MASS INTENTIONS

Sunday, January 1, The Solemnity of Mary 7:00 For the People of the Parish 9:00 For the People of the Parish 10:30 For the People of the Parish 12:00 For the People of the Parish 5:00 For the People of the Parish Monday, January 2, St Basil the Great & St Gregory 7:00 John Costello requested by Joseph Milians & Family 9:00 Stanley Kwiathouski requested by Loving Family 9:00 Edward & Walter Kenny requested by Claire & Jim Tuesday, January 3, Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus 7:00 For the Intentions of the Celebrant 8:45 Ludwig Liepold requested by John & Paul Weber 8:45 Nancy Percoco requested by the Antonucci Family Wednesday, January 4, St Elizabeth Ann Seton 7:00 For the Intentions of the Celebrant 9:00 Gertrude Kerr requested by The Vann Family Thursday, January 5, St John Neumann 7:00 For the Intentions of the Celebrant 9:00 Peter Galante requested by Carol & Michael Galante 9:00 Charles Farruggia requested by John & Margaret Walsh Friday, January 6, Blessed Andre Bessette 7:00 For the Intentions of the Celebrant 9:00 Ralph Kubicsko requested by Loving Family 9:00 Robert Rodriguez requested by Troy & Elizabeth Saturday, January 7, St Raymond of Penafort 8:00 Theresa DeFilippo & Archangela Guidia requested by Marie DeFilippo 8:00 Louise Annese Capobianco requested by Alaina Annese Anticipated Mass for Sunday 5:00 Giuseppi & Gerolama LaMerca requested by Loving Daughter Petrina 5:00 Margaret Donohue requested by Loving Family Sunday, January 8, Epiphany of the Lord 7:00 Cornelius J Dunleavy requested by Loving Wife Anne 7:00 Matthew Ferrizz requested by Felicia Heraghty 9:00 Vincent W Edwards requested by Bill & Fann Edwards 9:00 Joseph Carnovale requested by Grace Palmiotti 10:30 George Walker requested by Mr & Mrs Tom O’Connell 10:30 Pauline Leone requested by Loving Family 12:00 Carmine Cassara requested by the D’Agostino Family 12:00 For All Who Were Baptized During 2005 5:00 James Barroso requested by the Wolfert Family 5:00 Kathleen Dolan requested by Patty & Gerald Peters IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP THE GIFTS AT THE MASSES ON

SATURDAY OR SUNDAY, PLEASE CONTACT ONE OF THE USHERS WHEN YOU ARRIVE FOR MASS.

REMEMBER OUR DEAD

Julia Picerni, Concetta Gianfortone, Alicia Mora, Nancy Back, for our deceased soldiers and all of our deceased

relatives and friends.

REMEMBER OUR SICK Rosemarie Aiello Michael Ambrosio Jeannie Badolato Dianne Barello Rob Barello William Barry Maureen Berdon Sonny Bock Adrian Bohl Nicholas Bohl Oliver Bouchard Maryellen BowersHazel Boyce Mr. Michael Boyle Sr Norma M Brown Leo Cantelmo Angelina DeSimoneNesam Devaraj Olivia Marie Devine Anna Dorney Mary Dougherty Michael A DuBritz Geraldine DuBritz Maggie Errico Robert Filce Raymond Harold Mike Healy Catherine Hickey Jasper Indeli-catoMatthew Jankay Jack Kelleher Joseph Kelly Georgiana Lopez Ann Marie Lovett Maureen McCannMichele McGee Howard Meeks Brett Meyers Sam Monte Leone Timothy M Nigro Robert Pascale Grace C Peshkur Bari Pizzurro Joan Reilly Richard Rigney Christopher Rubin Christopher RubinoRose Russo Theresa Ryan Jeanette Schaefer Sharon Schneider Marie Schwind Lorraine Stiefel Jesus Tapel Joan Teaney Stacie Tizzard Lloyd Turnier Wallace Williams PLEASE NOTE: To keep our prayer list current, we will keep names on the sick list for two months. We ask families to return the bulletin cut-out to include names of those who are ill for another two months.

