SUNDAY, August 12– Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: 1 Kgs 19:4-8 Eph 4:30-5:2 Jn 6:41-51 8:00 A.M. Frank Kunak 9:30 A.M. Carmelo Vella 11:00 A.M. Kathy Culkin 12:30 P.M. Pompea Lombardi Alfonso Annibole Pellegrino Gaglio Maria Montanti Rosa Sferrazza Family Anna Mincone MONDAY, August 13- Weekday Readings: Ez 1:2-5, 24-28c Mt 17:22-27 9:00 A.M. Eunice Rose

TUESDAY, August 14 - Weekday Readings: Ez 2:8-3:4 Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 9:00 A.M. Dorothy Lisciandro 7:30 P.M. Filippi Medina

WEDNESDAY, August 15 - Assumption of Mary Readings: Rv 11:19a, 12:1-6a, 10ab 1 Cor 15:20-27/Lk 1:39-56 9:00 A.M. Beatrice Tedesco 11:00 A.M. Dr. Arthur Gualtieri 7:30 P.M. Carmela Messina THURSDAY, August 16 - Weekday Readings: Ez 12:1-12 Mt 18:21-19:1 9:00 A.M. Rocco D’Angelo

FRIDAY, August 17 - Weekday Readings: Ez 16:1-15, 60, 63 Mt 19:3-12 9:00 A.M. Dedalino Family SATURDAY, August 18 - Weekday Readings: Ez 18:1-10, 13b, 30-32 Mt 19:13-15 9:00 A.M. Purgatorial Society Michael Widles Elvira Martucci Elsie Ciurcina 5:00 P.M. Monsignor Antonio Bozzuffi SUNDAY, August 19– Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Prv 9:1-6 Eph 5:15-20 Jn 6:51-58

8:00 A.M. For the People of St. Francis of Assisi 9:30 A.M. Theresa Polizio 11:00 A.M. Anthony Mincone 12:30 P.M. Pompea Lombardi Lina Valentina

MASSES FOR THE WEEK

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2018 – 2019 Religious Education registration is open for all 1st through 8th graders. Registration

forms are always available in the rectory.

Classes take place on Sundays from 10:40am – 12 noon in the academy building.

We are now on summer break and classes will

resume September 23, 2018

ARE YOU SOMEONE OR DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO…

Has expressed an interest in becoming Catholic?

Was baptized Catholic as a child, but has not celebrated the Sacraments of Eucharist and/or Confirmation?

Then RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation

of Adults) is what you're looking for! RCIA offers seekers the opportunity to come together in a

small group to learn more about our faith. Sessions focus on the teachings and experience of

Church as well as prepare individuals to celebrate the Sacraments of

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist during the Easter season. You are welcome to participate in

the process with your questions, your insights and your faith story in a warm accepting setting. For information please contact our Director of Faith

Formation, Kristina Blair 718.278.0259 or dre@sfaacademy.org.

Remember in your prayers all those in our parish who are sick, that they may

find health and comfort:

Louise Mastromarco, Concetta Console, Martha Calado, James Nunez, Vincent Wytak,

Carol Ross, Rolondo Larrondo, Jeffrey Hyans, Jessica St. Preux, Al Ciani, Alesha Moses,

Samantha Fabrizi, Nancy McCaffrey, Christopher Wojtalik, Marie Guerriero, Theresa Pacheco, William Goss, Luke Pacheco, Vincenza Papa,

Jim Schneggenburger, Anthony Criscuolo, Ann Anselmi, Alice Franklin, Saverio Giordano, John Ross,

Terri Kornalewski, Samantha O’Sullivan, Marilyn Miller, Lenny Franklin, John Carmody, Rosario Duran, Edena

Iorfida, Mary DeGloria, Vivian Papa, Joel Steinmann, Anna Governali, Antonio Postiglione,

Mario Tamburello, Mary Rerecich, Christopher Araimo, Charles Principato, Isabella Columbo,

Christine Elmendorf, Georganne Cunningham, Jim Kreitler, John Schakir.

Also remember in your prayers all the deceased of the Parish. Please remember to

continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood, religious life, diaconate, and married life.

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Weekly Offering

Thank you for your continued

generosity of giving each week. Your weekly offering helps us pay our monthly

bills.

