Pastoral Staff Pastor Father Vincent T. Euk Parochial Vicar Fr. John Chang Weekend Assistant Fr. Bill O’Brien Deacons Tom Cechulski, Sr. Charles R. Daye , Jr. John Franey Gino (Louis) Esposito School Principal Sister Cherree Power, C.R. Religious Education Sr. Ann Norton, D.R.E. Linda Clayton Business Manager Deacon Gino Esposito Director of Music Emer O’Mahony Youth Ministry Coordinator Sister Ann Norton Phone Contacts Rectory—732-363-4200 Convent—732-364-2361 School—732-364-4130 Religious Education— 732-364-4137 Rectory Fax 732-370-3891 Rectory Office Hours: M-F 9:00-4:30 PM Second & Fourth Saturday 9AM—12:30 PM Baptisms: Every 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month,.

Weekend Masses: Saturdays: 4:00 PM Sundays: 7:30, 9:00, 10:30, 12 noon, 5PM Daily Masses: Mon-Fri—7:20 AM & 12 Noon, Sat: 8AM

Holy Days: As announced in the bulletin. Healing Mass –every first Friday at 7:30PM

Sacrament of Reconciliation Saturdays from 3:00 to 3:45PM and before each Sunday Mass

Fifth Sunday of Lent March 18, 2018

Mass Intentions for this Week March 18, 2018

7:20 Helena Mlynarska……………………………………….…….Rieker Family 12:00 Grandma Pauline………………………………………………..Weg Family

TUESDAY 7:20 Dr. Robert Gialanella ........................................... Cecelia Smith 12:00 Int. of Bo Rieker ................................. Deacon Gino & Rosaria WEDNESDAY 7:20 Dr. Arcadio & Rosario Rodriguez ..................................... Family 12:00 Maunieves Masotti………………………………………..Ramos Family THURSDAY 7:20 Lenny Weg .................................................. Bob & Diana Morris 12:00 Alva Lawder ...................................................... Karen & Tracy

7:20 Brandon Iuzzolino……………………………………………….Laura Arena 12:00 Josephine Silva…………………………………………….daughter, Patti

8AM Catherine Peragine .............................. Mr. and Mrs. Chris Nagy 4PM For the People of the Parish SUNDAY 7:30 Bonnie Yuro .......................................... Christa Reiff McCauslin 9:00 John Dobek ............................................................ Wife & Sons 10:30 Martin Pereira.......................................... Jim and Anna Cairns 12:00 Susan Termine ................................................. Hyland Family 5:00pm Joseph Wojcio ................................................... Patti Wojcio Sanctuary Candle– Week of March 18, 2018 Special Intentions Chapel Candles– Week of March 18, 2018 In memory of Bove & DeRiso Families ...................................... Family

Events for this coming Week– See our website www.stveronica.com

Sacrificial Offering Update Readings for the Week of March 18, 2018

Sunday: Jer 31: 31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33 Monday: 2 Sm 7:4-5a, 12-14a, 16; Rom 4:13, 16-18, 22 Mt 1:16, 18- 21 Tuesday: Nm 21:4-9; Jn 8:21-30 Wednesday: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Jn 8:31-42 Thursday: Gn 17:3-9; Jn 8:51-59 Friday: Jer 20:10-13; Jn 10:31-42 Saturday: Ez 37:21-28; Jn 11:45-56 Next Sunday: Mk 11:1-10; Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:1-15:47

Pastor’s Notes

Jeremiah tells us the old covenant has been violated and

its reforms have not lasted. Disaster is to follow

because of this and a remnant nation will be formed. An

everlasting covenant will be established promising

peace and prosperity. While the twelve Tribes of Israel

have failed, Jesus will choose 12 men from various

backgrounds to form a “new nation,” the Church. Her

leaders and their successors will share in the words and

deeds of Christ. They will form a universal people united

in a new covenant that will fulfill and perfect the old

one. The Church is formed at the Last Supper where the

Twelve Apostles are united in a communion and

community with Jesus Christ. Having a human element,

one of these Apostles will turn traitor. This remnant will

take on a new type of covenant: “I will be their God and

they will be my people.” She will provide the essential

elements for everlasting life, the forgiveness of sins

through Baptism and after that the Sacrament of

Reconciliation. Individuals will be responsible for

themselves and must atone for their evil. Religion will

be an interiorized inspirational activity of the heart rather

than an exterior activity of law. Members will be capable

of knowing God Himself by study of the Scriptures and

the teachings (catechism) of the Catholic Church. They

will experience God in the Holy Eucharist as well as the

six other Sacraments. What great opportunities we are

given when we cooperate with God’s will for us!