OUR PRIEST-CELEBRANTS

This Week End Mass Next Week

Fr Maffeo 5:00 pm Fr Boyle Fr Tapel 7:00 am Fr Boyle Fr Boyle 9:00 am Fr Tapel Fr Maffeo 10:30 am Fr Tapel Fr Boyle 12:00 noon Fr Maffeo

Page 2 St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church

ALTAR BREAD & WINE Donated in Honor of

Harold Hannaway

Requested by John & Eileen Kelleher

OUR LITURGY It was in God’s name that Aaron blessed the Israelites.

God looked upon them kindly and gave them peace. Paul taught that those who believed were no longer

slaves to the law, but children of God through the Spirit of God’s Son that was in them. Eight days after his

birth, Mary’s child was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel.

till next year. No, what we rejoice over now we must rejoice over and spread with others for the whole year, especially as we soon start looking forward to the great day of celebration Easter Sunday-but we have some time before this happens and it does give us something to look forward to. On behalf of Fathers Rene, Thomas, Boyle,

Liu, our Deacons James Altonji, Joseph Califano, Michael DeBellis, Michael

Devenney, Joseph Dougherty, our Pastoral Year Seminarian Mr. Lachlan Cameron,

our entire Parish and School Staff we wish you and your family a very Merry

Christmas and a very Happy, Prosperous, and Joyous New Year.

Fr. Mike

On these two weekends, we celebrate two great Solemnities of the Church and two wonderful events in our Salvation History. We celebrate The Solemnity of the Incarnation of The Lord-better known as Christmas Day and The Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. Both great days remind us of the love that God has for us. We see this great love first in the great mystery that God has come down from Heaven and become one of us in the person of Jesus-the Child of Bethlehem. Now humanity had been raised to a level it had never known before, and through Jesus we are greater than Adam and Eve were before they ate of the forbidden fruit and Sin entered into the human family. It was the old Adam and old Eve that made us captive to Sin, but now we are reformed according to the nature of the New Adam Jesus Christ and are asked to follow the example of the New Eve, our dear Blessed Mother Mary. This is of course what we celebrate on January 1st, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. For in this day we honor the one who has given us a perfect example of Christian Discipleship, and we honor the great gift that God has given us the Mother of His Son to be our Mother as well and to watch over us and intercede for us. Of course on these two days we are remembering more than just the birth of a child 2000 years ago and his mother, for as was stated above we are remembering, no better yet participating in Humanity’s Salvation. One of the other reasons why God takes on our Human Nature is to show us what we as humans are capable of doing, and what in fact He expects us to so-as seen in the teachings of The Gospel. We should also bear in mind, that what we celebrate on these two weekends and during this entire Christmas Season is not just for two weeks and that’s it

Sunday, January 1, 2006 Page 3

FROM THE DESK OF FR. MIKE

St Joseph’s School

St Joseph’s School will reopen on Tuesday, January 3rd. Happy New Year to all! Our school will be celebrating Catholic School’s Week the week of January 29th. Please watch the bulletin for the many events that will be taking place. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Breakfast With St Nicholas

We took 108 photos at Breakfast with St. Nicholas. They are available on the

parish website. StJoRonk.org

Also available: photos from Backward Drawing and the Blessing of Animals for the Feast of St. Francis

Outreach

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Your generous spirit and caring hearts have made this holiday

one to remember for those around us in need.

Bless You!

SAY A PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS Please continue to remember them in your prayers.

