Repairs Needed: Call to Action

/

A LETTER FROM OUR PASTOR

Dear Parish Family,

You will recall my letter of January 21st in which I described water damage to our choir loft, bell towers, and organ pipes. Since that time we have had mitigation work done to minimize any further moisture from coming in and to prevent further damage. This gave us time to see what the best solution to this overall problem will be.

I’ve also worked closely with Nassar Shabo of the Property Management Office of the Archdiocese in order to get needed work done. After a bidding process Sky High Construction has been selected to seal up the problem areas. You may recall that we were given use of a drone to help us evaluate the problem we faced. This has helped us to observe areas that would otherwise have been difficult to observe. You can view the photos of the needed repair work on our website (www.stachurchbloomfield.org/legacy) After looking at these photos we have discovered that the damage is more extensive than what we first thought.

The work will entail 3 phases:

1) The work by Sky High – multi-month project

2) Work to repair the damaged walls of our choir loft and bell towers and to restore them all.

3) Repair our damaged organ pipes (once we are sure that no more water is coming in) and do some work to further enhance our music system.

The total cost of repairs is estimated to be in excess of $150,000.

In order to help cover the costs of the project we have created a Legacy Fund into which donations can be made to help fund the repairs (100% of the money donated to it will stay in the parish). This fund has been set up to allow parishioners to make donations to help with this specific project as well as other future needs in our parish.

Other fundraising projects will be launched in early June, including a raffle at a cost of $5.00/ticket in which the grand prize is a 4-day trip to Disney World for 4 people, including airfare, hotel, and park passes.

A Spring Concert on June 23rd celebrating our 85th Anniversary will help raise money for our organ pipes restoration and to enhance our music system.

In the future you will hear of other fundraising activities planned to help build the Legacy Fund to help us continue the Legacy. Please check our webpage (www.stachurchbloomfield.org/legacy) created solely to help explain and address the problem.

This year, as you know, we are celebrating our 85th Anniversary as a parish family. Because of the work of past and present generations of parishioners we have a beautiful legacy of working in this part of the Lord’s Vineyard. As we continue to do God’s work with our hands the legacy of our parish which will be found by future generations is now in our hands.

Thank you for your Stewardship of Time, Talent, and Treasure and for all that you do for our parish.

Love,

Fr. Larry

 

Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching: 1 - Life & Dignity of the Human Person

/

LIFE & DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON  

US Conference of Catholic Bishops:

The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.

Scriptural References

  • Genesis 1:26-31  God created man and woman in his image.

  • Psalms 139:13-16  God formed each of us and knows us intimately.        

  • Luke 10:25-37  The  good Samaritan recognized the dignity in the other and cared for his life.

  • Romans 12: 9-18  Love one another, contribute to the needs of others, live peaceably with all.

  •   1 Corinthians 3:16  You are holy, for you are God’s temple and God dwells in you.

  • Galatians 3:27-28  All Christians are one in Christ Jesus.

  • 1 John 3: 1-2  See  what love the Father has for us, that we should be called Children of God.

Tradition 

Human persons are  willed by God; they are imprinted with God's image. Their dignity does not come  from the work they do, but from the persons they are. (See St. John Paul II, On the Hundredth Year [Centesimus annus], no. 11)

"There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions  of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel: 'Their equal  dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane  conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against  social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international  peace'." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1938 citing Gaudium et Spes, 29)

“The dignity of others is to be respected in all circumstances, not because that dignity is something we have invented or imagined, but because human beings possess an intrinsic worth superior to that of material objects and contingent situations. This requires that they be treated differently. That every human being possesses an inalienable dignity is a truth that corresponds to human nature apart from all cultural change. For this reason, human beings have the same inviolable dignity in every age of history and no one can consider himself or herself authorized by particular situations to deny this conviction or to act against it.” (Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship [Fratelli Tutti], no. 213) 

“Our defense of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless of his or her stage of development. Equally sacred, however, are the lives of the poor, those already born, the destitute, the abandoned and the underprivileged, the vulnerable infirm and elderly exposed to covert euthanasia, the victims of human trafficking, new forms of slavery, and every form of rejection. We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their entire lives in abject poverty.” (Pope Francis, Rejoice and Be Glad [Gaudete et Exsultate], no. 101) 

"The dignity  of the individual and the demands of justice require, particularly today, that  economic choices do not cause disparities in wealth to increase in an excessive  and morally unacceptable manner." (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity  in Truth [Caritas in Veritate], no. 32)

“The world exists for everyone, because all of us were born with the same dignity. Differences of color, religion, talent, place of birth or residence, and so many others, cannot be used to justify the privileges of some over the rights of all. As a community, we have an obligation to ensure that every person lives with dignity and has sufficient opportunities for his or her integral development.” (Pope Francis, On Fraternity and Social Friendship [Fratelli Tutti], no. 118) 

For the entire publication of Life and Dignity of the Human Person:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/life-and-dignity-of-the-human-person


Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching: 1- Life & Dignity of the Human Person

WITNESS STATEMENTS

The Catholic Church proclaims the Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching, the first of which is Life & Dignity of the Human Person, which states that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision of society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)

The following witnesses speak to some issues raised by this foundational theme:

Thirty-two years ago, my nephew, Alex, was born in St Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson at 5-1/2 months gestation and remained in ICU for 4 months before coming home to Bloomfield. While the first three years he spent “catching” up, seizures and other medical problems took away his speech and made him agitated at times.  In his teens his seizures became so continuous that he was put into a coma three times before they could stop them.  He ended up in the hospital and rehab for over a year and came home confined to a wheelchair unable to walk.

