESURRECTION CEMETERY (Sydney River) is accepting pre-purchase grave lots (www.resurrect.ca)

ST. MARY’S, KRAKOW, AND THE FAMOUS, ANCIENT BUGLE CALL (HEJNAŁ MARIACKI): Although it has been only 50 years since the 14th-century St. Mary’s, Krakow (Kościół Mariacki) was formally designated a basilica, it has had an important place in the Polish spiritual and cultural consciousness for centuries. Every hour, a golden trumpet appears – and sounds -- just below the spire of the high tower. The position of trumpeter has always been a high honour, and this tradition is believed to be about 1000 years old (predating the church).  In 1241, Krakow was suffering its latest siege by an invading force. The trumpeter was struck and killed by an arrow. Ever since and to this day, the bugle call is stopped abruptly in mid-note as a way of remembering those killed in war and occupation. At noon every day, the Polskie Radio (the equivalent of CBC) plays the bugle call. It is also imitated at churches in many cities.

SOME RECOMMENDED READING ON PARISH PASTORAL COUNCILS/COMMITTEES AS ST. MARY’S POLISH PARISH PREPARES FOR OUR SECOND CENTURY OF FAITH AND SERVICE: Thank you, everyone, for last Sunday’s Special General Meeting of the parish. The proposed by-laws for the Rada (Pastoral Council) and committees were endorsed unanimously. Thanks to you, the whole development and consultation exercise that preceded the meeting was very positive, a good example of clergy-laity collaboration. Now, we move forward together on implementation, Thank you to everyone who is volunteering on the various committees.  The next steps involve action, of course, but also prayer and reflection.  So as we move forward, any parishioner is welcome to consult the diocesan handbook on pastoral councils and various policy statements that were reviewed by our Ad hoc Committee on Parish Statutes and Policies in preparing the submission that was approved last week. There are also some helpful books on parish committees and parish planning. Among these are:
•Charles E. Zech et. al., Best Practices of Catholic Pastoral and Finance Councils (2010). It is based on an extensive survey of more than 600 Catholic parishes in the United States and it is grounded in a solid understanding of Canon Law, the Second Vatican Council, and discussions/developments in the church. Like many sources, it argues for the importance not just of working with the Pastor to coordinate committees but of planning for the medium and long-term.
•Thomas P. Sweester, S.J, Keeping the Covenant: Taking the Parish to the Next Level (2010). Father Sweester and his team have worked with many parishes on renewal. In some instances, the turnaround was quite dramatic, thanks to a leadership approach that encourages people to “come out of the woodwork.” It’s a prayerful approach based on step-by-step determination, respect in the face of differences, dignity, and, indeed, understanding and forgiveness if sometimes projects and efforts don’t succeed. 

RECENT SYNODAL STATEMENT ON FAITH AND REASON: Excerpted from the Message to the People of God from the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, recently concluded in Rome – 27 October 2012. The encounter between faith and reason also nourishes the Christian community's commitment in the field of education and culture. The institutions of formation and of research – schools and universities – occupy a special place in this. Wherever human intelligence is developed and educated, the Church is pleased to bring her experience and contribution to the integral formation of the person …

A particular field of the encounter between faith and reason today is the dialogue with scientific knowledge. This is not at all far from faith, since it manifests the spiritual principle that God placed in his creatures. It allows us to see the rational structures on which creation is founded. When science and technology do not presume to imprison humanity and the world in a barren materialism, they become an invaluable ally in making life more humane. Our thanks also go to those who are involved in this sensitive field of knowledge.

We also want to thank men and women involved in another expression of the human genius, art in its various forms, from the most ancient to the most recent. We recognize in works of art a particularly meaningful way of expressing spirituality inasmuch as they strive to embody humanity's attraction to beauty. We are grateful when artists through their beautiful creations bring out the beauty of God's face and that of his creatures. The way of beauty is a particularly effective path of the new evangelization.

In addition to works of art, all of human activity draws our attention as an opportunity in which we cooperate in divine creation through work. We want to remind the world of economy and of labour of some matters arising from the Gospel: to redeem work from the conditions that often make it an unbearable burden and an uncertain future threatened by youth unemployment, to place the human person at the center of economic development, to think of this development as an occasion for humanity to grow in justice and unity. Humanity transforms the world through work. Nevertheless we are called to safeguard the integrity of creation out of a sense of responsibility towards future generations.

The Gospel also illuminates the suffering brought about by disease. Christians must help the sick feel that the Church is near to persons with illness or with disabilities. Christians are to thank all who take care of them professionally and humanely.
A field in which the light of the Gospel can and must shine in order to illuminate humanity's footsteps is politics. Politics requires a commitment of selfless and sincere care for the common good by fully respecting the dignity of the human person from conception to natural end, honouring the family founded by the marriage of a man and a woman, and protecting academic freedom; by removing the causes of injustice, inequality, discrimination, violence, racism, hunger and war. Christians are asked to give a clear witness to the precept of charity in the exercise of politics.

Finally, the Church considers the followers of religions as her natural partners in dialogue. One is evangelized because one is convinced of the truth of Christ, not because one is against another. The Gospel of Jesus is peace and joy, and his disciples are happy to recognize whatever is true and good that humanity's religious spirit has been able to glimpse in the world created by God and that it has expressed in the various religions.

The dialogue among believers of various religions intends to be a contribution to peace. It rejects every fundamentalism and denounces every violence that is brought upon believers as serious violations of human rights. The Churches of the whole world are united in prayer and in fraternity to the suffering brothers and sisters and ask those who are responsible for the destinies of peoples to safeguard everyone's right to freely choose, profess and witness to one's faith.

______________________________________________________________________________

OPENING HYMN FOR SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2012
Kiedy Ranne Wstają Zorze

Our opening hymn – a great spiritual classic – was composed around 1780 by Franciszek Karpiński and was probably performed for the first time in the Stary Kościół Farny (“old church”) in Białystok, which is now part of a basilica complex. It is #219 in our coil-bound hymnal. The text is reprinted below with an English translation.

Kiedy ranne wstają zorze,   Tobie ziemia, Tobie morze, Tobie śpiewa żywioł wszelki:  Bądź pochwalon, Boże wielki!    A człowiek, który bez miary, Obsypany Twymi dary, Coś go `stworzył i ocalił, A czemuż by Cię nie chwalił.? Ledwie oczy przetrzeć zdołam, Wnet do mego Pana wołam, Do mego Boga na niebie, I szukam Go koło siebie. Wielu snem śmierci upadli, Co się wczoraj spać pokładli, My się jeszcze obudzili, Byśmy Cię, Boże chwalił

When the early aurora rises, To you the land and the sea To your glory sings everything living. Be praised, O great God! A person who without measure Is showered with Your gifts A great thing created and saved that person. And so why would You not be praised? I can barely wipe my eyes, Soon to my Lord I do cry out, And to my God in heaven, I'm looking for him around me. Many in their dreams fell into death, Only yesterday they fell into sleep, But we, for our part, still did awake So that we could praise You, O God

______________________________________________________________________________

Our other hymns today will be as follows:

Offertory: Jezu mój, przemień mnie w siebie [O My Jesus, convert me to you – not in the hymnal]
Communion: Pan Jezus już się zbliża [The Lord Jesus is now near -- #123 in the coil hymnal] Although composed in the late 19th century, it has a crisp, simple text. It is sung throughout the year but is very popular at First Holy Communions
Post Communion: Serce Jezusa [The heart of Jesus – not in the hymnal]
Closing: Ciebie Boże chwalimy [Holy God We Praise Thy Name -- #244 in the hymnal].