CPL Deborah Alfieri Tech SGT Louis Barletta PFC Justin Browne PC Michael Dean Cantley SPC Thomas E. Corcoran SGT Ryan Delaney LTCOL Kurt Diehl SGT Stephen Gene DiGirolamo SSGT Tony Elliott CPL Keith Flick SP4 Thomas Flood PFC Adam Franciosa SSGT Michael Gabriellini PVT2 Edward Johnston SGT John W Keohane SGT Steven Knight CPL Andrew Kochman 1SGT John Krumholz SSG Stephen LeGrady PFC Edward McGinn SGT Patrick McNally PFC William Meyer Andy Mezador SGT Glenn Miller SGT Daniel Montville SSGT Brian Moran CPT Gregory Mueller LCPL Thomas Napolitano LCPL Michael Napolitano LCPL James Neubauer LCPL Anthony Notaroberta SGT Brian Pacella N/Seal Paul Padro ENS3 Lucy Padro CPT Michael Parisi 2LT Anthony Parisi MAJ Paul E Pinaud SGT Edwin Rivera, II SSGT Jason Schiavo RCT Brian Schildt LCPL W.Mason Shehan SPC James Stanek SSG Nick Vicale SGT John Thomas Vogt SGT Randolph Weaver LT Craig Gabriellini

(If you would like to include a soldier from your family who is serving, place their name and rank on a piece of paper and put it in the collection basket)

Religious Education

Monday and Thursday 9 AM to 4 PM Tuesday and Wednesday 10AM to 3:30 The office is closed on Fridays.

We take this opportunity to wish all our Parish Families a very Merry Christmas & a Happy and Healthy New Year. May the blessings of Jesus’ birth be with you and your loved ones.

We want to thank our Sunday School teachers and students for the wonderful “Christmas Pageant” that they produced on Sunday, December 18th. All enjoyed their prayer, songs and performance.

The students of Religious Education donated their spare change to our annual “Be A Friend for Advent” ministry. We want to thank all our students and cate-chists who helped make this a success. For those who were ill or away, you may return your donation to the Religious Ed office. Thank you again for all that you have done.

Our Religious Ed Office is closed this week and will reopen on January 3rd. Classes and Sunday School will resume this week.

The parish family of St Joseph’s invites you to attend the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord on Sunday, January 8th at the 12 noon

Mass. There will be a special blessing given to all the babies who were baptized in the year

2005 at St Joseph’s. There will be light refreshments directly

following the Mass.

Sunday, January 1, 2006 Page 4

Weekly Offering

Christmas Sunday 2005 $60,124 Christmas last year 52,517 Number of envelopes 1,189

Poor Box last weekend $810 Fuel Collection $ 235 This Fiscal Year to date 6,969

Thank you so much for making this one of the best Christmas collections ever.

God Bless You Always, Fr Mike

RESPECT LIFE It’s not too soon to talk about the annual bus trip to Washington, D.C., which com-memorates the fact that the United States Supreme Court said “yes” to the passage of

the law known as Roe v. Wade. Said law enables a woman to terminate her pregnancy at any stage, for any reason, and this annual gathering is in protest to the tak-ing of innocent lives. The 33rd Annual March for Life will take place on Monday, January 23rd, 2006. Buses will leave from desig-nated spots here on Long Island, and one will leave from here, St. Joseph’s, early that morning, and return in the evening. You will hear more exact information as we get closer to the date, but mark your calendar now for the 23rd. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s mission is to eradicate breast cancer, something we ALL want. However, the Life Issues Institute and Right to Life of Indianapolis have provided some insight into the dis-turbing connection between the Komen organization and the abortion industry, i.e. Planned Parenthood. (Visit www.lifeissues.org/AbortionBreastcancer/komen/index.htm for more details.) Although everyone who has breast cancer did not have an abortion, and everyone who has an abortion will not get breast cancer, there is enough evidence showing a link between some abortions and breast cancer that it is important to disperse this informa-tion and also call on researchers to do more definitive studies on the subject. You should know that 28 out of 37 worldwide studies have independently linked abortion with breast cancer. You can take action on this important issue by communicating with the Komen Foundation Headquarters, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Ste. 250, Dallas, TX 75244, telephone 972-855-1600. Here’s a sample letter: “Please stop funding abortion groups. Please do not fund abortion advocacy groups like Planned Parenthood. I will donate to local breast cancer research groups that do not support abortion. Please reply.” If someone should ask you to donate to Komen’s Race for a Cure, politely decline and tell them why. LIFE NEWS January 2006

Banns of Marriage (Second Time)

