111 First Street, Elkland, Pa 16920 111 First Street, Elkland, Pa 16920

If we do not speak and at for Christ, who will? Saint Teresa of Avila once wrote that Christ has no body on earth but ours. This 16th - century mystic understood what Jesus meant when he said, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. She believed we meet Jesus’ expectation by becoming a voice for the voiceless, as Philip did in Samaria – where his preaching, signs, and deeds brought great joy.

Liturgy of the

Word In the first reading, Philip proclaims the Gospel in Samaria and many people are

cured. Peter and John follow and lay hands on the newly baptized there, and they received the Holy Spirit. In the second reading, Peter encourages the community to always be ready to give reason for their hope, and be willing to suffer for doing good. In the Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that those who love him will follow his commandments.

(THE SANCTUARY LIGHT AT ST. CATHERINE IS LIT IN HONOR OF JOHN LABOSKY.)

(THE SANCTUARY LIGHT AT ST. THOMAS CHURCH IS LIT IN LOVING MEMORY OF

ALBERT SCHULLER, BY WIFE ELIZABETH.)

COLLECTION ENVELOPES

Your continued support of the parish during this time of shutdown is greatly appreciated. Weekly contribution envelopes or other donations can be mailed to 111 First Street, Elkland, PA 16920. For on line giving, please contact the rectory.

Serving the Northern Catholic Communities of: Academy Corners, Cowanesque, Elkland, Harrison Valley, Knoxville, Lawrenceville, Little Marsh, Millerton,

Nelson, Osceola, Sabinsville and Westfield.

PASTOR: Rev. David Bechtel

PASTOR: Rev. David Bechtel

SECRETARY: Louise J. Wheaton Office Hours:

Monday-Wednesday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. TELEPHONE: Rectory: 814-258-5121 Rectory Fax: 814-258-5122 E-MAIL: ststhomascatherine@stny.rr.com

Mission Church: St. Catherine of Siena 146 Lincoln Street, Westfield, Pa 16950

Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020

Please join us for a live stream of the Mass every Saturday at 5:00pm until we are able to celebrate together. You can watch on our Facebook page, St. Peter’s Church Wellsboro PA, from your personal Facebook page or through the link on our

website,www.stpeterswellsboro.org.

DID YOU KNOW ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH

HAS A WEB SITE???

http://stthomaselklandpa.com/index. Log in and check us out!!! If you have any questions or concerns, call Tom at 814-258-7386.

Contact information ~ Father Dave Bechtel: Rectory: 570-724-3371 Emergency: 570-329-5762 (Pager) Saint Peter's email: Stpch@ptd.net Father Bechtel: Dbechtel00@yahoo.com

PRAY

For those who need special

prayers: For those serving

our country: Lord, hold our

troops in your loving hands.

Protect them as they

protect us. Bless them and

their families in our time of need. We ask

this in the name of Jesus our Lord and

Saver. Amen. For those who need special prayers:

Mike Asiello, Martin Beach, Martin Blaskowitz,

Chloe Button, Stephanie Rose Calicchia,

Carmen Blend, Payton Blend, Don Blovhic, Ava

Campbell, Lucas Charles & family, Joseph

Cochran, Kim Cochran & family, Daisy Casbeer,

Fran Davis, Jerome Derr, Elizabeta Erway, Mike

& Diane Fanean, Carol Fasick, Bentley Fish,

Kathy Gillbert, Mary Gilmour, Betty Howe, June

Kerrick, Linda Kitcline; Tom Labosky, Jr., Joe

Lewis, Taylor MacKenzie, Kathleen McKnight,

John Mosley, Craig Owlett, John Porter,

Waverly Emma Roney, Jacob Hunter Roney,

Cindy Sereno, Pat Siciliano, Sara Stanley, Penny

Succowich, Mary Ann Thomas, Roberta

Volante, Elbert Whalen, Esther Whalen, Robert

Whalen, Kathlyn Whitcomb. Special prayer for

healing for Dawn.

For those in Nursing Homes: Renee Kennedy,

Mary T. Miller, Colleen Pell, Shirley Porter, Kitty

Gaintomasi, Virginia Wynick.

Please call the office to add names of those who are in need of prayer due to sudden illness, upcoming surgery, hospital stay or those who are experiencing a hardship. 814-258-5121.

COVID-19: A PRAYER OF SOLIDARITY For all who have contracted coronavirus, We pray for care and healing. For those who are particularly vulnerable, We pray for safety and protection. For all who experience fear or anxiety, We pray for peace of mind and spirit. For affected families who are facing difficult decisions between food on the table or public safety, We pray for policies that recognize their plight. For those who do not have adequate health insurance, We pray that no family will face financial burdens alone. For those who are afraid to access care due to immigration status, We pray for recognition of the God-given dignity of all. For our brothers and sisters around the world, We pray for shared solidarity. For public officials and decision makers, We pray for wisdom and guidance. Father, during this time may your Church be a sign of hope, comfort and love to all. Grant peace. Grant comfort. Grant healing. Be with us, Lord. Amen.