Because Philip had a Greek name, he might have been

able to speak Greek. This may be why the Greeks

approached him. Jesus addresses these visitors about

His coming glorification, His crucifixion and His

resurrection. He will attract all people to Himself –

including the Greeks. Jesus goes on further to say that

through His example in humbling Himself by dying on the

Cross, He will redeem us and exalt us. By our imitation

of Him in shedding ourselves of selfishness and

forgetting our own comforts, we can also become

effective in drawing others to Christ. We are asked to

follow Christ. That is, to live like Him, adapt His ways by

obedience to God’s will for us and to be an evangelizing

example to others.

In our moments of weakness, we must ask God to give

us the spiritual strength to sustain us. Even with the

Lenten resolutions that we have made, we must ask God

to help us keep them. We have committed ourselves to

make some kind of sacrifice this Lent and this sacrifice

will challenge us at times. When this challenge comes, it

will only be by accepting Christ’s help that we will not

give into breaking our resolutions. You may have already

noticed that our resolutions have challenged us to the

point that we cannot endure them. Forty days is a long

time! When we reach the breaking point, only God can

help us to continue the sacrifice. We simply cannot do it

alone. Perhaps the Lenten message for us is to see that

we are totally dependent on God to get us through our

entire life. We simply cannot do it alone. We are not that

strong. Maybe that is the whole point of Lent. We are

not autonomous.

Fr. Euk

When I am lifted up - I will draw all people to myself" How does God bring us into an inseparable bond of love and

unity with himself? God is a covenant-maker who draws men

and women to himself in a bond of peace and friendship. God

established a covenant with his people when he freed them

from slavery in Egypt and brought them to his holy mountain at

Sinai. "I will be your God, and you will be my people" (Exodus

6:7; Leviticus 26:12). But his people time and again broke cov-

enant with him and did not follow his ways (Jeremiah 31:32) -

"each did what was right in his or her own eyes" (Judges 17:26

and 21:25). God, nonetheless, continued to send his prophets

to draw his people back.

A new and everlasting covenant When the prophet Jeremiah was sent to the exiles to offer

them a message of hope and restoration, he spoke of a new

covenant that would surpass the previous covenant which God

had made. God intended to establish a new and everlasting

covenant that would wipe away the sins of his people and open

the way to God's throne of mercy and grace (his undeserved

favor and blessing). This new covenant would be sealed with

the blood of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus would offer to the

Father when he died upon the cross to atone for our sins. At

the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John the Baptist prophetically

pointed to Jesus as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin

of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus, the only begotten Son of God,

was sent from the Father in heaven to became a man for our

sake so he could as man offer the one perfect sacrifice that

would unite us with God and give us everlasting life.

Jesus' hour of glory

Shortly before the Jewish feast of Passover, Jesus announced

to his disciples that the "hour has come for the Son of Man to

be glorified" (John 12:23). The Son of Man is a prophetic title

for the Messiah recorded in the prophecy of Daniel (see the

Book of Daniel 7:13-14). In Jesus' time the Jewish people were

looking for a Messiah who would set them free from the op-

pressive rule of Rome. Jesus came to set people free from the

worst oppression of all - the tyranny of endless slavery to sin,

Satan, and death. Jesus came to bring us into a new covenant

relationship with God that would not end with death but lead to

eternal life.

Jesus announced to his followers that when "he would be

lifted up from the earth, he would draw all people to him-

self" (John 12:32). What did Jesus mean by the expression of

being "lifted up" and "drawing people to himself"? When a great

leader won a complete and decisive conquest over his ene-

mies and brought freedom and peace to his people, he was

crowned and given a new title, as Victor, Savior, and Deliverer

of the people. A conquering ruler was robed in royal splendor

and raised up and enthroned on high in the sight of his people.

Scripture Meditation

OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE

Please Pray for Our Sick

Baptism

Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross are every Friday from

February 16th through March 23rd at 7:30PM. All are

welcome!

Sacrament of Reconciliation On Saturday, March 24th, there will

be extended hours for confession:

1:30PM—3:45PM.