Katherine Murcha of St Isidore’s and Joseph Petrellese of St Joseph’s Nicole Myles and Adam DeStefano both of St Joseph’s

Page 5 Sunday, January 1, 2006

Mark Your Calendars Jan 3 School & Religious Ed Classes resume Jan 6 First Friday Holy Hour 7:30 Jan 8 Unity Sunday Jan 8 Baptism of the Lord 12 Mass Jan 8 Sunday Schools resumes Jan 9 Baptism Class 8PM Rectory Meeting Room Jan 10 Altar Server Training 4:30-5:30 PM Church Jan 13 Pre Cana begins 7-9:30 Carew Hall Jan 14 & 15 Sign up for March For Life Jan 17 Altar Server Training 4:30-5:30 Jan 17 & 21 Level II First Reconciliation

Football Benefit Fund Week 16 Winners

1st Place 2227 F N % 37 41 38 116 $100.00 2nd Place 4104 N T % 41 35 38 114 $85.00

3RD Place 2236 F N T 37 41 35 113 $70.00 4th Place 2320 F T % 37 35 38 110 $25.00

4161 N Z % 41 48 28 110 $25.00 Low Score 2421 G I $

3 7 0 10 $35.00

:Rock & Roll 50’s Fashion Show Sponsored by

St Joseph’s Home School Association

Wednesday, March 29,2006 At Villa Lombardi’s Holbrook at 7PM

More details to follow!

*Raffle Baskets* Door Prizes* Grand Raffle Baskets*

**50/50 CASH PRIZE

CALLED TO SERVE

NEW ALTAR SERVER TRAINING 2006

If you are in the 4th grade or higher and would like to become an altar server, please complete the form below and return it to Fr Rene by

December 31. You can drop the form off in the rectory or in the Sunday Collection basket.

Training will last for six weeks, one day a week, from 4:30-5:30PM, in the Church, beginning Tuesday, January 10,2006 and ending on Tuesday, February 14,2006.

Installation of new Altar Servers will be on Sunday, February 26,2006 at the 9:00 Mass.

Dear Fr Rene, I am interested in becoming an Altar Server. Please add my name to the training schedule. Name: ____________________________________________ Grade:______________ Address:_________________________________________________________________

Telephone:_______________________________________________________________

Page 6 Sunday, January 1, 2006

To Start A New Year Anonymous

"A new year is unfolding—like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the

beauty within. Lord, let this year be filled with the things that are truly good—with the comfort of

warmth in our relationships, with the strength to help those who need our help and the humility and openness to accept

help from others. As we make our resolutions for the year

ahead, let us go forward with great hope that all things can be possible—with Your help

and guidance."

New Year’s Message "I asked the New Year for some message sweet, Some rule of life with which to guide my feet; I asked, and paused: it answered soft and low,

‘God’s will to know.’ ‘Will knowledge then suffice, New Year?’

Aloud I cried. And, ere the question into silence died,

The answer came, ‘Nay, but remember, too God’s will to do.’

Once more I asked, ‘Is there no more to tell?’ And once again the answer sweetly fell, ‘Yes! this thing, all other things above:

God’s will to love.’" Guidewords: An Anthology of Inspiration and Humor

A Prayer for the New Year

Come, Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Risen Christ, be with us

today and always. Be our Light, our Guide, and our

Comforter. Be our Strength, our Courage, and

our Sanctifier. May this new year be a time of deep

spiritual growth for us, A time of welcoming your graces

and gifts, A time for forgiving freely and

unconditionally, A time for growing in virtue and

goodness.

A New Year’s Prayer May God make your year a happy one!

Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain, But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making your path easy, But by making you sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from you, But by taking fear from your heart;

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making your life always pleasant, But by showing you when people and their causes need

you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

Around The Parish

Courtesy Announcements

Suffolk Catholic Singles Dance, Saturday night Jan 14th, 9pm-12:30am at the Holiday Inn at MacArthur Airport. Admission is $20 at the door. Neat casual attire for ages 30’s through 60’s.

