Greening of the church

O come, all ye faithful…

Again as last year, I make this request: “O come, all ye faithful…”

O come home this year to Heart of Jesus for Christmas…

Coming home to church for Christmas is a precious Christmas gift to God…
along with worshipping together with some regularity in the coming year.

Your presence is your gift offering for God’s great gift to you of his only Son, his Christ made flesh in the Babe of Bethlehem, Jesus, our Lord.

So – COME HOME THIS SEASON… home where…

• you have fellowship with the crucified and risen Christ
• you are forgiven
• you hear the voice of God
• you grow in the knowledge of the Bible, God’s Word
• you feed your soul
• you are fed and sustained by the Eucharist
• you are loved and encouraged
• you are prayed for
• you love and encourage your fellow Christians
• you help other people
• you worship
• you promote the gospel
• you find the fullness of truth and grace
• you and your children have a faith foundation

Come home to the small parish with a big heart…
Come home to the little church others could be looking for if you show them the way…
Come home to the intimate congregation you won’t feel lost in.

Blessings on you, your family and loved ones this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

– Fr. Bernie

Our New Exterior Christmas Banner

A new banner announcing the season of Christmas and our Christmas Mass schedule is hung over the front entrance to our church building where the Advent banner was displayed. Along with the Advent banner, our Christmas banner is also offered to God’s glory and in loving memory of Joanna and Jeremiah DiMeola by their children.

The beautiful 3 by 5 foot vinyl banner proclaims Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah and lists the times of the Pasterka – Shepherd’s Mass – for Christmas Eve and the Mass for Christmas Day. From our banner Isaiah proclaims:

…. unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given ….

The Christmas Season at Heart of Jesus

CHRISTMAS EVE, Saturday, December 24
Pasterka – Mass of the Shepherds
Vigil of the Nativity of our Lord
9:40 PM Carol Sing: Echo Choir and congregation
10:00 PM Holy Mass

CHRISTMAS DAY, Sunday, December 25
Nativity of our Lord
10:00 AM Holy Mass of the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour

Solemnity of the Circumcision of our Lord, Sunday, January 1
9:30 AM Holy Mass

Solemnity of the Epiphany (Three Kings observed), Sunday, January 8
9:30 AM Holy Mass
The blessing and distribution of charcoal and incense will be done for the Feast of Three Kings – Epiphany

Celebrating Dorothy’s 90th Birthday

Advent Preparations

Our Parish Advent Tree: This year during the season of Advent, the Advent tee will be set in the narthex as we prepare for the season of sharing and giving. Through the Advent Tree, each of us will have the opportunity to share with others in our community who have basic needs to address. The object of our donating will be the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation which distributes needed items to the people they serve in Bayonne.

Lamplighter Christmas Greetings: Please begin submitting your holiday greetings to parishioners and readers of our Lamplighter Newsletter. As before, the page size per greeting is quarter-page – $5, half-page – $10, and full page – $20. As before, you can submit a greeting text and illustration if you like.

Christmas Floral Memorials: Poinsettias can be donated for this Christmas season as memorial offerings. Please contact any Parish Committee member with your memorial floral designation; or contact the rectory by mail, telephone at 201-858-4320, or by E-mail; or leave your memorial designation request in the offering plate. The poinsettias are $20 per pot.

Bayonne 9/11 Observance

Fr. Bernie participated in the in the Bayonne 9/11 observance conducted Sunday, September 11th by the Bayonne Clergy Association at the Tear Drop 9/11 Memorial located on the Peninsula, the location of Bayonne’s Harbor View Park. Fr. Bernie presented memorial considerations along with ten other local clergy who had the opportunity to address the estimated 400 citizens including friends and relatives of those lost in that national tragedy, 13 of whom were Bayonne residents.

For worship that day, our celebration of Mass included opening and closing hymns which were written especially for the first anniversary and this the tenth anniversary of that fateful day. Prayers were offered for the various realties of that day and for this anniversary, and graphics of the twin towers were placed in the sanctuary and in church; and two special photographic renderings of them were displayed in the narthex for our recollection.

Thanks to Tom Grodkiewicz for his contribution to the graphic remembrances which was displayed all day and all night under the spotlight in the narthex before the glass wall to the entrance of our church. Our thanks also to Dr. Justine Pawlukiewicz for loaning the artistic rendering in her possession which was placed along side the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue on her table with candles flickering before it.

As it turned out, the lectionary readings for that particular Sunday, the 11th of September focused on the spiritual work of forgiveness. The sermon preached in church for that day and the texts of the special hymns sung before and after Holy Mass along with the special prayers for the day will be placed on the parish website for everyone’s perusal.

Our Memorial Day Observance

On Sunday, May 29th, parishioners who were present for Mass that morning car pooled themselves for the purpose of visiting our parish cemetery to place flags at the gravesites of veterans and to offer prayers and perhaps a hymn or two for their intentions and in honor of the national holiday being observed this weekend. As always, we enjoyed our participation in this moment of remembering of our valiant and heroic war dead.

Sincere thanks to Stanley Kaminski for providing for us the flags we placed on the gravesites on our cemetery through our local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 151, and for his donations of new flags this year to be flown on our flagpole, our American flag and the MIA banner.

Easter Pictures

A few pictures from the celebration of the Resurrection at our Parish.

Feast of the Resurrection of the Lord — Easter Sunday, April 24th

9:30 AM Liturgy of the Resurrection followed by Holy Mass

The special floral adornments at the high altar is offered by Thomas Grodkiewicz to the glory of God the Father who raised from the dead His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The floral piece in the narthex if offered to the glory of God and in loving memory of John Liberasky and Celia Nowicki by Father Bernie and Barbara Nowicki.

After Mass, an Easter Egg hunt will take place for the children who are present this morning. Please call Barbara Busch at 732-303-0357 to let her know your children, grandchildren or the children of the friends who might accompany you to worship today will be present to join in the hunt. Beverly Wunderlich will join Barb in preparing the details for the annual Hunt.

Also following today’s Mass, a light Swięconka buffet will be offered in the social hall. All parishioners and friends present for worship on this glorious day are invited to remain a while to gather there before returning home.