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH May 17, 2020

St. Thomas Church, Elkland Open Daily 8 am – 7 pm

At Saint Thomas there are some devotional materials from Saint Peter's that are free for the taking.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

St. Catherine’s Church, Westfield Open Saturdays 6 pm – 8 pm

Sixth Sunday of Easter

First Reading ~~~ Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8,14-17 The people of Samaria accept the Gospel of Jesus proclaimed to them by Philip.

Responsorial Psalm ~~~ Psalm 66:1-7,16,20 Sing praise to God, all the earth.

Second Reading ~~~ 1 Peter 3:15-18 Be ready to give explanation for your hope in Christ.

Gospel Reading ~~~ John 14:15-21 Jesus promises his disciples that he will send them another advocate, the Spirit of truth.

Background on the Gospel Reading

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last week’s Gospel: Jesus is speaking to his disciples at the Last Supper. In today’s reading Jesus offers encouragement to his disciples, who will soon see him crucified. He reassures them that even though he will leave them, he will not abandon them. Instead he will send them the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, through whom the disciples will continue to live in union with Jesus.

Jesus uses the term Advocate to describe the Holy Spirit, whom the disciples will receive. Another word used to describe the Holy Spirit is Paraclete, a legal term meaning “one who offers defense for another.” Note that Jesus says that he will send “another Advocate.” Jesus himself is the first advocate, interceding for his disciples with the Father.

In today’s reading Jesus contrasts his impending departure with the permanence of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will leave to return to the Father, but the Holy Spirit will remain with the disciples.

Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the disciples will come to know and appreciate the unity of the Son and the Father. They will also understand that they too participate in the communion between the Father and the Son: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you” (John 14:20).

Today’s reading is one example of the contrast that John’s Gospel presents between the community of disciples, to whom God will reveal himself, and the unbelieving world, which will remain in darkness. The unbelieving world cannot accept the “Spirit of truth,” whom the disciples will receive. Only through the Spirit will God’s revelation and love be known.

Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH May 17, 2020

Dear Parishioners, Last week was an important week with the easing of the Carona virus restrictions that had been imposed by Governor Wolf. Since that time, Bishop Bambera has sent all of the clergy information about the gradual re-opening of the parishes. There are only four counties in the Diocese of Scranton that have moved from "Red" to "Yellow." Tioga County is one of the four counties that has moved from "Red" to "Yellow." All of the rest of the counties in the Diocese of Scranton remain in "Red." The counties that are in "Yellow" are permitted to gradually re-open and to resume

the public celebration of the Mass. However, the statement that parishes may gradually re-open and resume the public celebration of Mass is true but very misleading. There are a lot of clarifications and qualifications to that statement that I need to explain so that we are all on the same page. First let me get the easy things out of the way. Saint Peter's and Saint Thomas Parish offices will partially re-open. Saint Peter's Parish office will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:00AM-12:00PM. Saint Thomas Parish office will be open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00AM-2:00PM unless otherwise noted. If you need to do business at the parish office, please wear a mask and maintain proper social distancing. I have already announced the times that the churches are open. If you visit the churches for prayer, please wear a mask and maintain proper social distancing. Confessions and anointing are available. Just call for an appointment. Now the more complicated things, namely resuming the public celebration of the Mass. In order for me to celebrate the Mass publicly, I am required to follow certain restrictions. I am summarizing the restrictions. 1) Only 25 people are permitted to attend any Mass I celebrate. I am included in that number which means only 24 parishioners could attend. 2) Those parishioners who are elderly or who are in high risk categories would not be permitted to attend Mass. High risk categories are defined as anyone 65 years of age or older, and or those who have an underlying medical condition. 3) Everyone attending Mass must wear a mask. 4) Everyone attending Mass must practice social distancing of at least six feet. 5) Every time Mass is publicly celebrated, the church must be sanitized immediately following the celebration. 6) People coming to Mass must enter through one door and exit through a different door. 7) The distribution of Holy Communion would take place after Mass. Proper social distancing must be maintained in the communion line. 8) After receiving Holy Communion, the Faithful must depart. They may not return to their pew. 9) Parishioners must wear their masks except when receiving communion. 10) It is highly recommended that communion be received on the hand. As far as I am aware, reception of communion on the tongue remains a Canonical right. Because of that, I cannot order people to receive communion on the hand. Again, however, I highly recommend that people receive communion on the hand for obvious reasons. 11) Distribution from the chalice is suspended indefinitely. 12) Parishioners may not socialize after Mass. They must depart the Church.13) Parishioners coming to Mass would need to sanitize their hands upon entering the church. 14) I would have to enforce these restrictions. It seems impractical enough to try and celebrate a public Mass given the restrictions. To be sure, it is highly impractical but not impossible if people can live with the restrictions. The biggest issue as I see it would be the 25 people limit. I am sure you can understand that I do not want to be in a position of having to tell someone "Sorry, we have reached our limit. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here." That would create hurt feelings, division and anger at a time when people are already angry and frustrated and need God and their Faith the most. The bishop has offered suggestions of how to develop a system to adequately allow the Faithful to attend Mass. The long and short of it is that if I decide to go ahead with the celebration of public Mass, we would need to develop a reservation based

Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020

system of Mass attendance. This system would at least allow people to attend Mass, though not regularly and certainly not on a daily basis. If I were to implement such a system, I would begin with daily Mass. The time of daily Mass would be moved to an evening time, perhaps 7:00PM to give working people a chance to attend. To begin, I would celebrate two public daily Masses a week at Saint Peter's and two at Saint Thomas. As we entered the summer months, I could expand the days I celebrate public Masses. This would just be to start. As the bishop said---this is a gradual process. As long as everyone cannot attend Mass due to restrictions I would continue with virtual Mass. Virtual Mass will only end once everything is back to normal. At this point--who knows when that will be. Thus, virtual Mass will continue indefinitely. As I said, I believe trying to hold public Mass within the restrictions is highly impractical. My own opinion is that we just continue with virtual Mass until we can all come together for Mass. However, this virus does not seem to be going away. I originally thought that by now, the end would be in sight and life would return to normal. Well, mark your calendars--I was wrong. There was only one other time in my life when I was wrong. On the day of September 30, 1997, 1:14PM and 27 seconds, I thought I was mistaken. As it turned out, I was not mistaken. Go figure. In any case, given the fact that this virus is not going away, and given that life is not returning to normal for the foreseeable future, if you think celebrating public Mass within the restrictions is something we can try, then I am willing to try it. I just need you to understand all the restrictions I have to follow if we resume the public celebration of the Mass. I invite you to offer your input. In offering your input, please understand that I must follow these restrictions. It does not matter whether we like them, whether we agree with them, whether we think this is an over-reaction, etc. I must follow the restrictions. That is non-negotiable. If you choose to offer input, please do not suggest that I ignore the restrictions, or otherwise blame me or Bishop Bambera because they are in place. Over-reaction or not, these restrictions are in place for all of our safety and that of the greater community. As I have said to people who think this is an over-reaction: "It is all an over-reaction and unnecessary until you get the virus." As our teachers told us when we were in grade school: "It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt." We are all tired of this, we are all sick of this, we all want life to return to normal. I am as frustrated as anyone else is. Life will, at some point return to normal. Laughter will return to the merry old Land of Elk. Good times will return to the borough of Wells. For the time being, this is the way things are. As I said: in the movie Platoon, one of the wisest and greatest lines was uttered: "There is the way things ought to be, then there is the way things are, and that's the way it is." For the time being, we need to deal with things as they are, rather than things as we wish they were, or things as they ought to be. If the majority of parishioners offering their input want to try the reservation system and resuming the celebration of public Mass with restrictions, I will develop a plan to resume the celebration of public Mass and share it with you. If the majority of parishioners think that given the restrictions we should just continue with virtual Mass, I will do that. I ask everyone to understand that I am shooting from the hip here as your pastor. There is no precedent, no book to tell me what to do. Thus, I ask your patience. One thing I can promise you is that we will get through this and we will be stronger as a result. A wise person once said that "Everything going well creates weakness." In other words, it is the times of trial and adversity that help us grow and become strong. That's the way it are! The Reverend David W. Bechtel Pastor

ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE PARISH May 17, 2020

Each Easter, the flowers in

the church during the

Easter season memorialize

deceased loved ones. If you

would like to contribute to

this year’s Easter flowers

in memory of a loved one

please use the envelope

found in your monthly

packet. Because we were

not able to be physically

present for Easter Mass

and not able to enjoy

Easter flowers in the

church at that time, we

have decided to wait and

decorate the church for

Easter, when we are all

back together. At that

time, a list of those we

remember will be included

again in the bulletin.

USED CANS &/OR

BOTTLES Parish fundraiser to turn

those water bottles or aluminum cans of soda (with a deposit on them) into cash.

Please drop them off when you come to church or bring them to the rectory/hall. They have asked us not to crush the water bottles.

Act of Spiritual Communion

My Jesus, I believe that You Are in the Blessed Sacrament.

I love You above all things, And I long for You in my soul.

Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least

spiritually into my heart. As though You have already

come, I embrace You and unite myself entirely to You: never permit me to be

separated from You. Amen.

Thanks to all our sponsors who make

our bulletin possible.

We would like to thank:

BUCHANAN BROTHER PHARMACY

KENYON FUNERAL HOME, INC.

OSCEOLA BIG M

VALLEY VEHICLES LLC

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS For advertising in our bulletin.

Sixth Sunday of Easter May 17, 2020