Touching the Heart of Charity, A Retreat for Women If you are single woman between the ages of 21-50, this retreat is for you. Come join us for a time to pray, listen, reflect and share at Mount Manresa Retreat House, Staten Island, on January 20-22. The cost $165. For further infor-mation, please call Sr Susan Dean,SC at 516-741-0718 or srdean2424@aol.com.

Mass for individuals in 12 Step Recovery Programs will be celebrated for individuals, their family and friends on Sunday, January 1st at 7PM at St John Nepomucene Church in Bohemia. An 11th Step meeting will follow in the lower level of the Church. For more information call Fr Kevin Gruber at 589-0540.

Retrouvaille is a program for marriages that are in trouble. It offers a lifeline to couples suffering with relationship problems. No group discussions. The program will help you rediscover each other, examine your life and learn to communicate more effectively. Six post-weekend sessions provide continued support. The next weekend will be held at Montfort Missions, Bay Shore on January 13-15,2006. For information/ registration please call 1-800-470-2230.

Parenting (Grandparenting/Godparenting) the Christian Family back by popular demand, we will be meeting monthly beginning January 5 in the parish center meeting room at St Thomas More, Hauppauge from 7-8PM for “Resolving Conflict”. Additional seminars are scheduled:

“Growing in Responsibility” February 2nd, “Living Gospel Values” March 2 and “Improving Family Time” April 6. Activity, prayer, and discussion serve as components of each seminar facilitated by Dr Joan Dorr. Pre-registration is very much appreciated, 234-5551.

Professional Therapy and Counseling provided by NYS licensed psychologists are available to our parish through the Catholic Counseling Center, a proprietary professional corporation, which is independent of and not controlled or super-vised by the parish or diocese. Most insurance policies are honored. For confidential information and appointment, call Dr.Giuliani at 243-1550.

The Christophers have announced the Sixteenth Annual Poster Contest for High School Students, with the theme, “You Can Make a Difference.” Cash prizes totaling $2,250 will be awarded. Entry deadline is January 20,2006. For rules and entry forms, contact The Christophers at 212-759-4050, e-mail youth@christophers.org or visit www.christophers.org/contests.html.

Page 8

Attention all: Cub Scout Packs Boy Scout Troops Venturing Crews

St. Joseph’s will celebrate

Scout Sunday on February 12th.

St. Joseph Church and Pack, Troop, and Crew 272 invite all Scouting Units in the area to celebrate with us on Sunday, February 12th, at the 12:00 PM Mass. Refreshments will be available after Mass.

Please let us know that you will be coming. E-mail ScoutSunday@StJoRonk.org or call 588-8456 and leave a message for Charter Rep. Gregory Walsh.

During the past year, you have brought comfort and peace to many of our parishioners by your support of the St Vincent de Paul Society. May the peace and joy of this Holy Season be yours. “The Poor Boxes are the bread boxes of the poor.”

Merry Christmas December 8, 2005 My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, “And Mary kept all these things reflecting on them in her heart.” Scarcely had she given birth to her son, Jesus, the Son of the God, the eternal Word in the Bethlehem stable, when angels began to choir and shepherds came over to Bethlehem “to see this thing that has taken place that the Lord has made known to us.” As she gazes with maternal love at her newborn son, she is surrounded by angels’ voices and shepherds’ hearts, all eager to greet the savior of all humankind. This Christmas we too find ourselves making a spiritual journey of our own hearts to that Bethlehem stable. We too gaze at this tiny child who will himself redeem the world. We too encounter the overwhelming truth of God’s supera-bundant love made manifest in a child’s embrace, in a mother’s arms. And in our hearts we sing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and Peace, peace, peace, the Peace only God can give. This past year has been a year of lights and shadows. All the world attended the last days of our beloved Pope John Paul II. We mourned him and gave thanks for the gift of this Pope to our Church and the world. We rejoiced in the election of Pope Benedict XVI who gathered a million young people, including 450 young Long Islanders, to celebrate faith and life at Cologne during World Youth Day. But still a war raged on. Still too many are homeless. Still too many cannot find their own place, their own home, among us here on Long Island and across the country and around the world. The stable of Bethlehem is all too real for millions in today’s world. With all the lights and shadows of the world and of our own personal lives, this Christmas I write to invite us all to join Mary in gazing at her son, to join her in “reflecting on his birth in our hearts” and to let our hearts meld into her maternal heart as we contemplate the beauty of God’s love for us made manifest in His Son, made flesh for the life of the world. May she show us Him and thus show us the way of hope, the way of truth and the way of life. For he is hope for the world, truth for every human heart and life for all humankind. If we join our hearts to hers, then we can become daily more like her as instruments of God bringing that hope into a world that too often knows despair, truth into the lives of others who are searching for the mean-ing of life and love into the hearts of all whose lives touch ours. May the Lord whose birth this Christmas embraces everyone without exception, be in your hearts as he was in Mary’s womb and may that love which was born from her make us one in bearing witness to God’s life made one with us in God’s peace for the life of the world. Yours devotedly in Christ, William Murphy Bishop of Rockville Centre