Theology of the Body Please join Fr. Euk on Sunday nights for a lecture series

on the “Theology of the Body.” Meetings held in the Nar-

thex at 6:30PM.

Topics:

3/18 Living According to the Spirit

4/15 Purity of the Heart is the Discovery of Human

Dignity.

4/29 Creating a Climate Favorable to Purity

Life in the Spirit Seminar St Veronica's is hosting a 7 week

Life in the Spirit Seminar, beginning

Tuesday, April 10th. The talks and

discussions will transform your life

and fuel the fire for the Holy Spir-

it. Come experience renewal

through God's Grace, Mercy and

Love and ignite the Power of the Holy Spirit. For more

information regarding this year’s seminar, or to register

email LISS@stveronica.com or call Mary Jean at 732 364

2815. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are

children of God” Romans 8:14

Sources used our Lenten Mission

Many have asked Sister Marie Pappas what sources she

used for our Lenten Mission. Here is the list she sent:

Praying the Rosary Like Never Before: Encounter the Wonder

of Heaven and Earth by Edward Sri

Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words – Dr. Joaquin M. Alonso, CMF

ed. by Fr. Louis Kondor, SVD

Vision of Fatima – Fr. Thomas McGlynn, OP

Fatima for Today – Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR

Our Lady of Fatima: 100 Years of Stories, Prayers and Devo-

tions – Donna Marie Cooper O’Boyle

Contemplative Rosary with St. John Paul II and St. Teresa of

Avila – Dan Burke and Connie Rossini

The Marian Option: God’s Solution to a Civilization in Crisis –

Carrie Gress

Total Consecration Through the Mysteries of the Rosary: Medi-

tations to Prepare for Total Consecration to Jesus Through

Mary – Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

FILM: Full of Grace: The Story of Mary the Mother of Jesus

FILM: Mary of Nazareth: An Epic Film of the Mother of Christ

FILM: Lourdes: A Story of Faith, Science and Miracles

Adoration Chapel “Come to me all you who labor and are

burdened and I will give you

rest”. Matthew 11:28

Consider trying to make a Lenten Holy Hour

this year. Be still in His presence; it’s a

personal retreat from the world.

“I keep up the Holy Hour to grow more and more into His

likeness. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour

transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses

was transformed after his companionship with God on the

mountain”. Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Registered adorers insure our commitment to keep the chapel open 24/7. Give Him time and He will give Himself to you. Hours Most Needed: (others available)

Sunday : 7AM, 5PM

Monday: 1AM , 8AM Tuesday: 7AM

Wednesday: 12 midnight

Thursday: 2AM Friday: 7PM

Saturday: 7PM

Contact Debbie drev514@aol.com or leave message 732-367-

7750.

Annual Parish Plant Sale Fundraiser Thank you to all who supported our

fundraiser last year and purchased

all those beautiful plants.

This year our plant sale will be held

on May 5 from 1 PM to 5 PM. All

types of plants and vegetables will

be available for purchase. In order to

ensure that everyone receives the plants and vegetables

they want, this year we are also pre-ordering flats (13.00

per flat no mixing of flats) which will be reserved and

available for pick up on May 5 between 1 and 5

PM. Order forms are available in the narthex or at the

rectory office, Orders must be received in the rectory

by April 9th.

Pilgrimage to Ireland June 25-July 4, 2018 Under Spiritual Director Fr. Genaro Daguplo from St.

Raphael-Holy Angeles Parish. Round trip from Newark NJ.

$ 3,150 pp double occupancy. Protection plan during trip

included. For more info please call Deacon Tom 732-610

-5434.

Pantry Needs

Coffee, tea, mayonnaise, mustard, pork & beans,

powdered or boxed milk.

Sunday Brunch Please join us for our monthly brunch and friendship

gathering. Sunday, March 18th directly following the

noon Mass. All are welcome!!

Seder Meal– Passover Celebration Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018 at

7:00PM

Celebrating the Seder Meal is a traditional

and most pleasant form of fellowship and

shared learning experience. It is a meal

that not only commemorates the Jews’ de-

liverance but also hope for the coming kingdom of God.

It draws relationships between the Passover and im-

portant New Testament truths. Tickets are $5.00 on

sale at the rectory this week.

Easter Basket Request

OUR NEEDS