The Collection/Donation

for the weekend:

Collection 8/4-8/5 $4,321.00 2nd Collection $1,454.00

School parents must use church

envelopes.

2018 ANNUAL CATHOLIC APPEAL

We are $5,274.00 shy of reaching our goal for the Annual Catholic Appeal.

We now have $33,915.00 pledged and $28,520.00 paid towards our goal of

$39,189.00

Thank you to all who have pledged to the appeal. If anyone has not pledged to the appeal and would like to at this time, pledge envelopes are available at

the doors of the Church.

Let us continue our efforts as a parish to work towards achieving our goal for this appeal. I am grateful for whatever

we do as a parish. Thank You!

Msgr. Maresca

Please Consider Remembering St. Francis of Assisi Parish in

your Will.

ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Wednesday, August 15th is the Feast of the Assumption of the

Blessed Virgin Mary and a Holyday of Obligation.

Masses will be as follows: Tuesday, August 14th 7:30pm Wednesday, August 15th 9:00am 11:00am

7:30pm

Please save the date

Saturday, October 6th

for our

12th Annual Fall Festival

Focus: Jesus, the Bread of Life, teaches us how to come to the

Father.

The claims that Jesus makes about himself leave us with a choice: to receive him and be transformed, following him as he leads us to the Father, or to

remain as we are.

CRAFT TABLE DONATIONS

Greetings to all Crocheters, Knitters and

Crafters,

It's that time of year, our 12th Annual Fall Festival will be on Saturday, October 6th, 2018. Your kind donations in the past

have raised needed funds for our Church and School. Blankets and children's items,

sweaters, hats, scarves are a huge request along with shawls, tissue box covers and

kitchen de cor.

* PLEASE DROP OFF YOUR DONATIONS MARKED “FESTIVAL” AT THE RECTORY *

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 12, 2018

“I will raise him on the last day.”

Consider a

vocation as a priest, deacon or in the

consecrated life.

Contact the Vocation Office at (718) 827-2454 or email:

vocations@diobrook.org

Banns of Marriage 2nd Time:

Nicole Bartnik

St. Ignatius of Loyola New York, N.Y.

and Jesse Vella

SFA Parish

Blood Drive will

be

Sunday,

September 9th

PAINTING OF THE CHURCH

As you can see, they are almost finished

with the painting of the outside of the Church. The handicap ramp and stairs have been completed. Hopefully the

weather will cooperate and enable them to finish within the next couple of

weeks. Again, I want to express my thanks to all who are supporting the Generations of Faith Campaign. If you have fallen behind with your pledge please make every effort to catch –up with your

payments. Also, as we prepare for our 12th Annual Fall Festival, I ask for your

continued support so we may have another successful Festival. Remember

the monies raised at the festival supports our parish and the academy.

Msgr. Maresca

CHURCH FIRE EXIT SIGNS

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

We have received a total of

$6,448.00 in donations toward the

Fire Exit Signs for the inside of our

Church. I want you to know I

appreciate the sacrifices and the

prayers for this project.

As you know the cost of the project

is $5,875.00 and donations were

$6,448.00. The surplus monies I will

put in the operating account of the

parish.

Please know I appreciate your

support of our parish. You have my

promise of a remembrance in my

daily celebration of Mass.

Msgr. Maresca

Welcome

Welcome back Father Delase Parku. Fr. Delase will assist us for the month of August.

Welcome back Father Victor. Fr. Victor will be vacationing and staying in the rectory.

He will also celebrate his 25th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood on Sunday, August, 26th at the 12:30pm Mass. More information will fol-

low.

Welcome back Father Marco Gallo. Father Marco will also be vacationing and staying in the rectory. He has been appointed pastor of 3 parishes in Milan. We congratulate

him and assure him of our prayers as he begins his role as pastor.

Welcome for the first time to St. Francis of Assisi, Father Paolo Tomatis. Fr. Paolo is friends with Fr. Marco and is the Director

of Liturgy for the Diocese of Torino, Italy. He too, will be vacationing and staying at the rectory.

Please be mindful that there are people who come to church early in order to

pray. Please show respect by observing silence.