PARISHIONER REQUEST FORM

I/we would like to register as members of St. Joseph Parish.

NAME (s): ____________________________________________

ADDRESS:__________________________________ _________

PHONE: _______ - _____________ unlisted? (Yes) (No) I/we would like become members of the parish. ( ) Yes I/we would like to receive contribution envelopes. ( ) Yes ( )No

We make our donations each Sunday ( ) Weekly We make our donations once a Month ( ) Monthly

( ) I would like to become an usher ( ) I would like to become a lector. ( ) I would like to become an altar server. ( ) I would like to become a Eucharistic Minister. ( ) I would like to become a choir member ( ) I would like to become a Catechist ( ) I would like to help maintain the parish plantings ( ) I would like to offer my following talents to the parish

(Please return to the Church Office or place in Collection Basket)

PARISH RESTORATION FUND I/we wish to pledge (or increase our pledge to)

___ $5,000 ___ $4,000 ___ $3,000 ___ $2,000 ___ $1,000 to St. Joseph’s Parish Restoration Campaign.

I/we would like to make payments ___Annually ___Semi-Annually ___Quarterly ___ Monthly

spreading the payments over ___One year ___ Two years ___ Three years ___ Four years NAME (s): ________________________________________ ADDRESS:_______________________________________

_______________________________________ PHONE: ______ - _________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED NOW: $ ________ (Please return this form in the collection basket or

to the Church Office)

REMEMBERING THE SICK Please include the following in the bulletin sick list:

______________________________ Name of person who is ill:

_____________________________ ____________________ Person making this request: Relationship to ill person Your Phone #: _____________________

(Please place in collection basket or return to Church Office)

We’re Looking For…

BOX TOPS from cereals for Educational purposes are always welcomed. Please drop them in the collection.

DEPOSIT BOTTLES AND CANS—Please place them in the baskets that are located on the school side of the Church on weekends or behind the rectory during the week.

CELL PHONES—Please bring your no longer used or needed cell phones and deposit them at the Scrip table in the Church lobby.

Travel Soccer: Gene 467-0541

Intramural Soccer: Beth 737-6299

Track Karen 588-8636

Chairman: Henry

Baseball: Gene 588-1879

Girls Basketball: Christine 737-3142

Boys Basketball: Frank 585-6921

Melchiona 676-6347

Sport for all Seasons ST JOSEPH

CYO

Cub Scout Pack 272 Boy Scout Troop 272

St. Joseph’s Cub Scout Pack 272 and Boy Scout Troop 272 have fun, exciting, educational, character building programs

for boys, age 7 through 17 (first grade and up). For more information or to enroll your child,

contact Dr. Louis Scotti at 656-8428 or e-mail JoinScouting@StJoRonk.org.

Even Used Inkjet Cartridges, Have Their Uses

We have found a way to help St Joseph and keep those com-plicated pieces of plastic, metal and printed circuit boards out of the land fill. Drop them off (in a plastic baggie) when you come to mass. We will send them to a company who reuses them and gives the parish a bounty for each. One note, to clear confusion, if it is larger than a fist, it is not an inkjet cartridge!!!

Page 10