My sister, brother-in-law, and niece care for him 24 hours a day in their modest home.  He must be fed through a feeding tube and moving him from wheelchair to bed requires lifting all 95 pounds of him.  Alex loves his family as he smiles and laughs when they talk to him and when his mom gives him her special whistle.  He wears holiday shirts, NY Giant’s apparel and watches old Barney shows.  When his family goes to the Jersey shore on vacation, Alex goes with them.  They take him to restaurants and visiting friends and family.  Many times, while they are out people will stare; while others will approach them to give a word of encouragement or their blessing to this special family.

My father’s brother, Junior, was born seemingly a healthy baby on March 11, 1935. It wasn’t until he was about a month old and developed a very bad cold that the doctor broke the (erroneous) news to my grandparents that “your son will never walk nor talk.” My grandfather passed out and my grandmother went into shock and started to cry.

In the hindsight of 20/20 vision, my grandmother later acknowledged that she sensed something was not quite right with him compared to her other sons. Bewildered, after his birth, she counted ten fingers and toes but something was amiss. Junior was born mentally challenged and exhibited many Down syndrome features. Although Junior was very self-sufficient, indeed walking and being able to have limited conversation, he was made fun of by many other kids, and the older he got the harder he was to control. For the most part, his family treated him as a source of shame, rarely visiting or even acknowledging him for most of his adult life.

Other extended family members, including myself, had to step up to the plate to care and visit with him. As a young man, my visits with him were actually therapeutic as I would forget everything on my mind for the time being, and just be with him. He was very affectionate and most appreciative. At one point I brought him to my father’s apartment in Long Island City and cooked for him. My father was not there at the time and when I informed him of what I did, he asked me not to do it again as he did not want to risk “running into him.”

My wife loved my uncle and I let her know that she did not have to accompany me when I visited him if she felt uncomfortable. She insisted that she wanted to be there. When his health started failing in his early 60s, she was so kind to him, feeding him and chatting. Several other friends of mine enjoyed visiting with him too. How my wife and I cried when we lost him.

The true tragedy was the ignorance and shame his immediate family felt, treating him as a sub-human. In reality, he was a far more superior human than many of them. We are all called to be servants and the less broken have a human duty to take care of the more. We are all children of god, made in His image, and loved by Him without measure.

As Catholics, we believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person. https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/life-and-dignity-of-the-human-person

Provided by STA Social Concerns Ministry

Interested in joining Social Concerns contact Barbara Albert at socialconcerns@stachurchbloomfield.org

Jersey Catholic: St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner’s work helps women and children in the most remote places→

/
Jersey Catholic: St. Thomas the Apostle parishioner’s work helps women and children in the most remote places

For 15 years, Michele Gilfillan, VP of Institutional Donor Engagement and Advancement at Catholic Relief Services, has made sure that those who give to the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church are aligned with those women and children who receive the Church’s help. 

Read More

300 Club: 2024 Tickets Available Now

/

The Finance Council invites you and your friends to participate in our annual 300 Club Raffle. You will find that this raffle is better than State Lotteries, Casino Slots, or Bingo.

Here is how it works:

  • ONLY 300 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD!!!

  • Prizes are as follows:

    • First Prize is $ 10,500.00 or 35% of tickets sold

    • Second Prize is $ 3,000.00 or 10% of tickets sold

    • Third Prize is $ 1,500.00 or 5% of tickets sold

  • The Raffle will be held on Thursday May 23, 2024 (winners need not be present)

  • Click the button below to download the form with full instructions.

Reserve your tickets now!

Update on Fr. Jonathan’s Congregation in Nigeria

/

Father Jonathan Yabiliyok of Nigeria and periodic visiting priest at St. Thomas the Apostle is happy to inform us that with the financial support he has received from STA parishioners and others he has been able to purchase two hundred and fifty plastic chairs for his outdoor worship space.

In addition, he was able to pay for a new outdoor public address system. This coincided in the last few days with the first pastoral visit ever by the diocesan bishop, Most Rev. Habila Daboh. This enabled the bishop to witness first-hand the challenges in the chaplaincy. The chairs and public address system were blessed during the mass.

Father Jonathan and our Holy Name Society express thanks to STA parishioners who made financial contributions for the above purposes at the HNS’s “meet and greet” program in November. It is good that our parishioners could be in solidarity in some small way with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria in the celebration of the Eucharist.

Thank you for you Easter Ham and Chicken Donations!

/

Update 3/19: Today the Ministry delivered 21 hams, 19 chickens, 2 turkeys, clothes, lots of shopping bags, recycling containers, some art supplies for CCD, and 50 cases of water to the Saint Augustine’s Soup Kitchen. Beyond Cornerstone Service Ministry wishes to thank everyone who helped this collection to be such a big success!

Original Post:

The Beyond Cornerstone ministry will be collecting chickens and hams for needy families’ Easter dinners as requested by the Missionary Sisters of Charity of St Augustine’s soup kitchen in Newark.

All donations will be collected on Saturday March 16th between 7:30 and 8:30 AM in the parking lot by the Handicapped entrance to the church. The donated hams and chickens will then be delivered directly to the soup kitchen.

Thank you for your continued generosity!