Golden Age Club

If you are a senior looking

for something to do on Monday, our meetings

resume on Monday,

September 10th at 12:30P.M. in Msgr. Campbell Hall. Join and support your parish club.

We wish all a happy, safe

summer. God bless.

SFA SCRIPTURE STUDY

Join us on Thurs., Sept. 6 @ 7:30 pm (rectory/lower level - St. Joseph's

Room)

We will begin The Gospel of Mark.

God's purpose in inspir-ing four evangelists

was not primarily to "preserve the facts"

of Jesus' life on earth,

but to meet the many different needs of the people in the newly-formed

Christian community. Readers of Mark will be involved in the

mystery of who Jesus is and

what it means to be His follower.

For information: sfascripturestudy@gmail.com

Memorials for the Week

of August 12, 2018

ALTAR BREAD Is being Offered for

Anne Thompson Requested by:

Mary Thompson

ALTAR WINE Is being Offered for

Anne Thompson Requested by:

Mary Thompson SANCTUARY LAMP

Is burning for Anne Thompson

Requested by: Mary Thompson

ALTAR CANDLES

Are dedicated to Anne Thompson

Requested by: Mary Thompson

SUMMER MONTHS

As we did last summer, we will be reciting the Gloria from July 1st to

September 2nd. The Gloria is a beautiful

prayer and reciting it will enable us to

reflect on the words we pray and come to a better

appreciation of this prayer.

SUMMER WEEKLY COLLECTIONS

As the nice weather provides us with weekend opportunities to get away, please

remember the importance of your weekly offerings. While the summer months

bring a dip in our mass attendance and weekly offerings, it is important that we

try to meet our normal operating expenses. Those expenses do not change with

the summer season.

Please consider submitting your summer envelopes before you leave for vacation.

Those monies help us pay our summer bills and keep our budget balanced. As you

know our fiscal year ends August 31, 2018, so it is important we maintain a

balanced budget. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

As always, thank you for your understanding, your generosity, and your spirit of

sacrificial giving.

Have a peaceful, prayerful, enjoyable and safe summer!

SUMMER RECTORY OFFICE HOURS- 2018 Summer rectory office hours will begin Monday, June 25th and conclude on Monday September 3rd. Regular rectory office hours will resume Tuesday, September 4th. SUMMER HOURS: Monday to Thursday – 9:00am to 12 Noon * 1:00pm to 8:00pm Friday - 9:00am to 12 Noon * 1:00pm to 4:00pm NO EVENING HOURS ON FRIDAY’S Lunch hour - 12 Noon to 1:00pm Monday to Friday Saturday - 9:00am to 2:00pm Sundays and Holidays - Closed

When going on

vacation and you need

to know the nearest

Catholic Church,

www.masstimes.org

will assist you.

ATTENTION: Please DO NOT light the candles in Church by using another candle. One could get burned and the wax is dripping all over the candle stands creating a mess.

PLEASE use the lighter. If you have trouble with the lighter, ask for help.

Thank You.

RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION

Just a reminder when coming up to

receive Holy Communion, and after

receiving Jesus, one should be

thinking of the wonderful privilege as a

Catholic to receive Jesus,

that special time we have with our Lord and

Savior.

It is not a time to allow oneself to be

distracted by looking all around, waving,

shaking hands or kissing the person on the

end of the pew. The Roman Missal states

that, “one should prepare by

praying quietly, so that one may fruitfully

receive the Body and Blood of Christ”.

SUMMER WEATHER As the warm weather approaches, we

are blessed to have air conditioning in

our Church to keep us cool.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to please

everyone. Some say it’s too cool,

others say it’s not cool enough. A

suggestion that you bring a sweater

might help to solve the situation if you

feel the cold. Also, if it’s a sunny day,

you may want to sit on the schoolyard

side of Church, where it is usually

warmer from the suns rays coming in

through the windows. Thank you.

PARISH PROPERTY It has been brought to my attention that skate boarders are using the front steps of church to skate off of. This is not safe and will chip the

edges of the church steps. Please make sure that your child and their

friends are not among these children. If you should happen to drive by church and see this happening, I would appreciate it if you would ask them to leave. I have gone out a few times

to tell them to leave because it is not safe.

Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Gives Back

For each car, truck or van, running or not, St. Vincent de Paul will give back to St.

Francis of Assisi $50/100 per vehicle. Maybe you don’t have a

vehicle, but a family member, friend or neighbor has an old or neglected

vehicle in their driveway that they would like to dispose of.

Call the

Society of St. Vincent de Paul at (718) 491-2525.

August 12th– August 18th

Sunday, August 12

Monday, August 13

Tuesday, August 14

6:30 P.M. AA - St. Francis Meeting Room 7:30 P.M. Mass

Wednesday, August 15 Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Holyday of Obligation)

Mass Schedule: 9:00am, 11:00am, 7:30pm

Thursday, August 16

Friday, August 17

Saturday, August 18

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

THIS WEEK NEXT WEEK

August 19th - August 25th

Sunday, August 19

Monday, August 20

Tuesday, August 21 6:30 P.M. AA - St. Francis Meeting Room

Wednesday, August 22

Thursday, August 23

Friday, August 24

Saturday, August 25

NOTE: All changes or updates for the bulletin must be presented the latest by

Tuesday afternoon of each week. It would be a good thing if you could get your

information in earlier. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. The

bulletin goes to the printer by 12 noon every Wednesday. Thank you for keeping our

Parish up-to-date!

Our Parish Calendar will be published weekly.

Please submit changes or updates to

bulletinsecy@sfaacademy.org

ALTAR SERVER SCHEDULE – AUGUST 2018

Sat. Aug. 18th 5pm Samantha Dee, Mia Lopez Sun. Aug. 19th 8am Abby Vorlicek 9:30am Jeremy Burgos, Angelina Efstration 11am Fiona Hosey, Jordan Ceron 12:30pm no server available Sat. Aug. 25th 2:30pm Wedding- Gianna and Richard Fabrizi 5pm Samantha Dee Sun. Aug. 26th 8am Gianna and Richard Fabrizi, Mia Lopez 9:30am Erin Camilleri 11am no server available 12:30pm no server available

OUR NEW STATUE – ST. PHILOMENA

On Saturday, August 11th, our new statue of St. Philomena was placed in our Shrine Room.

Little is known of her life, and the information we have was received by private revelation

from her. Martyred at about age 14 in the early days of the Church. In 1802 the remains of a young woman were found in the catacomb of St. Priscilla on the Via Salaria, Rome, Italy. It was covered by stones, the symbols on which indicated that the body was a martyr named Saint Philomena. The bones were exhumed, cataloged, and effectively

forgotten since there was so little known about the person.

In 1805 Canon Francis de Lucia of Mugnano, Italy was in the Treasury of the Rare Collection of Christian Antiquity (Treasury of Relics) in the Vatican. When he reached the relics of St. Philomena he was suddenly struck with a spiritual joy, and requested that he be allowed to

enshrine them in a chapel in Mugnano. After some disagreements, settled by the cure of Canon Francis following prayers to Philomena, he was allowed to transfer the relics to

Mugnano. Miracles began to be reported at the shrine including cures of cancer, healing of wounds, and the Miracle of Mugnano in which Venerable Pauline Jaricot was cured of a severe heart ailment overnight. Philomena became the only person recognized as a Saint solely on the basis of miraculous intercession as nothing historical was known except her

name and the evidence of her martyrdom.

Pope Leo XII granted permission for the erection of altars and churches in her honor. The cure of Pope Blessed Pius IX, while archbishop of Imola, was attributed to Philomena. St. John Vianney himself called Philomena the New Light of the Church Militant, and had a

strong and well-known devotion to her.

(Information received from the site Laudate.)

Let us pray to St. Philomena to watch over our parish families and strengthen our faith as disciples of the Lord Jesus.

St. Philomena, pray for us!

WITH GRATITUDE TO ALMIGHTY GOD Rev. Victor Mbanisi

requests the honor of your presence

at the celebration of Holy Mass on the occasion of his

25th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood

Sunday August 26, 2018 at 12:30pm

St. Francis of Assisi Church 21-17 45th Street

Astoria, NY 11105

Reception to follow in Msgr. Campbell Hall (lower church)

RSVP by August 20, 2018

Call: 1-718-728-7801 E-mail: chsecy@sfaacademy.org